Rocky road ahead for Coyote football with NDSU arrival

In their last 10 quarters, the University of South Dakota Coyote football team has been outscored by 61 points. That stretch has resulted in three straight losses, and their game lineup is not getting any easier as the season progresses.

The Coyotes host the three-time reigning FCS champion North Dakota State Saturday — a team that has beat USD by a combined score of 96-0 the last two years.

Despite the lopsided scores, head coach Joe Glenn said his team isn’t looking to just compete with the Bison.

“We play to win, and of course we want to play well,” Glenn said. “But football is a game that you play to win. No one will feel any better if we lose 17-14 or if we lose like the lopsided scores the last two years.”

The Coyotes will host the Bison in the DakotaDome for the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Two years ago the game was played at a neutral site in Sioux Falls at Howard Wood. Last year the game was played in the Fargodome.

“There haven’t been many good memories from the last two years,” said junior linebacker Keyen Lage. “But the atmosphere was good last year (in Fargo), and I’m hoping to create a lot of really good memories this Saturday.”

Playing on their home turf will be a change-up from previous matchups, but Glenn said the team still has to get over last week’s loss to Missouri State.

“We’re having a hard time getting past this last weekend,” Glenn said. “We’re just having a hard time making plays right now. We’re not playing with any swagger or confidence.”

In agreement, Lage said his unit needs be more assertive.

“We aren’t playing with enough confidence right now,” Lage said. “We have a lot of young guys, and our team leaders like myself need to help the younger guys out when things are going south. We need to handle adversity a little better than we have.”

He said his players will have to dig deep within themselves to find that extra gear. Glenn went on to compare his struggling group to the Major League Baseball American League champion Royals.

“We’ve just got to fight through it,” he said. “I liken us to my Kansas City Royals.
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This summer they went into a slump and couldn’t hit. Someone has to get a hit for us now.”

Glenn joked he doesn’t know which “Football Gods” are mad, but the team has to remain positive.

“We were all really disappointed because at halftime I thought we really came together as a team and thought we’d have a really good second half, but by then the damage may have already been done,” Lage said. “We had a really good discussion in our defensive meeting this week about what needs to change and hopefully you see a new team on defense.”

Six players left last week’s game due to injury. Unfortunately for the offense, three starters were lost for the season. Sophomore running back Trevor Bouma, junior right tackle Derek Chancellor and redshirt first-year tight end Aaron Ramsey all underwent season-ending surgeries this week.

“(They’re) three of the best kids on the team, so I feel really bad for them,” Glenn said. “But it’s the next man up now.”

Senior Jasper Sanders will likely handle the bulk of the carries for the rest of the season, and fans could expect a good amount of running from sophomore Jordan Roberts.

Roberts was South Dakota’s lone bright spot in their 42-0 loss to the Bison last year. He ran for 107 yards on 20 carries.

Roberts was one of two running backs who ran for over 100 yards on the Bison in their 15 games last year.

“The offensive line played really well that game and I just ran behind the holes,” Roberts said. “I’m hoping to do the same this Saturday.”

Roberts said he’s not looking to replace Bouma.

With the success he had versus the Bison last year, Roberts said he will have the same mentality as before against the No. 1 ranked team.

“You can’t really replace (Bouma),” Roberts said. “He’s been a great player for us and is a great person and leader. But the next man has to step up. Now that I’ll be getting more carries doesn’t mean my mindset will change. I always try to remain calm, cool and collected.”

(Photo: Sophomore running back Trevor Bouma, right, finds a gap in the University of Northern Iowa defensive line Oct. 11 in the DakotaDome. The Coyotes are 2-5 overall this season and 2-1 at home. They’ll take on North Dakota State University at home Saturday. Chris Timmerman / The Volante)