South Dakota led North Dakota 20-3 at halftime Saturday.

The Coyotes looked ready to cruise past a top-10 opponent.

Then they apparently decided winning comfortably wasn’t particularly interesting.

UND scored 17 unanswered points, tied the game with 45 seconds remaining, and nearly won it in overtime before a holding penalty erased a touchdown.

The Fighting Hawks settled for a field goal.

Charles Pierre Jr. ran for 11 yards.

Austyn Modrzewski found Brayden White in the corner of the end zone.

South Dakota 26, North Dakota 23.

Just your average Saturday in Vermillion.

The Coyotes are now 7-2 and 4-1 in the Valley, riding a four-game winning streak.

Their reward?

A trip to Brookings.

On Halloween.

To play South Dakota State.

Of course.

137 Years. One Very Long Road Drought.

South Dakota and South Dakota State first played football in 1889.

That’s 137 years of history.

Saturday will be the 120th meeting, making this the second-most-played FCS rivalry west of the Mississippi River.

SDSU leads the series 58-54-7.

And while the all-time series is remarkably close, the modern history has been a little more frustrating for USD.

Since the rivalry resumed in 2012, the Coyotes have beaten the Jackrabbits three times.

2019: USD 24, SDSU 21.

2021: USD 23, SDSU 20.

2025: USD 24, SDSU 17.

Three wins.

All in Vermillion.

Brookings has been another story.

The last time USD won there was November 4, 2000.

Bill Clinton was president.

The first Fast and the Furious movie hadn’t been released.

And freshman Dusty Stamer was running for 242 yards in a 41-28 Coyote victory.

Since then?

Seven trips. Seven losses.

The most recent was particularly painful.

In 2024, USD took No. 3 SDSU to overtime before falling 20-17.

Twenty-six years without a win in Brookings.

That’s the streak South Dakota is trying to end Saturday.

SDSU Isn’t Unbeatable. It’s Still Really Good.

The Jackrabbits enter at 6-2 and 3-1 in the Valley, ranked No. 5 in both major FCS polls entering the week.

And the numbers look familiar.

SDSU is averaging approximately 37 points and 473 yards per game, including 263 on the ground.

Defensively, the Jacks are allowing fewer than 16 points per contest.

But the schedule tells a more interesting story.

SDSU opened with a 70-7 win over Stetson before losing 34-18 at Northwestern.

The Jacks then beat New Haven 57-14, survived Youngstown State 27-20, handled Eastern Illinois 42-7 and won 31-14 at Illinois State.

That earned them the No. 1 ranking.

Then North Dakota happened.

UND jumped ahead 21-0 and beat SDSU 21-10 in Grand Forks.

Last Saturday, the Jackrabbits responded with a 42-9 win over Murray State.

So SDSU has generally dominated teams it should beat.

But Northwestern and North Dakota both found ways to make the Jackrabbits uncomfortable.

And USD just beat North Dakota.

Which means absolutely nothing in the transitive-property nightmare that is the Missouri Valley.

But it’s still fun to think about.

Meet #7 Chase Mason

SDSU’s quarterback situation has been one of the bigger storylines this season.

#7 Chase Mason suffered a leg injury late in the first half against Youngstown State on September 19.

He missed the next two games while #11 Josh Holst stepped in and helped the Jacks win both.

Mason returned against North Dakota.

It wasn’t pretty.

14-of-33.

169 yards.

10 points for the SDSU offense.

UND made him uncomfortable throughout the afternoon.

Against Murray State last weekend, Mason looked much better, completing 18-of-26 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown without an interception.

So he’s back.

The question is whether he’s completely healthy.

Mason isn’t strictly a pocket passer. He rushed for 464 yards in a reserve role in 2024, and his mobility is an important part of the offense.

After dealing with Beau Brungard, DJ Williams and Jerry Kaminski over the last several weeks, USD has plenty of experience preparing for quarterbacks who can move.

Whether Mason’s leg allows him to do everything SDSU normally asks of him is worth watching.

But the bigger concern might be standing behind him.

#34 Josiah Johnson Is a Problem

Here’s where the SDSU offense really starts.

#34 Josiah Johnson has rushed for 826 yards through eight games.

Against Youngstown State?

30 carries. 238 yards. Two touchdowns.

He added 121 against Eastern Illinois and 92 yards with two scores against Murray State.

And he’s not alone.

#32 James Basinger has another 558 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 39, 48 and 66 yards this season.

SDSU can rotate backs without losing much.

That’s a problem for a defense that allowed 668 rushing yards in two weeks against Boise State and Youngstown State.

The good news?

USD has been much better since.

The Coyotes held North Dakota to 112 rushing yards Saturday.

Now comes an SDSU rushing attack averaging more than 260.

If Johnson and Basinger consistently reach the second level, it’s going to be a long afternoon.

And Then There’s #19 Jack Smith

USD fans probably remember #19 Jack Smith.

Last November, he took the first offensive play 75 yards for a touchdown.

Eleven seconds into the game, SDSU led 7-0.

Wonderful start.

For them.

Smith remains a dangerous weapon and caught six passes for 66 yards against Murray State.

The Jacks also have #1 Lofton O’Groske and #12 Grahm Goering, who caught a touchdown last weekend.

There’s plenty of talent around Mason.

But I think USD would be perfectly happy forcing him to throw 35 or 40 times rather than watching Johnson and Basinger control the afternoon.

North Dakota forced Mason into 33 attempts.

SDSU scored 10.

That feels like a better blueprint than trying to survive another 200-yard rushing performance.

Charles Pierre Is Back. The Offensive Line Has Work to Do.

The best development from the North Dakota game?

#3 Charles Pierre Jr. returned.

After missing Murray State, Pierre rushed for 128 yards on 21 carries against UND.

And in overtime, with the game on the line, USD handed him the football.

Eleven yards.

First down.

Winning touchdown on the next play.

Pierre has now topped 100 yards in three consecutive games he’s played.

That’s encouraging.

But the rest of the offensive performance wasn’t.

USD led UND 20-3 at halftime and then went scoreless for the entire second half.

Modrzewski threw for just 159 yards.

He was sacked five times.

And South Dakota committed 14 penalties for 126 yards.

Fourteen.

That’s normally how you lose a football game.

Now the Coyotes face an SDSU defense allowing only 119 rushing yards and roughly 295 total yards per game.

The Jackrabbits have a talented front featuring #5 Cullen McShane, #51 Logan Green and #3 Dontay Johnson.

USD needs Pierre.

But it also needs better protection, fewer penalties and an offense that doesn’t disappear for 30 minutes.

Brookings isn’t the place to try that again.

Could College GameDay Come to Brookings?

Probably not.

But it’s worth mentioning.

ESPN brought College GameDay to Brookings in 2019 for No. 1 NDSU at No. 3 SDSU.

Seven years later, the Jackrabbits are hosting another top-10 rivalry with major conference and playoff implications.

On Halloween.

And the game is already on ESPNU.

That’s a pretty entertaining pitch.

The problem is that ESPN has plenty of major FBS games to choose from.

As of this writing, Brookings hasn’t been announced as the destination.

So I wouldn’t start making a sign for Pat McAfee just yet.

But if GameDay ever wanted to return to South Dakota, this wouldn’t be a bad excuse.

What I’m Watching

1. Pierre vs. SDSU’s Front

This is the biggest offensive matchup for USD.

Pierre has been excellent when healthy.

SDSU is allowing just 119 rushing yards per game.

If the Coyotes can establish the run, everything else becomes easier.

If they can’t, Modrzewski could spend another afternoon running from a very good defensive front.

2. Can USD Handle Johnson and Basinger?

SDSU has two backs capable of taking over a game.

The Coyotes have improved dramatically against the run since the Boise and Youngstown losses.

Saturday will tell us how much of that improvement is real.

Keeping SDSU out of second-and-short needs to be a priority.

3. How Healthy Is Chase Mason?

He played against UND.

He played against Murray State.

But how much of his usual mobility is available?

USD has faced enough running quarterbacks this season to understand the assignment.

Making Mason uncomfortable without giving SDSU’s backs running lanes is the challenge.

4. Can USD Play Four Quarters?

The Coyotes looked outstanding for one half against North Dakota.

Then they stopped scoring.

Five sacks.

Fourteen penalties.

An entire second half without a point.

SDSU is too good to expect another escape act.

USD needs the version of its offense we saw against Southern Illinois, not the one that spent the second half against UND trying to get out of its own way.

5. Twenty-Six Years

This one deserves the final spot.

USD hasn’t won in Brookings since 2000.

The Coyotes have beaten the Jackrabbits three times in the FCS era, all inside the DakotaDome.

They know they can beat SDSU.

They did it last November.

But winning in Brookings?

That’s still missing.

And there’s no better time to change that than Halloween, with both teams ranked in the top 10 and the conference race on the line.

Halloween in Brookings

South Dakota is 7-2.

South Dakota State is 6-2.

Both are ranked in the top 10.

Both have beaten good football teams.

Both have shown they’re vulnerable.

Last year, USD beat SDSU by seven.

The year before, SDSU needed overtime to beat USD by three.

Now they meet for the 120th time, 137 years after the rivalry began.

And South Dakota has a chance to end a road drought that has lasted more than a quarter century.

South Dakota at South Dakota State

Saturday, October 31

3:00 p.m. CT

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium — Brookings

ESPNU

The Coyotes survived one nightmare ending Saturday.

Hopefully this Nightmare belongs to the Jackrabbits.