Let's just get down to business. No pussyfooting around.

Happy Hour's weekly chat with South Dakota football coach Travis Johansen spends one opening question on the impressive 42-21 win over Drake — the Coyotes' second half defense after giving up just 87 total yards before halftime is a sore spot — and then barrels right into Saturday's showdown at No. 1 North Dakota State for the next 20-plus minutes.

Ready or not, here come the Bison, who return 88 percent of their players from last year's national championship squad and at 3-0 are:

• Coming off three hammerings of unranked FCS foes by a combined 138-17
• Fresh off a bye week — extra week to prepare for USD
• Out for blood after last year's last-minute loss in Vermillion that gave USD a share of the MVFC title with NDSU and SDSU
• 14-0 in the Fargodome since losing to USD 24-19 there in 2023
• Dominating the line of scrimmage, averaging 5.4 yards per rush while giving up just 2.4 yards per carry
• Sporting new dual threat quarterback Cole Payton, who is torching defenses by completing 71% of his passes for 235 yards per game (he's been done by the fourth quarter in each) and a staggering 13 yards per attempt, meaning the Bison are bombing the ball down the field. He has thrown six TD passes and zero interceptions and has also ran at a 6.5 yards per attempt clip (58 yards per game) with one touchdown run.
• Enjoying the spoils of NIL boosters paying FBS-coveted burner wideout Bryce Lance enough to return to Fargo to the tune of 80 yards per game and 21 yards per catch (1 TD) despite being often double-covered
• Giving up just 5.6 points per game, 158 total yards per game, and just 3.2 yards per play with a defense that returns many of its best weapons from 2024

So, what makes this Bison team so dominant (besides opponents who combine for a 3-8 record), and how do the Coyotes go up and beat them with the USD's brand of football, knowing they might not be catching NDSU off guard like the Yotes might have in their 24-19 win in Fargo in 2023 — which, like this matchup, came in a late September conference opener but unlike this matchup came with USD coming off a 3-8 season and a 17-point loss to the Bison the year before in 2022?

What does Johansen mean of USD quarterback Aidan Bouman's performance against Drake (13-for-20, 226 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) when he says "that was Aidan Bouman," and how does Bouman pull off another upset over the Bison after the 2024 late-game heroics (two scoring drives and multiple deep completions in the final four minutes to erase a double-digit deficit)?

Johansen is as prepared to answer these questions as he will be for the Bison. The execution? Well, we all know coaches all think it comes down to execution. Johansen uses the word frequently.