South Dakota opened the 2019 football campaign with a dud Saturday afternoon, dropping a 31-17 decision to No. 25 Montana. The Coyotes' defense was porous, allowing 510 total yards, 430 of which came through the air. The Griz essentially had their way through most of the game, most notably over a stretch between the second and third quarters when they scored touchdowns on four of their five drives. The fifth resulted in a field goal to end the first half. "They made some adjustments, found the soft spots in our zone," linebacker Jack Cochrane said. "But at the end of the day, we needed to come up and make tackles. All across the board there were missed opportunities that could have flipped the score."
Though USD's offense accumulated 352 total yards, its inability to finish drives contributed heavily to the team's demise.
The Coyotes, who converted just two of 10 third downs, appeared to be headed in the right direction with a seven-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to open the second half, but its next three drives came to a grinding halt inside enemy territory. Particularly damning was an 11-play, 74-yard march to the Montana six that could have cut into the 31-17 deficit, but instead ended with a turnover on downs. "It doesn't make much difference in terms of how well you move the ball between the 20s if you don't put it in the end zone," USD coach Bob Nielson said.
. . . The Griz scored on their next five drives, accumulating 322 yards in the process. They were particularly effective through the air and lethal on third down, converting six of their next seven tries.
Montana extended its first drive of the second half on three occasions, with the third attempt going for a 43-yard touchdown from Sneed to Akem that left the score at 24-10. "There were times defensively when we did a good job getting them to third down, then they converted," Nielson said.
