8 things to know about UND football's next opponent South Dakota
Nov. 8—GRAND FORKS — In the 101st meeting between UND and South Dakota on Saturday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, the FCS playoff picture will be impacted by two teams in the Top 10 in the FCS.
Here are eight things you need to know about the Coyotes.
One year after questions arose about a possible head coaching change at South Dakota, the Coyotes have turned things around in a big way.
The Coyotes went 3-8 a year ago, ending the year with a head-turning 58-14 loss to Northern Iowa in Vermillion.
After starting the season unranked and not cracking the Top 25 through the first four weeks of the year, South Dakota jumped on the scene with a win over North Dakota State in Fargo.
The Yotes have answered questions about a fluke with wins over Southern Illinois and Youngstown State.
South Dakota ranks No. 6 in the nation and sits tied with Northern Iowa for second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 5-1 league mark.
The home team has dominated the North Dakota-South Dakota series.
UND's last win in the DakotaDome was a 34-31 win overtime win on Nov. 22, 2008.
UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund, then a senior quarterback, threw for 305 yards on 30-for-37 passing with two touchdowns.
Freund connected with true freshman wide receiver Ismael Bamba 10 times for 91 yards.
Running back Josh Murray had 22 carries for 143 yards.
The Sioux defense was led by Rory Manke with eight tackles.
Sophomore Ryan Kasowski, now East Grand Forks head football coach and Midco Sports television analyst, had a 12-yard sack for the defense.
South Dakota has given up seven or fewer points five times this year.
The Coyotes rank third in scoring defense (16.1 points per game) among FCS scholarship teams.
The defense is led by preseason All-American linebacker Brock Mogensen. His 106 tackles during the regular season last year were second in the MVFC to teammate Stephen Hillis.
Mogensen has totaled 38 tackles over the last three games.
Linebacker Brendan Webb tied a program record last week by recording four sacks in one game in a win over Southern Illinois. He also had two pass breakups including the final play of the game on the Salukis' fourth-down attempt from the 2.
USD's administration stuck with head coach Bob Nielson but not everyone survived the Yotes' 3-8 2022.
Offensive coordinator Ted Schlafke and USD "mutually agreed to part ways" in October last season.
USD's new offensive coordinator is Josh Davis, a former wide receiver at South Dakota STate State.
The Yotes run a pro-style offense. USD averaged 381 yards of offense against its first six FCS opponents. USD, however, racked up less than 200 yards against SDSU and SIU in recent weeks.
Davis is one of six new coaches on Nielson's staff. Others include Jeff Nady (offensive line at Nevada), Craig Bagnell (head coach at University of Mary), Tim Morrison (offensive coordinator at Upper Iowa), Rob Snyder and Steve Ferentz.
UND wide receiver Wesley Eliodor, who caught a 47-yard touchdown pass in the Fighting Hawks' win at Murray State last Saturday, spent his first five seasons at South Dakota from 2018-22.
Eliodor caught 52 balls for 693 yards and seven touchdowns at USD.
This year, Eliodor has 19 grabs for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
It's not the first time in recent years a UND offensive player faces his old team.
In 2022, Tyler Hoosman had 17 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown in a win over Northern Iowa in Grand Forks.
In 2018, Nate Ketteringham was 9-for-16 passing for 124 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His team ran for 490 yards and UND rolled over Sacramento State in California.
UND's Bubba Schweigert and USD's Bob Nielson will meet as opposing coaches for the sixth time on Saturday.
Nielson hired Schweigert at Minnesota Duluth after Nielson moved from head football coach to athletic director at Duluth following the 2003 season.
Schweigert left Duluth after four seasons to become the defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois.
Nielson returned to the sidelines in 2008 and led Duluth to a 15-0 season and an NCAA Division II national championship.
UND beat South Dakota 28-19 in the Fighting Hawks' last home game of the season a year ago.
The win was sparked heavily by special teams.
UND linebacker Malachi McNeal blocked a USD punt right before halftime. Hawks wide receiver Nate DeMontagnac picked up the block at the 2, where Tommy Schuster hit Bo Belquist for a touchdown and a 14-13 halftime lead.
UND cornerback C.J. Siegel blocked an extra point in the fourth quarter to keep the Hawks' lead at two scores. USD kicker Eddie Ogamba also missed a first-quarter extra point.
South Dakota's offense is led by a strong-armed quarterback in Aidan Bouman, a tough veteran runner in Travis Theis and proven standouts Carter Bell and J.J. Galbreath in the receiving game.
But the offense has a new threat on the scene of late.
Charles Pierre Jr., a redshirt freshman from Orlando, has led the Yotes in rushing twice in the last three games.
Pierre Jr., who has 288 yards in the last five games, had an 81-yard run a few weeks ago against Indiana State to shake off a pesky Sycamores team in Terre Haute.
