CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 South Dakota

4–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

South Dakota in 2018, game by game: lost at Kansas State 24–27; won vs. Northern Colorado 43–28; lost at Weber State 10–27; won at Southern Illinois 31–24; won vs. Missouri State 35–28; lost vs. Northern Iowa 28–42; lost at Youngstown State 17–29; lost vs. North Dakota State 14–59; lost at Indiana State 48–51; won vs. Western Illinois 17–12; lost at South Dakota State 27–49+15−45Lost 24–27 at Kansas State-3Kansas StateWon 43–28 vs. Northern Colorado+15Northern Colora…Lost 10–27 at Weber State-17Weber StateWon 31–24 at Southern Illinois+7Southern Illino…Won 35–28 vs. Missouri State+7Missouri StateLost 28–42 vs. Northern Iowa-14Northern IowaLost 17–29 at Youngstown State-12Youngstown StateLost 14–59 vs. North Dakota State-45North Dakota St…Lost 48–51 at Indiana State-3Indiana StateWon 17–12 vs. Western Illinois+5Western IllinoisLost 27–49 at South Dakota State-22South Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atKansas StateL 24–⁠2719%
Sep 8vsNorthern ColoradoW 43–⁠2875%
Sep 15atWeber StateL 10–⁠2737%
Sep 29atSouthern IllinoisW 31–⁠2453%
Oct 6vsMissouri StateW 35–⁠2866%
Oct 13vsNorthern IowaL 28–⁠4256%
Oct 20atYoungstown StateL 17–⁠2944%
Oct 27vsNorth Dakota StateL 14–⁠5920%
Nov 3atIndiana StateL 48–⁠5149%
Nov 10vsWestern IllinoisW 17–⁠1241%
Nov 17atSouth Dakota StateL 27–⁠4920%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Dakota State 49–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
294–⁠376
Coach
—
Elo
1324 −50 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−19.3 No. 30 of 125 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 184
Offensive coordinator
Ted Schlafke
Defensive coordinators
Brian Mohnsen and Atiba Bradley
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Leaders

Passing yardsAustin Simmons QB257 yds
Passing touchdownsAustin Simmons QB1 TD
Rushing yardsKai Henry RB58 yds
Rushing touchdownsAustin Simmons QB1 TD
Receiving yardsLevi Falck WR140 yds
Receiving touchdownsDakarai Allen WR1 TD
TacklesAlex Gray LB6 tkl
SacksAlex Gray LB2 sacks
InterceptionsAlex Gray LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Bryce Kennedy OT★★No. 3054
Marquis Majors WR★★No. 3330
Brock Mogensen ILB★★No. 3526
Trevor Shohoney OT★★No. 3856
Jarrod Peterson ILB★★No. 3878

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers12.00.760
Offensive line22.00.735
Linebackers22.00.725
Whole class52.00.736

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠015–⁠0
South Dakota State6–⁠210–⁠3
Indiana State5–⁠37–⁠4
Northern Iowa5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Illinois State3–⁠56–⁠5
South Dakota3–⁠54–⁠7
Youngstown State3–⁠54–⁠7
Missouri State2–⁠64–⁠7
Southern Illinois1–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.