How to watch South Dakota football at North Dakota
The Coyotes have shown some steely resolve since the brutal meatgrinder that was the first five games of their schedule, following that 1-4 stretch with a 2-2 mark that hasn’t been enough to keep them in the playoff hunt, but which indicates they’re not going to coast to the end of the season as if their remaining games don’t matter.
USD heads north to take on an old NCC rival this Saturday when they visit North Dakota, a team still very much alive for the FCS playoffs. Playing spoiler is what the Coyotes have left, so that’s what they’ll look to do.
SOUTH DAKOTA (3-6) AT NORTH DAKOTA (6-3)
WHEN/WHERE: Noon Saturday at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D.
TV: Midco Sports
RADIO: KVHT-FM 106.3, KQSF-FM 95.7
ONLINE: Midco Sports Plus
COACHES: USD – Bob Nielson (7th year, 32-39); UND – Bubba Schweigert (9th year, 53-43)
SERIES: UND leads 62-31-5
LAST TIME: USD won 20-13 last year in Vermillion
LAST WEEK: USD beat Missouri State 20-13; UND beat Indiana State 42-7
RANKINGS: UND is ranked 19th in the FCS STATS poll
More:South Dakotans in the NFL, Week 9
ABOUT USD: The Coyotes got back in the win column last week, but that wasn’t all that surprising – when USD is home they’re pretty good. When they’re away, not so much. The Yotes are 0-5 on the road this year, while they’re 3-1 at home with the only loss coming to North Dakota State.
Can they get their first road win of the season on Saturday? It won’t be easy against a Fighting Hawks team that’s fighting for a playoff spot but it is, at least, indoors. Then again, the Coyotes have lost 14 in a row in Grand Forks, and have never won in the Alerus Center. USD’s last win in Grand Forks came in 1985.
USD’s defense is coming off a strong performance last week, as they contained Bears quarterback Jason Shelley and limited a team once ranked in the top five this season to 13 points. Linebacker Stephen Hillis has carried the Coyote defense this year, with 88 tackles (tops in the Valley) and three sacks.
More:South Dakota men's basketball falls to Wisconsin, USD women's basketball gets first win
Meanwhile quarterback Aidan Bouman has given the USD offense a boost. He’ll make his third straight start Saturday, and has so far completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 609 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. Travis Theis (665 yards) and Shomari Lawrence (480 yards) have formed a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield.
ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA: With six wins and two games to go, UND probably needs one more win to get in the playoffs. And next week they play North Dakota State in Fargo.
That makes this a definite must-win for the Fighting Hawks. UND’s only home loss this year came to South Dakota State. They’re 102-28 in the Alerus Center all-time. Hawks’ coach, Bubba Schweigert was hired to replace USD coach Bob Nielson at Minnesota Duluth back in 2004, when Nielson temporarily gave up coaching to be the Bulldogs athletic director. After Schweigert left that job to be the defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois, Nielson returned to coach Duluth and led them to two national titles.
The Hawks offense ranks second in the Valley with 31.6 points per game. Their defense, however, has allowed the third most points in the conference, 30.1.
Veteran quarterback Tommy Schuster leads the Valley with a 70.2 completion percentage, having thrown for 2,170 yards and 13 touchdowns with four picks. Bo Belquist (league-high 50 catches) is his top target, while Tyler Hoosman leads the Valley with 12 rushing touchdowns and is fourth with 710 rushing yards.
Ben McNaboe leads the UND defense, with 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, while cornerback CJ Siegel, a preseason all-conference pick, has two interceptions, one of which he returned for a score.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: How to watch South Dakota football at North Dakota on TV, streaming
