By: Madie Brink
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Sioux Falls Football team opens the 2026 season at Bob Young Field as the Cougars host Black Hills State. USF is coming off a 7-4 campaign in 2025 and enters the opener riding an eight-game winning streak against the Yellow Jackets, including a 27-21 win in Spearfish last season.
The Cougars will also debut their new black uniforms as part of "Black Out The Bob," with fans encouraged to wear black and help kick off the 2026 season at Bob Young Field.
Inside the Series
OVERALL: 35th Meeting - Black Hills State Leads 20-13-1
CURRENT STREAK: Sioux Falls, Won 8
LAST MEETING: Aug. 28, 2025 - USF 27, BHSU 21 (Spearfish, S.D.)
SERIES HISTORY: Sioux Falls and Black Hills State will meet for the 35th time in a series that dates back to 1927, with the Yellow Jackets holding a 20-13-1 advantage all-time. While Black Hills State controlled much of the early history between the two programs, the Cougars have turned the tide in recent decades, winning eight consecutive meetings dating back to 1994. Sioux Falls is also 8-2 in the last 10 matchups, with its last loss to the Yellow Jackets coming in 1993 with a 35-28 road loss.
The Cougars opened the 2025 season with a 27-21 road victory in Spearfish, using a balanced offensive attack and timely defensive stops to extend the winning streak. Prior to that, the teams had not met since 2011, when Sioux Falls earned a 44-20 victory at Bob Young Field. During the current eight-game winning streak, the Cougars have averaged 42.4 points per game, highlighted by a 56-38 win in 1995, a 52-7 victory in 1996, and a 51-21 triumph in 1998.
Saturday's matchup marks the 17th meeting in Sioux Falls, where Black Hills State holds a narrow 9-6-1 advantage. Despite the historical edge for the Yellow Jackets, USF has won each of the last five meetings played in Sioux Falls and enters the 2026 opener looking to continue its longest winning streak in the series.
The Cougar File
SIOUX FALLS HEAD COACH JIM GLOGOWSKI: Jim Glogowski enters his fourth season at the helm of Cougar Football in 2026 after being named the 22nd head coach in program history on December 9, 2022. In three seasons, Glogowski has elevated USF on and off the field—guiding the Cougars to an overall 18-15 record in while mentoring 21 All-NSIC selections and 31 student-athletes on the NSIC Academic Team of Excellence.
A veteran coach with nearly three decades of experience, Glogowski previously served as associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Minnesota State, where he helped the Mavericks to four NSIC titles, four NCAA playoff appearances, and a trip to the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship game. He also spent nine years as head coach at Simpson College (NCAA DIII) and began his career with stops at USD, Allegheny, Clarion, and Augustana.
A standout player himself, Glogowski was a four-year starter at the University of South Dakota, where he earned All-American honors, served as a team captain, and was later inducted into the Coyote Hall of Fame (2013).
PREGAME TIDBITS: Sioux Falls enters the 2026 season looking to build off a 7-4 overall record and 6-4 mark in NSIC play last fall. The Cougars produced 337 points across 11 games, averaging 30.6 points per contest while scoring 48 total touchdowns. USF was particularly productive with the football, averaging 433.4 yards of total offense per game while recording 259 first downs and converting 49.3 percent of its third-down opportunities. The Cougars also controlled the clock throughout the year, averaging 33:36 in time of possession compared to just 26:20 for their opponents.
The Cougar offense returns several of its top playmakers from a unit that averaged 261.5 passing yards and 171.8 rushing yards per game in 2025.
Tate Schafer returns after throwing for 1,478 yards and 13 touchdowns in seven appearances, including four additional touchdowns on the ground. In the backfield,
Bubba Tann III is back after leading USF with 938 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Tann also caught 15 passes for 116 yards and two scores, giving him a team-high 10 total touchdowns on the year.
On the outside,
Hank Brown Jr. headlines an experienced group of returning receivers after a breakout 2025 campaign. Brown led the Cougars with 83 receptions for 979 yards, averaging 89.0 receiving yards per game, while adding 191 yards as a kickoff returner. He finished the year with a team-best 1,184 all-purpose yards.
Adonis Hutchinson added 38 catches for 575 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 27.4 yards per kickoff return, highlighted by a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. Tight end
Noah Robertson also returns after hauling in 13 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Cougars held opponents to just 343.8 total yards and 177.3 passing yards per game last season while allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete only 56.7 percent of their passes.
London Kolb returns after recording 46 tackles and a team-high 8.0 tackles for loss, while
Garret Hoffman finished with a team-leading 47 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups.
Andy Henson added 24 tackles in seven appearances, while the returning secondary includes
Beau Giblin, who recorded five pass breakups and an interception in 2025 along with
Trey Lewis who helped lead the Cougars with 27 tackles and a pass breakup.
USF will also look to carry over its efficiency and discipline from a season ago. The Cougars committed just 39 penalties for 357 yards across 11 games while finishing with only two lost fumbles. USF outscored opponents 337-288, held a nearly 1,000-yard advantage through the air, and finished with 74 more first downs than its opponents. After opening last season with a 27-21 victory at Black Hills State, the Cougars will begin 2026 against a familiar opponent as they welcome the Yellow Jackets to Bob Young Field.
NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll: Sioux Falls enters the 2026 season picked fourth overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll and third among South Division programs. The Cougars were represented by a pair of returning standouts on the league's Players to Watch list, with
Hank Brown Jr. selected on offense and
Andy Henson on defense. Brown returns after a breakout 2025 season in which he led USF with 83 receptions for 979 yards, while Henson returns to the Cougar defense after recording 24 tackles in seven games last fall. Henson was also a First Team All-NSIC selection and the conference's Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2024.
Scouting the Opponent
PREGAME TIDBITS: Black Hills State enters 2026 looking to build off a strong finish to last season. The Yellow Jackets finished 3-8 overall and 3-6 in RMAC play, but closed the year with back-to-back wins, defeating Adams State 59-0 and New Mexico Highlands 55-28. BHSU averaged 30.3 points and 356.8 yards of total offense per game, with much of its production coming through the air at 260.8 passing yards per contest.
The Yellow Jackets' 2025 offense was highlighted by quarterback Luke Duby, who threw for 2,478 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 66 percent of his passes. Receiver TJ Chukwurah was his top target, finishing with 66 receptions for 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Cameron Goods led the ground game with 670 yards and five scores. Defensively, BHSU recorded 54 tackles for loss and 12 sacks, led by Cooper Brown with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks, while the Yellow Jackets generated eight interceptions on the season.
BLACK HILLS STATE HEAD COACH JOSH BRESKE: Josh Breske has led the Black Hills State football program since December 2019, when he was named the 29th head coach in program history. A former Yellow Jacket standout, Breske has helped bring stability and success back to the program, highlighted by back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023. BHSU finished 7-4 in 2022, its first winning campaign since 2016, before posting a 5-4 mark in RMAC play in 2023 for the program's best conference finish of its NCAA Division II era. His program has also found success in the classroom, earning the RMAC Brechler Award for the conference's top team GPA in 2021 and producing the 2022 RMAC Defensive Academic Player of the Year.
Breske has strong ties to both programs in Thursday's matchup. A four-year starter on the offensive line at Black Hills State from 2005-09, he earned three all-conference selections and two NAIA All-America honors while helping the Yellow Jackets to two conference championships and two NAIA playoff appearances. He later spent three seasons on the Sioux Falls coaching staff from 2014-16, working with the tight ends before transitioning to offensive line coach. USF went 32-5 during his tenure, capped by a 12-1 season and trip to the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2016. Breske also made coaching stops at Robert Morris, Chadron State and Lindenwood before returning to his alma mater as head coach.
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