Drake Gets Second Crack at South Dakota

Back on September 20 Drake took its second trip in as many weeks to South Dakota for a date with the Coyotes. After putting up a decent fight against South Dakota State, the Bulldogs took on USD in Vermillion just seven days later. Both of those of those games ended up being two of the three losses they suffered all season. Now it turns out that Drake is not quite done with the state just yet as they will make a return visit to the DakotaDome this weekend in the opening round of the FCS playoffs, now in a win-or-go-home situation.

That first meeting between the ‘Yotes and the Bulldogs in Week 4 happened in the midst of rough patches for both. South Dakota was coming off an unexpectedly close game with Northern Colorado and an ugly loss to Lamar in the weeks prior. Drake’s only win up to that point had been against non-DI Upper Iowa and it was Pioneer League mate Presbyterian who was making all the headlines. It seemed as though neither were destined for the postseason back in September.

USD would go on to win six of its final eight games after that, though, and Drake would go on a nice five-game win streak that ultimately propelled them to an 8-3 overall record and their third straight conference championship. With both pitted against each other again, the Bulldogs are trying to take what they learned from that 42-21 loss two months ago and use it this weekend in their efforts to pull off what would be arguably the biggest upset of the opening round.

If there’s one thing that Drake will have working in its favor heading into Saturday, it’s the fact that these sorts of games are not at all unfamiliar. Between the pair of games against the USD and SDSU this year, a similar swing through Vermillion last fall as well as 2023 games against North Dakota, South Dakota State and, in that year’s playoffs, NDSU all on the road, the Bulldogs are quite used to playing the best the Missouri Valley has to offer. Still, they did not win any of those games and will likely need a near perfect performance this weekend if they are to buck that trend and pick up their first-ever playoff victory.

One thing Drake will have to do in its rematch that it was unable to the first time around is find an answer for South Dakota running back L.J. Phillips Jr. Phillips rumbled for 143 yards and four touchdowns against the Bulldogs earlier this year and that showing was par for the course in terms of what Phillips has been doing to opponents in 2025. He’s run for 1,556 yards this year, the third best mark in the FCS right now and the best of any back in the postseason. On top of that he’s found the end zone 15 times. Somehow, Drake’s defense will need to rise to the occasion and slow him down or the result will be the same.

This is where linebacker Sean Allison will come into play. Allison has been far and above Drake’s defensive MVP this year, totaling 104 tackles and nabbing two interceptions along with getting in on a pair of sacks. Allison’s range throughout the field is incredibly impressive and his vision for the ball makes him one of the more active defensive players out there. He has been terrific for the Bulldogs on that side of the ball and will need to be again if Drake is to slow down Phillips.

He, of course, won’t be the only Coyote that the defense will need to focus on. Quarterback Aidan Bouman is one of the best and most experienced in the country and, with over 2,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, he too will be tough to deal with. Receiver Larenzo Fenner and tight end Zach Witte are also names for the Bulldogs to keep an eye on.

What will also need to change this time out will be the play of Drake signal caller Logan Inagawa who threw two picks (both to Mikey Munn) in his last time facing the USD defense. Inagawa has thrown for 1,244 yards and eight touchdowns this season but also has four interceptions. He will have to avoid those mistakes this weekend or South Dakota could make it avalanche on him very quickly.

Drake will be up against it by most every metric on Saturday but they get the chance that most teams never do; to avenge a regular season loss in the playoffs. The Bulldogs and the Coyotes will kick off at 1:00 PM (ET) and the game can be streamed on ESPN+. The winner will move on to face 6-seed Mercer in the second round on December 6.