The Illinois State offense turned the ball over seven times to South Dakota on Saturday afternoon and still had a chance late in the game to tie or win it, but the Coyotes (1-0, 1-0 MVFC) came up with an interception on the final drive to defeat the No. 7 ranked Redbirds (0-1, 0-1 MVFC) in the 2021 spring opener at Hancock Stadium.

Illinois State will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, next Saturday to take on the nationally ranked UNI Panthers with kickoff set for 4 p.m. at the UNI Dome.