THE BASICS
Drake football will hit the road again with their headlights pointed toward the Mount Rushmore State. The Bulldogs are set for a date with the Coyotes of South Dakota, another top 15 team in the FCS ranks. Drake and South Dakota will kick things off in The DakotaDome at 1 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Drake went on the road for a tough road test at the No. 2 ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Bulldogs set the tone with the first score of the game and hung around with the perennial FCS power, even with a true freshman quarterback entering in injury relief but fell 37-21.
 
DAUNTING DAKOTAS
Despite a winless 0-16 all-time record vs. the FCS teams of the Dakotas, Drake's last battle at South Dakota State was one of its best offensive outputs against those four powers. The Bulldogs' 21 points marked the third 20+ point effort against that group and most points scored vs. North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, or South Dakota State since tallying 28 in a 2016 defeat.
 
IRREGULAR SEASON
Last week's loss was historic for Drake's first year head coach Joe Woodley. The defeat at South Dakota State marked the first regular season loss in Woodley's head coaching career. He is now 73-6 all-time between his tenures at Grand View and Drake.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman signal caller Logan Inagawa was elevated from QB3 to QB2 ahead of Drake's tilt at No. 2 South Dakota State. Inagawa quickly saw that depth chart indication shifted up as senior starter Xavier Washington suffered a first half injury. Inagawa went on to throw for 140 yards on 15-of-25 passing while rushing for his first career touchdown.
 
WAY TO GO, WILSON
Senior defensive back Benjamin Wilson tallied a career high 10 tackles along with a half tackle for loss in the Bulldogs defeat at South Dakota State. Wilson was nominated for PFL Defensive Player of the Week and now sits atop the team's stat sheet alongside linebacker Sean Allison for the team lead in tackles.
 
FAMILIAR FOES
Drake is seeking its first win over a Missouri Valley Conference team on the gridiron since beating Illinois State in 2007. With the exception of football (Pioneer Football League), men's tennis (Summit League), and women's rowing (MAAC), all of Drake's athletic team participate in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
DRAKE STAT LEADERS

Rushing Leaders
Jaden Meizinger	22 rush, 80 yds
Logan Inagawa	14 rush, 58 yds
Luke Woodson	18 rush, 48 yds
Passing Leaders
Chase Spellman	14-16, 233 yds, 2 TD
Logan Inagawa	15-25, 140 yds
Xavier Washington	5-8, 79 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Leaders
Hank Foley	8 rec, 181 yds, 3 TD
Jackson Voth	9 rec, 119 yds
Jaden Meizinger	4 rec, 34 yds, TD
Taj Hughes	4 rec, 33 yds
Tackles
Sean Allison	15 tck, 8 solo, 2.5 TFL
Benjamin Wilson	15 tck, 10 solo, 0.5 TFL
J.R. Flood	12 tck, 4 solo
Sacks
Jacob Auen	1.0 sck
Trystan Anderson	1.0 sck
Gene Blalock	1.0 sck

 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA
The Coyotes of South Dakota enter this week still listed in the top 15 of the FCS rankings despite their 1-2 record. South Dakota, which lost at Iowa State and Lamar to start the season, eked out a win over Northern Colorado last week in The DakotaDome.
 
Saturday will be the fifth meeting on record between Drake and South Dakota. The Coyotes are 4-0 all-time when playing Drake with three of the four wins coming in Vermillion and one in Des Moines in 2017. The most recent result was a 42-3 Coyote dub last season.
 
South Dakota is led by first year head coach Travis Johansen, who replaced legendary head coach Bob Nielson in the offseason. Johansen was elevated to the head position after six seasons as the Coyotes' defensive coordinator.
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will take it easy with their second bye week of the season before opening Pioneer Football League play. Drake's next game is set for Oct. 4 when the Bulldogs host Valparaiso on Parents and Family Weekend.