South Dakota Coyotes Even Record at 2-2 with Win over Drake

The South Dakota Coyote football team has rallied from an 0-2 start to now a 2-2 record following a win Saturday over the visiting Drake Bulldogs.

USD got a balanced attack offensively on Saturday, and ended up with over 500 total yards on offense in the win.

All told, USD completed the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 42-21 win.

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Per GoYotes.com:

VERMILLION, S.D. — It was a strong display of football from both sides of the football for the No. 15-ranked South Dakota football program Saturday afternoon inside the DakotaDome as the Coyotes move to 4-0 all-time in all black uniforms with a 42-21 victory over the Drake Bulldogs.
South Dakota improves to 2-2 (0-0 MVFC) on the season with their second-straight win and 10^th-straight inside the DakotaDome. Drake falls to 1-2 (0-0 Pioneer) on the year with back-to-back losses in the state of South Dakota.
"I'm excited about getting a win. I'm really pleased in particular with how we started the football game and ended the first half," commented head coach Travis Johansen. "I think we took a step forward with what we did in the first half offensively."
It proved to be another stellar offensive showing for L.J. Phillips Jr. who averaged 7.5 yards per carry on the day with 19 carries for 143 yards and a career-best four touchdown rushes. He became the first Coyote to rush for four or more scores in a game since 2009.
Phillips Jr. continued to shine in the second half as in the third quarter he would rip off a 50-yard run to set a new career-high, while also scoring two more touchdowns to etch yet another career-high for the second-straight week.
Drake would tack on a couple touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but the game was never really in doubt as the Coyotes dominated from start to finish and closed off the 2025 non-conference slate with their second-straight win, 42-21.
Up Next: South Dakota commences MVFC play next week when they hit the road for Fargo, N.D. to battle top-ranked North Dakota State on Saturday, September 27 at 1 p.m. You can catch the game on both ESPN+ and Midco Sports.

Source: GoYotes.com