Who has the edge in this top-25 FCS matchup?: No. 10 USD football vs. No. 23 Youngstown State
Following its 38-7 win over Murray State, South Dakota soared to No. 10 in the FCS Top 25.
It's the highest they’ve been ranked since 2017.
“We continue to get better,” said USD coach Bob Nielson. “There was a lot of improvement that we made last week. That has to be the same this week.”
When the Coyotes take on Youngstown State this Saturday in the DakotaDome, it will be one of three top-25 FCS matchups. The Penguins are 3-2 and lost their first conference game of the season, 44-41, to Northern Iowa two weeks ago. But they are coming off a huge 31-3 thrashing of Southern Illinois, who was previously the No. 5 team in the FCS.
It goes without saying that South Dakota will be in for a challenging game against Youngstown State, who have one of the best defenses against the run and boast a balanced offense.
The Penguins offense is led by senior quarterback Mitch Davidson. On the outside, they have talented receivers in Bryce Oliver and CJ Charleston, and in the backfield, they have a litany of options who can do some damage, including Tyshon King and Dra Rushton.
Oliver has 29 catches for 397 yards and one score and King has scored eight touchdowns so far this season.
“They’re a team that’s going to challenge us from a defensive standpoint because of their diversity,” Nielson said. “They compliment that with a physical, aggressive defense that just really shut Southern completely out.”
Here is the tale of the tape between the two sides.
No. 10 USD (4-1, 2-0) vs No. 23 Youngstown State (3-2, 1-1)
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Vermillion, DakotaDome
TV/Radio: ESPN+/Coyote Sports Network
What’s at stake: USD’s rising ranking and all the playoff ramifications that could come from slipping up here. South Dakota has played fantastic football on both sides, keeping opponents out of the endzone and making the most of their drives on offense, but this will be the first ranked opponent the Coyotes face since entering the rankings themselves.
Just like South Dakota, Youngstown State shocked a top-five team early in the conference schedule. The Penguins completely outplayed No. 5 Southern Illinois and had seven sacks in the contest.
Who’s better: USD is the better team and has shown that throughout the season. Their offense is getting better each week while their defense has been consistently great.
But Youngstown State is no slouch. They’ve excelled at pressuring opposing offenses and making them uncomfortable. The Penguins rank second in the FCS in rushing yards allowed per game, allowing just 75.8, and fourth in team sacks with 19. Fifth-year junior linebacker Alex Howard has four sacks this season and a team-leading 32 tackles.
They also rank 23rd in rushing yards per game.
Matchup to watch: South Dakota’s run game against Youngstown State’s defense. Last week the Coyotes' ability to run the ball was a major positive from their win over Murray State. Despite missing two of their more experienced backs to injury, Travis Theis ran for a career-high 190 yards against the Racers. Gaining that kind of yardage will prove more difficult against the Penguins.
USD wins if: Their run game is still able to be productive. They can't win if they’re held to Youngstown State’s 75.8-yard on the ground average.
Prediction: USD, 21-14.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: USD football vs. Youngstown State: Who has the edge in top-25 matchup?
