VERMILLION, S.D. (KCAU) – The South Dakota Coyotes team has been trending upward since Week One, earning a spot in the FCS Stats Perform Poll top ten for the first time since 2017 after its win on Saturday against Murray State.

USD improved to 4-1 on the season, with its lone loss coming to SEC staple Missouri on the road. Saturday’s 38-7 conference win against Murray State moved the Coyotes to an unblemished 4-0 against FCS opponents.

In the win, South Dakota scored a season-high 38 points while holding its opponent to ten or fewer points for the third time in the last four weeks. Running back Travis Theis tallied a career-high 190 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns to help the ‘Yotes earn the DakotaDome win.

South Dakota says they are continuing to build and improve on what’s been a strong start to the season.

“I think we continue to get better. I know I sound like a broken record in that regard, but you’ve got to keep improving and I think there was a lot of improvement that we made last week. There were some things offensively that we did better and that’s got to be the same this week,” South Dakota head coach Bob Nielson said.

USD will take on #23 Youngstown State in Vermillion on Saturday.