There are classic college football rivalries and then, there is Augustana versus the University of Sioux Falls in Saturday's annual "Key to the City Game."
Sure, there are longer, more hate-filled rivalries all across America at all levels. The most famous ones feature a power struggle in proximity — a border battle like the SDSU-NDSU "Dakota Marker" game (nationally, think Michigan-Ohio State), or state bragging rights (USD-SDSU, Alabama-Auburn).
Some of these coveted clashes involve legendary trophies in the form of buckets or axes or pigs or bells or splatoons.
How cute. Augie and USF play literally for a Key to the City. And while it isn't the only college rivalry marking a city championship, none pits schools any closer to each other than Augie and USF.
Pittsburgh and West Virginia have the "Backyard Brawl" over the 75 miles of turf between the Panthers and Mountaineers. But Augie and USF are literally in each other's backyards, separated by two city blocks. An aerial view of the central Sioux Falls campuses would lead a newcomer to the city to believe that real estate encompasses just one college campus.
How many other rivalries involve schools where students from both frequently walk by, live by, or even walk with and live with each other? Few, if any, scenes in this country can be found at a place like what can be seen at Sunny's Pizzeria, located between the colleges. On any given day students and student-athletes from the fierce rivals are chowing down on pizza next to or with each other.
What is fun if not cliche about college rivalries is "you can throw the records out" when the opponents lock horns. When it appears to be a lopsided matchup, a down-to-the-wire thriller if not a major upset can ensue because of the nature of the passion and emotion of the rivalry.
But when both programs almost always sport winning records — therefore leaving both a conference title and national playoff spot on the line — now we've taken it to another level. Think Nebraska and Oklahoma in the 60's, 70's, and 80's and certainly Michigan and Ohio State these last few years.
That, too, is Augie and USF. It has all of the ingredients of a delicious rivalry and then some.
The true secret sauce is the "what if" that loomed while the rivalry lay dormant for 26 years from 1986 to 2012 and the perceived "you don't belong" attitude from some of the Augie crowd toward USF during that time.
How could the 800 lb. gorilla of the NAIA (three national championships from 2006-09) compete with a solid, winning NCAA Div. II squad, we all wondered. Sioux Falls got its much-anticipated answer, finally, in 2012 in front of a Kirkeby Over Stadium record 7,120 fans — a back-and-forth shootout for the ages. Reality struck with a furious bolt of lightning off the foot of Coo kicker Braden Wieking as time expired. USF 32, Augie 31.
Thunder rolled. The people in purple — including so many USF alumni players who never got their chance to beat the Vikings — stormed Jim Heinitz Field. Talk about a tone-setter for a rivalry. Talk about a standard to live up to ever since.
Whatever noses-in-air outlook some Vikings fans may have had toward the Cougars evaporated. Any denial of how much it matters to Augie fans, players, and coaches to be their rival from down the street is loudly refuted each time Augie has won and Vikings players have sprinted and roared like rampaging bulls toward that human-sized Key to the City that rests in the north end zone of either stadium.
That has been the case each of the last two seasons. After USF owned the series 8-2 in its first decade of revival, the Vikings have captured the key in back-to-back meetings for the first time.
So, what does this chapter have in store? USF coach Jim Glogowski goes behind the back-to-back hammerings his Cougars took from top 15 teams Minnesota-Duluth (34-17) and Minnesota State-Mankato (38-12) after a 3-0 start. Augie's Jerry Olszewski puts his finger on how the Vikings have started 5-0 despite a couple closer calls than they expected or wanted.
Both teams have suffered significant injuries. Will we even get the appetizing quarterback duel between USF dual threat Camden Dean and Augie's golden-armed Gunner Hensley? So, what is the path to victory, and what kinds of attitudes toward the rivalry do the coaches present to their players?
As importantly, what does this rivalry actually mean to the actual combatants between the white lines?
After the "Coach OJ" and "Coach Glo" chats, USD coach Travis Johansen sits down with Gaskins for their weekly Happy Hour conversation.
A close loss or even, say, 14-point loss at No. 1 North Dakota State would not be a satisfactory result for those in South Dakota's football program, but it wouldn't be as nearly painful or jarring as what transpired in Fargo on Saturday.
Yes, 51-13 hurt. Every part of it, particularly the 34-3 halftime score and how it got there. Yes, it shocked Johansen, who did not expect his team to be so far from its standard.
But it happened, and where does that leave Johansen and the Coyotes beyond their 2-3 record and now razor-thin margin of error to reach the FCS playoffs?
Johansen has stated much of the damage was a result of "execution" errors by players. What are examples of that? He feels the team was well-prepared and players in position to make the right plays. So, was part of this just the Bison having a better team and better athletes?
Did it leave USD to do some soul searching? Is it forcing wide-sweeping changes in schemes or personnel? What kind of big picture perspective might need a look after five games, considering the Coyotes were replacing so many All-Americans and All-MVFC players, plus the head coach and coordinators?
Johansen goes deep diving with Gaskins about the team's culture, why Johansen feels strongly the Yotes will not fall apart, how he draws from past blowout losses — and his six prior seasons USD, some with winning records and some with losing final marks — to both operate and inspire. He's been here before, just not as the head coach.
Toward the end, some time is spent on 0-4 Murray State, the Coyotes' Dakota Days homecoming opponent on Saturday. But for the most part, these 25 minutes are spent looking into how Johansen and his coaches will keep a season with high expectations on the rails toward at least a playoff berth.
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