Five MVFC Teams in the Polls -- Five Missouri Valley Football teams are in both the Stats Perform poll and AFCA Coaches poll this week (Nov. 2). Including this week, the MVFC has had five teams in the top 15 of a national poll during the same week 11 times this year and 58 times in MVFC history. On Oct. 26, for the third time this season, the league matched a Conference record by placing five teams in the top 10 of the Stats Perform top-10 list (Sept. 14 and Oct. 19 also had five MVFC teams among the top 10 in the Stats Perform rankings). This week, five teams from the MVFC are in the top 11 of the Stats Perform top-25 poll.

Weekly MVFC Notebook (PDF)

MVFC Against The Top 25 -- Youngstown State has the league’s best record this season while facing top-25 MVFC teams as the Penguins are 4-1 against ranked MVFC opponents.  South Dakota State is next-best (at 3-1).

MVFC vs. Top 25 MVFC Teams | Remaining 
 

Team	Record	Remaining*
Illinois State	0-1	3 (at UND, at YSU, USD)
Indiana State	0-4	1 (at SDSU)
Murray State	0-5	1 (YSU)
North Dakota	1-2	1 (ILS)
UNI	2-1	2 (SDSU, at USD)
South Dakota	2-2	1 (at ILS)
South Dakota State	3-1	0
Southern Illinois	1-2	2 (SDSU, at UND)
Youngstown State	4-1	1 (ILS)

*Remaining = games left against teams currently in Top 25

MVFC: Best in the FCS -- Missouri Valley Football teams have combined for an FCS-best 19-4 record against other FCS opponents in 2026. No other FCS league can match that winning percentage (.826) this season. The MVFC’s overall win percentage (.617) and record (21-13) is also an FCS best.

FCS Leagues, Non-Conference vs. FCS Teams
1. Missouri Valley Football (19-4) .826
2. Ivy (17-7) .708
3. United (16-11) .593
4. Southland (7-5) .583
5. Big Sky (13-10) .565
6. MEAC (14-12) .538
7. SoCon (13-12) .520
8. Coastal (16-15) .516
9. Patriot (10-10) .500
10. OVC (11-14) .440
11. SWAC (6-9) .400
12. PFL (5-19) .208
13. NEC (3-22) .120

Ratings Leaders (Massey/Sagarin) -- Seven MVFC teams rank among the top 20 in the Massey Ratings. South Dakota State leads the MVFC at No. 2. SDSU (No. 2) leads five MVFC schools rated in the top 7 of the Sagarin.  YSU (3) and USD (5) join SDSU in the top 5.

FCS Massey Leaders (FCS Sagarin in Parentheses)
1. Montana State (1)    
2. South Dakota State (2)    
3. SF Austin (4)    
4. Youngstown State (3)    
5. Tarleton State (9)    
6. South Dakota (5)    
7. Northern Arizona (10)
8. North Dakota (6)
9. Illinois State (7)
10. Montana (8)
13. Northern Iowa (12) 
20. Southern Illinois (21)


Toughest Schedules -- According to Massey’s Strength of Schedule ratings, all nine MVFC programs rank in the top 33 nationally. Youngstown State’s SOS is rated as the toughest in the nation.  The MVFC has five teams in the top 9 of the Massey SOS ratings.  Of the schools in the SOS top 10, only six have .500 or better records (five are from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.)

FCS Leaders -- Strength of Schedule (Massey)
1. Youngstown State (MVFC) -- 7-2
2. Eastern Washington (Big Sky) -- 2-7
3. UNI (MVFC) -- 4-4
4. Idaho (Big Sky) -- 4-5
5. Northern Arizona (Big Sky) -- 7-2
6. Portland State (Big Sky) -- 2-7
7. North Dakota (MVFC) -- 6-4
8. South Dakota (MVFC) -- 6-3
9. South Dakota State (MVFC) -- 7-2
10. Utah Tech (Big Sky) -- 1-8
--
11. Murray State (MVFC) -- 1-8
12. Southern Illinois (MVFC) -- 4-5
14. Indiana State (MVFC) -- 2-7
33. Illinois State (MVFC) -- 7-2

Seventh Heaven -- There are 20 FCS teams that have seven or more victories this season. Four of those are MVFC schools.

FCS Conference Leaders (7-Win Teams)
4 - MVFC (Illinois State, USD, SDSU, Youngstown State)
3 - PFL (St. Thomas, Butler, Dayton)
2 - UAC (Tarleton State, Austin Peay)
2 - Southland (SFA, Lamar)
2 - SoCon (Tennessee Tech, Mercer)
2 - Big Sky (Montana St., Northern Arizona)
2 - CAA (Monmouth, Campbell)
1 - MEAC (South Carolina State)
1 - Patriot (Lehigh)
1 - SWAC (Alabama A&M)

Rank & File -- Youngstown State QB Beau Brungard ranks in the top three among active FCS players in career rushing, career rushing TDs, career passing yards, and career points per game average.

FCS Leaders, Career Rushing (Active Players)
1. Eli Gillman, Montana -- 4,838
2. Luke Yoder, Lehigh -- 4,338
3. Beau Brungard, Youngstown State -- 3,306

FCS Leaders, Career Rushing TDs (Active Players)
1. Eli Gillman, Montana -- 64
2. Beau Brungard, Youngstown State -- 57

FCS Leaders, Career Passing Yards (Active Players)
1. Pat McQuaide, Villanova -- 9,614
2. Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana -- 8,069
3. Beau Brungard, Youngstown State -- 7,812

FCS Leaders, Career PPG (Active Players)
1. Eli Gillman, Montana -- 8.1
2. Myles Sansted, Montana St. -- 7.9
3. Beau Brungard, Youngstown State -- 7.4

Ranked vs. Ranked -- This week, there is one MVFC game that feature ranked teams playing one another. In Conference history, there have been 272 previous games in which two league teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those 272 games, 79 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Twenty-one meetings have occurred in the playoffs. The home team is 151-119 in those games; the higher-ranked team is 173-97. Those figures include two neutral-site games, and two games in which the teams had the same national ranking.

MVFC Ranked vs. Ranked (Nov. 7)
[#10/#8] Illinois St. at  [#11/#15] UND [Midco/ESPN+] -- 1:00 p.m. CT

Putting Up the Points -- Beau Brungard of Youngstown State leads the nation by accounting for 22.4 points per game. Freshman QB Austyn Modrzewski of South Dakota tops the FCS with 27 TD passes. Modrzewski also leads the FCS in pass efficiency rating.

FCS Leaders, Points Responsible For
1. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 22.4
2. Jaylon Tolbert, Alcorn (SWAC) -- 21.3
3. Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana (Big Sky) -- 19.6
-- 
10. Austyn Modrzewski, South Dakota (MVFC) -- 17.4
13. Jerry Kaminski, North Dakota (MVFC) -- 16.4

FCS Leaders, Total TD Passes
1. Austyn Modrzewski, South Dakota (MVFC) -- 27
1. Jaylon Tolbert, Alcorn (SWAC) -- 27
3. Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana (Big Sky) -- 26
3. Kaden Anderson, Tarleton St. (UAC) -- 26
-- 
7. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 22
7. Jerry Kaminski, North Dakota (MVFC) -- 22

FCS Leaders, Pass Efficiency Rating
1. Austyn Modrzewski, South Dakota (MVFC) -- 177.2
2. Kaden Anderson, Tarleton St. (UAC) -- 174.7
3. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 174.5
4. Gavin Rutherford, SFA (Southland) -- 172.4
5. Keali’i Ah Yat, Montana (Big Sky) -- 168.8

Kicking It -- Three MVFC punters rank among the top seven in the FCS for punting, led by South Dakota’s Brook Honore Jr., who leads the NCAA with his 47.7 average.

FCS Leaders, Punting
1. Brook Honore Jr., South Dakota (MVFC) -- 47.7
2. Max Zuluaga, UT Martin (OVC) -- 47.6
3. Spencer Conrad, Indiana St. (MVFC) -- 46.1
4. Brett Gonda, Stetson (Pioneer) -- 45.6
5. Chase Lanham, Tennessee Tech (SoCon) -- 45.2
6. Ben Shrewsbury, VMI (SoCon) -- 45.1
7. Luke Silvernale, North Dakota (MVFC) -- 44.6

Paydirt -- Two MVFC receivers rank in the top 5 in the NCAA for TD receptions, led by Youngstown State newcomer Lynn Wyche-El, who has 10 TD grabs this year (3rd).

FCS Leaders, TD Receptions
1. Brooks Davis, Montana (Big Sky) -- 12
2. Noah Kjar, Weber St. (Big Sky) -- 11
3. Lynn Wyche-El, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 10
3. Bryce Coleman, Columbia (Ivy League) -- 10
5. Brayden White, South Dakota (MVFC) -- 9
three others tied with nine

FCS Leaders, Rushing TDs
1. Luke Yoder, Lehigh (Patriot) -- 16
2. Eli Gillman, Montana (Big Sky) -- 15
-- 
7. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 11
8. Josiah Johnson, South Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 10

MVFC Offenses Atop FCS -- South Dakota State leads the FCS with 259.3 rushing yards per game.  North Dakota leads the FCS with 230 total first downs, while SDSU ranks No. 5 in the FCS in total offense

FCS Leaders, Total Offense
1. Tarleton St. (UAC) -- 513.1
2. Alcorn (SWAC) -- 480.9
-- 
5. South Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 471.2
7. Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 468.3

Two in MVFC on Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award Watch List -- Stats Perform’s 2026 Jerry Rice Award Watch List runs 30 deep – matching the largest in the FCS freshman player of the year award’s 16-year history.  The Jerry Rice Award is named after the legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver who starred in the FCS at Mississippi Valley State. True and redshirt freshmen are eligible.

MVFC Players on the Watch List
QB Austyn Modrzewski, South Dakota, R-Fr.
WR Jadyn Reed, Indiana State, WR, Fr.

Brungard Named NFF William V. Campbell Trophy Finalist -- YSU QB Beau Brungard has been named one of the finalists for the 2026 National Football Foundation William V. Campbell Trophy®, the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced. The William V. Campbell Trophy® is college football’s premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.

Against the FBS -- Missouri Valley Football Conference schools have combined for 50 wins against FBS teams since 1985.

MVFC Teams w/ FBS Wins (50)
11 -- UNI
8 -- Western Illinois
6 -- Illinois State, NDSU
5 -- Indiana State, Southern Illinois
4 -- Youngstown State
2 -- SDSU
1 -- Eastern Illinois, Missouri State, South Dakota

MVFC-Big Sky Challenge Series -- The MVFC and the Big Sky Conference announced a Challenge Series between the two leagues before the 2017 season. (Only regular-season contests count in the series standings.)  The MVFC claimed the 2026 series with a 3-1 advantage.  The MVFC has never lost a season series in the Challenge.

Series History (2017-26)
2017 (MVFC Wins, 5-3) | Playoffs: Big Sky 1-0
2018 (MVFC Wins, 5-3) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-1
2019 (MVFC Wins, 6-4) | Playoffs: MVFC 1-0
20-21 (COVID) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-0
2021 (MVFC Wins, 4-2) | Playoffs: MVFC 3-2
2022 (Series Tied, 3-3) | Playoffs: MVFC 2-1
2023 (MVFC Wins, 4-1) | Playoffs: Tied 3-3
2024 (MVFC Wins, 2-1) | Playoffs: MVFC 3-2
2025 (MVFC Wins, 5-2) | Playoffs: Big Sky 3-1
2026 (3-1) | Playoffs: 0-0
S5 -- at Eastern Washington 34, UNI 24
S5 -- South Dakota 38, at Northern Colorado 23
S12 -- at South Dakota 41, Eastern Washington 23
S12 -- North Dakota 47, at Portland State 23

Quite The Day:  9-0 -- For the first time in the league’s 42-year history, all Conference teams played and all teams won on the same day.  MVFC teams went 9-0 on Sept. 12 against non-league foes, which included the league’s 50th all-time win against an FBS opponent (Illinois State defeated Northern Illinois). 

MVFC: NFL Pipeline -- The MVFC has established itself as one of the most reliable pipelines of NFL talent in the FCS.  Program highlights include Carson Wentz (2016, 2nd overall pick), Trey Lance (2021, 3rd overall pick), and a conference-record nine players drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. Two NDSU players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. A total of 99 players have been selected in the NFL Draft in the league’s 41-year history.

Jackrabbits Favored -- For the third time in the past four seasons, South Dakota State has been picked by a voting panel of league coaches, school communications directors, and media as the team to beat in the MVFC.

National Pedigree -- The MVFC holds an FCS-best 14 national championships — more than any other conference. The MVFC has appeared in the FCS National Championship Game 21 times and holds a 14-7 record in those games. Illinois State’s national title game appearance in 2025 marked the 15th consecutive championship game appearance for an MVFC program, extending the conference’s own FCS record.

We’ve Got Six -- In 2021, 2023 and 2025, the MVFC sent six teams to the FCS playoffs — matching the all-time FCS record for bids by a single conference in a single season. Only the CAA (2018) had previously achieved six bids.

Non-Conference Success -- Since 2010, MVFC teams are a combined 115-54 (.680) in FCS playoff games. Against opponents from other conferences, the league is an even more dominant 96-35 (.733).  An MVFC team has reached the FCS semifinals 24 times in the past 15 seasons (38 times overall). The league has placed two semifinal teams in the same year eight times since 2014 — and three in 2024, which was a first in FCS history.