Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Indiana State Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
No. 6 South Dakota (5-1, 3-0 MVFC) at Indiana State (0-6, 0-3 MVFC)
Saturday, Oct. 21 at noon (CDT)
Terre Haute, Ind. | Memorial Stadium (12,764)
TV: KELOXTRA
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver & Jerry Palleschi)
Watch Online: ESPN+ ($) (Brian Jennings, Jim Leisure, Kelsie Kasper)
Series: South Dakota leads 5-2 (last two games in Terre Haute went to overtime)

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota has won five consecutive games for the first time since 2017 ... the Coyotes have two top-25 wins in their last three games ... QB Aidan Bouman passed for a career-high 369 yards and 3 TDs last time out ... he has 18 career TD passes against 2 INTs ... a stable of young RBs are developing behind veterans Travis Theis and Nate Thomas ... WR Carter Bell has two 100-yard games and four TDs in his last three games ... LB Brock Mogensen is the fifth-leading tackler in program history ... he and Stephen Hillis were the top-two tacklers in the Valley last year ... safety Dennis Shorter has forced two fumbles/turnovers over the last two games ... USD has 15 sacks and allowed four

About the Sycamores:  Indiana State is celebrating homecoming this week ... the Sycamores played the first three games without QB and reigning MVFC Freshman of the Year Cade Chambers and were outscored 113-14 ... with him, Indiana State lost 30-28 to Murray State and 27-20 vs. UNI before a 44-7 loss at Illinois State last week ... RB Justin Dinka returned to the lineup two games ago ... he and Plez Lawrence have combined for 461 yards and three scores on the ground ... Harry Van Dyne and Dakota Caton have combined for 44 catches, 570 yards and all three receiving TDs ... LB Garrett Ollendieck from northeast Iowa has 40 tackles, 3 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble

Quick Hits
-South Dakota's No. 6 ranking is its highest since the 2017 season
-A win Saturday would tie the program's longest winning streak at the FCS level (2017)
-This is USD's first trip to Terre Haute since 2018. The Coyotes ran 106 plays for 602 yards the last time they were here.
-USD's offense has scored on 22 of 31 poss. over the past four games (17 TDs, 5 FGs)
-USD's offense has committed the fewest turnovers in all of FCS (2)
-LB Brock Mogensen (335) needs one tackle to move into fourth place on USD's career list
-RB Travis Theis needs 81 yards to move into 10th place on the Coyotes' all-time rushing list
-WR Carter Bell has 10 catches for 255 yards and 4 TDs in his last 3g (0 rec vs. Murray St.)
-PK Will Leyland is the reigning Valley Player of the Week. He is one of two FCS kickers who has not missed a kick all season.

The Notes
South Dakota heads to Indiana this week with its second-longest winning streak at the FCS level. The Coyotes are 5-0 against FCS teams and boast two wins against top-25 teams in the last three weeks.

South Dakota has played four of its last five games inside the DakotaDome and the fifth was played inside the Fargodome. Saturday will be the Coyotes' first foray outdoors since their season opener at Missouri. USD's last win outdoors was a 42-21 victory at Western Illinois in November of 2021 (USD has played six outdoor games since).

South Dakota has won the last two games of this series 38-0 in Vermillion in 2019 and 38-10 in Vermillion in 2021. Both games were homecoming games. This week is homecoming for the Sycamores.

The last two games at Memorial Stadium required overtime. South Dakota won 33-30 in double overtime there in 2016. Indiana State won 51-48 in triple overtime in 2018. Those remain the last two overtime games South Dakota has competed in.

Nate Thomas and Travis Theis ran 22 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the last meeting between these two teams. Carson Camp passed for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Carter Bell had five catches for 87 yards including a 47-yard touchdown. South Dakota scored on four of its five possessions in that game and led 24-3 at halftime.

Offensive efficiency and complimentary football have truly been the difference during South Dakota's winning streak. Youngstown State scored 28 points in the second half of last week's game behind the play of quarterback Mitch Davidson, but prior to that the Coyotes had allowed 35 points in their last nine halves of football (4.5 games).
   Aidan Bouman is the fourth-most efficient quarterback in the FCS and is coming off a career-high 369-yard passing day against YSU. The offense has scored on 22 of 31 possessions over the last four games with 17 touchdowns. The unit has committed two turnovers all season (1 fumble, 1 INT), fewest in FCS. The offensive line has allowed four sacks (allowed 23 sacks through six games in 2022).

The team overseeing the offense is headed by new offensive coordinator Josh Davis who won a national title with rival South Dakota State last season. Davis was a standout wide receiver at SDSU. He served as offensive coordinator at Northwestern College (NAIA) for six seasons. After going 3-7 in year one, the Red Raiders were a combined 51-10 with five straight playoff appearances. Davis returned to SDSU last season and Northwestern won the 2022 NAIA national title.

Davis is one of six new coaches on Bob Nielson's staff. Others include Jeff Nady (OL at Nevada last year), Craig Bagnell (head coach at Mary), Tim Morrison (off. coord. at Upper Iowa), Rob Snyder (former LSU Tiger) and Steve Ferentz (former Iowa Hawkeye who has spent the last three years with the Miami Dolphins). More information on the Coyote coaching staff can be found on page four.

South Dakota's running back room under former Coyote quarterback Dante Warren is loaded! It starts with veteran Travis Theis, a two-time honorable mention honoree who is close to becoming a top-10 rusher in program history. Nate Thomas, the team's leading rusher two years ago, was USD's leading rusher through four games this year before an injury held him out these last two games. That brought redshirt freshman Charles Pierre into the fold. He's carried 23 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns over the last two games. True freshman Keyondray Jones has two scores, true freshman LJ Phillips made his debut last week and picked up a key first down, and Mike Mansaray, the starting running back against Indiana State in 2021,  is due back to return from injury.

Other receivers are starting to work into the mix. It was Carter Bell, Jack Martens and tight end JJ Galbreath through four games. Iowa State transfer Tristan Michaud was the team's leading receiver in week five. Javion Phelps has four catches for 97 yards over the last two games. Last week, tight end Jack Hagy who started as a defensive lineman made his first catches, and Makai Lovett's first collegiate catch went for 22 yards and setup the game-winning field goal that beat Youngstown State.

Caden Ellingson returned to the lineup last week at right tackle. He had been out since week one at Missouri. Right guard Isaac Erbes is a sixth-year senior and team captain who has started 45 consecutive games. Joey Lombard is a two-year starter at center. The left side has Joe Cotton as the new left tackle this year and Sam Kohls has started the last four games at left guard.

The Coyote defense ranks seventh in scoring defense (16.3 ppg) and ranks 20th in total defense (327 ypg) among FCS scholarship teams. The unit is led by preseason all-American linebackers Stephen Hillis and Brock Mogensen who led the Valley and were among the national leaders in tackles last season. Hillis began his career at Air Force and transferred to USD in 2019 after being diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. He served mainly on special teams until last year when a week one injury elevated Hillis to the starting lineup. Hillis went on to earn first-team all-MVFC honors while leading USD in tackles-for-loss (8.0) and sacks (4.0). Mogensen is a two-time all-Valley linebacker (2021 spring season and 2022 fall season) with 335 career tackles, fifth-most in program history and fourth-most among active FCS players.

Hillis and Mogensen have received support at all levels through six games. Brendan Webb, Nick Gaes and Micah Roane on the front lines have combined for 12 sacks and 15.5 tackles-for-loss. Safety Dennis Shorter is the team's second-leading tackler and has forced two fumbles/turnovers over the last two games. Cornerback Myles Harden is a first-team, preseason all-Ameircan who has forced eight turnovers in his last 12 games dating back to last season. He has an interception and a recovered fumble this season.

Defensive coordinator Travis Johansen moved Webb from defensive end to rush backer, a hybrid position in Johansen's scheme that routinely leads the unit in sacks and tackles-for-loss. Webb is a three-year starter who has compiled 11.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles-for-loss in 44 collegiate games. His 3.5 sacks against Lamar are the most by a Coyote at the Division I level.

Gaes was the defensive star against St. Thomas. He had three sacks, five tackles-for-loss and forced a fumble in helping South Dakota hand the Tommies their first shutout in nearly 12 years. Gaes was rewarded with MVFC and National Defensive Player of the Week honors. 

South Dakota has boasted strong specialists throughout Nielson's tenure. This year's unit features all new starters. Punter Tyler Ebel is a redshirt freshman, Zeke Mata is a recent arrival from LSU who is handling kickoff duties and long snapper Caden Pellizzer is a new arrival from Northern Michigan. Will Leyland, a fourth-year sophomore, is 6-for-6 on field goals and 20-for-20 in extra points. He is one of two FCS players yet to miss a kick this season. He is also the reigning Valley Player of the Week after making two 41-yard field goals including the game winner as time expired to beat Youngstown State.