Getty South Dakota's Carson Camp looks to lead his team to an upset on Saturday.
South Dakota and Montana meet in a key non-conference matchup on Saturday, September 10.
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The game (3 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch South Dakota vs Montana live on ESPN+ right here:
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USD vs Montana Preview
The South Dakota Coyotes (0-1) and the No. 2 Montana Grizzlies (1-0) collide in a big FCS non-conference matchup on Saturday.
South Dakota fell to an FBS team at Kansas State 34-0 on September 3. The Coyotes now go to an FBS-like venue in Missoula, Montana, where the Grizzlies have 25,000-plus fans backing them.
“You know out there they’re going to have a really good crowd. It will be really loud environment to play in so by playing well early, hopefully you can keep the crowd out of the game. But that’s going to be number one, we’re going to have to match that energy and intensity early on,” Coyotes head coach Bob Nielson said via KELO’s Sean Bower.
South Dakota can’t afford a similar start at Montana to the one at KSU. The Wildcats jumped in front with two touchdowns quickly in the first quarter.
Montana made quick work of Northwestern State, 47-0, last week. Grizzlies quarterback Lucas Johnson tallied 208 yards passing and four touchdowns, plus 89 yards rushing. Running back Junior Bergen caught two touchdown passes.
Last time South Dakota and Montana met, the Grizzlies beat the Coyotes in Vermillion. It behooves the Coyotes to avoid going 0-2 with top-tier FCS teams North Dakota State and South Dakota State around the corner in conference play.
The Coyotes need a big game from quarterback Carson Camp, who mustered 139 yards passing and an interception against the Wildcats. Coyotes running back Shomari Lawrence had the most promising offensive performance against the Wildcats where he ran for 84 yards, and the Coyotes will need more of that in Missoula.
Camp and company will need to keep the ball away from Montana defensive back Justin Ford, who had nine interceptions last year.
Montana could ill afford to lose since a loss can prevent a team from capturing a top-two seed and home field advantage in the FCS playoffs. The Grizzlies fell on the road in the playoffs last year at James Madison.
USD also made the FCS playoffs in 2021 but fell right away to Southern Illinois, 22-10.
“We’ve got a playoff team from last year from the Missouri Valley Conference coming in to challenge us this weekend. It’s a huge game for us to try to get to 2-0. We know that they’ll be well coached. Coach [Bob] Nielson does a great job. They’ll be big and physical. We’ll have our hands full,” Montana head coach Bobby Houck said via 406 MT Sports.