2021 South Dakota Coyotes football team

The 2021 South Dakota Coyotes football team represented the University of South Dakota in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Coyotes competed as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and were led by sixth-year head coach Bob Nielson. They played their home games at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, South Dakota.

2021 South Dakota Coyotes football
FCS Playoffs First Round, L 10–22 vs. Southern Illinois
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 18
FCS Coaches	No. 20
Record	7–5 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach	Bob Nielson (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ted Schlafke (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Travis Johansen (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	DakotaDome
Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 14 Missouri State ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 16 Southern Illinois ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 18 South Dakota ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
No. 4 South Dakota State ^		5	–	3					11	–	4
No. 23 Northern Iowa ^		4	–	4					6	–	6
Indiana State		3	–	5					5	–	6
North Dakota		3	–	5					5	–	6
Western Illinois		2	–	6					2	–	9
Illinois State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Youngstown State		2	–	6					3	–	7
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	7:00 p.m.	at Kansas*		David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	ESPN+	L 14–17	26,103
September 11	1:00 p.m.	Northern Arizona*		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD		W 34–7	5,247
September 18	7:00 p.m.	at Cal Poly*		Alex G. Spanos Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA		W 48–14	11,075
September 25	7:00 p.m.	at No. 18 Missouri State		Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO		L 23–31	12,738
October 2	2:00 p.m.	Indiana State		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD		W 38–10	6,267
October 9	2:00 p.m.	No. 13 North Dakota		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (Sitting Bull Trophy)	ESPN+	W 20–13	5,304
October 16	4:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Northern Iowa	No. 21	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 34–21	7,202
October 23	1:00 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 15	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	L 14–20	5,415
November 6	12:00 p.m.	at Western Illinois	No. 23	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	ESPN+	W 42–21	1,972
November 13	1:00 p.m.	No. 4 South Dakota State	No. 19	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (rivalry)		W 23–20	9,068
November 20	2:30 p.m.	at No. 4 North Dakota State	No. 16	Fargodome Fargo, ND		L 24–52	16,252
November 27	5:00 p.m.	No. 21 Southern Illinois*	No. 17	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN+	L 10–22	3,597
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[1][2]

Game summaries

At Kansas

See also: 2021 Kansas Jayhawks football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
South Dakota	0	0	7	7	14
Kansas	0	7	3	7	17

Game information

Second Quarter (0:24) KAN – Lawrence Arnold 8 yard pass from Jason Bean, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 7 plays, 37 yards, 3:18; KAN 7–0) Third Quarter (6:57) KAN – Jacob Borcila 30 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 50 yards, 6:10; KAN 10–0) (3:31) SD – Shomari Lawrence 29 yard rush, Mason Lorber kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:23, KAN 10–7) Fourth Quarter (5:13) SD – Travis Theis 25 yard rush, Mason Lorber kick (Drive: 3 plays, 46 yards, 1:01; SD 14–10) (1:10) KAN – Lawrence Arnold 16 yard pass from Jason Bean, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 3:56; KAN 17–14)

South Dakota Coyotes (0–0) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (0–0)

at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS

• Date: Friday, September 3, 2021
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: sunny • Temperature: 80°F
• Game attendance: 26,103
• Referee: Derek Anderson
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Mark Neely, Barrett Brooks
• Pregame line: Kansas -11.5

Statistics	SD	KAN
First downs	14	12
Total yards	262	245
Rushes/yards	41/164	41/82
Passing yards	98	163
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–22–0	17–26–0
Time of possession	25:52	34:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota	Passing	Carson Camp	10–22, 98 yards
	Rushing	Travis Theis	18 carries, 96 yards
	Receiving	Kody Case	2 receptions, 37 yards
Kansas	Passing	Jason Bean	17–26, 163 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Jason Bean	15 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Mason Fairchild	4 receptions, 58 yards

Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lumberjacks	0	0	7	0	7
Coyotes	17	10	7	0	34

See also: 2021 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

at Cal Poly

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	21	20	0	7	48
Mustangs	7	0	0	7	14

See also: 2021 Cal Poly Mustangs football team

at No. 18 Missouri State

See also: 2021 Missouri State Bears football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
South Dakota	14	9	0	0	23
No. 18 Missouri State	7	7	3	14	31

Game information

First Quarter (12:19) USD - Travis Their 8 yard run, Mason Lorber kick (Drive: 1 play, 21 yards, 00:08; USD 0-7) (09:28) USD - Kody Case 21 yard pass from Carson Camp, Mason Lorber kick (Drive: 1 play, 21 yards, 00:08; USD 0-14) (05:38) MSU - Jason Shelley 26 yard run, Jose Pizano kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 03:50; MSU 7-14) Second Quarter (01:52) MSU - Ty Scott 46 yard pass from Jason Shelley, Jose Pizano kick (Drive: 1 play, 46 yards, 00:08; TIED 14-14) (01:38) USD - Wesley Eliodor 99 yard kickoff return, Mason Lorber kick blocked (USD 20-14) (00:00) USD - Mason Lorber 27 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards, 1:05; USD 23-14) Third Quarter (10:21) MSU - Jose Pizano 42 yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards, 4:31; USD 23-17) Fourth Quarter (13:02) MSU - Kevon Latulas 3 yard pass from Jason Shelley, Jose Pizano kick (Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 6:19; MSU 23-24) (04:42) MSU - Jason Shelley 12 yard run, Jose Pizano kick (Drive: 4 plays, 27 yards, 1:34; MSU 23-31)

Game Four: South Dakota Coyotes (2–1) at #18 Missouri State Bears (1–1)

at Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO

• Date: Saturday, September 25, 2021
• Game time: 7:05 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), Winds N NE 1 mph; Clear and Cool
• Game attendance: 12,738
• Referee: Aaron Adams • Umpire: Keith Wohlers • Linesman: John Winter • Line judge: Scott Landy • Back judge: Kurt Dingmann • Field judge: Brad Brunet • Side judge: Leanne Surmin
• TV announcers (ESPN3): Scott Warmann, Danan Hughes, Kelly Burke
• Box Score

Statistics	USD	MSU
First downs	14	22
Total yards	361	439
Rushes/yards	33/ 130	46/ 158
Passing yards	231	281
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12-29-2	19-29-0
Time of possession	24:11	35:49

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota	Passing	Carson Camp	12/29, 231 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Nate Thomas	4 carries, 60 yards
	Receiving	Carter Bell	3 catches, 102 yards
Missouri State	Passing	Jason Shelley	19/29, 281 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Tobias Little	14 carries, 71 yards
	Receiving	Ty Scott	7 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD

Indiana State

See also: 2021 Indiana State Sycamores football team

No. 13 North Dakota

See also: 2021 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team and Sitting Bull Trophy

at No. 16 Northern Iowa

See also: 2021 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

Illinois State

See also: 2021 Illinois State Redbirds football team

at Western Illinois

See also: 2021 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

No. 4 South Dakota State

See also: 2021 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team and South Dakota–South Dakota State football rivalry

at No. 4 North Dakota State

See also: 2021 North Dakota State Bison football team

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Coyotes	0	3	14	7	24
No. 4 Bison	21	7	10	14	52

South Dakota Coyotes (7-3) vs. North Dakota State Bison (9-1)

at Fargodome, Fargo, ND

• Date: November 20, 2021
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. (CT)
• Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 16,252
• TV: ESPN+

Statistics	South Dakota	North Dakota State
First downs	15	27
Plays–yards	54-293	70-522
Rushes–yards	27-97	47-303
Passing yards	196	219
Passing: comp–att–int	21-27-1	19-23-0
Time of possession	24:01	35:59

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota	Passing	Carson Camp	21/27, 196 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Nate Thomas	12 car, 60 yds
	Receiving	Jeremiah Webb	3 rec, 54 yds
North Dakota State	Passing	Cam Miller	19/23, 219 yds, TD
	Rushing	Jalen Bussey	5 car, 62 yds, TD
	Receiving	Phoenix Sproles	2 rec, 87 yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP USD NDSU 1st 6:46 12 62 5:37 NDSU TaMerik Williams (#22) 1-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 0 7 1st 5:17 1 75 0:12 NDSU Phoenix Sproles (#11) 75-yard touchdown reception from Cam Miller (#7), Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 0 14 1st 0:18 6 49 3:06 NDSU Cam Miller (#7) 8-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 0 21 2nd 12:00 1 43 0:11 NDSU Christian Watson (#1) 43-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 0 28 2nd 6:20 11 71 5:35 USD 25-yard field goal by Mason Lorber (#31) 3 28 3rd 12:42 USD Punt returned 47 yards for touchdown by Carter Bell (#14), Mason Lorber (#31) kick good 10 28 3rd 10:01 7 36 2:34 NDSU 30-yard field goal by Jake Reinholz (#37) 10 31 3rd 4:05 9 55 4:08 NDSU TaMerik Williams (#22) 8-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 10 38 3rd 3:15 4 75 0:50 USD Mike Mansaray (#21) 40-yard touchdown reception from Carson Camp (#18), Mason Lorber (#31) kick good 17 38 4th 14:26 7 65 3:49 NDSU Jalen Bussey (#21) 20-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 17 45 4th 10:48 7 31 3:32 NDSU Kobe Johnson (#4) 2-yard touchdown run, Jake Reinholz (#37) kick good 17 52 4th 5:28 13 75 5:20 USD JJ Galbreath (#82) 8-yard touchdown reception from Carson Camp (#18), Mason Lorber (#31) kick good 24 52 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 52

NCAA Division I FCS playoffs

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season § Postseason

No. 21 Southern Illinois (First Round)

See also: 2021 Southern Illinois Salukis football team