Fighting Hawks drop to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in MVFC play
VERMILLION, S.D. – No. 13 North Dakota mustered only 258 yards of total offense and one touchdown, falling to South Dakota, 20-13, from the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. on Saturday.
UND (2-3, 0-2 MVFC) just couldn’t seem to find its rhythm on offense, entering the red zone only twice in the contest to drop its second straight conference bout.
For the second straight week, the Fighting Hawks defense swallowed up the attack of the Coyotes for a majority of the tilt. UND held the Yotes to just 179 yards through the air; however, the hosts held the ball for over 34 minutes and rushed for 189 yards to notch the upset.
Tommy Schuster finished 24-of-37 for 208 yards and a touchdown while USD’s Carson Camp was sacked three times but completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and two touchdowns.
The ground game couldn’t find its footing on the turf in Vermillion, with Otis Weah scampering for 58 yards on 15 carries to lead the Hawks. Travis Theis broke out with 138 yards on 23 carries, including a few key runs on the final drive of the game, to lead all rushers for USD.
Neither team turned the ball over, but the UND special teams came up with a big play on a blocked punt by Jayson Coley.
South Dakota has proved to a team that thrives in the first half, and it looked that way early. The Coyotes punched it in on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead, and looked poised to do it again on the second, but the UND defense held strong to force a field goal.
Facing a 10-0 deficit on the road, Schuster and offense got it going on a big third down play when the sophomore quarterback found Jake Richter for 29-yard strike to move into USD territory. That play seemed to ignite the offense on the drive, with Schuster dropping a pass to Brock Boltmann for the touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7.
Despite a blocked punt by Coley as well as a pair of sacks on defense, UND could not get inside the red zone for the remainder of the half to send both teams into the locker room with a 10-7 Coyote lead.
The opening of the second half mirrored the start of the first, with UND going 3-and-out before a 9-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a touchdown pass to give the Coyotes a 17-7 lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
After a stop by the UND defense, the offense was able to move into scoring position to cut the game to one possession once again. Brady Stevens connected on a 41-yard attempt, the first of his career, to trim the deficit to 17-10 at the end of the three quarters.
The fourth quarter turned into a kicking contest, with both sides trading a field goal to keep it a one-score game at 20-13, but South Dakota was able to pick up a few key first downs to run out the clock and hold on for the 20-13 victory.
NOTES: UND drops to 62-31-5 in the all-time series and 25-21-3 in Vermillion … The Hawks have now dropped three straight at the DakotaDome dating back to 2008 … UND was penalized six times for 50 yards while USD had four flags for 50 yards … USD won the time of possession battle, 34:12-25:48 … UND finished just 2-of-11 on third down … Brady Stevens connected on both of his field goal attempts, the first two of his career … Cade Peterson booted three of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
Game Recap: Football | 10/9/2021 5:42:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com