VERMILLION, S.D. — No. 12 South Dakota welcomes former North Central Conference foe Northern Colorado to the DakotaDome on Saturday to open the 2025 home slate in a battle between the Big Sky and the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 1 p.m. kickoff.
The game will be streamed to both ESPN+ and on Midco Sports with Jay Elsen and Andre Fields on the call inside the DakotaDome. You can listen to the voice of the Coyotes John Thayer on the Coyote Sports Network beginning at 12 p.m. (noon) for the pre-game show with Gary Gulver and Jerry Palleschi joining Thayer for the call at 1 p.m.
| Game 3 | No. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA (0-2, 0-0 MVFC) vs. NORTHERN COLORADO (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky) | |
| Date | Time | Saturday, September 13 | 1:00 PM (CT) |
| Location | Vermillion, S.D. | The DakotaDome (9,100) |
| Fan Information | Tickets | Parking | Clear Bag Policy | A-to-Z Guide |
| Television | ESPN+ / Midco Sports Plus – Jay Elsen (PxP) & Andre Fields (Analyst) |
| Radio | Coyote Sports Network (John Thayer, Gary Culver, Jerry Palleschi) [KVHT 106.3 FM] |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Game Notes | South Dakota | Northern Colorado | MVFC |
| Social Media | @SDCoyotesFB  | #GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota | @sdcoyotesfb  | Facebook  |
PROMOTIONS
- The home opener is sponsored by Pioneer Seeds and is the annual Ag Appreciation Day at the DakotaDome.
- WEAR WHITE: Fans are encouraged to join in the theme by wearing as much white as possible.
KEY STORYLINES
- South Dakota is in their 130th season of college football and with their 31st head coach in program history.
- USD enters the 2025 home opener with an eight-game home win streak dating back to last season.
- South Dakota is an impressive 78-20-2 in home openers dating back to the 1922 season.
- BIG SKY-MVFC CHALLENGE: The MVFC leads the 2025 Challenge 3-0 this season with three more games between the two conferences on the slate for this weekend.
- HC Travis Johansen looks for his first career win in front of Coyote Nation as the Yotes play inside the DakotaDome for the first time in 2025.
- USD holds a 28-40-1 all-time record against current members of the Big Sky Conference.
- A trio of Yotes posted career highs in tackles at Lamar last time out.
- Aidan Bouman holds a 22-10 record as the starting quarterback at South Dakota.
- Running backs Charles Pierre Jr. and L.J. Phillips Jr. got the bulk of the carries (24 of 28) at Lamar.
- Defensively, DL Chris Dixon and LB Matt Walsh pace the team in tackles with 16 each.
- North Texas transfer DL Nathan Laperi picked up a pair of sacks against the Cardinals – his first as a Yote – and leads the team in the category.
- The first interceptions of the season came last week with Walsh and Mikey Munn grabbing their first career each.
- Walsh is also the first Yote to record a 10+ tackle game this season.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday marks the 37th all-time meeting between the Coyotes and Bears.
- The Bears lead the all-time series, 20-16, dating back to the first meeting in 1959.
- A majority of the matchups occurred as members of the North Central Conference (NCC) in the Division II days from 1980 to 2002.
- South Dakota has won the last three meetings, including the last clash in 2019 (USD, 14-6 in Greeley).
- The Yotes have also won the last four meetings in Vermillion (2018, 2010, 2001, 2000).
- Since moving to the Division I FCS era, South Dakota is 3-1 in the series.