The South Dakota Coyotes had a good start to the year as they were able to move up to the 12th place in the Athlon Sports FCS Power Poll after their victory over Illinois State last week. What made it even more impressive is they came back from a 17-point deficit early on to claim the win. Meanwhile, the North Dakota Fighting Hawks were able to outclass South Dakota State, beating them 28-17. Which of these teams will be able to continue their hot streak and which one will take their first loss? Let’s examine this online betting matchup.
South Dakota at North Dakota
Date: Thursday, March 4th, 2021 – 6 p.m. ET
Location: Alerus Center, Grand Forks, ND
FCS Odds: North Dakota -7
South Dakota Coyotes
South Dakota was able to rally around their quarterback Carson Camp, in their last game. He was the key catalyst in the comeback against Illinois State. Camp threw and ran for a touchdown in the matchup. This helped the team score 24 unanswered points after trailing by 17. South Dakota received good production out of Kai Henry at the running back position. Henry has been improving every year that he has played. He will have a very rough road ahead of him while trying to rush against a North Dakota defense that has only allowed 186 combined rushing yards in their past two games.
It is safe to say that they cannot depend upon their offense to win this game. Their defense will have to step up and deliver. They have been reliable so far this year with their unrelenting pressure up front, forcing opposing quarterbacks into making bad decisions and creating their excellent turnover ratio. They picked up five sacks in Week 1 while intercepting the ball four times in Week 2, two of those picks came from Myles Harden. South Dakota hopes that their defense will be able to continue their defensive hot streak.
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
North Dakota was able to run for 229 yards in Week 1 against Southern Illinois while proving their dominance in the air during Week 2. Quarterback Tommy Schuster has played great football so far. Schuster completed 63% of his passes while complementing their ferocious rushing attack that is stationed by the duo of Otis Weah and Luke Skokna. This team hopes to pick up the same chunk plays that they were able to get in their last game against South Dakota State. Weah broke loose for a 40-yard rushing touchdown, which ended up being a huge turning point.
Luckily for them, they can rely a little bit more on their defense that has played outstanding so far. As mentioned above, their run defense has been stout in the first two games while also creating turnovers, forcing eight of them so far. One name to look out for in this matchup is their linebacker Jaxson Turner. He was able to pick up a sack and forced fumble in their win over South Dakota State and could be riding that momentum into another fantastic performance in this game.
FCS Prediction
Lay the touchdown with the Fighting Hawks and consider playing over the total of 47½.
North Dakota 31, South Dakota 20
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