The Pregame
Coyote fans making the trip to Grand Forks Saturday are encouraged to join us at a pregame party at Tavern United from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tavern United is connected to the Alerus Center where South Dakota faces North Dakota in a noon kick.
 
The Game
South Dakota, coming off one of its best performances of the season, heads to snowy Grand Forks for one last chance at a signature road win this season. It will have to come against a 19^th-ranked North Dakota team honoring its seniors and fighting for its playoff life. The Fighting Hawks have won four of their last five games with a home loss to top-ranked South Dakota State the only blemish.
 
In addition to the continuation of an old rivalry, it is the fifth matchup between coaches Bob Nielson and Bubba Schweigert, who have split their four duels. Nielson hired Schweigert at Minnesota Duluth after Nielson moved from head football coach to athletic director there following the 2003 season. Schweigert left Duluth after four seasons to become the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois. Nielson returned to the sidelines in 2008 and led Duluth to the first of two national championships in three seasons.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota has won two of its last three games behind quarterback Aidan Bouman, who entered late in the first half of the homecoming game against Southern Illinois and rallied the Coyotes to a 27-24 win. He is expected to make his third collegiate start Saturday. Wesley Eliodor has caught a touchdown in three consecutive games and is coming off a career-best 97 yards receiving against Missouri State. Running back Travis Theis is the Valley's fifth-leading rusher at 74 yards per game.
 
The Coyote defense is led by linebackers Stephen Hillis and Brock Mogensen, the two-leading tacklers in the conference. Cornerback Tre Jackson returned to the starting lineup last week to help fill the void left by Myles Harden's injury and made a career-high 10 tackles. Young defensive linemen are shuffling into the rotation and made an impact in slowing down Missouri State a week ago.
 
The Hawks
North Dakota can all but secure an FCS playoff bid with a win Saturday. A loss and UND will have to win at North Dakota State next week. Quarterback Tommy Schuster leads a balanced offense that is among the national leaders in time of possession. Former UNI running back Tyler Hoosman leads the Valley with 12 rushing touchdowns and averages 79 yards on the ground. Wide out Bo Belquist leads the league with 50 catches. He has totaled 596 yards and four scores.
 
North Dakota's defense has played better of late. A 42-7 win against Indiana State last week certainly helped the numbers. Earlier in the season, teams were having success through the air against the Hawks, but they've kept five consecutive opponents to fewer than 300 yards passing. Defensive lineman Ben McNaboe has emerged as a true playmaker for the unit. He leads UND with 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles-for-loss.
 
The Series
The home team has won the last seven games in this series dating back to 2008, but North Dakota's home win streak in the series dates all the way back to 1987. The Hawks have beaten the Coyotes 14 consecutive times in Grand Forks. UND leads the all-time series 63-31-5, making this the 100^th matchup.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota has won two the last three games in the series including a 20-13 victory in Vermillion last fall. Theis ran for what remains a career-best 138 yards while South Dakota's defense held all-American running back Otis Weah to 58 yards on 15 carries. Schuster has passed for 427 yards with one touchdown and one pick in two starts against the Coyotes.