This Week in the MVFC
Every school will have passed the midway point of the conference schedule this Saturday as eight MVFC schools play their fifth league game of the season (Illinois State and Indiana State will play their sixth). The league’s TV Game of the Week features Indiana State at Youngstown State, and it will air on Valley Football on ESPN3 (Mick Shaffer, Danan Hughes and Jim Powers on the call). All five MVFC games this week are available on ESPN3.
National Honor
Eli Dunne became the first UNI quarterback to pass for over 400 yards since 2009 when Pat Grace went for 445 against South Dakota, and he also set the school record for passing yards in a game by a first-time starter with 418 vs. Missouri State. He was named a National Player of the Week by College Football Performance Awards.
Saturday, Oct. 29
Southern Illinois at Missouri State | Springfield, MO • 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
#7 South Dakota State at RV Illinois St. | Normal, IL • 2 p.m. (CSN/ESPN3)
#13 Western Illinois at #25 South Dakota | Vermillion, SD • 2 p.m. (Midco/ESPN3)
Indiana State at #14 Youngstown State | Youngstown, OH • 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
#4 North Dakota State at RV UNI | Cedar Falls, IA • 6 p.m. (PSN/ESPN3)
Coyotes Rolling
South Dakota has put together a three-game win streak, matching its best as an MVFC member (USD joined the league for the start of the 2012 season). For the first time since 2011, South Dakota has cracked the top-25 rankings. The Coyotes are No. 25 in this week’s FCS Coaches poll. It marks the first time USD is in the Top 25 as an MVFC member (USD joined the league for the start of the 2012 season.)
Ranked v. Ranked
A league game this week will feature ranked teams playing one another. Counting that game this week, there have been 149 games in league history when two top-25 MVFC teams squared off. In the previous 148 games, the home team is 87-60. The higher-ranked team is 88-60. Once, the teams met in Frisco (neutral site).
Jacks Looking for 5-0 Start
South Dakota State improved to 4-0 in MVFC play after beating Youngstown State this past weekend, 24-10. A league team has started conference play with a 4-0 record on 34 occasions. All but one of the previous 33 (Western Kentucky in 2005) finished second or better in the league standings. Twenty seven of the 33 with 4-0 or better starts earned playoff berths, while 24 won the league title:
What’s the Rush?
Western Illinois RB Steve McShane leads the MVFC in rushing yards per game this season, averaging 95.4 through Western’s first seven contests. Only three times in 31 years has a league rushing champion averaged under 100 yards per game, and only once since 1989 has the MVFC rushing champ not eclipsed 110 ypg. The last season in which only one MVFC player eclipsed the 100-yard per-game rushing barrier was in 1997 (Aaron Stecker of Western Illinois averaged 176.4 ypg). Here are the last 10 seasons in the MVFC, indicating number of 100-yard rushers each year, and the individual MVFC rushing champ.
Number of 100-yard rushers (per game) per season
2016 - currently zero
2015 - 2 (Marshaun Coprich, ISU, led at 151.3 ypg)
2014 - 6 (Marshaun Coprich, ISU, led at 151.6 ypg)
2013 - 2 (Zach Zenner, SDSU, led at 143.9 ypg)
2012 - 3 (Zach Zenner, SDSU, led at 157.2 ypg)
2011 - 3 (Shakir Bell, INS, led at 151.8 ypg)
2010 - 4 (Kyle Minett, SDSU, led at 120.8 ypg)
2009 - 4 (Pat Paschall, NDSU, led at 139.7 ypg)
2008 - 3 (Herb Donaldson, WIU, led at 162.2 ypg)
2007 - 2 (Herb Donaldson, WIU, led at 149.1 ypg)
Sir Lance, A Lot
Western Illinois’ Lance Lenoir had seven catches this past weekend, giving him 249 for his career, one shy of the league’s all-time record, set by Tyrone Walker of Illinois State. Lenoir has a catch in 37-straight games, and only three in league history have bettered that.
Career Receptions, MVFC:
250, Tyrone Walker, Illinois State, 2009-12
249, Lance Lenoir, Western Illinois, 2013-pres.
249, Eddie Berlin, UNI, 1997-00
242, Mike Furrey, UNI, 1997-99
221, MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois, 2011-14
Consecutive Games W/Catch
45, Tyrone Walker, Illinois State, 2009-12
44, Eddie Berlin, UNI, 1997-00
38, Cornell Craig, Southern Illinois, 1996-99
37, Lance Lenoir, Western Illinois, 2013-present
Christion On Record Pace
QB Taryn Christion leads the MVFC and is third in the NCAA FCS in passing efficiency with a 172.9 rating. Steve Beard of UNI established the MVFC record in 1996 with a 169.5 passer rating, which was 2nd in the nation that year.
Tough Schedules
Four MVFC teams rank among the Top 11 in the FCS, for toughest schedules (based on cumulative opposition). UNI ranks 2nd in the FCS, while South Dakota (3rd) and North Dakota State (4th) are also in the Top 5. South Dakota State, meanwhile is tied for the national lead in ‘past opposition’ with the Jacks previous opponents compiling a combined 22-7 mark (.759 percentage).
Working Overtime
South Dakota is just the second MVFC team to play three overtime games in the same season. The Coyotes are 2-1 this year in those games, all of which went two overtimes. Notably, UNI matched an FCS record by losing OT games in three successive weeks in 2013 (Oct. 12-19-26). In the league’s 31-plus year history, only seven league teams (UNI-2005) (Indiana State-2002 and 2004) (Illinois State-2012) (Western Illinois-2015) (North Dakota State-2016) (South Dakota-2016) have won two OT games in the same year.
Tough Against the Rush
Youngstown State has yielded only 1 rushing TD this season, which leads all of Division I football. In the past 20 years, the only MVFC team to yield fewer than 5 rushing TDs in an entire season was the 2009 UNI Panthers -- 4, in an 11-game schedule.
Near Record Pace
South Dakota State leads the MVFC, averaging 38.3 points per game. Only one team in the MVFC’s 31-year history has averaged more than 40.0 points per game for an entire season -- the 2004 Salukis finished third nationally that year with a league-record 42.6 points per game.
Top-Scoring MVFC Teams, All-Time
42.6 -- Southern Illinois (2004, 10-2, 1st-MVFC)
39.2 -- Illinois State (2005, 7-4, t4th-MVFC)
38.7 -- North Dakota State (2013, 15-0, 1st-MVFC)
38.5 -- Southern Illinois (1999, 5-6, 7th-MVFC)
38.3 -- Illinois State (2015, 10-3, t1st-MVFC)
Road Warriors
Only 19 teams in league history have won five road games in a season and all of them reached the playoffs. This weekend, North Dakota State (3-0) and Western Illinois (3-1) will be going for their fourth in 2016 at UNI and at South Dakota, respectively.
The Scene of the Crime
North Dakota State has the best record in the NCAA (FBS and FCS) since the start of the 2011 season. The Bison are 77-6 in that span, outscoring opponents 2,790-1,115. Notably, that includes 5 wins (in 5 tries) vs. FBS teams in those seasons. In addition, of the six losses, only one (at Northern Iowa in 2014) has been by more than 3 points. UNI hosts North Dakota State this weekend.
NDSU Losses Since 2011
11/12/11 Youngstown State (L, 27-24)
10/13/12 Indiana State (L, 17-14)
11/08/14 at Northern Iowa (L, 23-3)
08/29/15 at Montana (L, 38-35)
10/17/15 South Dakota (L, 24-21)
10/15/16 South Dakota State (L, 19-17)
The Big D
South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert leads all Division I tight ends in receiving yards in 2016, with 819 yards on 51 catches (courtesy STATS). His nine TD receptions match Michael Roberts of Toledo for the Division I lead but are the best in the FCS.
Sagarin Conference Rankings
The MVFC is the top-rated FCS conference, according to the Sagarin rankings. Notably, the league ranks ahead of the FBS Sun Belt, Conference USA (West and East Divisions), the MAC (East Division) and the Mountain West (West Division). Four MVFC schools are among the Top 5 in the FCS rankings and seven are among the Top 26 FCS schools ranked in Sagarin.
5 MVFC Teams in Top 25
Five MVFC teams are ranked this week. South Dakota, after winning its third-straight game, cracked the FCS Coaches rankings, marking the first time the Coyotes have been ranked as an MVFC member. North Dakota State has been ranked in 88-straight top-25 regular-season polls, the league’s best active streak.
Two Over 3,000 Yards
When Western Illinois faced South Dakota State on Oct. 1, it marked the first time in league history that two 3,000-yard receivers appeared in the same MVFC game (Jake Wieneke of SDSU and Lance Lenoir of WIU). Wieneke is the only in the MVFC to record two seasons of 1,400 or more receiving yards (2014, 2015). They rank 2nd and 4th, respectively, among current receivers in the NCAA for career yards.