The regular season ended on Saturday and the league crowned two champions as North Dakota State and South Dakota State ended the year with identical 7-1 league records. It's the first-ever MVFC crown for SDSU and sixth-straight for the Bison. SDSU, by virtue of its win at NDSU, is the league's AQ bid into the FCS Playoffs (Selection Show is 10 am CT on ESPNU on Sunday).

No. 8 South Dakota State 45, UNI 24
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — South Dakota State forced four turnovers, Taryn Christion accounted for four touchdown and the Jackrabbits claimed their first Missouri Valley Football Conference title in program history with a 45-24 victory over Northern Iowa Saturday at the UNI-Dome. The Jackrabbits improved to 8-3 overall and 7-1 in league play to tie with North Dakota State atop the league standings. By virtue of its win over NDSU earlier this season, SDSU earns the MVFC's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Pairings for the 24-team tournament will be announced at 10 a.m. Central Time on ESPNU and the Watch ESPN app.

SDSU finished with 422-351 advantage in total offense, including a 134-56 edge in rushing. Christion completed 21-of-27 passes for 272 yards in setting a new Jackrabbit single-season record for passing yards with 3,369. Wieneke ended the day with seven catches for 134 yards, with Goedert adding seven receptions for 74 yards. Brady Mengarelli carried 14 times for 60 yards. For UNI, Dunne completed 28-of-44 attempts for 295 yards. Rima caught six passes for 66 yards, while Michael Malloy added six catches for 54 yards. Marcus Weymiller was the leading ground gainer with 39 yards on seven carries for the Panthers.

No. 4 North Dakota State 28, South Dakota 21
VERMILLION, S.D. - No. 4-ranked North Dakota State clinched its sixth straight Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with a 28-21 win over South Dakota on Saturday, Nov. 19, before a crowd of 10,011 at the DakotaDome. NDSU finished the regular season 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the MVFC. The Bison, ranked No. 1 earlier in the week by the NCAA Division I football championship committee, locked up a top seed and home field advantage for the FCS playoffs.

Lance Dunn rushed 14 times for a career-high 145 yards as the Bison rolled up a season-high 369 rushing yards. Easton Stick went 13 of 20 passing for 154 yards and three touchdowns. North Dakota State got a three-and-out on defense to start the game, then went 70 yards in 11 plays on its first drive to go ahead 7-0 on King Frazier's 1-yard touchdown run. Stick completed touchdown passes to Darrius Shepherd from 40 yards and Jeff Illies from 13 yards as the Bison built a 21-14 halftime lead. NDSU scored on the opening drive of the second half when Connor Wentz's 6-yard TD reception made it a 28-14 game. NDSU threatened to pull away early in the fourth quarter, but a fumble in USD territory turned into a Coyote touchdown nine plays later and cut the Bison lead to 28-21.

#14 Youngstown State 65, Missouri State 20
Springfield, Mo. - The Youngstown State offense had its best performance of the season, and one of the best in school history, as the Penguins picked up their eighth win of the season in impressive fashion beating Missouri State 65-20 on a chilly Saturday at Plaster Stadium. The Penguins amassed a school-record 747 yards of total offense while the defense forced four turnovers that YSU turned into 28 points. With the victory, YSU should ensure itself in the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 2006 following an 8-3 overall campaign that featured a 6-2 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. MSU finishes the season 4-7 and 2-6.

YSU finished with 572 yards rushing on 54 carries, an average of 10.6 per rush. The Penguins had rushing touchdowns of 94, 75, 61, 53, 52, three and one-yard in the game. Senior TB Martin Ruiz had the best game of his career with 183 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Joe Alessi led the Guins in rushing with 190 yards on just seven carries. TB Jody Webb joined the 100-yard party with 166 yards on 15 attempts. QBs Hunter Wells and Nathan Mays combined to complete 16-of-17 passes for 175 yards. Wells had the lone incompletion but completed 14 of 15 attempts, all of which came in the first half.

Southern Illinois 44, No. 23 Western Illinois 34
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki Football team erased a 17-point deficit en route to a 44-34 win over No. 23 Western Illinois on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Saluki Stadium. The Salukis closed the game on a 30-3 scoring run and earned a signature win over a nationally ranked team fighting for a playoff berth.

"What a game, what a way to end the season," SIU head coach Nick Hill said. "It's one thing to talk about--going out the right way, sending your seniors out, a momentum builder for your program, all that kind of stuff. It's easy to talk about it, but it's tougher to go out and do. It's tough to believe when you're down 17 points."

After trailing 31-14 in the second half, the Salukis ended the game on a 30-3 scoring run and outscored the Leathernecks (6-5, 3-5 MVFC) 20-0 in the fourth quarter. The win marked the biggest deficit overcome for the program since Nick Hill led SIU to a win over Northern Illinois in 2007. The win came in the final game of Hill's first season. The inaugural season didn't end in the playoff berth for SIU, which ended the season 4-7 overall and 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, but the season ended in a win for 18 seniors who helped set the foundation for lasting success under Coach Hill.