If this is par for the course for the Bob Nielson era, Coyote fans are in for a treat.
South Dakota scored 21 unanswered points in the final 11 minutes of regulation to force overtime and beat Weber State 52-49 on a Miles Bergner 34-yard field goal in double overtime Saturday inside the DakotaDome. It marked the first win for the Coyotes (1-1) under Nielson. USD has won 14 consecutive home openers dating back to 2003 and improved to 33-5 in home openers inside the DakotaDome.
Weber State (1-1) led 21-0 less than eight minutes into the game and built a second 21-point lead in the second half after South Dakota had climbed within seven at 28-21 early in the second quarter. All told, the teams combined for 864 yards on 174 plays from scrimmage, 106 by USD.
South Dakota wraps up non-conference play next Saturday against North Dakota in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks (0-2) lost to Bowling Green 27-26 Saturday after a failed two-point conversion try with 13 seconds remaining. A blocked punt return score was their undoing in a 13-9 loss to Stony Brook in their season opener. South Dakota and North Dakota last met in 2011.
