VERMILLION, S.D. — Getting the rust and preseason jitters out last week, the No. 6-ranked University of South Dakota football team hits the road for their first test of the season against the Big Ten's University of Wisconsin on Saturday, September 7. The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and aired nationally on Fox Sports 1.
 

SOUTH DAKOTA (1-0, 0-0 MVFC) vs. WISCONSIN (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Date | Time				Saturday, September 7 | 2:30 PM (CT)
Location | Stadium				Madison, Wis. | Camp Randall Stadium (76,057)
Television				Fox Sports 1: Eric Collins (play-by-play) and Spencer Tillman (analyst).
Radio				Coyote Sports Network by LEARFIELD (KHVT 106.3 FM): John Thayer (play-by-play), Gary Culver (analyst), and Jerry Palleschi (sideline).
Streaming Audio				Varsity Network
Live Stats				(Wisconsin): SIDEARM | StatBroadcast
Game Notes				South Dakota | Wisconsin | MVFC
Social Media				@SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook

 
GAME STORYLINES

• The Wisconsin game will tie HC Bob Nielson with former Yote head coach Ed Meierkort for fourth-most games coached all-time at the University of South Dakota (89).
• The last time South Dakota and Wisconsin met on the gridiron, current Yote running back coach Dante Warren was the starting quarterback for the Yotes.
• The 2024 season marks the fifth-straight full season that the Coyotes will square off with a 'Power 5' opponent. And of those five seasons, it's the first Big Ten opponent.
• South Dakota holds a 1-4 record against current Big Ten teams since joining the Division I ranks in 2008-09.
• The Yotes enter the weekend ranked No. 6 in both the STATS Perform and AFCA Coaches' polls in the first regular season rankings.
• The three forced turnovers last week sat second-best in the FCS (Nicholls, +5).
• USD picked up their first win in the month of August under Nielson last Thursday with a 45-3 win over Northern State.
• Nine more wins for Nielson will put him fourth all-time in program history for games won at USD.

WISCONSIN CONNECTIONS

• USD linebacker coach Elijah Hodge is a 2009 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, playing in 35 games with 11 starts as a sophomore.
• Four Yotes call the state of Wisconsin home: Jack Martens (Cumberland), Troy Bounting (Hudson), Tyler Ebel (DeForest), and Sam Hawker (Monona).
• UW defensive coordinator Mike Tressel started his coaching career at USD as a graduate assistant in 1996-97.

JONES-LOGAN MVFC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• The Coyotes made a splash early in the contest against Northern State with an electric 97-yard touchdown return from Keyondray Jones-Logan.
• It's the longest kickoff return of the young season & the only one returned for a touchdown in the first week of the season.
• It landed Jones-Logan the first Special Teams Player of the Week for the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• It's the first weekly honor of his career.

𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 ‼️

The electric 97-yard kickoff return for the TD earns 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬-𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧 @ValleyFootball weekly honors!

📰: https://t.co/ixoQ2pA2wB#GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/S2agVx1NlH

— South Dakota Football (@SDCoyotesFB) September 2, 2024

INSIDE THE WISCONSIN SERIES

• The Yotes and Badgers meet for the third time on Saturday.
• Wisconsin is 2-0 all-time against the Coyotes, both games being played in Madison.
• The two teams met in 1975 (UW, 48-7) and 2011 (UW, 59-10).

WISCONSIN QUICK HITS

• Wisconsin is receiving votes in the most recent Associated Press (AP) poll, coming off a 28-14 season opening win over Western Michigan last Friday.
• It's the second season for Luke Fickell at Wisconsin.
• Miami transfer Luke Van Dyke is QB1 for the Badgers, throwing for 192 yards (21-for-36) in his Wisconsin debut.

AROUND THE VALLEY

• USD is the only MVFC football team to play a 'Power 5' team this weekend.
• Missouri State also hits the road for a clash with FBS Ball State.
• Seven Valley teams are ranked in each major poll this week, as SDSU keeps the top spot in both the AFCA Coaches' poll and the STATS Perform poll.
• The STATS Perform poll has four Valley teams in the top-10: South Dakota State (No. 1), North Dakota State (No. 2), South Dakota (No. 6), and Southern Illinois (No. 10).
• Just three Valley teams in the AFCA top-10: SDSU (No. 1), NDSU (No. 2), and South Dakota (No. 6).