VERMILLION, S.D. — The South Dakota football team hits the road for the first time this season when they take on the first of two Big Sky opponents with a battle against former North Central Conference foe Northern Colorado in the 38^th all-time meeting with the Bears Saturday night from Greeley, Colorado.
 
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. (MT) / 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN+ with Christian Saex and Matthew Gaitor on the call. You can listen to the game on Coyote Sports Network with the voice of the Coyotes John Thayer beginning the pre-game show at 5 p.m. (MT) / 6 p.m. (CT). Gary Culver and Jerry Palleschi will join him for the game action at Nottingham Field.
 

GAME 2 | No. 11 SOUTH DAKOTA (1-0, 0-0 MVFC) at NORTHERN COLORADO (0-1, 0-1 Big Sky)
Date | Time	Saturday, September 5 | 6:00 PM (MT) / 7:00 PM (CT)
Location	Greeley, Colo. | Nottingham Field (8,533)
Fan Information	Tickets | Game Day Info & Parking | Digital Program
Television	ESPN+ - Christian Saex (PxP), Matthew Gaitor (Analyst)
Radio	Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Jerry Palleshi) [KVHT 106.3 FM]
Live Stats	SIDEARM Stats | USD Season Stats (PDF)
Game Notes	South Dakota | Northern Colorado | MVFC | College Pressbox
Social Media	@SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook

 
NATIONAL & CONFERENCE RECONGITION

• QB1 Austyn Modrzewski (R-Fr.) had a stellar debut in a Coyote uniform last week against Central Connecticut State in his first career collegiate snaps.
• He garnered Stats Perform National Freshman of the Week honors and MVFC Offensive & Newcomer of the Week recognition after his first collegiate game.
• He was an efficient 16-for-20 through their air, throwing for 304 yards and six touchdowns.
• The six touchdowns ties an all-time South Dakota single-game record.
• He became the fifth Coyote in the FCS era to win their debut as starting quarterback and the first to throw for 300+ yards in their debut.
• He also led the game with his 81 rushing yards, including his 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to give South Dakota the 14-7 lead.

 
KEY STORYLINES

• South Dakota is in their 131st season of college football and with their 32^nd head coach in program history and embarking on the 15^th season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• USD enters the 2026 campaign on the heels of three consecutive 10+ win seasons for the first time in program history.
• In just one of four meetings between MVFC and Big Sky opponents this season, South Dakota looks to aid the Valley into its 10^th-straight challenge victory.
• Six Coyotes on the 2026 roster hail from the state of Colorado, including two anticipated starters in Austyn Modrzewski (QB) and Brendon Crispe (OL).
• THE CAPTAINS: The Yotes have named three season-long captains for the 2026 season in Tysen Boze (offense), Gabriel Hardman (defense), and Keyondray Jones-Logan (special teams).
• The Coyotes check in at No. 11 in the Stats Perform media poll and at No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches' poll.
• HC Matt Vitzthum became the first coach in the USD Division I era to win their opener as a head coach with the 59-20 win over CCSU.
• The Yotes are an impressive 30-11 in the DakotaDome as a ranked team and 19-5 when ranked inside the top-15 (FCS era).
• South Dakota has the most MVFC wins of any current Valley school over the last three seasons with 20.
• Since the Dome opened in 1979, USD has played 271 football games in it. The Yotes are 188-83 all-time in the dome, winning nearly 70% of the games played in the Dome.
• Returning from an injury last season, 2024 All-American running back – and a 2026 Walter Payton Award watch list honoree and a top-1000 East/West Shrine Bowl recipient – Charles Pierre Jr. returns to action as the slated RB1.
• Pierre Jr. was the program's first-ever FCS era 1,000-yard rusher back in 2024. He needs just 104 yards to become the 15^th Coyote running back to rush for 2,000 career yards.
• The senior has eight 100-yard rushing games to his name, which sits second in the DI FCS era behind Theis' 11.
• Announced earlier during Fall Camp, senior defensive lineman Chris Dixon was named a top-10 (No. 9-ranked) prospect in the 2027 Canadian Football League (CFL) draft.
• South Dakota looks to win their first road opener since the 77-7 throttling of Drake back in 2017.
• The Coyotes are 31-29 in the month of September in the Division I FCS era and have twice finished September unbeaten (2017, 2023).

 
SERIES HISTORY

• South Dakota and Northern Colorado are set to meet for the 38^th time in program history.
• Northern Colorado holds a slight edge in the all-time series, leading it 20-17.
• South Dakota, however, has won the last four meetings dating back to 2010.
• The Bears lead 12-6 with games played in Greeley, but USD won the last meeting in Greeley back in 2019 (14-6).
• This season marks the first-ever night game between the two in Greeley (6 p.m. local kick).
• The series itself dates back to the first meeting that was played on November 14, 1959 which resulted in a 27-18 Northern Colorado victory.
• UNC is the most played opponent of the current Big Sky Conference.