NDSU hosts South Dakota on homecoming weekend

North Dakota State hosts the South Dakota Coyotes to open Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

The Coyotes come into the Fargodome hoping to pull a massive upset and beat the Bison for the first time since 2015 when they hit a last-second field goal to win 24-21. They come into Fargo this Saturday with a 2-1 record, they lost the opener to #23 Missouri 35-10 but have won two straight defeating St. Thomas and Lamar. They are a balanced offense averaging 151 yards through the air and 149 yards on the ground per contest, which equates to 23.0 points per game which is good for 66th in the country. They are led by Aidan Bouman who is a big QB, he is 6 foot 5,245 pounds and a very accurate passer who has passed for 447 yards and four touchdowns as well as a 61.3 completion percentage which is good for 42nd in the country. They have a two-headed monster a running back with Travis Theis and Nate Thomas, each have run for over 200 yards so far this year. 

Defensively the Coyotes are 6th in scoring defense only giving up 13.67 points a game. South Dakota's big defensive players are led by corners Dennis Shorter and Myles Harden as well as a pair of preseason 1st team all-conference linebackers in Brock Mogenson and Stephen Hillis. Bob Nielson's team is balanced offensively and defensively which could cause problems for a Bison team that is well-rested and ready for the challenge that the Coyotes bring.

The Bison open conference play with complete confidence after what turned out to be two ranked wins in three non-conference games as Eastern Washington is now ranked 19th and Central Arkansas is now ranked 25th. NDSU's defense has been fantastic giving up 16 points a game which is good for 10th in the nation as well as an offense that is averaging 42.7 points a game which is ranked 5th in the country. It is also homecoming week on the NDSU campus so this week is more than just the conference opener but it might be the biggest home crowd they get all year.

The North Dakota State Bison host the South Dakota Coyotes inside the Fargdome, kickoff is set for 1 PM.