This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Austin Simmons of South Dakota; DE Elerson Smith of UNI; P Brendan Withrow of Missouri State; and QB Trey Lance of North Dakota State.

Offensive Player of the Week
QB Austin Simmons, South Dakota
6-1, 215, Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa (Lewis Central HS)
Simmons ran nine times for a career-high 138 yards and passed for 210 yards while accounting for four touchdowns (3 rush, 1 pass) in South Dakota’s 38-0 win against Indiana State on Dakota Days. Simmons scored on runs of 4, 37 and 44 yards and tossed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Drew Greenhaw. The Coyotes racked up 522 yards against the nation’s 15th-ranked defense (304 ypg).  His 348 yards of total offense are the third best in the league this year and was the best in the league this past weekend.



Defensive Player of the week
DE Elerson Smith, UNI
6-7, 245, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn. (Minneapolis South HS)
Smith picked up 2.5 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss to help No. 13 UNI shut down the vaunted Youngstown State offense. The Penguins came into the weekend averaging nearly 300 yards rushing a game, but UNI held them to just 55 on the day. Smith tallied six total tackles on the day and recorded an additional QB hit. He now has 7.5 sacks and 10.5 TFLs for the season. He is ranked first in the FCS for sacks and fourth in the FCS for tackles for loss. UNI ranks ninth in the FCS in total defense, ninth in team tackles for loss and sixth for team sacks. 



Special Teams Player of the Week
P Brendan Withrow, Missouri State
6-0, 204, Sr., Imperial, Mo. (St. Pius X High)
Withrow broke a Missouri State single-game punting average record with an impressive 51.6 average on seven attempts in the Bears win at Western Illinois. He matched his career-long punt with a 70-yarder in the second quarter and notched four kicks of 50 yards or more with two downed inside the 20. His 56-yard punt in the final minute of regulation was downed at the WIU one-yard line in a tie game, giving WIU no desperation play and ultimately pushing the game into overtime.



Newcomer of the Week
QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
6-3, 221, RFr., Marshall, Minn. (Marshall HS)
Lance was 12 of 15 passing for 189 yards and three touchdowns in North Dakota State’s 37-7 win over sixth-ranked Illinois State. He also added seven carries for 43 yards, including a 27-yard carry from the NDSU 8 to start a 92-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Lance is second in the FCS with a 73.6 completion percentage and leads the FCS with a 204.7 pass efficiency rating. He is 64 of 87 passing for 887 yards and 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions in his first five starts.


OTHERS NOMINATED

Offense
QB Peyton Huslig, Missouri State
MSU’s senior signal caller matched career highs with 28 completions and four passing touchdowns to help lead the Bears to a triple-overtime road win over Western Illinois in the Valley opener. Huslig finished 28-of-44 with no interceptions and 315 passing yards – his third-best single-game passing output. He accounted for 231 passing yards in the second half and overtime. Huslig also eclipsed 5,000 career passing yards in the victory to become just the third player in MSU history to reach that milestone while securing his 11th career 200-yard passing effort. His 41-yard TD strike to Tyler Currie midway through the fourth quarter gave the Bears their first lead of the game after trailing by 14 points early, while his 25-yard scoring pass to Lorenzo Thomas on the first play of overtime set a blistering pace in the extra time.

RB Pierre Strong, South Dakota State
Strong led a potent rushing attack, gaining a season-high 229 yards while tying a career high with 20 carries (11.4 ypc) in South Dakota State’s 28-10 Hobo Day victory over Southern Illinois. Strong’s 64-yard touchdown run in the third quarter gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good at 15-10. Strong topped the 200-yard mark for the second time in his career and eclipsed the century mark for the second time this season and seventh time in his career. He also scored a touchdown for the 10th time in 11 games dating back to 2018.

WR Isaiah Weston, UNI
Weston caught three passes for 108 yards and a touchdown to lead all receivers in UNI’s win over Youngstown State. He is the first receiver since at least 2008 to score a touchdown in four consecutive games. He is tied for the lead in the Valley for four touchdowns already this season and leads the valley in receiving yards. 
 
RB Ty Brooks, North Dakota State
Brooks rushed nine times for 106 yards and one touchdown in North Dakota State’s 37-3 win over sixth-ranked Illinois State. It was his second straight 100-yard rushing game, both against Top 10 opponents, and the sixth 100-yard game of his career. He had zero carries for lost yardage and averaged 11.8 yards per carry including a 53-yard touchdown run that gave NDSU a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Brooks had a game-high 185 all-purpose yards including a 79-yard kickoff return that set up another Bison score.


Defense
DE Derrek Tuszka, North Dakota State
Tuszka made five tackles, all solo stops, including two sacks and one forced fumble in North Dakota State’s 37-3 win over sixth-ranked Illinois State. Tuszka was part of a defensive effort that totaled four sacks, five quarterback hurries and three fumbles in holding the Redbirds without a touchdown for the first time since October 2016. NDSU limited Illinois State to 2.5 yards per carry and just 79 net rushing yards. The Bison have not allowed a touchdown in seven consecutive quarters. Tuszka is eighth in the FCS and second in the league averaging 1.00 sacks per game.

LB McNeece Egbim, Missouri State
Egbim matched a career high and led all players with 15 tackles to help the Bears to a triple overtime win at Western Illinois on Saturday. The All-MVFC performer also set a personal best with 13 solo stops in the contest and broke up a pair of WIU passes. The Bears co-captain posted his first double-figure tackle game of the campaign and 11th of his career for an MSU defensive unit that allowed just 13 first downs in the win.

LB Logan Backhaus, South Dakota State
Backhaus recorded a game-high 11 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack, in South Dakota State’s 28-10 win over Southern Illinois on Oct. 5. Backhaus was part of a Jackrabbit defene that recorded a season-high five sacks, limited the Salukis to 215 yards of total offense and did not allow a first down in the third quarter.

DE Darin Greenfield, South Dakota
Greenfield had seven tackles including a sack, three tackles-for-loss and forced a turnover (fumble) in helping the Coyotes shut out Indiana State Saturday on Dakota Days. Greenfield registered a sack for the fourth consecutive game and moved into second place on USD’s all-time TFL list. The Coyotes limited Indiana State to 40 yards rushing on 33 carries. The Sycamores were an offense averaging 216 yards per game entering the weekend, good for 20th nationally.

DL LaCale London, Western Illinois
London finished Saturday’s Valley opener with seven tackles (three for a combined loss of 18 yards). A strip sack in the opening quarter led to Western’s 7-0 advantage as his teammate recovered and went 10 yards for the touchdown. In the second overtime period, his goal line stop forced fourth down and a Missouri State FG.  In total, he forced two fumbles and added a QB hurry. 


Special Teams
P Brady Schutt, South Dakota
Schutt averaged 49 yards and netted 45 yards on five punts against Indiana State Saturday. Boosting that performance was a career-long 62-yard punt with no return. Schutt had two 50-plus yarders and pinned one inside the 20.


Newcomer
WR/KR Jaxon Janke, South Dakota State
Janke caught a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes as South Dakota State pulled away for a 28-10 Hobo Day victory over Southern Illinois on Oct. 5. Janke ended the game with three catches for 20 yards, with his touchdowns covering 12 and 4 yards. He also returned a kickoff for 14 yards and three punts for a total of 11 yards.

QB Will McElvain, UNI
McElvain was 10-of-20 for 235 yards and a touchdown in UNI’s win over Youngstown State. The redshirt freshman surpassed the 1,000-yard mark passing on the season. He has 83 completions for 1075 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception on the season (last week at Weber State).