With bye week before Dakota Days, football team emphasizes recovery

After two consecutive wins, the Coyotes have some time to relax before facing one of the biggest games of the year – the Dakota Days homecoming matchup against Youngstown State.

USD has gathered some momentum over the past two games, but head coach Joe Glenn and his players are not worried about the week off – not to mention a week full of distractions – affecting their energy two Saturdays from now.

“It’s going to be a good thing. We got a couple good wins here,” said quarterback Ryan Saeger. “This week off will let us take a step back and really focus on the Missouri Valley schedule ahead and Youngstown State coming into town, so I think it will be a good thing for us.”

Glenn said the timing of the bye week is convenient for his players.

“They’re charged,” Glenn said. “They’re feeding off their success. They’re feeding off each other, and they know how important it is for us to go into the next game healthy and loaded for a great game.”

After last week’s win over Drake, Glenn knows the Youngstown team will not be so easily conquered.

“We understand it will be a better football team than we played Saturday, and we’ll expect a hard game but that’s the way you train your mind for the next two weeks. It’s going to be 60 minutes of football,” Glenn said.

With this being Dakota Days, USD expects a large crowd, and they do not want to disappoint.

“It’s probably the biggest game some of them have ever played in. It’s a big game for our football program, big game for what direction we’re going to take, and we’ve got to make a statement in the Missouri Valley Football Conference,” Glenn said.

After last week’s DakotaDome crowd of 8,045, Saeger realizes what an engaged crowd can do for a team.

“To know that they are behind us when we make a big play is big,” Saeger said. “I think it gets the defense on their heels a little bit. It gets them thinking about the crowd and the crowd noise, so all the better.”

Running back Trevor Bouma is also excited for the crowd that homecoming week brings.

“It’s going to be a really exciting atmosphere, hopefully we can take the momentum and continue on with the sparks that crowd is going to bring,” Bouma said.

Dakota Days promises for a big game, but Glenn understands the distractions the players face during the week.
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“A lot of schools, even at our level, sequester their team,” Glenn said. “They take them and put them in a motel somewhere, it’s very expensive, but we don’t have the motels and I have always felt if you could get away from the maddening crowd and get in your own bed that’s where you would sleep the best.”

Homecoming week is full of parties, celebrations and potentially risky situations for the players, but Glenn said he doesn’t play Momma Goose for his players. He trusts them to make the right decisions.

“You just have to trust that your kids have put so much time and effort and love into this, that it’s important to them not to go out and screw anything up the night before a big game,” Glenn said.

When Youngstown State comes to town, one of the big story lines will be the arrival of former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini. Even with the media coverage this will bring, the players pay it no attention.

“It has nothing to do with us,” Saeger said. “We’ll just keep practicing and doing our thing.”

Kickoff between USD and Youngstown State is set for Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. in the DakotaDome.

(Photo: Breaking up a pass, junior Tyson Graham lays out during Saturday’s game against Drake University at the DakotaDome. The Coyotes blew out Drake 52-0 in their home opener and now face a bye week before Dakota Days on Oct. 3 against Youngstown State. Jacob Lutz / The Volante)