# 2020 South Dakota Coyotes football team

The 2020 South Dakota Coyotes football team represented the University of South Dakota in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Bob Nielson and played their home games in the DakotaDome. They played as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| February 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Illinois State | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN+ | W 27–20 | 1,853 |
| March 4 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 4 North Dakota | No. 20 | Alerus CenterGrand Forks, ND (Sitting Bull Trophy) | ESPN+ | L 10–21 | 3,491 |
| March 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Missouri State | No. 21 | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 2,051 |
| March 20 | 11:00 a.m. | at Youngstown State | | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | L 10–28 | 2,159 |
| March 27 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 2 North Dakota State | | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | Canceled | |
| April 2 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 23 Northern Iowa | | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN+ | Canceled | |
| April 10 | 2:00 p.m. | at South Dakota State | | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD (rivalry) | ESPN+ | Canceled | |
| April 17 | 6:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | MVFC TV | Canceled | |
| Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||
* ↑ On April 5, 2021, Western Illinois announced that it was opting out of the remainder of the 2021 spring season due to a lack of available players.

## Game summaries
### At No. 7 Illinois State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 0 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| No. 7 Illinois State | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
at Hancock Stadium, Normal, Illinois
* Date: February 27
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny and clear, 48 °F (9 °C)
* Game attendance: 1,853
* Referee: Art Brown
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SDAK | ILST |
| First downs | 17 | 18 |
| Total yards | 300 | 447 |
| Rushing yards | 79 | 167 |
| Passing yards | 221 | 280 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 7 |
| Time of possession | 30:14 | 29:46 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Dakota | Passing | Carson Camp | 20/35, 221 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| South Dakota | Rushing | Kai Henry | 16 rushes, 35 yards |
| South Dakota | Receiving | Carter Bell | 4 receptions, 64 yards, TD |
| Illinois State | Passing | Bryce Jefferson | 15/33, 280 yards, TD, 4 INT |
| Illinois State | Rushing | Phaleak Brown | 17 rushes, 86 yards |
| Illinois State | Receiving | Austin Nagel | 5 receptions, 132 yards |

### At No. 4 North Dakota

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 20 Coyotes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 4 Fighting Hawks | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
at Alerus Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota
* Date: March 4
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 3,491
* Referee: Andrew Speciale
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SDAK | UND |
| First downs | 18 | 25 |
| Total yards | 328 | 489 |
| Rushing yards | 129 | 249 |
| Passing yards | 199 | 240 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 24:52 | 35:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Dakota | Passing | Carson Camp | 19/31, 193 yards, INT |
| South Dakota | Rushing | Kai Henry | 15 rushes, 84 yards, TD |
| South Dakota | Receiving | Caleb Vander Esch | 7 receptions, 57 yards |
| North Dakota | Passing | Tommy Schuster | 23/35, 219 yards, INT |
| North Dakota | Rushing | Otis Weah | 16 rushes, 163 yards, 2 TD |
| North Dakota | Receiving | Garett Maag | 3 receptions, 75 yards |

### Missouri State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| No. 21 Coyotes | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at DakotaDome, Vermillion, South Dakota
* Date: March 13
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 2,051
* Referee: Rick Warne
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | MOST | SDAK |
| First downs | 18 | 26 |
| Total yards | 330 | 440 |
| Rushing yards | 163 | 102 |
| Passing yards | 167 | 339 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:51 | 28:09 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Missouri State | Passing | Jaden Johnson | 16/25, 136 yards |
| Missouri State | Rushing | Jeremiah Wilson | 13 rushes, 53 yards, TD |
| Missouri State | Receiving | Damoriea Vick | 4 receptions, 68 yards |
| South Dakota | Passing | Carson Camp | 22/34, 339 yards, TD, INT |
| South Dakota | Rushing | Kai Henry | 23 rushes, 76 yards, TD |
| South Dakota | Receiving | Carter Bell | 6 receptions, 106 yards, TD |

### At Youngstown State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Penguins | 8 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 28 |
at Stambaugh Stadium, Youngstown, Ohio
* Date: March 20
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
* Game weather: Sunny, 43 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 2,159
* Referee: Art Brown
* TV: ESPN+
* Box score, Recap
| Statistics | SDAK | YSU |
| First downs | 13 | 21 |
| Total yards | 226 | 388 |
| Rushing yards | 12 | 304 |
| Passing yards | 214 | 84 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 21:48 | 38:12 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| South Dakota | Passing | Carson Camp | 21/30, 214 yards, INT |
| South Dakota | Rushing | Travis Theis | 8 rushes, 15 yards, TD |
| South Dakota | Receiving | Caleb Vander Esch | 9 receptions, 102 yards |
| Youngstown State | Passing | Marik Waid | 9/13, 84 yards, TD |
| Youngstown State | Rushing | Jaleel McLaughlin | 28 rushes, 166 yards |
| Youngstown State | Receiving | Malick Mbodj | 2 receptions, 25 yards |