Getty SDSU will face South Dakota Saturday. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
The University of South Dakota Coyotes (4-7) will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (8-3) at the DakotaDome Saturday.
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How to Watch South Dakota State vs South Dakota
The game (3 p.m. ET start time) will be on Midco Sports Network locally, but anyone in the US can watch it live on ESPN+
ESPN+ is the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of hundreds of college football games this season, plus college basketball and other live sports every day, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.
Or, if you also want the new Disney+ streaming service and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to 25 percent savings.
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch SDSU vs USD live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
South Dakota State vs South Dakota Preview
The Jackrabbits are 3-1 on the road. They have been solid on offense this year, averaging 32.3 points per game. Much of that reflects on their former starting quarterback J’Bore Gibbs, who went down with a season-ending leg injury against North Dakota State at the end of October. Freshman Keaton Heide has been filling in, and he has won two of his three starts.
Defense has been South Dakota State’s strong suit this season. They are giving up just 16.4 points a game, and
The Coyotes are 2-3 at home on the season, and they’ll need to play their best football of the season if they want a chance in this one. They are scoring 30.8 points a game on offense, and have shown signs of explosiveness all season. On defense, South Dakota has been leaky, allowing an average of 33.5 points to opponents per game, and they will need to do better against the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota head coach Bob Nielson is hoping his team can finish strong on both side of the ball so his seniors can go out with a positive performance:
“When you play these rivalry games at the end of the year it’s a little bit like a bowl game,” Nielson said this week. “It’s a game that draws a lot of attention and it’s a game our seniors have not had the opportunity to win. To have this game at the end is an opportunity to end the year in a really strong way.”
Jackrabbits coach John Stiegelmeier understands the significance of rivalry games, and he isn’t expecting a cake walk: “It’s not going to be an easy game,” Stiegelmeier said this week. “Rivalry games are always tough. Our guys will have great focus. We said it crystal clear (Monday night) in our team meeting: the importance of this game, what’s at stake, and all the things that kick in for us if we win it – we’ll leave nothing to chance in preparation.”
South Dakota State leads the all-time series, 54-50-7. SDSU won last year in Brookings, 49-27, and they have won 10 in a row against the Coyotes.