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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: Preseason Primer - South Dakota
8/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com will provide a daily blog from the beginning of preseason training camp until the week of the season-opener at Middle Tennessee State, set for Sept. 2. Check back here often for updates from throughout preseason camp. Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley and other staff members will be covering camp. If you would like to ask a question about preseason camp, have a request for something you'd like to see in the blog or just a comment on the blog, feel free to send an e-mail to aseeley@umn.edu.
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Camp Blog: Preseason Primer - South Dakota
GopherSports.com will provide Minnesota Football fans with a primer on the Gophers’ four non-conference opponents as we roll through the preseason camp blog. Up next is the TCF Bank Stadium home-opener Sept. 11 vs. the South Dakota Coyotes.
For Openers:
| The South Dakota File | |
| Head Coach | Ed Meierkort |
| Coach's Record | 99-78, 16th Season |
| 2009 Record | 5-5 |
| Home/Away/Neutral | 4-1/1-4/0-0 |
| Starters Returning/Lost | 13/12 |
| Letterwinners Ret./Lost | 43/21 |
This year's home opener will see the University of South Dakota visit TCF Bank Stadium. The Coyotes will be the second South Dakota school to play at The Bank, as South Dakota State visited last season. The Gophers are 1-0 in home openers at TCF Bank Stadium and 9-1 in their last 10.
Series History: 
This is the 11th meeting between Minnesota and South Dakota on the gridiron. However, it is the first meeting between the Golden Gophers and the Coyotes since 1930. Minnesota owns a 9-1 mark against South Dakota, with the series dating back to 1904.
Minnesota Connections: 
On their most-recent roster, South Dakota lists eight student-athletes, who hail from the State of Minnesota. In addition, Shane Potter and Jim Thompson are transfers from the Gopher program.
About South Dakota: 
| 2009 USD Statistics/Rankings | |||
| | Stat | NCAA | GWC |
| Scor. Off. | 32.5 | N/A | 2 |
| Tot. Off | 460.3 | N/A | 1 |
| Rush Off. | 202.1 | N/A | 1 |
| Pass Off. | 258.2 | N/A | 3 |
| Scor. Def. | 27.2 | N/A | 1 |
| Tot. Def. | 388.9 | N/A | 2 |
| Rush Def. | 108.1 | N/A | 1 |
| Pass Def. | 280.8 | N/A | 5 |
The University of South Dakota was founded in 1862. The school boasts 9,617 students. The football program began in 1889. South Dakota plays in the Great West Conference. The Coyotes are in their third year of a transition phase from NCAA Division II membership to NCAA Division I. South Dakota plays its home games at the Dakota Dome, which holds 10,000 fans.
South Dakota Overview: 
The Coyotes were 5-5 overall and 2-2 in Great West Conference play in 2009. Under head coach Ed Meierkort, who is now in his seventh season, USD is 44-23. That record includes a remarkable 31-3 record (including a 22-game winning streak) in home games at the Dakota Dome. Coyotes tied for second place in the five-team Great West Conference last season.
Meierkort's Coyotes will have 13 starters returning from last year’s squad. South Dakota has plenty of experience returning, with 43 returning letterwinners.
South Dakota was chosen to finish fourth in the Great West Conference in the league's annual preseason poll of coaches. UC Davis was chosen to repeat as the conference champion, followed by Cal Poly and Southern Utah. North Dakota came in just behind South Dakota in the preseason ranking.
The Coyotes will be seeing plenty of gold in the early portion of the season. South Dakota opens its 2010 season at Central Florida (the Golden Knights) before traveling to Minneapolis for the contest with the Golden Gophers. The Coyotes finally get to play a home game on Sept. 18, when they host Northwestern Oklahoma State.
South Dakota Offensive Player to Watch: Running Back Chris Ganious
Chris Ganious All-Great West Conference first-team selection. He played in all 10 games and made nine starts last season, posting a conference-leading 828 rushing yards on 148 carries. He scored four touchdowns on the ground and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Ganious added 23 receptions for 266 yards and one touchdown.
South Dakota Defensive Player to Watch: Defensive Back Shane Potter
Shane Potter was a 2010 All-Great West Conference second-team selection. The Becker, Minn. native started all 10 games at strong safety and finished second on team with 67 tackles, including 36 solo stops. He ranked seventh in the conference in tackles per game with 6.7 and posted more than 10 tackles in a game twice, including a season-high 11 against UC Davis. Potter also collected two interceptions for 24 yards.
South Dakota Offense At A Glance:
The Blue Raiders averaged 32.5 points and more than 460 yards of total offense per game in 2009.
The Coyotes show multiple looks on offense. They were run-heavy last season, compiling 393 rushing attempts, compared to just 201 passing attempts. USD averaged more than 240 rushing yards per game last season, while throwing for about 215 yards per contest.
South Dakota returns six starters on offense, including leading rusher Ganious and leading receiver Tom Flanagan.South Dakota Defense At A Glance:
The USD defense works out of a 3-4 base alignment. The Coyotes allowed 27.2 points and nearly 389 yards per game last season. South Dakota struggled to create turnovers in 2009, taking the ball away just 12 times in 10 games last season. The Coyotes allowed just 108 yards rushing per game, but saw opponents pass for more than 280 yards per contest.
South Dakota returns just five starters on defense, but four of them were at the top of the team's tackle charts last season. Adam Broders (78 tackles), Shea Williams (67 tackles), Potter (67 tackles) and Thompson (59 tackles) all return to the Coyote defensive unit.
Game Implications: It’s the home-opener for Minnesota, so The Bank will be ready to rock.With Vermillion, S.D. (home of the Coyotes) just a five-hour drive from TCF Bank Stadium, Coyote fans will most likely be out in full force in the Twin Cities. The FCS-level Coyotes would love nothing more than to make a name for themselves by pulling an upset of a Big Ten team. For the Gophers, they won't overlook their neighbors to the south and west. But a big win for Minnesota would help build momentum for USC's visit to The Bank on Sept. 18.
-Andy Seeley, Associate Director of Athletic Communications
