VERMILLION, S.D. — The No. 8/12-ranked South Dakota football team will hit the road to start MVFC play with their first ranked game of the season when they visit the Ice Castle and battle the No. 11/13-ranked Youngstown State Penguins Saturday afternoon from Stambaugh Stadium in search for the program's 100^th win as an FCS program.
 
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. (CT) / 2 p.m. (ET) on ESPN+ with Drae Smith (PxP) and Chris Sammarone (analyst) 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 12 p.m. (CT) / 1 p.m. (ET). Gary Culver and Jerry Palleschi will join him for the game action in Youngstown.
 

GAME 5 | No. 8 SOUTH DAKOTA (3-1, 0-0 MVFC) at No. 11 YOUNGSTOWN STATE (2-2, 0-1 MVFC)
Date | Time	Saturday, September 26 | 1:00 PM (CT) / 2:00 PM (ET)
Location	Youngstown, Ohio | Stambaugh Stadium (20,630)
Fan Information	Tickets | Clear Bag Policy | Game Day Info
Television	ESPN+ - Drae Smith (PxP), Chris Sammarone (Analyst)
Radio	Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Jerry Palleschi) [KVHT 106.3 FM]
Live Stats	StatBroadcast | USD Season Stats (PDF)
Game Notes	South Dakota | Youngstown State | MVFC | College Pressbox
Digital Program	Digital Program
Social Media	@SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook

 
SETTING THE SCENE

• South Dakota enters the Youngstown State game with 99 wins as an FCS program, since its first season in the FCS back in 2008.
• South Dakota heads to their second new time zone in as many weeks, visiting the eastern time zone against YSU. It's the third game this season outside the central time zone.
• The Yotes started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2017 season under Bob Nielson and remains a perfect 3-0 against FCS competition.
• South Dakota is 6-8 all-time in Valley openers since joining the MVFC for the 2012 season.
• The Coyotes check in at No. 8 in the Stats Perform media poll and at No. 12 in the AFCA Coaches' poll.
• South Dakota reenters the top-10 (Stats Perform) last week since Week 1 (Lamar game) of the 2025 season, being 15 polls since the Coyotes have been ranked inside the top-10 (of either the Stats Perform or AFCA Coaches' poll).
• Youngstown State is led by seventh year head coach Doug Phillips.
• South Dakota has 23 explosive plays (20+ yards) with half of them (12) resulting in touchdowns.

 
NEWS & NOTES

• 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.
• The Yotes are 6-8 in MVFC openers since joining the league in 2012 and 2-5 in MVFC openers on the road.  
• In his first season as head coach, Matt Vitzthum holds a 3-1 record [3-0 vs. FCS opponents].
• QB Austyn Modrzewski has thrown for multiple touchdown passes in his first four games as the starter at South Dakota.
• His 14 touchdown passing touchdowns LEADS both the MVFC and the nation in the FCS.
• Modrzewski's 193.2 QB rating sits third in the FCS after his 243 yards and three touchdown passes in the effort against Boise State last week.
• WR Tennel Bryant has been an explosive deep threat, averaging 36.4 yards per catch with three touchdowns.
• RB Charles Pierre Jr. eclipsed 2,000 career rushing yards against Eastern Washington (Sept. 12), becoming the 15^th Coyote in program history to achieve 2,000 rushing yards.
• He's had two rushing scores the last two weeks, now sitting at 25 career rushing scores which sits T9th all-time at South Dakota and third-best in the FCS era.
• LB Wade Abrams leads the defense with his 38 tackles this season. After his career-high 14 tackles against the Broncos, Abrams now leads the MVFC in total tackles (38) and tackles per game (9.5).
• DL John Starman leads the team with his 3.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks.
• K Bohdie Ing connected on a USD- and career-long 43-yard field goal to tie the game at 24-24 in the fourth quarter at Boise. He's 5-for-5 on field goals this season.
• 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).
• 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.
• The Coyotes are 33-30 in the month of September in the Division I FCS era and have twice finished September unbeaten (2017, 2023).

 
SERIES HISTORY

• South Dakota and Youngstown State meet for the 13^th time in series history in one that dates back to USD joining the league in 2012.
• YSU leads the series 8-4 all-time and the Penguins are 6-1 in Youngstown.
• South Dakota, however, looks to make it three-straight overall wins in the series and two-straight in Youngstown after winning the 2024 meeting in Youngstown.