The Pregame
Coyote Alley, presented by HyVee and Scheels, is the place to be prior to kickoff Saturday. Located directly east of the DakotaDome near the tennis courts, Coyote Alley will feature live music, inflatable and games, food and more. This area is free for the public to access and will be home to alumni, Coyote Sports Properties and student tailgate programming. Here is the full schedule:
 
10 a.m. – Inflatables & Games begin
10:30 a.m. – Coyote Walk
11 a.m. – Live music from Blue Rune
11 a.m. – Food provided by Chick-fil-A & The Taco Bus
Noon – Autograph session with Coyote men's basketball
 
The Game
South Dakota (1-1) looks to make it two wins in a row inside the DakotaDome with a 1 p.m. kick against Lamar (0-2). It is the first meeting between the two teams since 2010. USD is fresh off a 24-0 shutout of St. Thomas last week. Meanwhile Lamar battled FBS Louisiana Monroe but dropped a 24-14 decision.
 
The Coyotes
Defensive tackle Nick Gaes is the reigning national defensive player of the week. He had three sacks, a forced fumble and five tackles-for-loss against St. Thomas. South Dakota's defense forced two turnovers and limited the Tommies to 166 yards of total offense.
 
Offensively, USD got 203 yards and two touchdown passes from quarterback Aidan Bouman. Receivers Jack Martens and Carter Bell have combined to catch 23 of Bouman's 31 completions through two games. The running game is yet to flourish, but opportunity knocks against a Lamar team that has surrendered 558 yards rushing in two weeks.
 
The Cardinals
Lamar turned to veteran coach Pete Rossomando after posting a 3-19 record over the past two seasons. He has served at Rutgers, Vanderbilt and most recently Charlotte. The Cardinals lost their season opener against then-No. 8 Idaho before taking on an FBS foe last week.
 
Quarterback Robert Coleman is a junior college transfer from California who is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes through two weeks with two touchdown passes against two interceptions. He has also been sacked eight times. Khalan Griffin is a capable running back who ranked sixth in the Southland Conference in rushing last year. Eastern Illinois transfer Foday Jalloh has totaled 12 tackles including a sack with Lamar.
 
One Last Thing
It is Family Weekend and Hall of Fame Weekend at USD. Six individuals and the 2006 men's track and field team were inducted into the Coyote Sports Hall of Fame Friday evening and will be honored at halftime Saturday. Football alumni Will Powell and Todd Poling, both wide receivers, are among the individuals being recognized.