South Dakota, SDSU Collide in Interstate Series Saturday

Both USD and SDSU have taken their lumps in MVFC play thus far this season, and both programs collide in the big in-state rivalry on Saturday.

The Interstate Series game will be in Vermillion inside the DakotaDome on Saturday, as the Yotes look to win their second straight against a ranked opponent, while the Jacks aim to snap a 2-game losing skid.

The game will be broadcast on ESPNU beginning at 3:00, and fans can listen to pregame coverage on their choice of the Jackrabbit or Coyote Sports Networks from Learfield.

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Per GoJacks.com:

In the midst of a rare losing skid, the South Dakota State football team returns to action Saturday with an in-state rivalry game at the University of South Dakota.

Kickoff for the Interstate Series contest is set for 3 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion. The game will be played before a national television audience on ESPNU.

After starting the season with seven consecutive wins, the Jackrabbits have dropped each of their last two games against North Dakota State (38-7) and Indiana State (24-12), falling to 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU, which is ranked eighth in this week's Stats Perform media poll and ninth in the American Football Coaches Association poll, last lost two games in a row to close out the 2019 campaign.

South Dakota, meanwhile, returned to the national rankings after posting a 26-21 home victory over North Dakota on Nov. 1. The Coyotes enter the week with a 6-4 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in league play.

THE SERIES: According to SDSU records, Saturday's game will mark the 118th all-time meeting between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes on the gridiron. The series dates back to a 6-6 tie back in 1889 in a game that was played in Sioux Falls.

Overall, the Jackrabbits hold a 58-52-7 advantage in the series.

The two programs were longstanding members of the North Central Conference and often played season home-and-home series during their days competing at the NCAA Division II level.

After a nine-year hiatus as the institutions made their moves to Division I competition on separate timetables, the series resumed in 2012, when USD gained entry into the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU has won 10 of the 12 meetings during the Division I era, including all six matchups played in Brookings and posting four victories in six games at the DakotaDome.

SDSU has won each of the last three matchups, including a 20-17 overtime victory on Oct. 26, 2024, at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Amar Johnson's second short touchdown run of the game, a 3-yard score in overtime, proved to be the game-winner.

Last season's contest marked the sixth time in the 12 meetings since the series restarted at the Division I level that the game was decided by one score.

INTERSTATE SERIES: The all-sports rivalry series between South Dakota's two Division I athletic programs entered a new phase in September 2023 with First Interstate Bank taking over as presenting sponsor of the competition between South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.

The Interstate Series uses the same points system first established during the rivalry series' inaugural 2012-13 athletics season, which features both athletic and academic components. On the athletics side, a total of 20 points will be up for grabs in 16 sports. Points will be awarded to winners of regular season matchups in football, men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball and softball, while the team with the higher finish in Summit League postseason events in cross country, track and field, golf, and swimming and diving will earn points in those respective sports.

Two points are awarded to the winner of the football game, with the victor of the football game also holding the tie-breaker should points be equal at the end of the year.

SDSU has won the Interstate Series each of the last three seasons and 8-5 overall, including by a 14.5-5.5 margin during the 2024-25 academic year.

The Jackrabbits also hold a 4.5-0.5 advantage early in the 2025-26 series standings.

The Interstate Rivalry is presented in conjunction with Learfield Sports and their respective Jackrabbit Sports Properties and Coyote Sports Properties divisions. First Interstate is a community bank with more than 300 branches across 14 states, including branches in more than 20 cities in South Dakota.

Here's a look at a preview from the Coyotes perspective from GoYotes.com:

VERMILLION, S.D. — A top-25 clash for the third-straight season in the Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank, football game when No. 22 South Dakota welcomes No. 8-ranked South Dakota State to Vermillion for the 119^th all-time clash between the Coyotes and Jackrabbits at 3 p.m. on ESPNU.

The game will be streamed on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf and Darius Walker on the call. You can listen to the voice of the Coyotes John Thayer on the Coyote Sports Network beginning at 2 p.m. for the pre-game show with Gary Culver and Jerry Palleschi, joining Thayer for the call at 3 p.m.

The tailgating lots will still open at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning despite the 3 p.m. kickoff time with SDSU. The Coyote volleyball team will be in action Saturday morning with an adjusted 11 a.m. first serve against Kansas City.

KEY STORYLINES

South Dakota and South Dakota State are set to meet for the 119^th all-time meeting on Saturday in the eighth-oldest NCAA Division I (FBS/FCS) rivalry game in a series that dates back to the state's first year as an official U.S. state in 1889.
MVFC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Following his 80-yard scoop-and-score, senior DB DeJuan Lewis has been named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week.
This season South Dakota is 6-2 when scoring first, 5-0 when leading at halftime, 4-1 when not committing a turnover, and 3-0 with a rusher over 150+ yards in the game.
USD has not committed a turnover in five-straight games, last committing one against NDSU (Sept. 27).
The Coyotes lead the MVFC in both field goals made (13) and field goals attempted (16) this season.
PACING THE FCS: L.J. Phillips Jr. is second in the FCS in carries (206), third net rushing yards (1,296), third in rushing yards per game (129.6), tied seventh in rushing touchdowns (12), and 12th in yards per carry (6.29).
Phillips Jr. has jumped into the top-10 single-season all-time list for rushing yards, sitting seventh entering Week 11 vs. South Dakota State.
LEADING THE MVFC: WR Larenzo Fenner leads the conference in yards per catch (23.75), while K Will Leyland is T1st in made field goals (11), Phillips Jr. is first with his 146.2 all-purpose yards per game, and DB Mikey Munn sits tied second in interceptions (3).
South Dakota has won 18 of their last 22 MVFC games dating back to the 2023 season.
Phillips Jr. became the 12^th Coyote – and third in the Division I FCS era – to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards in a single season against Northern Iowa (Oct. 18).
Aidan Bouman holds a 28-13 record as the starting quarterback at South Dakota and has thrown a touchdown pass in eight of the 10 games this season with a season-high three against the Racers.
Bouman now sits second all-time in program history in career passing yards (8,087) and fourth all-time in career passing touchdowns (54).
With six 100-yard rushing games this season – all from Phillips Jr. – South Dakota now has had 73 100-yard rushing games in the Division I FCS era with Phillips Jr.'s 301 yards against Northern Colorado being the Division I single-game record.
Walsh (at Lamar), Tillmon (vs. UNC), Nate Ewell (at NDSU; at UNI; vs. UND) are the only three Yotes with 10+ tackles in a game this season with Tillmon (14) now holding the season high.
Mikey Munn has been on a tear at cornerback with a career-high two interceptions against Drake and leads the team with eight pass-break ups on the season.
South Dakota is in their 130^th season of college football and with their 31^st head coach in program history.
A win on Saturday would put Johansen tied for third-best in program history for wins as a first-year head coach.
South Dakota holds an all-time program record of 586-568-35 entering Saturday. In the Division I FCS era, South Dakota has won 92 games (92-108).

SERIES HISTORY

The two Division I state of South Dakota schools have met 118 times* in series history, dating back to the first meeting in 1889. SDSU leads the all-time series 58-53-7. (*see game notes for discrepancy: USD claims 118 meetings, SDSU just 117)
Since 2014, this will be the fifth game in the series that is a top-25 clash between USD and SDSU.
It's been the Jacks, since the turn of the century, who has seen the most success, winning 13 of the last 16.
When played in Vermillion, four of the last five games have been just a one score contest, including four-straight at one point.
SDSU has been ranked in each of the last 10 meetings (back to 2014), while South Dakota has been ranked in four of the last 10.

Sources: GoYotes.com and GoJacks.com