Full Game Notes (.pdf) | SDSU Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
South Dakota (1-3, 0-1 MVFC) vs. #2/3 South Dakota State (4-1, 2-0 MVFC)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. (CDT)
Brookings, S.D. | Dykhouse Stadium (19,340)
TV: Midco Sports (Tom Nieman, Kurtiss Riggs)
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Carter Woodiel)
Watch Online: Midco Sports Plus | ESPN+ (subscription required)
Series: SDSU leads 55-53-7 ... South Dakota has won the last two ... first game in Brookings since 2018

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota is coming off a bye and in the midst of the toughest schedule to start a regular season in recent memory ... has anyone faced the top three FCS teams and a Big 12 team in their first five games? ... the Coyotes led NDSU 17-10 at the half in their most recent outing ... no one has forced more turnovers this season than CB Myles Harden (3 FF, 3 INT) ... LBs Stephen Hillis and Brock Mogensen are two of the top-three leading tacklers in the Valley ... RB Travis Theis has reached the end zone in three straight games ... Wesley Eliodor (175 yds, 2 TDs) is the team's leading receiver

About the Jacks:  SDSU has won four in a row since a 7-3 loss at Iowa to open the season ... that includes a 28-14 win at then-No. 4 Missouri State to start conference play on Sept. 24 ... the Jacks' defense is allowing 50 yards rushing per game on 2.0 yards per carry ... that unit is led by LB Adam Bock, who finished 11th in the voting for national defensive player of the year in 2021 ... six different Jacks have logged an interception ... RB Isaiah Davis is coming off a 199-yard, two-score effort against Western Illinois last week ... QB Mark Gronowski has 13 total TDs in five games and is averaging close to 200 yards per game through the air ... Jaxon and Jadon Janke are fighting for top receiver numbers

Quick Hits
-Saturday will be the 116th meeting in a series that dates back to 1989
-This is the first time these teams have met in October since 2003. It's the first time these teams have met this early in the season since 1998.
-A lot happened in the final second of last year's meeting
-USD safety Josh Manchigiah was on the field for the final play of last year's game, but wasn't wearing red
-Five of the last six meetings have been decided by seven points or less
-CB Myles Harden has forced six turnovers. There are 35 FCS teams that haven't forced six all season.
-Seven QBs in program history have passed for 4,000 yards (Carson Camp has 3,952 yards)
-The Coyotes are facing the toughest FCS schedule in the nation this season. Ten top-25 teams have yet to face a top-25 opponent.

The Notes
South Dakota and South Dakota State are meeting for the 116th time in a series that dates back to 1889. South Dakota held a 48-34-7 lead in the series at the end of the 1980s, but the Jackrabbits have won 21 of 26 games since 1990 to take their first lead in the series which now sits at 55-53-7. The Coyotes have won the last two, scoring consecutive wins in the series for the first time since 1988. South Dakota's last win in Brookings came in 2000. The teams have played in Brookings just five times since.

South Dakota and South Dakota State have met every season for the last 107 years with the following exceptions:
-Three years during World War I (1916-18)
-Three years during World War II (1943-45)
-Eight years after SDSU made the jump to FCS (2004-11)
-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Here are some notes from the first 115 meetings between the two intrastate rivals:
-45 games, including five of the last six, have been decided by seven points or less
-USD has scored 1,973 points; SDSU has scored 1,885 points
-There have been 32 shutouts, but only one since 1970
-SDSU has been shutout 20 times, USD 14 times (two 0-0 ties)
-USD's largest margin of victory is 73-7 in 1912
-SDSU's largest margin of victory is 61-0 in 1963
-The most combined points scored is 90 (USD, 51-39 in 1986)
-The teams have met twice in the same season 12 times
-The programs have yet to meet in the postseason
-One recent game was decided by a Hail Mary. It is arguably the greatest play in series history.

The series last took place in Brookings in 2018. Just eight active Coyotes competed in that game including Dalton Godfrey, who was the starting long snapper. Others include WR Jordan Sommerville (then a DB), S Isaiah McDaniels, CB Cameron Tisdale, LB Jonathan Joanis, TE Austin Goehring and LT Alex Jensen (then a TE).

The eighth Coyote who participated in 2018 was safety Josh Manchigiah, who competed for the Jackrabbits from 2016-21. Manchigiah was SDSU's second-leading tackler in the 2018 contest with nine stops. He had four tackles in the 2019 game that South Dakota won inside the DakotaDome. He was involved in the scrum near the end zone on the final play of last season's game.

Manchigiah played in 53 games for the Jackrabbits before entering the transfer portal at the end of last season. He started all 13 games as a junior in 2019 and led the Jacks with four interceptions during the COVID-shortened spring season in 2021. He came back that fall and helped lead SDSU to the national semifinals.

Carson Camp is back to lead the Coyote offense, Adam Bock will lead the Jackrabbit defense, but other heroes will have a chance to shine in this year's Showdown Series. SDSU offensive stars Isaiah Davis and Mark Gronowski have yet to appear in this series. On the flip side, it was RB Nate Thomas (injured) and WR Jeremiah Webb (transferred) who highlighted last season's win in Vermillion while linebackers Jack Cochrane and Jacob Matthew (both graduated) led the defense. Cochrane and Matthew each had an interception in last year's game. Webb, of course, caught the Hail Mary and Thomas rushed for 90 yards and a score.

One of the matchups to watch is the Coyotes' running game against a Jacks' defense that has yet to surrender a run longer than 15 yards. Take out the sacks, and SDSU's opponents have carried 116 times for 313 yards (2.7 ypc). South Dakota is averaging 143 yards on the ground and is expecting to have its top linemen all back together for the first time this season. Travis Theis is the fifth-leading rusher in the Valley. He has averaged 80 yards over his last three games and reached the end zone in all three. Shomari Lawrence averages 52 yards at nearly six yards a tote.

If USD can't establish the run, then it will be in the hands of quarterback Carson Camp who is just one game removed from a career-high 355-yard and three-touchdown performance against Cal Poly. Camp has spread the ball around to 13 different pass catchers. Theis (12 catches) and tight end JJ Galbreath (11) are the only Coyotes with double-digit catches. Wide out Wesley Eliodor leads the team with 175 yards and two scores on nine grabs. Slot man Carter Bell, who led USD in receiving last year, has four catches for 40 yards through four games. Veteran tight end Austin Goehring was injured in week two against Montana and has yet to return to the lineup.

Camp is eighth on the Coyotes' all-time passing list with 3,952 yards. Just seven quarterbacks in program history have reached 4,000 yards. Current assistant coach Dante Warren is seventh on the all-time list with 4,361 yards. Jason Seurer is sixth with 4,759 yards.

South Dakota returns four of five starters to its offensive line, but those four have yet to be on the field at the same time this season. Preseason all-American Alex Jensen missed the season opener, but returned against Montana. Starting center Joey Lombard was injured in the second half at Kansas State and has yet to return. He is hopeful to return this week at South Dakota State.

Injuries have also impacted the Coyote defense. Starting linebacker Jakari Starling was injured in the season opener and hasn't returned. Cornerback Da'Raun McKinney was unable to go the last two games. Leading tackler Stephen Hillis played through a shoulder injury against North Dakota State. Preseason all-American linebacker Brock Mogensen is playing with a cast after injuring his hand against Montana.

Hillis is the second-leading tackler in the Valley at 9.8 tackles per game. He has played in 32 consecutive games, but didn't earn his first start until week two against Montana. He entered the lineup when starter Jakari Starling was injured at Kansas State. Hillis was injured in the first half against Cal Poly and did not return. He was back on the field for the start against NDSU and logged 11 tackles.

In addition to Hillis, a shining star on the Coyote defense this season has been cornerback Myles Harden, who has returned from a broken leg suffered halfway through last season. No one in the nation has forced more fumbles than his four and three of those were recovered by the Coyotes. Only three players in the nation have more interceptions than Harden's three. He also ranks ninth in the Valley in tackles per game and that includes 4.0 tackles-for-loss.

Newcomer Michael Scott, a graduate transfer from Akron, has stood out from his rush linebacker position. He leads the team with 3.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles-for-loss, and ranks in the top three of the conference in both categories.

Mogensen is coming off a career-high 15 tackles against top-ranked North Dakota State. It is his second double-digit tally this season and sixth of his career. Mogensen and the Coyote defense defended 47 plays in the second half of their game against NDSU. The Coyote offense ran 23 plays in the second half and 55 total in a game USD led 17-10 at the half.

For the first time in Bob Nielson's 30 years of coaching, a special teams player has been voted a team captain. That player is all-American long snapper Dalton Godfrey, who doubles as an academic all-American. Godfrey is working with two new specialists this year and both are seniors. Eddie Ogamba, who transferred from Iowa State prior to last season, has won the kicking duties. John Bickle, who had success at Division III Wheaton College last year, is the punter.

South Dakota has beaten a ranked team every year since 2013. The Coyotes beat three ranked teams a year ago in North Dakota, UNI and South Dakota State.

South Dakota was one of 10 FCS teams that returned both a kickoff and punt back for a touchdown during the regular season last year. Wesley Eliodor had a 99-yard kickoff return against Missouri State. Carter Bell had a 47-yard punt return for a score against North Dakota State. Bell sprung a 45-yard punt return this season against Cal Poly.