2021 South Dakota
7–5 (5–3 Missouri Valley Football Conference). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Cal Poly 48–14Sep 18
By 34 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Kansas 14–17Sep 3
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at Kansas | L 14–17 | 34% |
| Sep 11 | vs Northern Arizona | W 34–7 | 60% |
| Sep 18 | at Cal Poly | W 48–14 | 50% |
| Sep 25 | at Missouri State | L 23–31 | 48% |
| Oct 2 | vs Indiana State | W 38–10 | 62% |
| Oct 9 | vs North Dakota | W 20–13 | 52% |
| Oct 16 | at Northern Iowa | W 34–21 | 36% |
| Oct 23 | vs Illinois State | L 14–20 | 73% |
| Nov 6 | at Western Illinois | W 42–21 | 67% |
| Nov 13 | vs South Dakota State | W 23–20 | 38% |
| Nov 20 | at North Dakota State | L 24–52 | 23% |
| Nov 27 | vs Southern IllinoisFCS Championship – First Round | L 10–22 | 60% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Southern Illinois 22–10 in the FCS Championship – First Round; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).
- Record
- 7–5
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 3rd in Missouri Valley Football Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 324–248
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1359 +71 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −5.5 No. 13 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- No. 151
- Offensive coordinator
- Ted Schlafke
- Defensive coordinator
- Travis Johansen
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- Multiple
Leaders
| Passing yards | Carson Camp QB | 98 yds |
| Rushing yards | Travis Theis RB | 96 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Shomari Lawrence RB | 1 TD |
| Receiving yards | Kody Case WR | 37 yds |
| Tackles | Jack Cochrane LB | 13 tkl |
| Sacks | Jake Matthew LB | 1 sacks |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Antonio Outler RB | ★★★ | No. 1416 |
| Earl Miller Jr. DL | ★★★ | No. 2118 |
| J.J. Galbreath TE | ||
| Javion Phelps WR | ||
| Shahid Barros ATH |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.816 |
| Whole class | 2 | 3.0 | 0.829 |
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.
Transfers in 1
The 2021 portal Daraun McKinney CB | ★★★ | from  Iowa |
Transfers out 0
No transfers out.
2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 7–1 | 14–1 | |
| Missouri State | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
| South Dakota State | 5–3 | 11–4 | |
| Southern Illinois | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
 South Dakota | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Northern Iowa | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
| Indiana State | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| North Dakota | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Illinois State | 2–6 | 4–7 | |
 Youngstown State | 2–6 | 3–7 | |
| Western Illinois | 2–6 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.