With Big Ten media days fast approaching and fall camp slated to open shortly thereafter, the 2024 college football season is right around the corner. In year two of the Luke Fickell era, Wisconsin has further revamped its roster but faces a daunting schedule littered with marquee matchups.

Throughout July, BadgerBlitz.com will break down each game on Wisconsin's slate. We'll continue with South Dakota, an FCS foe against whom the Badgers will square off in Week 2.

South Dakota is coming off its best season in decades, finishing 10-3 and making a run all the way to the elite eight of the FCS playoffs. They'll run it back with head coach Bob Nielson, who's been the skipper in Vermillion since 2016. Last season was the Coyotes' first playoff appearance since 2021, and they'll look to keep their momentum this fall.

The causal college football fan probably doesn't know much about South Dakota, and that's quite reasonable. They're often completely overshadowed by their in-state rival, South Dakota State, one of the premier FCS programs in the nation. Still, the Coyotes' phenomenal season last year was no accident.

There's some legit players on this South Dakota team, at least at an FCS level. They return nearly all of their top playmakers on offense, as well as plenty of their top defenders. This is a team that proved it could compete at the highest ranks of the FCS, toppling perennial powerhouse North Dakota State in the regular season before falling to the Bison in the playoffs.

This will be a big year for the Coyotes. Not only are they coming off their best season in decades, as mentioned, but they have the pieces to make a similar run and perhaps dream even bigger. In its customary game against an FBS opponent last year, South Dakota got manhandled by Missouri. On average over the past decade, only about nine FCS-FBS upsets happen each year. But South Dakota has done it twice since making the jump from D-II, toppling Minnesota in 2010 and knocking off Bowling Green in 2017.

South Dakota returns most of the key pieces from its elite eight offense. The Coyotes weren't electric offensively; their total offense was ranked No. 70 in the FCS and their passing and rushing attacks were ranked similarly low.

South Dakota also won four one-score games, with final scores like 14-10 and 17-3. No, this isn't a team that typically boat-races you with its offense. But the Coyotes have an experienced nucleus on that side of the ball that plays well together and does what it needs in order to win ballgames.

The signal-caller is the 6-foot-5 quarterback Aidan Bouman. He was a full-time starter for the first time last fall, posting 2,551 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 66.8 completion percentage. Those numbers won't wow anyone, but he's efficient and has a bevy of playmakers to distribute the ball to.

The most dangerous among said playmakers is likely receiver Carter Bell. He's coming off a career year in which he recorded 51 catches for 896 yards and five scores. He's a big play threat, averaging 17.6 yards-per-catch, and is considered one of the better receivers in the FCS heading into the 2024 season.

To complete the trifecta, South Dakota also returns its leading rusher, tailback Travis Theis. After an 844-yard, six-touchdown season, he's also considered one of the better players at his position among the FCS ranks. Theis, however, is more of a grinder and less of a big-play threat — his longest run last season went for 34 yards. Nonetheless, South Dakota also returns its second leading rusher, Charles Pierre Jr. Pierre is the lighting to Theis' thunder, as he averaged 6.1 yards-per-carry and collected 472 yards and five scores last fall. His longest run? An 81-yard scamper.

This side of the ball is what the Coyotes hang their hat on. Their extremely stingy defense held opponents to single-digit scores a whopping seven times. In South Dakota's aforementioned upset of North Dakota State, it held the Bison to 19 points. This was a top-10 scoring defense in the FCS a season ago, one that has plenty of familiar faces returning.

While the Coyotes lose leading tackler and star linebacker Brock Mogensen, they return safety Dennis Shorter, who had an excellent year in 2023. The Daytona Beach, Florida native tallied 82 tackles, six pass breakups, one interception and two forced fumbles. He returns to lead South Dakota's defensive backfield.

Another impactful returner on defense is senior defensive lineman Blake Holden. He racked up 53 tackles, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Mi'Quise Grace is another returning defensive lineman, and he led South Dakota in sacks last year with 5.5. Those two will be a pair to keep an eye on in the trenches come Sept. 7. However, the Coyotes also lose lineman Brandon Webb, who was their second-leading sack artist. South Dakota will need to generate pass-rush with new faces this season.

Overall, this was a stout FCS defense last year and while there's been some attrition, plenty of pieces remain to field another stingy unit this fall.

There's a strong case to be made that Bell is a top-five FCS receiver this fall. He's coming off a big year with his aforementioned 52 catches for 896 yards and five scores, which earned him second-team all-MVFC honors as an all-purpose back. Bell truly broke out in 2021 with 41 catches for 673 yards and five scores, and he's been a mainstay of the Coyotes passing attack ever since.

It'll be interesting to see how the Badgers elect to defend Bell, and how much, if any, extra attention they pay him. He lines up all over the formation, primarily as a wide out (66.7 percent of the time) but also in the slot (32.8 percent of the time), according to Pro Football Focus. He'll draw matchups with close to if not all of Wisconsin's starting cornerbacks, and he'll be one of the Badgers' top priorities defensively.

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