VERMILLION — The FCS Playoffs have returned to Vermillion.
Fourth-seeded South Dakota will host 13th-seeded Tarleton State in the second round of the playoffs on Saturday at the DakotaDome. Tarleton State is in its first go-around in the playoffs since moving to FCS in 2021, while USD received its second-straight first-round bye in the playoffs.
With a quarterfinal berth at stake, this is the first time the two programs will meet on the gridiron.
Here are three things I’ll be watching:
Can USD take care of the football?
This doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the Coyotes themselves. In fact, USD has been one of the best teams in the country when it comes to taking care of the ball and limiting the amount of turnovers forced by opposing teams. The Coyotes only turned the ball over six total times during the regular season. That was the second-best mark in the entire country. The only team who took better care of the ball was North Dakota State who only gave the ball away a staggering three times.
No, this has almost everything to do with Tarleton State. Just as the Coyotes have been one of the best teams in the country when it comes to limiting turnovers, the Texans have been one of the best teams in the country when it comes to forcing turnovers. They have 29 total takeaways, which is tied for third-most in the country. They also have the second-best turnover margin in the FCS (16) and only trail, NDSU.
So, it’s one of the best teams at forcing turnovers against one of the best ball security teams. Whoever walks out of the Dome with a positive turnover margin could very well walk out as winners, too.
How does USD slow down Kayvon Britten?
The Coyotes have already faced some of the best running backs the country has to offer during Valley play. But, if they want to advance to the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, they’ll have yet another high-quality running back to slow down. This time, it comes in the form of Kayvon Britten.
Britten has been one of the best backs in the country this year, running for 1,896 yards and 18 touchdowns. Both those marks are second in the FCS. He’s been a headache for opposing defenses and was also one of the main reasons Tarleton State defeated Drake in the first round. He rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns as the Texans took down the Bulldogs 43-29.
So, what’s USD’s plan to slow down the dynamic Texan? Head coach Bob Nielson responded to that earlier in the week.
“He's not very tall, really strong runner, he'll break tackles, but he's really good at finding a seam," Nielson said. "In their run game with the long mesh RPOs and things he's doing, they're getting him the ball and having him read and find that seam in the defense. ... You’ve got to do a good job of keeping the leverage tackling because he'll bounce the ball outside and take what should be a short gain and make it a long one.”
Does the bye affect USD negatively?
The first-round bye week was beneficial to the Coyotes in many ways. One of the large benefits is overall a week of rest and rehab for those who have been dealing with lingering injuries or got banged up in the final game against NDSU.
That being said, the NDSU win generated a lot of momentum and was USD’s third straight victory to conclude the regular season. The reason I wonder if there could be a slow start in the Coyotes' future is because it’s already happened once this season following a bye. Against Indiana State, USD struggled a bit to really get in a groove (albeit, the Coyotes eventually ran away with a 49-0 win). Not to mention, that’s also happened against other opponents such as Youngstown State and UNI, the latter of which was at home as well.
That’s not to say that USD will come out and fall behind by double-digits, as has happened multiple times this season. But, with this being the playoffs, anything can happen. And if the Coyotes start out slow, it may be easier said than done to make up that deficit quickly like they have in the past.
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