MISSOULA — South Dakota enters Saturday's FCS playoff quarterfinal against Montana riding a five-game winning streak and coming off perhaps the most dominant performance of the postseason.
The 11th-seeded Coyotes rolled to a stunning 47-0 victory over No. 6 Mercer last week, setting up a showdown with the Grizzlies at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
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"I certainly believe that was our best football game — everything top to bottom, the plan, the preparation, the execution of it on Saturday, the spirit in which they played in," South Dakota coach Travis Johansen said during a press conference Tuesday in Vermillion, S.D.
Johansen's first season as head coach got off to a rocky start. The Coyotes lost three of their first five games and needed overtime to beat Big Sky Conference also-ran Northern Colorado.
But South Dakota has now won eight of nine games and enters Saturday's 1:30 p.m. kickoff with momentum on their side.
"As much as this team's been through, going into really fun environment and a really good, challenging environment, I think, is something that we look forward to," Johansen said.
Like Montana, USD features one of the best offensive trios in the FCS. L.J. Phillips Jr. leads the nation with more than 1,800 yards rushing, while Larenzo Fenner leads the country with 15 receiving touchdowns.
Quarterback Aidan Bouman brings experience to the position, having passed for more than 2,600 yards and 24 touchdowns this season.
"I know Aidan's really looking forward to this week and taking another step in our journey, and he's been playing great football," Johansen said. "And certainly (Montana quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat) has been doing the same thing.
"And that's the reason these two teams have been successful, is because they got quarterbacks that are playing good football."
Though it will be the Coyotes' first meeting with the Grizzlies since 2022, it marks the second straight year they've traveled to Montana for a playoff game. They lost to Montana State in last year's semifinal round.
"This is what guys play for — when you're in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs playing at home or the ability to go on the road and play in front of passionate fan bases," Johansen said. "Yeah, they're great environments. And I think we'll get our best football out of it because of that."
