VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota looks to end the regular season and put an exclamation mark on their FCS Playoff resume with their fourth-straight top-25 clash when they visit Carbondale, Illinois to clash with the No. 21-ranked Salukis of Southern Illinois.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Larry Larson (PxP), Pat Poore (analyst), and Taylor Lawrence (sideline) on the call. You can listen to the voice of the Coyotes John Thayer on the Coyote Sports Network beginning at 11 a.m. for the pre-game show with former Coyote Gary Culver joining Thayer for the call at 12 p.m.
 

Game 12 | No. 17/22 SOUTH DAKOTA (7-4, 5-2 MVFC) vs. No. 21/23 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (6-4, 3-3 MVFC)
Date | Time	Saturday, November 15 | 12:00 PM (CT)
Location	Carbondale, Ill. | Saluki Stadium (15,000)
Fan Information	Tickets
Television	ESPN+ - Larry Larson (PxP), Pat Poore (Analyst), Taylor Lawrence (Sideline)
Radio	Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver) [KVHT 106.3 FM]
Live Stats	StatBroadcast
Game Notes	South Dakota | Southern Illinois | MVFC | College Pressbox
Digital Program	South Dakota
Social Media	@SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook

 
KEY STORYLINES

• South Dakota and Southern Illinois meet for the 11^th time in series history in a series that dates back to 2014.
• MVFC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Offensive lineman Jacob Arop makes it two-straight weeks for a USD football athlete earning a weekly honor from the MVFC. Arop was the highest-graded Coyote on the offensive line in the 24-17 win over No. 8 South Dakota State.
• This season South Dakota is 6-2 when scoring first, 5-0 when leading at halftime, 5-1 when not committing a turnover, and 4-0 with a rusher over 150+ yards in the game.
• South Dakota has won 19 of their last 23 MVFC games dating back to the 2023 season.
• The Yotes are 2-2 against top-25 FCS opponents this season with both wins coming against then-ranked top-10 teams. The Yotes look for their first win against a ranked team on the road.
• USD has not committed a turnover in six-straight games, last committing one against NDSU (Sept. 27).
• The Coyotes lead the MVFC in both field goals made (14) and field goals attempted (17) this season.
• PACING THE FCS: L.J. Phillips Jr. is T2nd in the FCS in carries (233), second net rushing yards (1,464), third in rushing yards per game (133.1), tied seventh in rushing touchdowns (14), and 12th in yards per carry (6.28).
• Phillips Jr. has climbed the top-10 single-season all-time list for rushing yards, sitting fifth entering Week 12 at Southern Illinois.
• LEADING THE MVFC: WR Larenzo Fenner leads the conference in yards per catch (22.79), while K Will Leyland is second in made field goals (12), Phillips Jr. is first with his 148.7 all-purpose yards per game, and DB Mikey Munn sits tied second in interceptions (3).
• Phillips Jr. became the 12^th Coyote – and third in the Division I FCS era – to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season against Northern Iowa (Oct. 18).
• Aidan Bouman holds a 29-13 (42 games) record as the starting quarterback at South Dakota and has thrown a touchdown pass in nine of the 11 games this season with a season-high three against the Racers.
• Bouman now sits second all-time in program history in career passing yards (8,245) and third all-time in career passing touchdowns (55).
• He passed QB Chris Streveler (2016-17), who was on the Coyote Sports Network radio call to witness it, for third all-time in career passing touchdowns against South Dakota State.
• With seven 100-yard rushing games this season – all from Phillips Jr. – South Dakota now has had 74 100-yard rushing games in the Division I FCS era with Phillips Jr.'s 301 yards against Northern Colorado being the Division I single-game record.
• Walsh (at Lamar), Roman Tillmon (vs. UNC), Nate Ewell (at NDSU; at UNI; vs. UND) are the only three Yotes with 10+ tackles in a game this season with Tillmon (14) now holding the season high.
• Mikey Munn has been on a tear at cornerback with a career-high two interceptions against Drake and leads the team with eight pass-break ups on the season.
• South Dakota is in their 130^th season of college football and with their 31^st head coach in program history.  
• A win on Saturday would put Johansen in sole possession of third-place in program history for wins as a first-year head coach.
• South Dakota holds an all-time program record of 587-568-35 entering Saturday. In the Division I FCS era, South Dakota has won 93 games (93-108).

 
SERIES HISTORY

• South Dakota and Southern Illinois have met 10 times dating back to 2014 with USD leading the all-time series 6-4.
• The series is tied 2-2 when played at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale.
• The Yotes have won three-straight games in the series, having not lost to the Salukis since SIU spoiled the USD Playoff run with a 22-10 win in the DakotaDome in 2021.
• The game this weekend marks the third-straight in which both teams have been ranked inside the top-25 at the time of the contest.
• South Dakota has won three of the four games where the Yotes were ranked when playing SIU. All three wins have been regular season meetings (2017, 2023, 2024).