July 30, 2014 11:45 am • BARRY POE bpoe@siouxcityjournal.com
VERMILLION, S.D. | There is still some question at the conclusion of spring football at the University of South Dakota which is the stronger unit. Read more
VERMILLION, S.D. | The main topic of conversation during the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason teleconference on Tuesday was the lack of respect the league received when it came time to select playoff qualifiers last season.
Only two teams from arguably the top football conference in the Football Championship Subdivision made the playoffs. One of those, North Dakota State, went on to capture its third consecutive national championship while South Dakota State advanced to the second round.
Youngstown State missed out despite winning eight regular season games and Northern Iowa Coach Mark Farley was none too pleased when his team wasn’t selected after beating Youngstown State on a last-second field goal and winning seven games.
“Having only two teams in an expanded bracket is not OK,” MVFC Commissioner Patty Viverito said. “We have playoff caliber teams that aren’t being selected and that’s not OK. Those coaches are frustrated and rightfully so.
“I think we need to do everything we can to help the committee understand and respect strength of schedule. There’s no doubt that over the last several years The Valley has been the No. 1 FCS conference and I think if any team finishes in the top half of The Valley standings that should automatically put them into consideration for at-large selection.
“I think you have to give the committee a reason to take all of those teams and the single most important thing we can do to influence that selection process would be to play top 25 non-conference opponents and win. We’re not doing that but it’s not because we’re afraid to play them. The harder part of the equation is getting them on our schedule.”
University of South Dakota Coach Joe Glenn made a strong point when asked what it would take to get the league three and possibly four teams in the playoffs.
“I’ve had the pleasure of having coached in the Big Sky Conference as well and can flat tell you right now that this league is strong,” Glenn said. “I’m not going to make a war with the Big Sky Conference but we played Montana toward the end of the season last year and got beat with 1:23 left on the clock and then played North Dakota State a couple weeks later. There’s no comparison, none whatsoever. Northern Arizona also got in the playoffs and we played them early in the year and lost by six down there.
“Both those teams are good football teams but they weren’t as good as people in our league. Strength of schedule is the conference, not the non-conference teams some of us are playing. You go through our league and you’ll hit a pretty good team every week. There’s a couple teams in the Big Sky that shouldn’t have been in above Youngstown. I feel real strong about that.”
South Dakota was picked eighth out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll that to the surprise of nobody has North Dakota State at the top despite a coaching change. South Dakota State and Northern Iowa also received first place votes.
The Coyotes finished 4-8 overall last year and 3-5 in the conference, but lost three games by six points or less.
“We kind of limped in last year health-wise, especially at running back,” Glenn said. “We were forced into playing freshmen at that spot and when they were healthy they did a good job and they’re plenty healthy now. Plus we redshirted a guy we think will help us and Jasper (Sanders) will be back.”
Sanders, a senior, suffered a season ending injury before the season started. Freshmen Trevor Bouma and Jordan Roberts were pressed into duty and Khoury Kilgore, a talented freshman, redshirted.
“Our quarterback is a difference maker,” Glenn said. “We feel good about Kevin Earl coming back, he’s a good football player and has a year under his belt and will be better. We have five starters back on the offensive line so we will be better up front both offensively and defensively.”
After taking over as starter in the third game of the season, Earl went on to pass for 1,920 yards and nine touchdowns. He led the Coyotes to three conference victories including one at Northern Iowa.
An experienced group of wide receivers, led by sophomore Riley Donovan, will be at Earl’s disposal.
“We were close in a lot of games last year and we have to finish,” Glenn said. “That’s kind of a point we need to make around here. We have to get a few more athletes on the field to finish games and come away with wins.”
South Dakota has a pair of defensive players, lineman Drew Iddings and linebacker Auston Johnson, listed on the preseason all-league team. One notable omission is linebacker Keyen Lage, who Glenn thinks will have an outstanding season.
The team’s Achilles heel, Glenn said, will be four new starters in the secondary. That probably means opponents will take to the air with a bit more frequency early in the season to test the secondary.
USD opens the season at Oregon on Aug. 30.
