VERMILLION — Two straight games, two straight fourth-quarter comebacks for South Dakota football.
Just two weeks after a thrilling comeback against North Dakota State, USD needed some more second-half magic to knock off Tarleton State in the second round of the FCS playoffs. At times during both games, it all but appeared that USD could be dead in the water.
In the North Dakota State matchup on Nov. 23, it was a 20-play, 99-yard drive from the Bison that took nearly 11 minutes off the clock and extended their lead to 11 with only 4:10 left to play. Despite that, the Coyotes scored 12 points in the final four minutes to claim victory 29-28. Then this past Saturday, USD tied the game up at 21 a piece in the third quarter before Tarleton State scored a go-ahead touchdown and forced a Coyote three and out shortly after.
Things could have gotten out of hand from there had the Texans scored and gone up by two possessions, but the Coyotes were undeterred again. Three second-half interceptions — including one on the drive where Tarleton State could have gone in front by multiple scores — spearheaded USD to an eventual 11-point victory behind 21 fourth-quarter points.
USD seems to be making a habit out of these comebacks. Although teams would probably rather have the game in hand by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, head coach Bob Nielson said the last two games have shown a lot from this group.
“I think it shows that we're a team that's going to play with confidence no matter what the situation is,” Nielson said. “You play really good teams, which we have the last two weeks for sure with North Dakota State in the last game of the regular season. And now that you're in the playoffs, you're going play a really good team every week. You're going to find yourself in situations that are not ideal and so you have to be able to respond to those. I thought that was one thing that our team did on Saturday is we responded at multiple times throughout the course of the game and those are those responses were critical to us winning.”
Even though the last two games for USD have made national headlines regarding the team’s resiliency, it’s certainly not the first time this season that the Coyotes have displayed their game-winning DNA.
USD could point as far back as the Wisconsin game. The Coyotes had chances in the second half to tie or even take the lead. They still lost, but to hang with a Big Ten team is nothing to sneeze at. Then there were the games against Youngstown State and UND in which USD fell behind by 14 points and both times USD went on to win on the road at opponents where the Coyotes had historically struggled.
Not to mention, the narrow defeat to South Dakota State can be put right up there as well. The Coyotes were almost dead in the water in the fourth quarter before flipping the script when Dennis Shorter forced a fumble that Mi’Quise Grace returned for the game-tying touchdown. Like the Wisconsin game, USD went on to lose in overtime, but it again showed the team’s ability to fight back in a less-than-ideal situation.
So what’s been one of the keys? Nielson said it’s been about the tight-knit chemistry the entire team has developed.
“Guys believe in each other and we’ve got a team that’s close in that regard,” Nielson said. “Saturday's game was a really good example of the first half. The offense responded when we needed to respond to their touchdown drives. In the second half, when we stalled out on that opening possession, the defense responds by generating a turnover and did that one other time in the half as well. When guys trust each other, believe in each other, I think sometimes they make those kinds of situations happen. And then we were able to capitalize on them.”
USD’s team-wide trust and prior experience in close games will be important, especially with more challenges on the horizon. The next test is against fifth-seeded UC Davis on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Although those late-game comebacks have tested the Coyotes, Nielson said they will be helpful if they find themselves behind late in a game again.
“I think the more unique situations you play in and the more your guys experience those kinds of situations, the better and more resilient your football team becomes,” Nielson said. “We've had multiple games this year where we've had to respond to less than ideal situations and our team has demonstrated a great deal of maturity in that regard and as we move forward, hopefully, it’s prepared us to be even better.”
The Trust Project
