For South Dakota Coyotes, there's never been a better time for first win over South Dakota State

Someday, the South Dakota Coyotes are going to beat South Dakota State in football.

It hasn’t happened for 18 years. And since the Coyotes joined the Jackrabbits at the Division I level in 2012, the teams have faced off six times in the renewed rivalry, and all six times SDSU has emerged victorious. Sorry, Jacks fans, that streak won’t last forever.

But will it end Saturday?

SDSU (7-2) hosts USD (4-6) at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in a game that couldn’t be more important for the Jacks. While the Coyotes' season will end Saturday win or lose, the Jacks are already headed to the playoffs, and a seventh-straight win over USD would assure them of a playoff seed and first-round bye. It’s even possible that SDSU – with some help – could ascend as high as the No. 2 seed (behind North Dakota State), which would keep them home throughout the playoffs and on the opposite side of the bracket from the Bison.

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“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” said SDSU quarterback Taryn Christion. “I’ve got a lot of friends from USD that have already been throwing some shade at me and stuff like that. It’s a big rivalry game. We look forward to it every year and I know they look forward to it, too. And it’s Senior Day. It’s gonna be a fun weekend, and we know if we go 1-0 again we can look forward to more home games at Dana J. this year.”

Jacks fans have been speculating about what seed their team might land ever since their team scored a crucial road win at Illinois State three weeks ago. They’ve been scoreboard watching the rest of the FCS, celebrating losses by James Madison, Elon and Cal-Davis, losses that have enabled SDSU to re-enter the top five after a disappointing loss to Northern Iowa back on Oct. 20.

But here’s the thing: They’ve got to beat the Coyotes first. And that’s not a given.

Well, Vegas thinks it is.

SDSU opened as a 20-point favorite against the Coyotes, and that’s not too surprising. Since being held without a touchdown by UNI, the Jacks have averaged 51 points in their last three outings. The Coyotes, meanwhile, saw their season skidding to a halt with four straight losses before a strong defensive effort helped them to a 17-12 win over Western Illinois last week.

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While the oddsmakers usually tend to be spot on, it was probably a little jarring to both sides to see the spread set that high in a rivalry game. Then again, maybe Vegas knows USD hasn’t beaten SDSU since Mark Blackburn (yeah, the guy who played for the Sioux Falls Storm forever and is now the Dean of Students at Augustana) blocked a punt to spark the Coyotes to a victory that came three days before George W. Bush was elected president (in the year 2000).

Had USD’s losing streak reached five games last week in their home finale, it would probably be safe to say they’d checked out for the season and would roll over for SDSU on Saturday. But they didn’t and they won’t.

“It’s our last game and I think it’s really important for this program,” said Coyotes senior linebacker Alex Gray. “We’ve got a chance to do something that’s never been done. Last year we made the playoffs, which had never been done, this year we’re looking to knock off State – that’s never been done before. We’re gonna attack it with the same mentality as (against Western Illinois).”

SDSU is a 20-point favorite because they’ve been the better team this year, and playing at home swings the odds in their favor even more. But the Jacks aren’t exactly invincible, even in situations like this.

They lost to a 5-5 Northern Iowa team that got spanked last week by the same Youngstown State team SDSU beat convincingly. And they laid an egg on Hobo Day last year against UNI as well (OK, maybe they just struggle with the Panthers).

Still, USD had just four wins and were in the midst of a losing streak the last time they came to Brookings, in 2016, and nearly pulled the upset. SDSU rallied late for a 28-21 win that moved them one step closer to what would be their first Missouri Valley Football Conference championship.

This time SDSU has every bit as much to lose, and the Coyotes know it. Would knocking the Jacks out of the top 8 with their first win of the series make this a successful season for USD? No, but it would sure be the highlight.

As USD coach Bob Nielson said when asked how he’d rally his troops this week: “I don’t think there’ll be any trouble.”

The Division I rivalry

2012: SDSU 31, USD 8

2013: SDSU 27, USD 12

2014: SDSU 37, USD 14

2015: SDSU 30, USD 23

2016: SDSU 28, USD 21

2017: SDSU 31, USD 28