USD readies for #17 Southern Illinois

VERMILLION, S.D. (KELO) — The USD football team now sits fifth in the FCS polls at 2-1, and they are set to begin conference play Saturday at the DakotaDome before going on the road.

The Coyotes begin their conference schedule with the best defense in the Missouri Valley, and they’re looking to maintain that rep going up against a 2-2 Southern Illinois team that passes 61% of the time.

“They’ve leaned a little heavier on the passing game the last few weeks, and so they’re going to make you defend the field from sideline to sideline, and they’re going to make you defend the field vertically as well,” head coach Bob Nielson said.

Coach Nielson commends his D-line for their ability to pressure the quarterback, as USD has sacked their opponents six times for a loss of 40 yards.

“That starting front, I thought it was really good against the run and then our ability to be able to put pressure on a quarterback, rushing four, which we were able to do consistently throughout the day is big defensively,” coach Nielson said.

Offensively, the Yotes have lethal weapons on the ground with two of the top ten rushers in the conference in Charles Pierre Jr. and Travis Theis. The duo combines for more than 150 yards a game.

“Those two are complementing each other really, really well right now and it allows us to keep a really fresh running back in the football game,” Nielson said.

The Yotes will look to put Southern Illinois’ defense on notice Saturday with some misdirection.

“We saw a couple of reverses and some speed motion looks that are things that we need, I think it fits our talent level right now offensively,” coach said.

The two teams will go head-to-head on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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