A season opener against Kansas State, a home opener against Drake and a Valley opener and Dakota Days game against Youngstown State highlight University of South Dakota’s 2015 football schedule announced Tuesday.

The 2015 regular season slate features home games against Drake (Sept. 19), Youngstown State (Oct. 3), Missouri State (Oct. 24), Southern Illinois (Nov. 7) and South Dakota State (Nov. 14). The Coyotes’ six road trips include Kansas State (Sept. 5) and UC Davis (Sept.12) in the non-conference season along with four Missouri Valley games.

South Dakota and Kansas State of the Big 12 will meet for the fourth time in Manhattan and for the first time since a three-game series played from 1980-82. The Wildcats won all three meetings including a 21-13 decision in 1980.

South Dakota and UC Davis will meet for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. The Coyotes opened the 2013 slate with a 10-7 win against the Aggies. USD, which leads the series 3-2, last traveled to Davis in 2010.

The Coyotes will host Drake this fall with a return game in Des Moines scheduled for 2017. The upcoming season’s contest is the second between the two programs since 1972 and first since 2009 when South Dakota won 51-21 in the DakotaDome. USD and Drake met every year from 1962-72.

An eight-game Missouri Valley slate follows a bye on Sept. 26 and begins the following Saturday against Youngstown State during Dakota Days. Road trips to Western Illinois (Oct. 10) and North Dakota State (Oct. 17) follow. The Coyotes will play three of their next four games at home with a trip to UNI set for Oct. 31. The regular season finale is against Illinois State in Bloomington, Ill., on Nov. 21.

A full look at the 2015 football schedule is shown below. Start times will be announced at a later date.

South Dakota 2015 Football Schedule

Date            Opponent                      Location                    Last Played    Meeting
Sept. 5         Kansas State                   Manhattan, Kan.         1982                 Fourth
Sept. 12       UC Davis                         Davis, Calif.                 2013                 Sixth
Sept. 19     Drake                             Vermillion, S.D.        2009               18^th
Oct. 3          Youngstown State*     Vermillion, S.D.        2014               Fourth
Oct. 10         Western Illinois*              Macomb, Ill.                2014                 Sixth
Oct. 17         North Dakota State*        Fargo, N.D.                 2014                 80^th
Oct. 24       Missouri State*            Vermillion, S.D.        2014               Fourth
Oct. 31         UNI*                                Cedar Falls, Iowa         2014                 46^th
Nov. 7         Southern Illinois*        Vermillion, S.D.        2014               Second
Nov. 14      South Dakota State*   Vermillion, S.D.        2014               109^th
Nov. 21        Illinois State*                  Bloomington, Ill.          2014                 Fifth

Notes:
Home games in bold
* – Missouri Valley Football Conference
Dakota Days – Oct. 3 vs. Youngstown State