Full Game Notes (.pdf) | Western Illinois Notes (.pdf)

The Basics
No. 5 South Dakota (8-2, 6-1 MVFC) at Western Illinois (0-10, 0-7 MVFC)
Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. (CST)
Macomb, Ill. | Hanson Field (16,368)
TV: None
Radio: Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer & Gary Culver)
Watch Online: ESPN+ ($)
Series: Western Illinois leads 6-5 ... USD won 42-21 in 2021 ... this is the third straight matchup in Macomb

About the Coyotes:  South Dakota has won eight regular season games at the FCS level for the first time and has six MVFC wins in a season for the first time ... a win Saturday would give USD its first top-eight seed in an FCS playoff ... the team is seeking its third FCS playoff berth under Bob Nielson ... the defense has held six of nine FCS opponents to seven points or less (UND scored on KO return) ... LB Brock Mogensen leads the Valley with 97 tackles and is a candidate for MVFC Defensive Player of the Year ... RB Travis Theis is the sixth-leading rusher in program history ... WR Carter Bell is the seventh-leading receiver in program history ... Brendan Webb has 8.5 sacks ... K Will Leyland hasn't missed a kick all season

About the Leathernecks:  Western Illinois, a charter member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, is competing in its final game as a member ... the Leathernecks are moving to the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024 ... Western Illinois has lost 23 consecutive games, a streak that started with a home loss to USD in 2021 ... the Leathernecks have been outscored 46-8 on average in Valley play ... they rank last in the FCS in total offense and last in scoring defense ... true freshman Dylan Van is getting his first collegiate carries over these final four games ... QB Matt Morrissey is a UNI transfer ... WR Jay Parker has emerged in his second year at WIU ... LB Ryan Crandall headlines the defense

Quick Hits
-This is the second meeting between the two teams since 2019
-A win Saturday would make this team the ninth in program history to win nine games in a season (first team at the FCS level)
-A win Saturday coupled with a Missouri State win at SDSU would give the Coyotes a share of their first MVFC championship. South Dakota was picked to finish ninth.
-Bob Nielson coached at Western Illinois from 2013-15. He took the Leathernecks to the playoffs in 2015.
-CB Myles Harden has accepted an invitation to play in the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl
-LB Brock Mogensen (383) has the third-most tackles among all active FCS players and the fourth-most in program history
-RG and co-captain Isaac Erbes is expected to make his 50th consecutive start Saturday
-All six USD touchdowns over the last four games have been rushing scores

The Notes
South Dakota concludes the regular season with a 1 p.m. kick against Western Illinois Saturday in Macomb. It marks the final game as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference for Western Illinois, a charter member of the league since its inception in 1985. The Leathernecks will move to the Ohio Valley Conference next season.

A win Saturday should secure South Dakota a top-eight national seed in the FCS playoffs which begin Thanksgiving Weekend. It would give the Coyotes a free pass to the round of 16 and a second-round home game inside the DakotaDome on Dec. 2.
     The FCS selection show is set to air at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPNU. The Coyotes qualified for the playoffs in 2017 and 2021 and advanced to the round of 16 with a first-round win in 2017.

The case for South Dakota. Thanks to MVFC Senior Associate Commissioner Mike Kern, we know the Coyotes' four wins against ranked teams are second-most in the FCS to SDSU's seven wins (no other program has more than two). South Dakota has played five games against ranked teams this season. Only SDSU (7) and NDSU (6) have played more. The Coyotes' last three games have come against top-10 teams. In addition to being ranked No. 5 in this week's top-25 polls, the Coyotes are No. 5 in the Massey Ratings with the ninth-toughest strength of schedule.

South Dakota has won three of the last four matchups against Western Illinois and only the 2018 meeting took place in Vermillion. Carter Bell caught five passes for a career-high 182 yards – all in the first half – of a 42-21 USD win in Macomb in week nine of the 2021 season. Bell caught touchdown passes of 91 and 60 yards in that game. Nate Thomas ran 11 times for 110 yards and the Coyotes totaled 220 yards rushing and four scores.
     South Dakota and Western Illinois have combined for 2,021 yards of total offense in its last two matchups (2019 & 2021).

Bob Nielson is 3-2 against his former team, one he led to the FCS playoffs his final season there in 2015. This will be his fourth time as the visiting coach at Hanson Field.
     South Dakota and Western Illinois first met in a home-and-away series in 1976 and 1977. USD won both matchups. The teams didn't meet again until 2012, South Dakota's first year as a MVFC member.

South Dakota linebackers Stephen Hillis (115) and Brock Mogensen (107) were the leading tacklers in the MVFC last season. Mogensen (97) sits atop the list this season heading into the final game of the regular season. Here are the leaders:
   1. 97 - Brock Mogensen, USD
   2. 95 - Maddix Blackwell, INST
   2. 95 - Todric McGee, MSU
   4. 88 - P.J. Jules, SIU

Quarterback Aidan Bouman (1,910 passing yards) is trying to become the seventh quarterback in program history to throw for 2,000 yards in a season. Bouman recorded his second career 300-yard passing game last week against North Dakota. He is averaging 191 yards per game.

Running back Travis Theis needs 59 yards rushing to break into the top five of the Coyotes' all-time rushing list. Carter Bell needs 96 yards receiving to break into the top five of the Coyotes' all-time receiving list.

Brendan Webb tied a program record with 4.0 sacks in South Dakota's last road game which was a 14-7 victory at Southern Illinois. Webb leads the Coyotes and ranks second in the Valley with 8.5 sacks this season. He sits two tackles shy of 100 for his career. Here are the MVFC sack leaders:
   1. 9.5 - Amir Abdullah, ILST
   2. 8.5 - Brendan Webb, USD
   3. 7.5 - Garret Ollendieck, INST

South Dakota boasts the nation's fifth-best scoring defense at 15 points per game. The offenses of six of the Coyotes' nine FCS opponents have been limited to seven points or fewer. That list includes North Dakota which scored on the opening kickoff last week but mustered one field goal the rest of the way. The Fighting Hawks entered having averaged 34 points per game. They never ran a play inside South Dakota's 20-yard line.

South Dakota is allowing 15.5 points per game (allowed 29.2 ppg last year). USD's offense has committed six turnovers, tied for third-best nationally (committed 13 last year). USD opponent's have registered 29 tackles-for-loss and the Coyotes rank second nationally in fewest TFLs allowed per game (opponents registered 69 TFLs last season).

Josh Davis is South Dakota's new offensive coordinator this season. Davis was a standout wide receiver at South Dakota State and won a national title on the coaching staff at SDSU last season. The Coyotes' pro-style offense is in contrast with the no-huddle approach that Bob Nielson incorporated at USD upon arrival. It has led to fewer possessions, but more complementary football.

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).

The Coyotes' ground game is headed by Travis Theis and has been aided in recent weeks by redshirt freshman Charles Pierre Jr. whose 320 yards in six games make him the team's second-leading rusher this season. Theis has taken 50 percent of the carries over those six games. Pierre Jr. has earned a 30 percent share. His season is highlighted by an 81-yard touchdown run in a 17-3 win at Indiana State four games ago.

Carter Bell is featured on the Coyotes' top-10 list for receiving yards, catches and touchdowns (see below). Another receiving option who has grown more reliable is tight end JJ Galbreath who ranks second among MVFC tight ends in catches (35) and yards (504) with the third-most touchdowns (4). Galbreath has been targeted 27 times in the last three games.

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 8-for-8 on field goals and 26-for-26 in extra points. He is one of two FCS players yet to miss a kick this season. He drilled a game-winning, 41-yard field goal to beat Youngstown State inside the Dome four weeks ago, and hit a career-long 50-yarder against SDSU.

South Dakota has a 3-1 record in road games this season and played turnover free in all four contests. Saturday is the team's fourth outdoor game this year with Missouri, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois the other three.
     Aidan Bouman has completed 51-of-74 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns in four road games. Carter Bell has 16 catches, 259 yards and two scores. Brock Mogensen has 47 tackles in four road contests.

South Dakota has intercepted a pass in three straight games and in all but three games this season.