On the Air This Week
All five league games Saturday, Oct. 12, can be seen on either ESPN+ or ESPN3.  The Conference will produce and air two games this weekend and both games will be on ESPN3:  South Dakota at Missouri State (Brad Wells, Danan Hughes, Connor Onion) and Illinois State at Southern Illinois (Lane Grindle, Adam Seidel, Don Patterson and Kelly Burke).

Weekly Notebook (PDF)

Saturday, Oct. 12
Western Illinois at Indiana State  |  Terre Haute, Ind. • 1 p.m. ET [ESPN+]
South Dakota at Missouri State  |  Springfield, Mo. • 2 p.m. CT [ESPN3]
#10 UNI at #1 North Dakota State  |  Fargo, N.D. • 2:30 p.m. CT [NBC ND/ESPN+]
#3 South Dakota State at #17 Youngstown State  |  Youngstown, Ohio • 6 p.m. ET [MyTV/ESPN+]
#13 Illinois State at Southern Illinois  |  Carbondale, Ill. • 6 p.m. CT [ESPN3]

Open Season
All 10 league teams opened MVFC action on Saturday, Oct. 5, in what is the 35th season of the Conference’s existence.  North Dakota State extended its active winning streak in MVFC season-opening games to nine games with a 37-3 victory at No. 6 Illinois State.  Notably, Southern Illinois and Missouri State played in the league’s first conference game on Sept. 7, 1985.

Ranked vs. Ranked
Counting two games on Oct. 5, 2019, there have been 175 games in which two MVFC teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those 175 games, 45 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Ten meetings have occurred in the playoffs.  The home team is 102-72, while the higher-ranked team is 110-65.  One game (between Illinois State and North Dakota State in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 10, 2015) was played at a neutral site. Two games this weekend will feature two ranked MVFC teams.

Winning Against No. 1
When North Dakota State knocked off top-ranked and previously unbeaten James Madison in the 2017 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).  UNI, which travels to Fargo to take on the nation’s No. 1 team North Dakota State, has three previous wins as an MVFC member against the top-rated team.  The Panthers beat Youngstown State (1997), New Hampshire (2005) and North Dakota State (2014) for its three-such wins.

Still Perfect
Just five FCS teams remain unbeaten in 2019.  There are still 16 perfect FBS teams.

FCS Unbeaten Teams (2019) 
6-0 -- Villanova
5-0 -- North Dakota State
3-0 -- Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale

5 MVFC Teams Ranked
Two-time defending national champ North Dakota State headlines a list of five MVFC teams who appear in the polls this week.

Working Overtime
Missouri State defeated Western Illinois in three overtimes.  It marks the second overtime game this year involving an MVFC member.  (UNI lost at Iowa State, also in three overtimes.)  The MSU-WIU game marks the second-straight year the league has had a conference game decided in 3OT (Indiana State beat South Dakota in 2018).

Bison on Another Run
North Dakota State has extended its current winning streak to an FCS-best 26 games.  NDSU set a league and FCS record with a 33-game win streak from 2012-14.

Active FCS Winning Streaks
26 – North Dakota State
13 -- Princeton
7 – Villanova

Longest FCS Winning Streaks (All Time)
33 -– North Dakota State (2012-14)
26 -- North Dakota State (2017-present)
26 -- James Madison (2016-17)
24 -- Penn (1992-95); Montana (2001-02)

Longest Active FCS Win Streaks (League Only)
30 -- San Diego (PFL)
12 -- North Dakota State (MVFC)
9 -- Kennesaw State (Big South)

Home Sweet Home
Five league schools are still perfect at home this season.  North Dakota State (21) and South Dakota State (15) lead the FCS.

NCAA Leaders, Active Home Win Streaks
21 -- North Dakota State (MVFC)
15 -- South Dakota State (MVFC)
12 -- Grambling State (SWAC)

Paper or Plastic?
UNI’s Elerson Smith picked up 2.5 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss to help No. 13 UNI shut down the vaunted Youngstown State offense this past Saturday.   He leads the FCS with 1.50 sacks per game and is tied for 4th in tackles for loss (2.1 per game).

Kickin’ It
Bolstered by a school-record performance at Western Illinois (51.6 average on seven punts), Brendan Withrow of Missouri State is among the FCS leaders in punting, ranking second in the MVFC and eighth nationally (45.8 average).  USD’s Brady Schutt ranks 4th in the FCS (46.9 average).

Among the NCAA Rush Leaders
Pierre Strong of South Dakota State led a potent rushing attack, gaining a season-high 229 yards while tying a career high with 20 carries in SDSU’s victory over SIU.  He now ranks 7th in the FCS (110.2 ypg), while Walter Payton Award candidate James Robinson of Illinois State ranks 15th (105.2 ypg).

Great Start to a Career
North Dakota State rookie QB Trey Lance ranks among the NCAA leaders in pass efficiency (1st with a 204.7 rating) and ‘points responsible for’ (5th with 21.6 points per game).  He’s the NCAA freshman leader in both categories. Former NDSU QB Easton Stick established the league single-season record with his 172.4 passer rating in 2018.  

Total Defense Leaders
Four Valley Football teams rank among the FCS leaders in total defense.  South Dakota State leads the MVFC and ranks 4th nationally, surrendering just 258.2 yards per game.  NDSU (5th/262.2 ypg), UNI (9th/294.4 ypg), and Youngstown State (13th/303.6 ypg) all rank among the Top 13 in the FCS.  North Dakota State and South Dakota State are tied for third in the FCS, as both are yielding just 11.6 points per game.

What a Rush
North Dakota State leads the MVFC and ranks fifth in the FCS, averaging 288.0 yards per game on the ground.  South Dakota State ranks 11th in the FCS (253.4 ypg) and Youngstown State is 12th (248.0 ypg).

Penguins -- 2nd in the FCS
Youngstown State leads the MVFC and ranks second nationally in turnover margin (+1.80).  The Penguins have forced 12 turnovers and have only surrendered three.  Notably, YSU was 111th in the FCS last year, gaining only nine total turnovers through 11 games while surrendering 19 last year.

Red Zone Defense
Illinois State leads the MVFC and is 4th nationally in Red Zone defense, allowing opponents to convert just 58.8 percent of their chances when inside the Red Zone.  Notably, Illinois State and North Dakota State are tied for second in the FCS, allowing just one TD to opponents inside the Red Zone.  South Dakota State and Youngstown State join Illinois State in the Top 10.  Both SDSU and YSU have allowed opponents to convert 66.7 percent of their chances in the Red Zone.  The Bison (70.0 percent) also rank in the Top 20 in the FCS.