Cal Poly Played Tough Slate in '21; South Dakota's is Even Tougher
9/16/2022 5:21:00 PM | Football
VIDEO STREAM | AUDIO STREAM | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
MUSTANG INSIDER PODCAST WITH JADEN JONES
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. -- Cal Poly played the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision a year ago.
South Dakota arguably is playing the toughest schedule of them all this fall. The Coyotes opened with Kansas State of the Football Bowl Subdivision, played at No. 2 Montana last week and have future games against No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 5 Missouri State.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has five teams in the polls this week with North Dakota at No. 22 and Youngstown State at No. 23. South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa are receiving votes.
Eager for its first win of the season, South Dakota (0-2) entertains Cal Poly (1-1) on Saturday inside the 9,100-seat DakotaDome. Kickoff is set for 11:02 a.m. Pacific.
ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) will broadcast the game live with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. The game also will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Midco Sports. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly is coming off a come-from-behind 28-27 win over San Diego in its home opener last week. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jaden Jones completed 27 of 45 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs, and freshmen Jay'Vion Cole and Brian Dukes combined for three interceptions in the final six minutes to seal the verdict as the Mustangs bounced back from 17-0 and 27-14 deficits for their eighth win in nine games against the Toreros.
After its 34-0 loss at Kansas State two weeks ago, South Dakota fell 24-7 at Montana. The Coyotes have scored just seven points with averages of 110.5 yards per game rushing and 129 passing so far this season. In addition, South Dakota has punted 17 times, converted just eight of 32 third-down plays (0-for-5 on fourth down), and has been penalized 20 times for 163 yards.
One of the few bright spots for the Coyotes so far has been the rushing of Travis Theis and Shoman Lawrence as they have combined for 256 yards and a 5.0 yards-per-carry average in the two games. Quarterback Carson Camp has completed 52 percent of his passes (30 of 58) for 258 yards and no scores with one interception. He also has been sacked nine times.
Camp has made 18 career starts for the Coyotes, passing for more than 3,400 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Playing indoors Saturday for the first time since 2019, Cal Poly is scheduled to play three games indoors this season -- versus South Dakota, Northern Arizona and Idaho State -- and is 10-20 all-time in domed stadiums.
The Mustangs have won games in the DakotaDome (2010) as well as in indoor facilities at North Dakota State (2004), Northern Arizona (2012 and 2018), North Dakota (2011 and 2012) and Idaho State (1976, 1982, 2004 and 2007). Cal Poly has never won in domed stadiums at Idaho (0-3) and Northern Iowa (0-4).
Both head coaches will be calling the plays on offense this week. In his 30th year as a head coach, South Dakota's Bob Nielson announced this week that he has taken over play-calling responsibilities for the Coyotes. In addition to just one touchdown scored, South Dakota has attempted just one field goal this year in 27 offensive possessions. Twelve of those drives were three-and-outs.
Coyote wide receiver Carter Bell, the team's leading pass catcher a year ago with 41 for 673 yards and five touchdowns, had a streak of 17 consecutive games with at least one reception snapped last week at Montana. He had two catches for 18 yards against Kansas State and was targeted six times in the Montana contest.
After a bye next week, Cal Poly will play its Big Sky Conference opener and Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 1, against Sacramento State at 5:02 p.m. inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The Hornets, who beat Utah Tech two weeks ago before having a bye last week, are at Northern Iowa on Saturday.
Mustang Notes
Cal Poly is in Vermillion, S.D., for only the second time ... the Mustangs beat the Coyotes 38-24 in 2010 ... Cal Poly held its walk-through Friday morning before jumping on its charter flight from San Luis Obispo to South Sioux City, Nebraska, across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa ... it will be a 40-mile bus ride north to Vermillion for the game Saturday ... South Dakota's Travis Theis surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing last week with 88 yards on 20 carries at Montana and has scored the lone Coyote touchdown so far this season, a 25-yard run against the Griz ... Coyote safety Josh Manchigiah played in more than 50 games at South Dakota State before transferring to South Dakota for the 2022 season, in which he has made two starts ... Cal Poly's record for games played is 46 by Jonah Russell from 2002-06 ... Cal Poly has a 3-2 advantage in the series ... the two teams were members of the Great West Football Conference and the Mustangs won three of those four meetings from 2008-11, but the Coyotes earned a 48-14 win a year ago in San Luis Obispo, scoring on all seven first-half drives and racking up 615 yards of total offense ... it will be South Dakota's Hall of Fame Game and its home opener ... the Coyotes have won 17 of their last 19 home openers ... Cal Poly was 2-9 against the fifth-toughest schedule in the Football Championship Subdivision last fall and those 11 foes compiled an 80-52 record (60.6 winning percentage) with five of them qualifying for the FCS playoffs and Fresno State winning the New Mexico Bowl en route to a 10-3 season ... Cal Poly plays 10 of last year's 11 foes in 2022, replacing Weber State with Eastern Washington.
MUSTANG INSIDER PODCAST WITH JADEN JONES
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. -- Cal Poly played the fifth-toughest schedule in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision a year ago.
South Dakota arguably is playing the toughest schedule of them all this fall. The Coyotes opened with Kansas State of the Football Bowl Subdivision, played at No. 2 Montana last week and have future games against No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 5 Missouri State.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has five teams in the polls this week with North Dakota at No. 22 and Youngstown State at No. 23. South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa are receiving votes.
Eager for its first win of the season, South Dakota (0-2) entertains Cal Poly (1-1) on Saturday inside the 9,100-seat DakotaDome. Kickoff is set for 11:02 a.m. Pacific.
ESPN Radio (1280 AM and 101.7 FM) and KRKC (1490 AM and 104.9 FM) will broadcast the game live with Zachary Anderson-Yoxsimer (play-by-play) and Stephan Hodges (analyst) calling the action. The game also will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Midco Sports. Links for audio and video streams as well as live stats can be found on the football schedule page at www.GoPoly.com.
Cal Poly is coming off a come-from-behind 28-27 win over San Diego in its home opener last week. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jaden Jones completed 27 of 45 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns, all career highs, and freshmen Jay'Vion Cole and Brian Dukes combined for three interceptions in the final six minutes to seal the verdict as the Mustangs bounced back from 17-0 and 27-14 deficits for their eighth win in nine games against the Toreros.
After its 34-0 loss at Kansas State two weeks ago, South Dakota fell 24-7 at Montana. The Coyotes have scored just seven points with averages of 110.5 yards per game rushing and 129 passing so far this season. In addition, South Dakota has punted 17 times, converted just eight of 32 third-down plays (0-for-5 on fourth down), and has been penalized 20 times for 163 yards.
One of the few bright spots for the Coyotes so far has been the rushing of Travis Theis and Shoman Lawrence as they have combined for 256 yards and a 5.0 yards-per-carry average in the two games. Quarterback Carson Camp has completed 52 percent of his passes (30 of 58) for 258 yards and no scores with one interception. He also has been sacked nine times.
Camp has made 18 career starts for the Coyotes, passing for more than 3,400 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Playing indoors Saturday for the first time since 2019, Cal Poly is scheduled to play three games indoors this season -- versus South Dakota, Northern Arizona and Idaho State -- and is 10-20 all-time in domed stadiums.
The Mustangs have won games in the DakotaDome (2010) as well as in indoor facilities at North Dakota State (2004), Northern Arizona (2012 and 2018), North Dakota (2011 and 2012) and Idaho State (1976, 1982, 2004 and 2007). Cal Poly has never won in domed stadiums at Idaho (0-3) and Northern Iowa (0-4).
Both head coaches will be calling the plays on offense this week. In his 30th year as a head coach, South Dakota's Bob Nielson announced this week that he has taken over play-calling responsibilities for the Coyotes. In addition to just one touchdown scored, South Dakota has attempted just one field goal this year in 27 offensive possessions. Twelve of those drives were three-and-outs.
Coyote wide receiver Carter Bell, the team's leading pass catcher a year ago with 41 for 673 yards and five touchdowns, had a streak of 17 consecutive games with at least one reception snapped last week at Montana. He had two catches for 18 yards against Kansas State and was targeted six times in the Montana contest.
After a bye next week, Cal Poly will play its Big Sky Conference opener and Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 1, against Sacramento State at 5:02 p.m. inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The Hornets, who beat Utah Tech two weeks ago before having a bye last week, are at Northern Iowa on Saturday.
Mustang Notes
Cal Poly is in Vermillion, S.D., for only the second time ... the Mustangs beat the Coyotes 38-24 in 2010 ... Cal Poly held its walk-through Friday morning before jumping on its charter flight from San Luis Obispo to South Sioux City, Nebraska, across the Missouri River from Sioux City, Iowa ... it will be a 40-mile bus ride north to Vermillion for the game Saturday ... South Dakota's Travis Theis surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing last week with 88 yards on 20 carries at Montana and has scored the lone Coyote touchdown so far this season, a 25-yard run against the Griz ... Coyote safety Josh Manchigiah played in more than 50 games at South Dakota State before transferring to South Dakota for the 2022 season, in which he has made two starts ... Cal Poly's record for games played is 46 by Jonah Russell from 2002-06 ... Cal Poly has a 3-2 advantage in the series ... the two teams were members of the Great West Football Conference and the Mustangs won three of those four meetings from 2008-11, but the Coyotes earned a 48-14 win a year ago in San Luis Obispo, scoring on all seven first-half drives and racking up 615 yards of total offense ... it will be South Dakota's Hall of Fame Game and its home opener ... the Coyotes have won 17 of their last 19 home openers ... Cal Poly was 2-9 against the fifth-toughest schedule in the Football Championship Subdivision last fall and those 11 foes compiled an 80-52 record (60.6 winning percentage) with five of them qualifying for the FCS playoffs and Fresno State winning the New Mexico Bowl en route to a 10-3 season ... Cal Poly plays 10 of last year's 11 foes in 2022, replacing Weber State with Eastern Washington.
Players Mentioned
New Head Football Coach Tim Skipper's First Day On Campus
Thursday, December 11
Cal Poly Introduces New Head Football Coach Tim Skipper
Monday, December 08
Cal Poly Postgame Presser Logan Booker, Kenny Olson, Anthony Grigsby - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)
Sunday, November 23
Cal Poly Football Head Coach Paul Wulff Postgame Press Conference - Eastern Washington (11/22/25)
Sunday, November 23
