The Week Ahead
Nine of 10 league teams are in action this weekend, with four Conference games on the slate. Illinois State wraps up the league’s regular-season non-league schedule with a game at Northern Arizona.
Weekly MVFC Notebook (PDF)
On the Air
Four of the five games this weekend (all of the league games) will be available on ESPN3, while the NAU-Illinois State contest can be viewed on Pluto TV. The league’s ESPN3 production is the Southern Illinois-South Dakota State contest at 6 pm CT. Adam Seidel, Danan Hughes and Kelly Burke will be on the call from Brookings.
Saturday, Oct. 7 (Times CT)
#7 Illinois State at Northern Arizona, 6 pm • Flagstaff, Ariz. • Pluto TV
*#2 North Dakota State at Indiana State, 12 pm • Terre Haute, Ind. • NBC ND / ESPN3
*#15 Western Illinois at #21 UNI, 4 pm • Cedar Falls, Iowa • PSN / ESPN3
*#3 Youngstown St. at #6 South Dakota, 2 pm • Vermillion, S.D. • Midco SN / ESPN3
*Southern Illinois at #8 South Dakota State, 6 pm • Brookings, S.D. • ESPN3
*denotes Conference game
MVFC Matches Rankings Records
Seven MVFC teams are ranked in the FCS Coaches top-25 poll, marking the 15th time that’s happened in league history, including the fourth week in a row this season. Five teams appear in the Top 10 for the second-straight week (and for the fourth time in league history), matching a record previously established on 9/28/15 and again on 10/5/15.
Ranked vs. Ranked
Before two games on Oct. 7, there have been 153 games in which two ranked MVFC teams have faced one another. In those games, the home team is 90-62 (there was one neutral site game), and the higher ranked team is 92-61. For the second-straight week, all 5 games will involve at least one ranked league team. The Youngstown State and South Dakota game will be the 36th between two top-10 MVFC schools.
Acklin Earns National Honor
WR Jaelon Acklin of Western Illinois has earned the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week honor following his MVFC record-breaking performance vs. South Dakota.
Winning Streaks
Youngstown State’s 11-game winning streak at home is tied for the third-best active streak in the NCAA. South Dakota State has a seven-game home winning streak (tied for 7th best). North Dakota State’s 10-game road winning streak is best among current streaks.
Toughest Schedules
Based on cumulative opposition (past opponents and future opponents), nine of 10 MVFC schools rank in the Top 25 in the NCAA for ‘toughest schedules.’
Filling the Stands
The MVFC has three schools who are averaging 90 percent capacity in home attendance this season (Illinois State, North Dakota State and South Dakota).
3 in MVFC are Still Perfect
Three MVFC schools are unbeaten in 2017. In 2012, three league teams (Illinois State-5-0; North Dakota State-5-0; and Youngstown State-4-0) all started 4-0 or better before losing. That’s the only other time three different league teams started a season 4-0. The first time the league had as many as two 4-0 teams was in 2007 (UNI/SIU that year). Notably, only 9 unscathed FCS teams, including three from both the Ivy League and from the MVFC.
FCS Unbeatens (9)
5-0 James Madison, North Carolina A&T
4-0
Illinois State, North Dakota State, South Dakota, Wofford
3-0 Columbia, Dartmouth, Yale
Among the Best All-Time
The MVFC’s 20-9 (.690) non-conference record would rank third-best all-time in league history, behind 2014 (35-12, .745) and 1999 (30-12, .714). The 2014 season includes a 7-1 playoff non-conference record, and the 1999 season includes a 5-2 playoff slate against non-league teams. The .690 regular-season record is fifth-best in league annals (with one game left).
Against the FCS
The MVFC is 18-4 against FCS schools this year, which includes two road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. CAA Football is an FCS-best 20-3 against FCS peers, and only the Big Sky (8-6), Ivy (12-3), SoCon (8-5) and Southland (6-4) have winning marks.
Nation’s Top Offenses
The MVFC has two of the nation’s top five offenses (yards gained per game), topped by South Dakota (2nd at 550.3 ypg).
Nation’s Top Defenses
The MVFC has three of the nation’s top five defenses (yards allowed per game), topped by North Dakota State (138.3 ypg). The same three MVFC teams (Illinois State, North Dakota State and Youngstown State) are in the Top 4 in scoring defense.
Nation’s Top Pass Defenses
North Dakota State (1st) and Illinois State (2nd) lead the FCS in pass efficiency defense. Youngstown State is 7th on the list, while South Dakota (25th) also ranks in the top 25 in the FCS.
NCAA Team Leaders
In addition to North Dakota State’s top spot in the FCS in scoring offense, scoring defense, pass efficiency defense, and total defense, here’s a list of schools from the MVFC that lead the FCS in a stat category.
FCS Stat Leaders (MVFC Team)
Fewest First Downs Allowed - NDSU (33)
Fewest Fumbles Lost - Western Illinois (0)
Fewest Passes Intercepted - USD & NDSU (0)
Fewest Turnovers Lost - South Dakota (1)
Fewest Passing Yards Allowed - NDSU (88.3)
Rushing Defense - North Dakota State (50.0)
Rushing Offense - North Dakota State (336.8)
Kickoff Return Average - NDSU (30.33)
Fewest Sacks Allowed - Southern Illinois (0.25)
Fewest TFLs Allowed - South Dakota State (3.00)
Most TFLs - Illinois State (9.5)
3rd Down Conversion Pct. - Youngstown St. (59.6)
3rd Down Conversion Pct. Def. - Illinois St. (19.3)
4th Down Conversion Pct. - South Dakota (1.000)
4th Down Conversion Pct. Def. - NDSU (0.00)
NCAA Individual Leaders
A total of 14 MVFC student-athletes rank among the Top 5 in individual statistical categories in the FCS, while Jaelon Acklin (Western Illinois), Lance Dunn (North Dakota State) and Brett Taylor (Western Illinois) lead the nation in receiving, scoring and tackles.
Tops in Tackles
LB Brett Taylor had an FCS-best 28 tackles in Western Illinois’ game vs. South Dakota. That number ranks 5th all-time for a single game in league history.
TACKLES, Single-Game MVFC Records
31, Tim Carver, Eastern Illinois, vs. UTEP, 1994
29, Jeff Mills, EIU, vs. Missouri State, 1988
29, Ian Dominelli, YSU, vs. Cal Poly, 1999
29, Grant Olson, NDSU, vs. Wofford, 2012
28, Brett Taylor, WIU, vs. South Dakota, 2017
28, Rodney Harrison, WIU, vs. W. Kentucky, 1993
Acklin Sets MVFC Records
Western Illinois’ Jaelon Acklin set league single-game records for receptions (19) and receiving yards (343) in WIU’s 38-33 loss to South Dakota on Sept. 30. His 19 catches tied for the 11th-best all-time in FCS history, while his 343 yards are fourth-best all-time.
RECEIVING YARDS, Single-Game MVFC Records
343, Jaelon Acklin, WIU, vs. South Dakota, 2017
292, Laurént Robinson, ILS, vs. Indiana St., 2005
286, Mike Furrey, UNI, vs. Western Illinois, 1999
286, Frisman Jackson, WIU, vs. Indiana St., 2001
RECEIVING YARDS, 2017 Leaders (FBS/FCS)
343, Jaelon Acklin, WIU, vs. South Dakota, S30
272, John Ursua, Hawaii, vs. UMass, A26
260, Bob Pugh, INS, vs. Liberty, S16
248, Tyre Brady, Marshall, vs. NCSU, S9
RECEIVING YARDS, Single-Game NCAA Records
376, Kassim Osgood, Cal Poly (UNI) 11/4/00
370, Michael Lerch, Princeton (Brown) 10/12/91
354, Eddie Conti, Delaware (UConn) 11/7/98
343, Jaelon Acklin, WIU, vs. South Dakota, S30
333, Greg Hardin, UND (Montana) 10/20/12
MVFC Single-Game Leaders
In addition to Acklin’s big day against South Dakota, the league had single-season bests in passing yards (Sean McGuire) and rushing yards (Tevin McCaster) on Sept. 30.
PASSING YARDS
441 - Sean McGuire, WIU vs. South Dakota, S30
405 - Cade Sparks, INS vs. Liberty, S16
353 - Peyton Huslig, MSU vs. Mizzou, S2
345 - Jake Kolbe, ILS vs. Indiana State, S30
328 - Chris Streveler, USD vs. Western Illinois, S30
RUSHING YARDS
183 - Tevin McCaster, YSU vs. SDSU, S30
160 - Bruce Anderson, NDSU vs. EWU, S9
154 - LeMonte Booker, INS vs. EIU, A31
148 - Lance Dunn, NDSU vs. EWU, S9
142 - Lance Dunn, NDSU vs. Mississippi Valley, S2