Big Second Half Sends Coyotes to FCS Quarterfinals

VERMILLION, S.D. — Three interceptions and 28 points in the second half lifted the No. 4-seed University of South Dakota (10-2, 7-1 MVFC) to their tenth win and sends them into the Quarterfinals of the NCAA FCS Playoffs with a 42-31 win over No. 13-seed Tarleton State (Texas) (10-4, 6-2 UAC) for the second-straight season.

A high-scoring affair started with both teams scoring on each of their first two possessions Saturday afternoon in the DakotaDome. The Texans utilized a slow and methodical run-pass option attack that kept the Coyote defense on their toes most of the first half, holding until midway through the fourth quarter.

The opening quarter saw both offenses put together 75+ yard drives as they traded touchdowns. Tarleton State took the opening possessions 79 yards to the house in just under five minutes of game action. South Dakota would respond with a 15-play, 75-yard drive of their own that milked nearly 10 mintues off the clock. Travis Theis (Sr., Pratt, Kan.) would cap off the drive with his first of three rushing scores in the contest.

The two teams would trad scores again in the second quarter, as Theis picked up his second one-yard touchdown run of the day to cap off the second-straight 75-yard drive for the Yotes.

The Yotes would really turn it on in the second half, making some halftime adjustments. The pass defense would tighten up in the final 30 minutes as the Yotes picked off three passes in the second half, scoring touchdowns after each one.

South Dakota would get the ball to start the second half but would go three-and-out. Tarleton would get the ball back for the first time in the second half with the touchdown lead. Following a first down pick up on a short third down, Shahid Barros (Jr., New Bedford, Mass.) would get the ball back to the Coyote offense with a pick in front of the Tarleton bench.

Bouman and company would drive down the field to knot things up at 21-21 midway through the third quarter. In a wild turn of events, a ball that bounced off the hands of a wide-open target in the end zone would be corralled by Keyondray Jones-Logan (So., Orlando, Fla.) in a dramatic diving catch.

Tarleton State would respond with a touchdown of their own to retake the lead and force a Coyote three-and-out to get the ball back with two and a half minutes left to play in the third quarter. The Texans would convert on yet another third down to take the game into the final frame with a 28-21 lead.

The following Coyote drive would end in a three-and-out but the defense, yet again, would come up with some more magic as Mike Reid (Sr., Owings Mills, Md.) picked off his second pass of the season that led to a three-play, 50-yard drive that was capped off with Theis’s third score of the day to make it 28-28 with 14 minutes to play.

The Texans would put three points on the board on their next drive to make it 31-28 but that would be the last time they would score. South Dakota would completely control the final nine minutes of the contest with a pair of touchdowns to seal the win.

The first South Dakota lead of the day came on some trickery with a lateral play that saw Carter Bell (Sr., Bettendorf, Iowa) take it 19 yards to the house to make it 35-31 with five minutes to go.

In a bit of desperation for Tarleton State with the clock working against them, the Texans had to go for it on fourth-and-two from the USD 21-yard line. But the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) Defensive Player of the Year in Mi’Quise Grace (So., Cincinnati, Ohio) would come up clutch with some pressure up the middle and got his paws on the pass attempt to seal the contest.

To put icing on the cake, Quaron Adams (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) would break off a career-long 70-yard touchdown run on an end around to cement the game and make it 42-31 Coyotes.

On the day, the Coyote offense would put up nearly 300 yards on the ground (296), while posting their sixth 500+ yard offensive game of the season.

Defensively, the Coyotes forced 3+ turnovers for the third time this season as Barros, Tim White (Jr., Miami Gardens, Fla.), and Reid all brought down interceptions. For Barros and White, it marked their first interceptions of the 2024 campaign. The Coyotes made the Texans one dimensional, holding their 17th-best rushing offense in the FCS (198.2 ypg) to just 98 rushing yards. It marks the sixth time the Yotes have held a team to under 100 yards rushing in a game this year.

Up Next: For the second-straight season, the Coyotes will advance to the Quarterfinal round of the FCS Playoffs. South Dakota will host the No. 5-seed UC Davis Aggies (11-2, 7-1 Big Sky) either Friday or Saturday, with the day and time yet to be announced by the NCAA. More information will be posted to GoYotes.com when it becomes available.