It's been a non-conference schedule full of highs and lows for the South Dakota football team.

The Coyotes opened the season at FBS Kansas State and gave the Wildcats everything they could handle in a game the visitors should have won.

Then USD returned home and racked up more than 600 yards of total offense in an impressive win over Northern Colorado.

But things didn't go so well for the Coyotes in their final non-conference match-up of 2018 at Weber State, last Saturday (September 15).

The 11th ranked Wildcats scored 27 of the game's first 30 points, totally disrupting the USD offense, sacking Coyote quarterback Austin Simmons eight times, and forcing three turnovers, including a fumble recovery return for a touchdown.

The South Dakota defense did its best to contain Weber State, but was hampered by a Coyote offense that only gained 238 yards and gave the ball back to the Wildcats at the WSU 35-yard line or better nine different times.

USD also committed eleven penalties in the 27-10 loss, including an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction, an unnecessary roughness call, a pass interference penalty on third-and-long, and a false start on first-and-goal from the one-yard line.

The Coyotes now have an open week in the schedule to try to establish more consistency on offense and cut down on penalties, before opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Southern Illinois, September 29.

I talked with Coyotes head coach Bob Nielson about the Weber State loss and the bye week:


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