The USD Coyotes opened their 2026 campaign on Saturday afternoon, and what followed was about as inspiring of a performance as anyone could've asked for.

With new starting QB Austyn Modrzewski getting his first look as the team's future at QB, it was uncertain what the Coyote offense would look like in their debut.

It's safe to say that they hit the ground running on Saturday. The Redshirt Freshman accounted for seven touchdowns in his first ever start.

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Per GoYotes.com:

VERMILLION, S.D. — It sure was a day to experience in the DakotaDome to get the 2026 season underway. In his first collegiate start and snaps at quarterback, Austyn Modrzewski was electric with 304 yards passing and tying the USD single-game record for touchdown passes with six on the day as No. 12-ranked South Dakota rolled past Central Connecticut State 59-20.

"I'm really happy with how our guys performed today," said head coach Matt Vitzthum at the postgame press conference. "Early on we had some emotions running through us, but once we got into character and settled in, I was really proud on how we mixed things up offensively. Overall, really pleased with our football team and the way we opened up."

Central Connecticut State pulled the first punch of the contest, forcing the Coyotes to go three-and-out and putting together a 10-play, 63-yard touchdown drive to take the 7-0 lead.

Then the Coyotes turned it on and never took the foot off the gas pedal.

South Dakota would erupt for 21-straight points after giving up that first touchdown, holding a demanding 42-10 lead at the halftime break. Following the initial three-and-out, the offense was incredibly efficient with nine-straight scoring drives that included eight-straight touchdowns. Six of the eight touchdown drives came on drives of 60+ yards and five touchdown plays of 20+ yards.

The second Yote drive of the day saw new QB1 Austyn Modrzewski settle in and, for what would prove to be a career outing in his first career start, connect with Keyondray Jones-Logan for a 42-yard deep ball to get into the red zone for the first time in 2026.

The first South Dakota touchdown saw a pair of Yotes in their first career starts at USD as Modrzewski found Brayden White all alone in the end zone on fourth down, knotting things up at 7-7.

Not even two minutes of game time later, Modrzewski would break off a 68-yard touchdown run in front of the Coyote bench to give them the lead – of which the Yotes would never look back from.

At the half, the absolute dominance showed on both sides of the ball. The Coyote defense held the Blue Devils to just 90 yards of total offense and the offense had nearly 400 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes (373 yards).

Much like last season in the return game and in his first start at wide receiver, White proved to be Modrzewski's favorite target on the afternoon being targeted seven times with five receptions for 82 yards. He brought down his first career touchdown receptions on the day with a long of 38 yards.

Keyondray Jones-Logan proved to be unstoppable but not in the run game. He was untouchable in the pass game with his game-high 103 yards receiving (two receptions) including a 61-yard touchdown connection with Modrzewski in the second quarter.

"I want to thank the community of Vermillion for showing up today, our students for showing up, it means a lot," said Vitzthum. "That Dome was full, and we need it that way every single week. That support means the world to our football team."

In the fourth quarter, new addition to the special teams unit, kicker Bohdie Ing would convert his first career field goal as a Coyote with a 30-yarder. He would also be busy on the day going 8-for-8 on PAT attempts, putting 11 points on the board for South Dakota.

Both teams combined entered the red zone five times and each time points were scored. South Dakota was 1-for-1 on fourth-down conversions.

It was a debut that Modrzewski, along with Coyote Nation, will remember for a long time. He settled in quick with the home crowd behind him and threw for 300+ yards in his first start and completed 80 percent of his passes (16-for-20) and had a combined seven total touchdowns. He tied a South Dakota single-game record with his six touchdown passes to five different receivers, tying Wesley Beschorner who threw six touchdown passes against Upper Iowa in 2005. The redshirt freshman also set debut QB records for the Yotes in the FCS era in both passing yards (304) and passing touchdowns (6), becoming the fifth Coyote to win their debut as starting quarterback.

Defensively, the USD pass rush made life difficult for the CCSU quarterbacks. Four quarterback hurries on the afternoon and Asher Tomaszewski recorded his first sack as a Coyote for the lone Yote sack of the day. South Dakota would also be credited with six pass break-ups on the afternoon.

UP NEXT: South Dakota will hit the road for the first time this season next week, heading to Greeley, Colorado to square off with Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN+.

Source: GoYotes.com