Coyotes to Face Jackrabbits in Top Five Showdown

The University of South Dakota Coyotes take on the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits in Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) play this Saturday, Oct. 26. The game, which takes place in Brookings this season, features top five ranked teams in the FCS.

This will be the 118th matchup between the two schools’ football programs. In the all-time series, SDSU leads 57-53 over USD. USD’s most recent win took place in 2021 in Vermillion, which was the last-second, walkoff, hail mary touchdown to beat the Jackrabbits.

The most recent contest between the teams took place last year in Vermillion, in the matchup USD struck first via a Will Leyland field goal, but failed to score again, losing the game 37-3.

The Jackrabbits continued their season success after beating the Coyotes in 2023, into post season play. In the post season, SDSU was nearly perfect defensively, and became back-to-back FCS national champions.

However this year’s USD and SDSU matchup is unlike the last. SDSU is coming off of their first conference loss since the loss to the Coyotes in 2021. The Jackrabbit loss last week was to North Dakota State University, who was then ranked No. 2 in the nation. 

While USD is coming into the game undefeated in conference play and is fresh off of the program’s first ever win at Youngstown State. 

This year’s game will feature two of the premier teams in the nation at the FCS level. The outcome of Saturday’s contest holds strong implications for the MVFC title race and the upcoming FCS playoffs.

The kickoff time is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT from Brookings. The game will also air nationally on ESPNU.