This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB J'Bore Gibbs of South Dakota State; LB Clayton Glasco of Indiana State; and P/K Garret Wegner of North Dakota State.

Offensive Player of the Week
Newcomer of the Week
QB J’Bore Gibbs, South Dakota State
6-3, 230, R-Fr., Chicago, Ill. (Phillips High)
Gibbs helped engineer a second-half comeback for South Dakota State by rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for another as the Jackrabbits rallied from a 21-9 deficit late in the third quarter for a 38-28 road win at Youngstown State on Oct. 12. Gibbs’ first touchdown run was from 2 yards out, while his 63-yard score in the final minute sealed the victory. His touchdown pass covered 81 yards to Cade Johnson and gave the Jackrabbits a 22-21 lead. Gibbs finished the night 14-of-26 passing for 210 yards and also was the team’s leading rusher with 75 yards on 12 carries.



Defense
LB Clayton Glasco, Indiana State
Sr., 6-1, 220, Pickerington, Ohio (Pickerington Central HS/Monroe College)
Glasco was dominant in every facet on the defensive side of the ball in the Sycamores 20-10 victory over Western Illinois. The senior recorded 10 tackles, three tackles-for-loss for six yards and two sacks in the win. As a unit, ISU held the Leathernecks to just 1-for-15 on third down. 



Special Teams
P/K Garret Wegner, North Dakota State
6-0, 194, Jr., Lodi, Wis. (Lodi HS)
Wegner averaged 50.7 yards on three punts with a season-long of 60 yards in North Dakota State’s 46-14 victory over 10th-ranked Northern Iowa. Wegner also handled seven kickoffs including two touchbacks for the Bison, who lead the conference in net kickoff yardage at 40.8 yards per kick.

OTHERS NOMINATED

Offense
QB Austin Simmons, South Dakota
Tied his career high with four touchdown passes and accounted for 262 yards (228 pass, 34 rush) in USD’s 45-10 win at Missouri State Saturday. Simmons played just three quarters and became the fifth Coyote to pass for 5,000 career yards during the game. He completed 15 of 21 passes and threw touchdowns of 56, 8, 29 and 14 yards.

RB James Robinson, Illinois State
Robinson was once again stellar for the Redbirds in their road win against SIU. The senior from Rockford, Illinois, averaged 4.8 yards per carry and ran for 150 yards with a touchdown against the Salukis. It marked Robinson’s third 100-plus yard rushing effort of the season and his fifth-straight with over 90 yards or more on the ground. His touchdown on the first drive of the game gave the Redbirds the lead for good, as ISU racked up nearly 200 yards on the ground to pick up a key bounce-back victory. 

RB Adam Cofield, North Dakota State
Cofield had his first career 100-yard rushing game for North Dakota State in the 46-14 win over 10th-ranked Northern Iowa. Cofield carried 15 times for 104 yards and two scores on runs of 1 and 37 yards. He averaged 6.9 yards per carry and added two receptions totaling 15 yards. He converted eight first downs, four of those on third-down plays and another on a fourth-down carry.

WR Dakota Caton, Indiana State
Caton put the Sycamores on the scoreboard with a three-yard touchdown catch on an out route eight minutes into the third quarter. The Sullivan, Indiana product put the Sycamores ahead for good midway through the fourth quarter when he caught his second touchdown of the day on a six-yard reception in the back of the endzone. In total, Caton caught three passes for 20 yards, with two being for touchdowns.  The sophomore also added a team-best 29 yard kick return. 

WR Tyler Currie, Missouri State
Currie pulled in a career-best nine pass receptions against South Dakota while accounting for 87 receiving yards.

WR Isaiah Weston, UNI
Weston tied his career-high five receptions and recorded a career-high 129 yards receiving. He is the first Panther player since James Lindgren in 2006 to score a touchdown in five consecutive games. 
  

Defense
CB Josh Hayes, North Dakota State
Hayes made a career-high three pass breakups in North Dakota State’s 46-14 win over 10th-ranked Northern Iowa along with one game-changing play. With the Bison holding a four-point lead and UNI driving to start the second half, Hayes forced a fumble that NDSU recovered at the UNI 35 to set up a touchdown two plays later and give NDSU a two-score lead. Hayes finished with six total tackles and the Bison scored four unanswered TDs to close out the win.

LB Tuvone Clark, Illinois State
Clark was a problem for the SIU defense all night long in the Redbirds’ 21-7 victory over the Salukis. Clark tied for the team with eight tackles, including five solo stops, and recorded two sacks and a forced fumble on the night. The St. Louis native and the rest of his defensive teammates applied pressure early and often, as Illinois State tied a season high with nine sacks in the contest. 

LB Jack Cochrane, South Dakota
Cochrane forced two turnovers in three plays, both of which led to USD touchdowns, as the Coyotes rolled past Missouri State 45-10 Saturday in Springfield. He recovered a fumble early in the second quarter that led to a one-play touchdown drive, and two plays later intercepted Peyton Huslig and rumbled 40 yards to the MSU 4, setting up a Kai Henry touchdown. Cochrane had seven tackles including 1.5 for loss. He helped a USD defense limit the Bears to 248 yards, nearly 100 yards below their season average.

LB Christian Rozeboom, South Dakota State
Rozeboom registered a season-high 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss, and added a fumble recovery in South Dakota State’s 38-28 come-from-behind win at Youngstown State on Oct. 12. Rozeboom topped the 400-tackle mark for his career (411) and posted double figures in tackles for the 21st time in 46 career games.

LB McNeece Egbim, Missouri State
Egbim posted a game-high 12 tackles against South Dakota at Plaster Stadium for his second straight double-figure tackle effort in league play.


Special Teams
K Jerry Nunez, Indiana State
Senior Jerry Nunez accounted for eight points in a win over Western Illinois Saturday, connecting on a pair field goals (20, 32 yards) and a pair of extra points. The Naples, Florida native iced the game late with a 32-yard field goal to make it a 10-point contest with under three minutes remaining. 

Punter Jack Colquhoun punted six times for a 44.7 yard average in SIU’s 21-7 loss to Illinois State. The Australia native had a long of 58 and three of his six kicks pinned the Redbirds inside the 20. One punt was downed at the ISU 5. Last year, SIU had four punts of 50+ yards, but Colquhoun already has six punts of 50+ yards through six games.


Newcomer
QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
Lance had 228 yards of total offense in North Dakota State’s 46-14 win over 10th-ranked Northern Iowa. He went 10 of 18 passing for 145 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 11 times for 83 yards. He completed touchdown passes of 36, 19 and 30 yards to three different receivers, and four of Lance’s 11 carries went for first downs on runs of 10, 13, 17 and 15 yards. He has yet to throw an interception in 106 career passing attempts and leads the FCS in passing efficiency with a 200.2 rating. Lance leads all MVFC passers with 9.86 yards per attempt and a 70.5 completion percentage.

LB Brandon Simon, Illinois State
A transfer from Iowa, Simon made quite the impression in ISU’s 21-7 victory over SIU. The Newark, New Jersey, native was all over the stat sheet with two solo tackles, one sack, one TFL and an interception for the Redbirds. Simon’s interception late in the second quarter kept the Salukis out of the end zone as the Redbirds were able to take a knee and a 14-0 advantage at halftime. It was his first interception as a Redbird, and the sixth for an ISU defender this season.

CB Bakhari Goodson, South Dakota
Goodson intercepted a pass inside the red zone and finished with five tackles in a dominant 45-10 victory over Missouri State Saturday in Springfield. He returned his interception 42 yards to flip field position in the second quarter. He also helped the Coyote defense hold MSU to 248 yards, nearly 100 yards below their season average.

RB Romeir Elliott, Southern Illinois
Elliott rushed 9 times for 109 yards (12.1 average) in SIU’s 21-7 loss to Illinois State. His 74-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter was an SIU Saluki Stadium record.