VERMILLION, S.D. — The energy was high Thursday night inside the DakotaDome with the University of South Dakota football team downing in-state foe Northern State 45-3 to open the 2024 season. The Coyotes debuted the brand new all-black uniforms and used electric special teams play to score 45 unanswered points.
Head coach Bob Nielson jumped straight to the point after the win and credited an energetic student section, “There’s no such thing as a bad win, all wins are good ones. It was great to see that student crowd and make this place electric. We appreciate their support … they created a great environment for our guys.”
Northern State would strike first with a field goal following a 9-play, 91-yard drive on the opening possession of the contest.
It would then be the top-5 ranked Coyotes who took over with 45 unanswered points, starting with a massive spark from Keyondray Jones-Logan (So., Orlando, Fla.) who took the ensuing Northern State kickoff 97 yards to the house for the first Coyote touchdown of the season.
“The kicking game was big today. We made three big plays in the kicking game and I’m not surprised by that,” commented Nielson. “It was good to see that hard work show up with a couple of touchdown returns.”
The next drive would stall but Zeke Mata (Jr., San Marcos, Calif.) would nail a 52-yard field goal, converting his first-career collegiate field goal and setting a solid career-best, and extending the Coyote lead up to a touchdown with under four to play in the opening frame.
Taking the 10-3 lead into the second quarter, South Dakota would pour it on and take complete control of the game with three touchdowns in the frame. Starting with Charles Pierre Jr. (So., Orlando, Fla.) capping off a 10-play, 77-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run for his first score of the day and season.
The special teams unit would shine for the second time of the night midway through the second quarter when Carter Bell (Sr., Bettendorf, Iowa) would get the crowd on their feet with a 55-yard punt return for a score.
Pierre Jr. would send the Yotes into the locker room with a 31-3 lead with his second rushing score of the quarter when he scored from three yards out.
Up big to start the second half, USD put two more scores on the board offensively – both on the ground. Travis Theis (Sr., Pratt, Kan.) would score on the first play from scrimmage after the USD special teams unit recovered a muffed punt deep inside Northern State territory. L.J. Phillips Jr. (R-Fr., Wichita, Kan.) picked up his first rushing score of the season in the fourth quarter to make it 45-3, Coyotes.
However, it was the defense that really came to play and keep the Wolves off the scoreboard in the final 30 minutes of play. The second half saw the Coyotes force three Northern State turnovers, that turned directly into seven USD points.
For more notes on tonight’s game, visit the postgame notes linked above.
Up Next: South Dakota will travel to Madison, Wisconsin next week for a showdown with Big Ten foe, the Wisconsin Badgers. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) and will air on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).