Dec. 12—VERMILLION — Don’t get it twisted: South Dakota’s 45-17 loss to North Dakota State in the FCS quarterfinals was indeed a massive letdown.
And because of the fashion in which it happened — the Coyotes were ran over by a herd of angry Bison in their home stadium on national TV for 60 minutes — the final memory of the 2023 season will be a bitter one.
But that shouldn’t be the prevailing memory.
Because setting the woeful ending aside, there’s no doubt about it: The 2023 football season was a rousing success for the University of South Dakota.
In their 16th year as a Division I program, a Coyote team that has fluctuated from mediocre, to decent, to just plain bad, finally put together a season anyone not donning the blue-and-yellow overalls would agree was impressive.
A year removed from a 3-8 record, South Dakota compiled a program-best 10-3 record in FCS play, and reached the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The Coyotes also won a program-best five games against ranked opponents, including a win over the would-be vengeful Bison earlier in the fall. And the three losses came against two teams in the FCS semifinals (NDSU and South Dakota State) and one that’s headed to the Cotton Bowl (Missouri).
Such a strong campaign, members of the program couldn’t help but pat themselves on the back when asked about it at the press conference following Saturday’s loss.
“Obviously, in the moment, today didn’t go how we wanted, but this team did something that no team had ever done here. And that’s something to be very proud about,” said junior offensive lineman Joey Lombard.
“I told our guys in the locker room, I don’t think anybody outside of the guys that were standing in that locker room at the beginning expected us to be there, playing in a national quarterfinal,” coach Bob Nielson said. “And it…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/analysis-south-dakota-football-delivered-004700721.html
Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
Publish date : 2023-12-13 00:47:00
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