Dec. 4—MACON, Ga. — The University of South Dakota football team is no stranger to the second round of the FCS playoffs.For the third-straight year, the No. 11-seeded Coyotes (9-4) find themselves in familiar postseason territory, yet nearly everything about Saturday’s matchup will feel new.USD will hit the road to face No. 6-seeded Mercer (9-2) in what marks the Coyotes’ first-ever meeting with the Bears, their first matchup against a Southern Conference opponent, and their first time playing a game in the state of Georgia. The winner of Saturday’s matchup will face the winner of No. 3 Montana/No. 14 South Dakota State in the FCS quarterfinal round next weekend.But for a team that has grown accustomed to this stage of the postseason, the unknown doesn’t seem to be a factor in Saturday’s contest.”I think the scheme and structure isn’t going to look a whole lot different than teams we have seen this season,” said USD head coach Travis Johansen on the unfamiliar territory with Mercer. “They’re going to be a spread offense that doesn’t operate too differently than the teams in the (Missouri) Valley (Football Conference). So, I don’t think we’re going to see an unfamiliar scheme, style or personnel. They just play winning football and it’s going to be a heck of a challenge.”USD enters the second round riding a four-game winning streak, including last week’s 38-17 home victory over Drake in the opening round of the playoffs. But now, the Coyotes head on the road for just the second time in their last six games. A challenge amplified by the fact that Mercer represents one of the most dangerous and least familiar teams South Dakota has faced all season.The Bears have been one of the most efficient and explosive programs in the FCS this season, particularly through the air offensively. They are riding a nine-game winning streak after a shaky start to earn a first-round bye.Much of that success has been fueled by the rapid rise of freshman quarterback Braden Atkinson.Despite his youth, Atkinson, the 2025 Jerry Rice award recipient as the FCS freshman of the year, has produced one of the most prolific seasons in the country. He is powering an aerial attack averaging 333.6 passing yards per game, good for No. 2 in the country.Atkinson ranks third in the FCS in total passing yards, and his command of the No. 1 total offense in the nation at 504.1 yards per game has turned Mercer into one of the most difficult teams to defend in the postseason field.”He’s obviously a highly intelligent, well-coached player with a lot of poise for a freshman quarterback at this level,” Johansen said of Atkinson’s abilities. “They’re able to keep the pocket very clear for him, the ball gets out on time and they stay in rhythm. He has certainly brought a level of consistency and decision-making that they appreciate, and I think that was probably the catalyst which got him the opportunity to be the starter after the Presbyterian loss.”Johansen added that it is going to take a village to make Atkinson feel uncomfortable on his home turf.”You can’t allow him to hit his first read, and you can’t allow him to just sit back and see clean pictures,” Johansen said. “We have got to have a great plan on defense to make the pocket feel different to him and make the coverage feel different. I feel comfortable that we’re going to find ways to do that, it’s just more of a challenge when the shot clock is so short on him.”But for the Coyotes, that is not going to be an easy task.Protecting Atkinson has been one of Mercer’s biggest strengths this year. The Bears have allowed just five sacks all season, the second-fewest in the FCS.That statistic sets up a compelling matchup against a USD defense that has shown flashes to pressure quarterbacks, disrupt rhythm and win at the line of scrimmage, led by transfer defensive end Caden Crawford’s five sacks this year.In the previous outing against Drake on Nov. 29, Crawford and Nathan Laperi each had 1 1/2 sacks. But Mercer’s resistance up front presents a challenge unlike any the Coyotes have faced this year.Defensively, the Bears are just as formidable. Mercer’s defense has accumulated 90 tackles for loss, good for No. 9 in the FCS, and their average of 8.2 tackles for loss per game ranks third in the nation. Their 42 sacks are the third-highest total in the FCS, and with an average of 3.82 per game, no team in the country gets to the quarterback more frequently.It’s the third year in a row that Mercer is meeting a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent in the playoffs, and South Dakota State in 2023 and North Dakota State in 2024 beat the Bears by a combined score of 72-7 on the way to national titles in each season.For South Dakota, limiting the Bears’ defensive front will be a major focal point. Keeping the offense on schedule, minimizing negative plays and maintaining balance will be essential if the Coyotes want to control the tempo. USD has shown throughout the season that it can win in multiple ways — methodically or explosively, on the ground or through the air lately. But against Mercer, execution will have to be precise.”They’re going to make it tough on us,” Johansen said of Mercer’s defensive unit. “They’re going to make sure that they have the hats in the run game to fit you up. They’re a fundamentally sound, tough team and they are going to challenge our fundamentals offensively. I think that’s really what it comes down to, and we have prepared enough in the Valley to execute against a team like Mercer.”The Coyotes’ defense will also need to play at their highest level. Slowing Atkinson and Mercer’s passing game requires pressure up front, discipline eyes in coverage and communication across all levels of the defense. USD will look to force the Bears into longer drives, limit explosive plays and close down windows that Mercer has routinely exploited all season.In many ways, Saturday’s showdown represents a clash of postseason experience against a rapidly ascending program riding a wave of momentum under second-year head coach Mike Jacobs, who holds a 20-5 record the past two seasons. South Dakota has been here before at this stage, this pressure, this moment. Mercer, meanwhile, has made it to this spot the past two seasons and lost, but enters with the confidence of a champion and the résumé of a legitimate contender.The Coyotes know their hands are full. But with both sides of the ball playing some of their best football at the right time, Johansen believes they belong on this stage. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Central on ESPN+ at Five Star Stadium.”We’ve been in this position for about what feels like two months now of win or go home,” Johansen said of reaching the final 16 teams in the playoffs. “I think our building has a real comfortability with that, and we’re all in right now. We’ve been prepared to handle the gravity of what playoff games mean because we have been in them for the last two months and we’re going to do everything we need to do to win the football game.”