This Week in the MVFC
All 10 league teams are in action with five conference games on the slate, and the league will take its TV cameras to Normal, Ill., for the Southern Illinois-Illinois State contest (ESPN3), where it’s Homecoming for the Redbirds. All four other league games this week will air on ESPN+.
Saturday, Oct. 13
Southern Illinois at #12 Illinois State, 2 pm CT | Normal, Ill. • ESPN3 (Homecoming)
RV Missouri State at Indiana State, 2 pm ET | Terre Haute, Ind. • ESPN+ (Homecoming)
Youngstown State at #2 South Dakota State, 2 pm CT | Brookings, S.D. • MidcoSN / ESPN+ (HC)
#1 North Dakota State at RV Western Illinois, 6 pm CT | Macomb, Ill. • NBC ND / ESPN+
RV UNI at #24 South Dakota, 6 pm CT | Vermillion, S.D. • MidcoSN / ESPN+
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
Weekly Honors
This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Easton Stick of North Dakota State, DB Andrew Gray of South Dakota, QB Ryan Boyle of Indiana State, PK Chase Vinatieri of South Dakota State and C Wyatt Wozniak of Indiana State. South Dakota senior safety Andrew Gray was named STATS National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Coyotes’ 35-28 win against Missouri State Saturday in Vermillion. Gray forced three turnovers – two fumbles and an interception. On top of that, he broke up a pass on fourth down in Coyote territory that effectively ended the game. It was one of three pass breakups Gray had to go with nine tackles.
Winning Against No. 1
When North Dakota State knocked off top-ranked and previously unbeaten James Madison in last year’s FCS title game, It marked the 17th time an MVFC member had recorded a win vs. the nation’s top-rated team (9 of those 17 wins were against a fellow league member). As an MVFC member (since 1985), Western Illinois owns a 1-7 record against No. 1 teams, beating Youngstown State in 1998.
Still Perfect
North Dakota State (5-0), Colgate (5-0), Dartmouth (4-0) and Princeton (4-0) still have perfect records through Oct. 6.
Streaking
North Dakota State owns the nation’s longest active winning streak in the FCS, at 11 games. The 11-game streak is tied for the fifth-longest in MVFC history.
Tough Schedules
Six MVFC teams rank among the Top 25 in the FCS for toughest schedules (based on cumulative opposition). UNI leads the league and is ranked No. 4 overall.
MVFC Holds Top 2 Spots in STATS Rankings
North Dakota State (1) and South Dakota State (2) hold the top two positions in the STATS FCS Top-25 rankings (Oct. 8). It marks the fourth time in league history that we’ve had the top two spots:
Sept. 12, 2005 – Southern Illinois (1), W. Kentucky (2)
Sept. 19, 2005 – W. Kentucky (1), Southern Illinois (2)
Final 2014 – North Dakota State (1), Illinois State (2)
Oct. 8, 2018 -- N. Dakota State (1), S. Dakota State (2)
4 Teams Ranked in Top 25
After defeating #24 Missouri State this past weekend, South Dakota is back in the polls for the first time since Sept. 10 earlier this season. The Yotes (24) are in the rankings with North Dakota State (1/1), South Dakota State (1/5) and Illinois State (12). Among conferences, the MVFC is the top-rated league in the FCS (Sagarin Rankings), and also ranks ahead of a number of FBS leagues, including the MAC (East Division), Conference USA (both the East and West divisions), and the Sun Belt (West Division).
A Passing Fancy
With 87 career TD passes, QB Taryn Christion of South Dakota State is the MVFC’s career leader in TD passes, surpassing the 78 thrown by Illinois State’s Matt Brown from 2009-12. He is also closing in on Brown for the all-time MVFC mark for total offense. Christion also has 9,597 career passing yards, establishing an SDSU record. Sean McGuire of Western Illinois, meanwhile, became Western’s career leader in passing yards (8,269) and passing touchdowns (64) at Illinois State.
FCS Efficiency Leaders
QB Taryn Christion of SDSU leads the nation in passer rating (205.2). The MVFC single-season record is 169.5, accomplished twice previously. NDSU’s Easton Stick-2017; UNI’s Steve Beard-1996.
A Familiar Spot for NDSU
North Dakota State ranks No. 12 in the FCS in total defense, yielding just 278.4 yards per game. The Bison have led the league in five of the past six seasons, and NDSU led the nation in both 2012 and 2017. NDSU ranks sixth in the FCS in scoring defense. The Bison have led the MVFC in that stat category in each of the past eight seasons and topped the nation in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Punching It In
Two league schools (South Dakota State, 2nd; and North Dakota State, 8th) rank among the FCS leaders in points per game. Meanwhile, three league players are in the Top 7 in the FCS in points per game.
FCS Individual Leaders - Scoring
Ind., Team (Conf.) PPG
1. Chandler Burks, Kennesaw (Big South) 14.0
2. Alexander Hollins, Eastern Ill. (OVC) 11.0
2. Calvin Turner Jr, Jacksonville (Pioneer) 11.0
2. Richie Warfield, Dayton (Pioneer) 11.0
5. James Robinson, Illinois State (MVFC) 10.8
6. Chase Vinatieri, SDSU (MVFC) 10.8
7. Karekin Brooks, Penn (Ivy League) 10.5
7. Cade Johnson, SDSU (MVFC) 10.5
Three in Top 10 for Tackles
Quentin Moon of Western Illinois leads the FCS in solo tackles per game (36 in five games). He ranks 7th overall in the FCS with 11.0 tackles per game. He’s joined by Indiana State’s Jonas Griffith (10.8, t8th) and UNI’s Chris Kolarevic (10.8, t8th) on the FCS leaderboard for total tackles per game.