USD to Host the Bison in Battle for MVFC Title

November 20, 2024 Travis Kriens Local, Regional and National Sport stories

VERMILLION, S.D. — The No. 4-ranked University of South Dakota football team (8-2, 6-1 MVFC) hosts the top-ranked North Dakota State University Bison (10-1, 7-0 MVFC) on Saturday in a battle for the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) title in a top-5 FCS showdown on Senior Day for the Coyotes. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+ and Midco Sports.

Game 12 | No. 4/4 South Dakota (8-2, 6-1 MVFC) vs. No. 1/1 North Dakota State (10-1, 7-0 MVFC)
Date | Time Saturday, November 23 | 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 (South Dakota): SIDEARM | StatBroadcast
Game Notes South Dakota | North Dakota State | MVFC
Social Media @SDCoyotesFB Twitter | #GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota | @sdcoyotesfb Instagram | Facebook Facebook

GAME PROMOTIONS

  • The Coyotes will celebrate the 2024 Senior Class of 20+ on Saturday prior to kickoff.
  • Pepsi is the regular season finale game sponsor.

GAME STORYLINES

  • A South Dakota win on Saturday will give the Yotes a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title for the first-time in program history.
  • DEFENDING THE DOME: Since the 2021 season, South Dakota is 18-6 inside the DakotaDome.
  • South Dakota has scored 40+ points in all five home games this season.
  • The Yotes move back up to No. 4 in both polls (AFCA Coaches’ & STATS Perform) entering Week 12 after the road victory at North Dakota last week.
  • Since going Division I for the 2008 season, the Yotes are 1-6 against No. 1-ranked teams. The lone win came against No. 1-ranked Eastern Washington in 2011 (30-17 in Vermillion).
  • The Coyotes become the first Valley team to post two or more MVFC shutouts in the same season since NDSU did so in 2013.
  • USD has had 63 chunk plays of 20 or more yards this season with 26 leading to touchdowns.
  • Aidan Bouman is coming off tying his career-high with three touchdown passes in the come-from-behind win at North Dakota.
  • One more win will give QB1 20 career wins as the starter at South Dakota
  • The Coyote defense now sits second the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 13.6 points per game.
  • Furthermore, the passing defense is the best in the Valley, sitting at just 176.1 yards per game.
  • The Coyote rushing attack sits sixth in the FCS (234.1 yards per game) after their fourth 300+ rushing yard game of the season at UND.
  • HC Bob Nielson has coached in 96 career games at South Dakota, picking up his 50th career win at South Dakota with the 42-36 win at North Dakota.
  • Two more wins for Nielson will put him fourth all-time in program history for games won at USD.

MVFC CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

  • After becoming the first Coyote in the USD Division I FCS era to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, sophomore running back Charles Pierre Jr. earned MVFC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors.
  • He put up career-highs in rushing yards (173), receiving yards (75), and longest reception (53) in the first win at North Dakota since 1985.
  • He had 119 yards alone in the second half, breaking off a 76-yard touchdown run that put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

YOTES TO NOTE

  • Aidan Bouman has thrown for at least 200 passing yards and one touchdown in the six games this season.
  • Quaron Adams has been a spark in the wide receivers group, averaging an MVFC-best 31.9 yards per catch.
  • The rushing attack of Charles Pierre Jr. (96.9) and Travis Theis (81.3) sit No. 1 and No. 4, respectively, in the Valley in rushing yards per game.
  • Gary Bryant III leads the defense with his 68.0 tackles per game.
  • Dennis Shorter has a team-best two interceptions and is tied for the MVFC lead with his 11 pass break-ups.
  • Mi’Quise Grace leads the MVFC in sacks, sitting at 7.5 on the season. Nick Gaes sits right behind him at No. 2 in the Valley at 7.0 sacks.

DOMINANT RUSHING GAME

  • The run game continues to be a huge part of the Coyote offense, 234.8 rushing yards a game.
  • It sits second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and sixth nationally.
  • The backfield of Theis & Pierre Jr. have combined for nine 100-yard rushing games (both did so against SIU and UND).
  • Charles Pierre Jr. is the lone Coyote to have any 150-yard rushing games this season. He’s now done it three times, including in back-to-back weeks: 153 (at Youngstown State), 165 (vs. Indiana State), and 173 (at North Dakota).
  • He’s also the lone Valley rusher this season to have 1,000+ yards on the ground (1,045) entering the final week of the regular season.
  • He leads the MVFC with his 15 rushing scores on the season, a mark that sits fifth in the FCS.

STOUT DEFENSE

  • The Yotes have made a name for themselves with a strong defensive unit so far this season.
  • South Dakota has six interceptions as a team with five different Yotes having one.
  • Dennis Shorter sits second in the MVFC with his 11 pass break-ups this season, averaging 1.22 per game.
  • LB Gary Bryant III leads the defense with his 71 tackles this season.

GETTING PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK

  • South Dakota sits T3rd in the MVFC in total sacks with 25 on the season.
  • Nick Gaes leads the Valley with his 8.0 sacks this season.
  • Mi’Quise Grace sits right behind Gaes, second in the MVFC, with his 7.5 sacks on the season.
  • The duo combines for 15.5 of the 25 sacks for the Yotes, or 62% of the team’s sacks.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOLADES & MILESTONES

  • Charles Pierre Jr. cracked the program’s top-10 single season rushing touchdown list with his two scores at Youngstown State, sitting at No. 5 (tie) with his 15 rushing scores.
  • As mentioned, he’s the first USD Division I FCS era rusher with 1,000 yards in a season which cracks the top-10 single-season list (No. 10, 1,045).
  • Keyondray Jones-Logan is one of two FCS athletes to return two kickoffs back for touchdowns this season.
  • Aidan Bouman became the sixth Coyote to record 5,000 passing yards in the win against Indiana State (Nov. 9).
  • Against Southern Illinois (Sept. 28), he became the ninth Coyote to eclipse 4,000 career passing yards.
  • Bouman needs 16 yards to crack the USD single-season top-10 list in passing yards for the second-straight season.
  • Travis Theis now sits third in program history with his 32 rushing touchdowns. He needs six more to break the all-time program record.
  • Theis eclipsed the 3,000-career rushing yard mark in the Dakota Days win over UNI.
  • Carter Bell set the new program record in career receptions with his five in the SDSU game (167 & counting) and the receiving yards record in the Indiana State game.

MISC. NOTES

  • USD has now won six-straight regular season games inside the DakotaDome, dating back to last season.
  • The Coyotes are 13-12 in ranked vs. ranked games and 4-7 in those games on the road.
  • South Dakota has put up 500+ yards of offense in the last five of the last seven games.
  • USD is 6-0 when leading at the half and 4-1 when they score first.
  • The Yotes have had four MVFC Players of the Week during the 2024 season.
  • The Yotes are 1-0 outside of the Central Time Zone this season, though having two games scheduled outside the home time zone.

INSIDE THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE SERIES

  • North Dakota State leads the all-time series, 58-27-2.
  • NDSU leads the series in Vermillion, 24-15-1.
  • South Dakota looks for their first win against the Bison in Vermillion since the 4OT thriller back in 2002. The Bison have won the last five meetings in the DakotaDome.
  • This will be the sixth meeting between the two teams when NDSU is ranked No. 1 in the FCS, the Bison are 5-0 in those games.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE QUICK HITS

  • Top-ranked NDSU enters the final game of the regular season with a 10-1 (7-0 MVFC) record and is undefeated against FCS teams this season under first-year head coach Tim Polasek.
  • The Bison’s lone loss came to FBS Colorado [8-2, 6-1 Big XII] who sit ranked No. 17 in the most recent CFP Playoff poll and vying for a Big XII title.
  • North Dakota State took over the top-ranked spot on Oct. 21 following a 13-9 win over then ranked No. 1 South Dakota State.
  • QB1 Cam Miller has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the nation this season: he leads the MVFC in completion percentage (76.9%), while sitting second in passing yards (2,166) and third in yards per game (196.9).
  • He’s just one of two MVFC quarterbacks to have 20+ touchdown passes, sitting second in the Valley with his 22.