VERMILLION, S.D. — L.J. Phillips Jr. erupted for 300+ rushing yards as the streak inside the DakotaDome continues for the University of South Dakota football program with their ninth-straight win at home with a gritty 24-17 overtime win over Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon.
Head coach
Travis Johansen picks up his first win of his career behind the historic effort of Phillips Jr. in his first career start at running back. Phillips Jr. posted 301 yards on 35 carries and becomes the second USD rusher to have a 300+ rushing yards in a game and the first in the Division I FCS era, while becoming the fifth Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) to have 300+ yards on the ground.
"Great fight out of our football team, it means a lot for our football team to get a win here and a positive reinforcement to what we're doing," noted Johansen. "I can't say enough about the effort and spirit of the group especially up front offensively."
Will Leyland would put the first points on the board on the day with a 23-yard field goal on South Dakota's second possession of the day, knocking through his 26
th career field goal. Back-to-back field goals for Northern Colorado would see them take a 6-3 with four minutes left in the half.
Aidan Bouman would lead the offense back out on the field, trailing 6-3, and march down the field in just over two minutes. Phillips Jr. would put his skill set on display with a pair of explosive runs on the drive, including a 40-yard rush into UNC territory. He would go on to cap the seven-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 10-6 as South Dakota punches in their first rushing score of the 2025 season.
Phillips Jr. put on a running back clinic in the first half putting up nearly 200 yards rushing (197) on 16 carries with a 47-yard outburst in the half.
The South Dakota put together a clinic of a drive executing a 14-play, 99-yard drive with a touchdown pass from Bouman to
Zach Witte to milk most of the third quarter and into the fourth to take a 17-6 lead.
The Bears would put together a scoring drive of their own to make it a field goal game at 17-14 with five minutes left on the clock.
The Coyote offense would stall and allow UNC to get a shot at the go-ahead score or game-tying field goal. A 40-yard pass put the Bears at the USD 12-yard line down three with under a minute left. The Coytoe defense would hold firm on first-and-goal inside the five, as three-straight plays the Bears were denied the touchdown. Rushing the field goal unit onto the field with the clock ticking, Northern Colorado converted the game-tying field goal to send the game to overtime tied at 17-17.
In the overtime period, South Dakota got the ball first and would ride the hot-handed Phillips Jr. as all three snaps were hand-offs to him. On first-and-10, he would get to the outside and scamper in for the 13-yard touchdown to give USD the 24-17 lead. The Coyote defense, again standing firm in the red zone, would deny UNC the game-tying score and would make it nine-straight wins in the DakotaDome to kick off the 2025 home slate with a victory.
"The crowd was exceptional and critical, especially down the stretch. Playing in front of the student section in overtime made it very difficult for Northern Colorado to communicate," concluded Johansen. "We showed the characteristics of a winning football team."
South Dakota was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone on the day with three touchdowns, posting the most touchdowns in a game this season. Bouman finished the day 7-for-19 with 99 yards passing with the touchdown.
Jack Martens led the receiving crew with 32 yards on two receptions.
Defensively,
Roman Tillmon becomes the second Yote with a double-digit tackle performance this season and sets a new career-high with 14 tackles, along with a forced fumble.
Gabriel Hardman also set a career-best with nine tackles, while
Caden Crawford tied his career-best with a pair of tackles for loss.
Phillips Jr. posted his fourth game with a touchdown rush in his career and his second multi-touchdown game, while also recording his first-career 100-yard rushing game. Bouman makes it three-straight games with a touchdown pass, finding his third different receiver for a score this season. For Witte, the touchdown grab was the first one in his career in his fifth season as a Yote.
Up Next: The Yotes will remain at home next week to conclude the 2025 non-conference schedule when they play host to the Drake University Bulldogs with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. on ESPN+ and Midco Sports.
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