USD stays red-hot in convincing win over Murray State

Oct. 7—VERMILLION — South Dakota's offense had enough to go around for everyone on Saturday afternoon.

After five games of quarterback Aidan Bouman's two-dimensional approach, completing 71% of his passes to either Carter Bell or Jack Martins, he began spreading the love against Murray State.

Seven Coyotes notched receptions, running back Travis Theis delivered a career-high 190 rushing yards, and USD came away with a comfortable 38-7 Missouri Valley Football Conference win in front of 7,900 fans at the DakotaDome on Dakota Days.

"Really proud of our guys for what I refer to as very complimentary football offensively and extremely efficient football defensively," coach Bob Nielson said. " ... We've been a better football team every week."

USD (4-1, 2-0 MVFC), now on a four-game win streak, showed no hint of a letdown following last week's win at North Dakota State. Nielson lauded his team's maturity for how they prepared then performed despite playing without banged-up running backs Nate Thomas and Mike Mansaray.

For the third game in a row, the Coyotes' offense was humming, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions and adding 17 points in the second half. It was perhaps the most balanced performance of the season, as USD finished with 263 rushing yards and 195 passing yards.

After just one reception for five yards on the season, Tristan Michaud led USD with four receptions for 53 yards, including a slick catch along the home sideline to set the Coyotes in position on its second drive. JJ Galbreath had two receptions for 43 yards, including the team's opening touchdown, and Javion Phelps added a season-high 35 yards on two receptions.

"We needed to get some other guys involved offensively besides just Carter and Jack and JJ," Nielson said. "So it was good to see Tristan Michaud have a nice day; he had a couple of impressive catches. And Aidan is playing well. He's making good decisions with the football."

However, Bouman wasn't to be outdone by Theis, who found open gaps and made Murray State pay throughout the afternoon. Theis chalked five runs of 15 or more yards, including a second-quarter touchdown, when he broke through the defense and dove at the pylon for a 25-yard run to put USD up 14-0.

Picking up the slack in Thomas' absence was Charles Pierre Jr., who went for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including an eight-yard run up the middle to give the Coyotes a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.

"We know if we do our job, and we move guys that we're supposed to move, there's going to be holes, and we're going to make second-level and third-level players have to make tough tackles on our really good backs," offensive lineman Joey Lombard said.

USD's defense was its typical self at home, allowing just a single score — a second-quarter 56-yard touchdown pass from DJ Williams to Q'Darryius Jennings — and keeping the Racers at arms-length throughout the second half.

An opportunity for Murray State (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) to gain momentum came in the third quarter, after the visitors forced a USD punt and drove the ball into Coyote territory trailing 21-7. Williams completed a pass to Jawaun Northington, but he was immediately met by Dennis Shorter, who nailed Northington at the goal line, breaking the ball loose for a USD recovery. The Coyotes offense responded with a 65-yard drive ending with a field goal to go up 24-7.

"Huge play, a big hit," Nielson said. "They were headed into the endzone and could have made that game a real dogfight down the stretch. And making a big play like that, the momentum really flipped."

The Coyotes' defense allowed 282 yards of offense and forced two turnovers. Stephen Hillis had six tackles, and Brock Mogensen had five, along with a fourth-quarter interception, which set up USD's final touchdown on a 10-yard run from Pierre.

"One thing we really key in on is to do our 1-11, meaning each guy does their main job, not allowing explosives and shutting the run game up," Mogensen said. "It was fun today, but lots more to work on."

South Dakota looks to build upon its dominant effort when it hosts Youngstown State on Oct. 14 at the DakotaDome.