VERMILLION — The University of South Dakota football team put their 11-game home winning streak on the line on Saturday afternoon at the DakotaDome.
Illlinois State put an end to that, downing the Coyotes 21-13 in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game, snapping a mark that went back to the 2023 FCS quarterfinals loss to North Dakota State.
South Dakota’s offense had a chance at the end of the game, down eight points after a Will Leyland 42-yard field goal and three-and-out from Illinois State’s offense, but ultimately failed to convert on fourth down which led to the Redbirds’ victory on the road.
South Dakota’s offense could not find its rhythm down in Illinois State’s territory, ultimately leading to its 13-point affair — one touchdown and two field goals. USD settled for a total of three field goals — a 45-yard missed attempt from Zeke Mata early in the fourth quarter and a 37-yarder from Leyland to open the game’s scoring.
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The offense found themselves in long-drive situations throughout the contest with starting field position inside its own 30-yard line in all 10 drives — four inside the 8-yard line.
Head coach Travis Johansen said the bad field positioning is what kept the offense from scoring points and finding any true consistency.
“We’ve got to do a better job as a football team of putting them (the offense) on shorter fields,” Johansen said. “There were drives where we drove 45 yards and it led to a punt. That’s not a formula for winning. That is what stopped a 369-yard day, and almost 37 minutes of possession from scoring more points.”
The Coyotes’ offense outgained the Redbirds by 69 total yards — 369-to-300. USD chewed up 36 minutes and 41 seconds of game clock, converted 10-of-19 third downs and only punted three times but ultimately lost due to the bad field positioning in each offensive drive.
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Defensively, the Coyotes were doing all they could to limit ISU’s standout quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse who proved to be too much to handle, especially in the red zone.
Both of Rittenhouse’s touchdown passes came on fourth down and inside South Dakota’s 12-yard line. Rittenhouse completed 18-of-27 passes for 141 yards and two scores, both to Scotty Presson Jr. from 11 and 3 yards out. Rittenhouse added a 6-yard scramble for a touchdown at the end of the first half to take a 14-10 lead at the break.
Defensive lineman Mosai Newsom said the two fourth-down red zone touchdowns were a killer, but it ultimately comes down to everyone doing their jobs on every snap.
“We just have to be better, and I know I have to be better,” Newsom said. “I have to do my 1/11 better, so I don’t think you can put everything on just those couple of plays down in the red zone.”
South Dakota’s lone offensive score came from quarterback Aidan Bouman to tight end Jesse Miller for an 11-yard touchdown toward the end of the second quarter. Bouman completed 21-of-38 passes for 173 yards.
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Wide receiver Larenzo Fenner led the way through the air, hauling in four receptions for 65 yards, as L.J. Phillips Jr. led the rushing attack with 129 yards on 26 carries. Backup running back Carson Fletcher added 54 yards on 10 carries to round out 196 net rushing yards on the day for the Coyotes.
As USD (5-4, 3-2 MVFC) looks ahead, the schedule does not get any easier as the season winds down, with No. 8-ranked North Dakota coming to the DakotaDome next week.
“This was a tough one to take on the chin, and we knew our season was never going to be easy,” Johansen said. “We’ve had a lot of challenges all year long, and this is no different. We have a resilient group and we’ll take a hard look in the mirror. Everything we want to accomplish is still in front of us, but time is dwindling for us in that way.”
Trey Houchin is a sports reporter for the Mitchell Republic. Trey graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in sports media and covers a wide variety of topics. A Missouri native, Houchin can be reached at [email protected].
