Coyotes look to keep postseason hopes alive against Southern Illinois
After a tough loss at the hands of Northern Iowa last week, USD looks toward the future and a matchup against Southern Illinois.
The Salukis are 3-5 this year (2-3 in conference play), but their record is deceiving. All of their losses have come within six points including a shoot-out loss to Indiana at 47-48.
The Coyotes know that if they want to secure a postseason spot, these last three games are must-wins.
“We’re trying to keep it one game at a time still, that’s what we’ve done all year we’ve done a good job of it. We’ve just got to come out here and play like we know we can all three phases of the game and I think we’ll be alright,” said junior quarterback Ryan Saeger. Saeger is currently sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in total offense.
“One game at a time” has been echoed throughout the Coyote team all year. The team has looked to move passed wins just as much as they moved passed losses.
“This (playoffs) is all of our motivation. What everybody is doing is working towards this game so then the next game matters and then the next game matters. I think as long as we continue that trend only great things can happen,” said associate head coach Wesley Beschorner.
Beschorner is not alone in his observations.
“We’ve got to defend the Dome and get after these guys. They’re a good squad, good athletes, good in space but I think we’ll be ready to go. We’re still fighting for a ticket to the playoff and we’ve got to win a couple more conference games here,” Saeger said.
Playoffs are not the only motivation for the Coyotes, however. USD has a chance to finish above .500 this season for the first time since 2011 and head coach Joe Glenn has a huge milestone right in front of him.
“We have a lot of silent motivations at hand over these next three games. One of them is getting Coach Glenn his 200th win, he has 199 right now and we’re trying to get the 200th,” said senior linebacker Keyen Lage. “We’ve got to take the rest of the season day by day, we’re not looking at it like we have to win these next three games. We’re thinking we’ve got to win today or we’ve got to win tomorrow,”
Southern Illinois is No. 1 in the conference in total offense, but is second to last in defense. The Coyotes know that, and just like every conference game, they are in for a fight.
“The question this week is can you play perfect? We’re looking at ourselves in the mirror and saying, can we play perfect? We’re going to have to in order to win some of these Missouri Valley games,” Lage said. “This one’s going to be a slug fest. Southern Illinois is the best offense in the conference and we’re going to have to be perfect to win this game.”
The Coyotes are confident that they are capable of winning out, they just need things to go right.
All year coach Beschorner has talked about getting all three teams – offense, defense and special teams – in sync. When this has happened USD has seen great success, including in the games against North Dakota State, Drake and Missouri State. When it hasn’t gone their way they have struggled, such as in the cases of Youngstown State and Western Illinois.
The Coyotes know they need to click in order to get a win this weekend. The Coyotes will take on Southern Illinois this Saturday in the DakotaDome at 1 p.m.
“We’re trying to keep it one game at a time still, that’s what we’ve done all year we’ve done a good job of it. We’ve just got to come out here and play like we know we can all three phases of the game and I think we’ll be alright,” Saeger said.
After a strong start at UNI, the USD offense struggled. USD gaining and keeping momentum is something that must happen if they hope to win.
“Starting off fast and finishing strong is one of the things we’ve talked about. Really sustaining our level of energy and level of play throughout the game is something that we’ve been able to do in a few games and a couple of games we haven’t. I think just sustaining quality play in all three phases will help is win the game,” Beschorner said.
