Nine MVFC schools are in action this week, which includes four teams that play games on Thursday. This week's schedule includes four FBS-MVFC matchups and two games in the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series. Two-time defending champion North Dakota State opens the season with a neutral-site game at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn.
Weekly Notebook (PDF)
Saturday, Aug. 24
Youngstown State 45, Samford 22 (FCS Kickoff)
Thursday, Aug. 29
Southern Illinois at #17 SE Missouri State | Cape Girardeau, Mo. • 6:30 pm CT [ESPN+]
RV Western Illinois at North Alabama | Florence, Ala. • 7 pm CT [ESPN+]
#3 South Dakota State at RV Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. • 8 pm CT [FS1]
Missouri State at RV Northern Arizona | Flagstaff, Ariz. • 8 pm CT [Pluto 539]
Saturday, Aug. 31
#16 Indiana State at Kansas | Lawrence, Kan. • 11 am CT [FOX]
#18 UNI at #21 Iowa State | Ames, Iowa • 11 am CT [FS1]
#25 Montana at RV South Dakota | Vermillion, S.D. • 2 pm CT [Midco/ESPN+]
Butler vs. #1 North Dakota State | Minneapolis, Minn. • 3 pm CT [NBC ND/E+]
#13 Illinois State at Northern Illinois | DeKalb, Ill. • 6 pm CT [ESPN+]
Another FBS Win for the MVFC
Thanks to Illinois State’s 35-19 win at Colorado State on Sept. 22, 2018, the Conference has had at least one FBS win in each of the last nine seasons. The MVFC recorded a 1-7 mark vs. the FBS last year. The Conference has 44 FBS wins in its history.
Zeroing In
Youngstown State opened up the 2019 campaign in Week Zero, defeating Samford at a neutral site in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff in Montgomery, Ala. It marked the third time an MVFC team has been featured on ESPN in Week Zero. North Dakota State fell to Montana, 38-35, in the first-ever Week Zero contest on Aug. 29, 2015. The Bison also played in Week Zero in 2016, defeating Charleston Southern in Fargo, ND, on Aug. 27, 2016. This year, YSU rushed for 277 yards and forced four turnovers in a 45-22 season-opening victory over Samford. The Penguins (1-0) intercepted three passes, had three sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown. The Penguins built a 31-7 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
5 MVFC Teams Ranked
Two-time defending national champion North Dakota State headlines a list of five MVFC teams ranked in preseason top-25 polls this season.
MVFC - vs. Other Leagues
Youngstown State knocked off Samford (SoCon) in Week Zero, giving the MVFC an all-time record of 13-15 against teams from that league. Notably, though, the MVFC is 11-2 in the last 13 meetings. The league has a winning all-time record against every other FCS conference.
2018 - Another Title Game Trip
An MVFC member has reached the FCS championship game 13 times since 1997. Last year, NDSU extend the MVFC’s FCS record for having a title-game participant to eight-straight seasons. The Bison beat Eastern Washington, 38-24. NDSU enters the 2019 season with a 21-game winning streak - that’s tied for sixth-best all-time in the FCS (NDSU holds the record at 33.)
Jacks Open at Minnesota
South Dakota State will face an FBS opponent for the first time since 2016 when it travels to Minnesota on Thursday. Last season’s scheduled opener at Iowa State was canceled five minutes into the first quarter due to inclement weather. The Jackrabbits have opened the season against an FBS opponent five previous times, starting with the 2008 opener at Iowa State. SDSU is 1-4 when opening against an FBS foe, including a 41-38 victory at Kansas in 2015.
League schools are 4-58 all-time against members of the Big Ten Conference.
Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series
Last year, the MVFC captured the second annual Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series, 5-3. (The MVFC also won the 2017 series, also by a 5-3 edge.) The home team won all eight games last year. Seven of the eight games in 2018 featured at least one ranked team (in two of the games, both teams were ranked.) The MVFC conducted one previous challenge series (with the OVC) and the MVFC won all three season series against the OVC (2003, 2004, 2005) with a combined record of 20-2 in those games. The two playoff matchups last year did not count toward the series.
Ten MVFC-Big Sky matchups are on the slate this year, including two this week.
Aug. 29 - Missouri State at Northern Arizona
Aug. 31 - Montana at South Dakota
Sept. 7 - Southern Utah at UNI
Sept. 14 - Montana State at Western Illinois
Sept. 21 - Idaho State at UNI
Sept. 21 - Northern Arizona at Illinois State
Sept. 21 - South Dakota at Northern Colorado
Sept. 21 - UC Davis at North Dakota State
Sept. 21 - Southern Utah at South Dakota State
Sept. 28 - Northern Iowa at Weber State
STATS FCS All-Americans
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has 16 total selections on the STATS preseason All-America Team, which is highest among conferences. South Dakota State’s five selections are the national high among schools, and North Dakota State’s four are tied for the second-most.
2 on STATS Payton Watch List
Two MVFC student-athletes represent the league on the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award Watch List, announced on July 31. WR Cade Johnson of South Dakota State and RB James Robinson of Illinois State are among the 25 on the initial list.
4 on STATS Buchanan Watch List
The STATS Buchanan Award Watch List includes four student-athletes from the MVFC. Representing the MVFC on the list are LB Jabril Cox of North Dakota State; DL Darin Greenfield of South Dakota; LB Jonas Griffith of Indiana State; and LB Christian Rozeboom of South Dakota State.
MVFC in the NFL
NFL teams must make its final roster cuts by 3 pm CT on Saturday, Aug. 31. A total of 49 former student-athletes from MVFC institutions have dotted NFL rosters in the 2019 preseason. Last year’s opening day NFL rosters had 28 former student-athletes from MVFC institutions on them.
Home-Opening Win Streaks
North Dakota State, with 20-straight wins in home-opening games, leads the FCS. The Bison open this year’s schedule with a neutral site game in Minneapolis (vs. Butler). NDSU’s first home game vs. North Dakota on Sept. 7 at the FargoDome. South Dakota is also among the Top 10.
20 – North Dakota State (1999-present)
19 – Central Arkansas (2000-present)
18 – Wofford (2001-present)
18 – Harvard (2001-present)
16 – South Dakota (2003-present)
16 – James Madison (2003-present)
15 – Montana (2004-present)
14 – McNeese (2005-present)
13 – Richmond (2006-present)
13 – Jacksonville State (2006-present)
Against Ranked FCS Teams
The MVFC opens the 2019 season against two Top-25 opponents this week. Last year, in non-league play, the league was 2-2 during the regular season against ranked FCS teams, marking the 16th time in the league’s 34-year history with multiple regular-season top-25 non-conference wins. Since 2014, league schools have combined for a 43-19 record against non-conference top-25 teams (counting the playoffs).
Title Town
North Dakota State has a league-record eight-straight Conference titles (shared or outright), and that is second-only to UNI’s 16. The Panthers had a streak of seven-straight titles from 1990-96.
Possession Game
Youngstown State had a lopsided edge in time of possession in its win against Samford in the FCS Kickoff, controlling the clock for 41:27 in the 45-22 victory. North Dakota State led the league in TOP last year, ranking 10th nationally. YSU was second in the MVFC and ranked 18th in the FCS.