Vermillion, South Dakota — South Dakota gets another crack at North Dakota Saturday inside the DakotaDome.
It is a rematch of a game that took place seven months ago when North Dakota’s offensive line along with all-American running back Otis Weah starred in a 21-10 victory in Grand Forks. The Coyotes led 3-0 after one quarter and forced two turnovers to keep it close at the half. But the Fighting Hawks scored two touchdowns quickly to start the second half and the Coyotes didn’t find the end zone until the fourth quarter.
South Dakota’s defense is statistically better than the one that went to Grand Forks in March. The Coyotes rank 14th in scoring defense, 17th in rushing defense and 21st in total defense. But on that day, North Dakota ran for 249 yards, passed for 240 and outgained USD 489-328. The Fighting Hawks allowed no sacks, had three negative plays and didn’t commit a penalty all game (USD had four for 34 yards). Otis Weah ran 16 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns and the Hawks controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes. It was the first game under Bob Nielson in which the Coyotes didn’t win when holding an opponent to fewer than 27 points.
This South Dakota defense is coming off its best performance of the season, limiting Indiana State to 205 yards of offense including just 33 yards rushing. Linebacker Jack Cochrane led the team in tackles for the fourth time in five games, Elijah Reed and Tre Jackson recorded third-quarter interceptions, and DeJaun Cooper got his team-leading third sack of the season. The Sycamores went 3-and-out on five of their 11 possessions and gained fewer than 10 yards on seven of 11.
South Dakota’s offense is coming off another big first half, scoring 21 points in the second quarter and helping USD to a 24-3 halftime lead against Indiana State. The Coyotes have outscored their four FCS foes 115-24 in the first half and outgained them 1,221-496. Quarterback Carson Camp completed 51-of-73 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns against zero interceptions in the first halves of those games.
South Dakota’s defense has held opposing running backs to 232 yards on 97 carries and zero touchdowns through five games. Indiana State starter Peterson Kerlegrand ran 11 times for 24 yards last week. North Dakota’s Otis Weah led the Valley in rushing last year with 730 yards and scored at least one touchdown in all seven games. He has run 58 times for 265 yards and three scores in three games this season for an average of 73 yards per game.
