SIU football travels to South Dakota on Saturday for a matchup of two of the five teams at 2-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Coyotes were picked to finish last in the MVFC preseason poll. At 4-4 (2-3), South Dakota is in a tie for fifth place with SIU and three others. 

The Salukis (3-5, 2-3) are the only team of five with a losing overall record.

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SIU is 0-4 away from Saluki Stadium this year. The Coyotes are 2-1 at the DakotaDome.

South Dakota has had an inconsistent season. The ‘Yotes scored 52 points on Drake in a Sept. 19 shutout and beat North Dakota State 24-21 on the road Oct. 17, the latest NDSU loss of the season. However, USD opened the MVFC season by losing to Youngstown State and Western Illinois by a combined score of 71-24. 

South Dakota is coming off a 20-7 loss to Northern Iowa on Oct. 31. The Coyote’s defense held Northern Iowa junior quarterback Aaron Bailey, the Valley’s third-leading rusher at 85.4 yards per game, to 44 yards. SIU senior quarterback Mark Iannotti is the Salukis’ leading rusher at 67.0 yards per game.

Coyote junior running back Trevor Bouma is fifth in the MVFC for rushing yards averaging 72.5 a game, 0.4 yards behind NDSU junior tailback King Frazier, who had 177 yards and a touchdown against the Salukis on Oct. 31. 

South Dakota redshirt freshman defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel is on the College Football Performance Awards FCS Defensive End/Defensive Tackle watch list. Van Ginkel is sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision with 8.0 sacks and eighth nationally with 14.0 tackles for loss. He is second in the MVFC in both of those categories. 

Thomas Donley can be reached at [email protected] or at 618-536-3307