1979 South Dakota Coyotes football team

The 1979 South Dakota Coyotes football team represented the University of South Dakotaas a member of the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1979 NCAA Division II football season. Led by first-year head coach Dave Triplett, the Coyotes compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the NCC. South Dakota and South Dakota State played two head-to-head games, both won by the Jackrabbits, which counted as one loss for South Dakota and one win for South Dakota State in the conference standings.

1979 South Dakota Coyotes football
Conference	North Central Conference
Record	5–6 (3–3 NCC)
Head coach	Dave Triplett (1st season)
Home stadium	Inman Field/DakotaDome

1979 North Central Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 North Dakota $^	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 South Dakota State * ^	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
North Dakota State	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
South Dakota *	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Augustana (SD)	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Morningside	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
Northern Colorado †	0	–	0	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – South Dakota State won two head-to-head games over South Dakota, which counted as one game for each team in the conference standings. † – Northern Colorado was ineligible for the conference title. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at Eastern Illinois*		O'Brien Field Charleston, IL	L 15–24	8,000
September 8	St. Thomas (MN)*		Inman Field Vermillion, SD	W 22–6	6,800
September 15	Northeast Missouri State*		Inman Field Vermillion, SD	W 35–10	4,900
September 22	North Dakota State		Inman Field Vermillion, SD	W 29–28	7,300
September 29	at Morningside		Roberts Field Sioux City, IA	W 24–8	3,500
October 6	at South Dakota State	No. 5	Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD (rivalry)	L 21–26	12,007
October 13	at Augustana (SD)		Sioux Falls, SD	L 6–7	5,010
October 20	at No. 3 North Dakota		Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND (Sitting Bull Trophy)	L 22–23	11,050
October 27	Nebraska–Omaha		Inman Field Vermillion, SD	W 23–17	10,500
November 3	Northern Iowa*		Inman Field Vermillion, SD	L 9–23	6,200
November 10	No. 8 South Dakota State		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD	L 28–33	9,200
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game