All five MVFC games this weekend will feature at least one Top 25 team.  Two games (No. 22 North Dakota at No. 4 Southern Illinois; and No. 21 South Dakota at No. 16 UNI) pair two MVFC ranked teams.

Weekly Notebook (PDF)

Saturday, Oct. 16
#7/8 SDSU at Western Illinois, 12 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Indiana State at #20/23 Missouri State, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
#3/3 NDSU at Illinois St., 2 p.m. CT (Marquee/ABC ND/ESPN+)
#22/24 North Dakota at #4/4 S. Illinois, 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
#21/21 South Dakota at #16/17 UNI, 4 p.m. CT (PSN/ESPN+)
Idle:  Youngstown State

Ranked vs. Ranked
Counting two games last week’s (UNI at NDSU; SIU at SDSU) been 199 games in league history in which two ranked MVFC teams played one another.  The home team is 114-84, and the higher-ranked team has an all-time mark of 126-73.

Only 8 Unbeatens Remain
Through games of Saturday, Oct. 9, there are only eight FCS teams who still have a perfect record, including NDSU (5-0).

6-0    ETSU, Eastern Washington
5-0    North Dakota State, Rhode Island, Sam Houston
4-0    Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton

Working Overtime
Southern Illinois has won back-to-back overtime games, defeating Western Illinois and South Dakota State when the home team failed on their two-point try after SIU had scored first both weekends.  Counting those two wins, SIU’s won four consecutive overtimes. The prior two wins came in 2013 and 2015. Notably, three of the four consecutive OT wins have been road games. Also, 2013 is the only other season in which SIU has played two overtime games in the same season.  SIU is now 8-4 all-time in overtime games, including 8-2 in league games.

MVFC is 18-2 vs. the FCS
Missouri Valley Football schools have built its FCS-best record against peer conferences to 18-2.

Against the FBS
Counting South Dakota State’s win at Colorado State on Sept. 3, MVFC schools have combined for 47 wins all-time against FBS opponents.  During that last decade, the MVFC combined for 19 wins against FBS schools.  The FCS has combined for 10 FBS wins during the 2021 fall season.

Seventh Heaven
Including polls of Oct. 11, the league has had seven or more teams ranked in the same week 19 times in its history, most recently on March 8, 2021.  Notably, eight different MVFC teams were ranked during the same week (7 teams in the coaches poll and 7 in the media poll) on Sept. 29, 2014, setting a league record for total teams ranked in one week.

Not Just in the Polls
In addition to the AFCA and Stats Perform Top 25 polls, the MVFC’s 11 schools are well-represented in all the metrics.  In the Massey FCS ratings, North Dakota State is the top-rated FCS program, followed closely by three other MVFC schools (all in the Top 5).  South Dakota State is No. 2; Southern Illinois is No. 4; and UNI ranks No. 5 in that metric.  Joined by South Dakota (8) and Missouri State (10), the league has six teams in the Top 10; the Big Sky (Eastern Washington, Montana, Montana State) holds three top-10 spots.

Last Time Against NDSU
Illinois State and North Dakota State always seem to play hard-fought defensive battles inside the Fargodome and this one was no different, as the two defenses battled all day but the Bison came up with one more touchdown to defeat the Redbirds by a score of 21-13. Tight end Tanner Taula led all receivers for the Redbirds with four catches for 50 yards and scored his second career touchdown in the loss to the Bison.

Homecoming 100
Illinois State will celebrate its 100th Homecoming on campus all week. In addition to the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, several other events will take place with alumni and fans in attendance for the first time in nearly two years. The Redbirds have had a lot of success recently in their Homecoming contests, winning 9-of-11 under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and their last three in a row. Overall, ISU is 52-41-6 in Homecoming contests, with the longest winning streak being seven in a row from 1937-1943.

Jabari Breaks Out
Heading into the game against Missouri State, talented redshirt freshman Jabari Khepera had just six receptions dating back to last spring in eight games played. Against No. 16 Missouri State, Khepera nearly tied that mark with five receptions and set career-highs with 107 yards receiving against the Bears in a breakout performance. The Texas native caught his first career touchdown, a 75-yard bomb from fellow freshman quarterback Jackson Waring, and averaged 21.4 yards per reception in the contest. He now ranks second on the team in receiving and is averaging 13.9 yards per grab on the year.

Inoke, The Sack Man
Inoka Moala put together one of the top defensive performances in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this past weekend as the redshirt senior erupted in the first half with 3.5 sacks against Western Illinois. The Mishawaka, Ind. native was consistently in the backfield throughout the contest and tied his career-high with 3.5 tackles for loss against the Leathernecks. Moala added six tackles, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry on his way to moving up the rankings in the MVFC individual statistical rankings. Moala enters the week leading the conference in sacks (6.0) and tackles for loss (10.0), while adding three QB hurries and a forced fumble to his totals. He’s recorded tackles for loss in five of the Sycamores six games on the year and has multiple sacks against both Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois this year. He continues to move up the Indiana State individual rankings in both major defensive categories.

Kerlegrand Breaks Loose
Peterson Kerlegrand turned in one of the best performances in his Indiana State career this past weekend as the senior recorded 178 yards on 17 carries and added two TDs against Western Illinois. The Fort Wayne, Ind. native broke loose with a 59-yard touchdown run in the first half and added carries of 32 yards and 28 yards in the second half on the way to his top rushing performance in 2021. Kerlegrand has posted four career 100-yard rushing efforts, including a single-game high 194 yards against Dayton back in the 2019 season. Kerlegrand has been responsible for five plays over 20 yards in the 2021 season and has three games with at least 70 rushing yards to help the Sycamores offense on the year. Expect him to once again be the dominant ball-carrier in the Indiana State offense sitting fourth in the MVFC in total carries (89) and tied for third in rushing touchdowns (6). 

Nearing 400
Indiana State is nearing 400 wins in program history as the Sycamores head into this weekend game against Missouri State. The Sycamores football program dates back to 1896 and spans 125 years since the team first snapped the ball against Terre Haute South. Indiana State heads to the Bears looking for their 15th win in the series and seventh win in the last 11 games. The Sycamores won the last matchup against MSU in the 2019 season, 51-24.

Offensive Showings
Missouri State has racked up over 500 yards in total offense in back-to-back weeks -- both road games -- with 513 at Illinois State and 503 at Youngstown. The last time the Bears posted 500+ yards in back-to-back games was in 2003 -- 11/8/03 vs. Illinois State (581) and 11/15/03 at Western Illinois (535). Prior to this season, the Bears had not posted a 500-yard game since 2017.

Shelley Shines
QB Jason Shelley eclipsed 3,000 career passing yards in last week’s game at YSU and now leads the MVFC and ranks 10th nationally in total offense yards per game (333.0). The Utah State transfer also ranks 13th nationally in passing yards (287.6). He is the only QB in MSU history to throw for 200 yards or more in each of his first 5 career starts with the Bears. He is a two-time MVFC Newcomer of the Week this season.

Kicking It
Bears punter, Grant Burkett (So., Joplin, Mo.) is 1st in the MVFC and 3rd nationally in punting average (47.2), while helping the Bears rank 2nd in the nation in net punting (44.38). He has 8 punts this season of 50 yards or more with 10 downed inside the 20. 

3rd-Straight Loss in DakotaDome
While North Dakota has owned the all-time series against South Dakota, collecting wins in the DakotaDome has been a struggle as of late. Saturday’s loss marks the third straight to the Coyotes in Vermillion, with the last victory by UND coming in the program’s first season as a Division I school in 2008.

Special Teams Day
It was a strong day for Shawn Kostich’s special teams group on Saturday, with UND connecting on multiple plays. Kicker Brady Stevens made his first start and connected on a pair of field goals, nailed his PAT and booted three of his four kickoffs out of the endzone. Punter Cade Peterson also had a strong day, not allowing a return and pinning three of his punts inside the 20. UND also came up with its first blocked punt of the season, when Jayson Coley came up with the block in the second quarter. The Hawks nearly got to another punt later in the contest, getting a piece of the kick. 

No Fly Zone
The UND secondary again made it tough for its opponent to move the ball through the air, holding the Coyotes to just 179 yards through the air. The Hawks have not allowed any of their FCS opponents to register more than 200 yards passing this season. 

Bison Top UNI on Homecoming
Quincy Patterson accounted for four TDs and North Dakota State’s defense recorded five sacks in a 34-20 homecoming win over UNI last week. Patterson finished 11 of 21 passing for 182 yards and two TDs and led the Bison in rushing for the third time in five games with a game-high 60 yards and two scores. Jake Reinholz made field goals from 27 and 22 yards to help NDSU build a 13-10 halftime lead, and the Bison capitalized on special teams and defense in the second half. Jayden Price’s 41-yard punt return to the UNI 9 set up a 4-yard TD run by Patterson, and a sack fumble by Will Mostaert recovered by Costner Ching to set up a 3-yard TD pass to tight end Noah Gindorff four plays later to make it a 27-10 game.

Career Day for Watson
NDSU wide receiver Christian Watson had a season-high five receptions for a career-high 163 yards – all in the first half – as North Dakota State earned a 34-20 homecoming victory over Northern Iowa. Watson caught a career-long 85-yard touchdown pass from Quincy Patterson to open the scoring midway through the first quarter. He was responsible for five NDSU first downs and finished with a season-high 181 all-purpose yards. Watson leads the Bison with six long plays of 20+ yards this year including touchdowns passes of 65, 67 and 85 yards.

Depth on Defense
NDSU has displayed its depth on defense through five games with defensive end Spencer Waege out for the year after three games, Brayden Thomas missing the UNI game last week, and linebacker James Kaczor missing his third game of the year. Linebacker Cole Wisniewski replaced Kaczor and made a season-high six tackles including five solo stops against UNI with one sack and one quarterback hurry. NDSU has 14 different players with at least one sack and ranks sixth nationally with 3.4 sacks per game. The Bison also rank No. 1 nationally in red-zone defense (.429) and scoring defense (8.6 ppg), fifth in total defense (252.0 ypg) and seventh in rushing defense (73.4 ypg).

Another Big Day for Weston
WR Isaiah Weston scored a touchdown for the 4th consecutive game on Saturday against #5 NDSU. Weston caught a team-high 5 catches for 181 total yards. The burner averaged 29 yards per catch in the Panther’s 34-20 loss to the Bison.

Dominant Defense
The Panthers have been opportunistic this season, creating a league-best 16 turnovers, which ranks second nationally.  UNI ranks 11th nationally with 8 interceptions, and the Panthers are tied for third nationally in fumbles recovered (with Southern Illinois) with eight.  The Panthers are ninth nationally in scoring defense (15.2 ppg) and 19th nationally in total defense (301.6 ypg).

Covey Of Backs
South Dakota’s Travis Theis became the third Coyote running back in four weeks to eclipse 100 yards rushing. Theis carried 23 times for a career-high 138 yards Saturday in a 20-13 win against North Dakota. He joins Nate Thomas and Mike Mansaray as 100-yard rushers for South Dakota this season.

Still Zero
South Dakota (6 games played) and Chattanooga (4 games played) are the only FCS teams yet to allow a rushing touchdown to a running back this season. Northern Arizona’s Kevin Daniels’ 67 yards rushing remains the high against USD. The Coyotes rank 10th defensively against the run, and 12th in both scoring defense and total defense.

Vander Esch Enters Top 10
South Dakota receiver Caleb Vander Esch had a season-high eight catches for 92 yards and a touchdown Saturday. His 108 career catches are tied for eighth-most in program history. Vander Esch (1,271 yards) needs 161 yards to enter the top 10 on the program’s career receiving yards list.

Two Receivers Top 100
For the first time this season, two South Dakota State receivers top the 100-yard mark in the same game. In the Oct. 9 contest against Southern Illinois, sophomore tight end Tucker Kraft set career highs with 10 catches and 124 yards, while junior wide receiver Jadon Janke added 117 receiving yards. Janke’s yardage total came on only three catches as he logged receptions of 52, 46 and 19 yards — all in the first half. Jadon Janke also had a part in the last time the Jackrabbits had a pair of receivers top the century mark, teaming with his twin brother, Jaxon, in the second game of the 2020-21 spring season — also in a losing effort — at North Dakota. In that contest, Jaxon caught seven passes for 161 yards, while Jadon hauled in five receptions for 109 yards. 
 
Bock Sets Career High
South Dakota State middle linebacker Adam Bock established a new career high with 17 tackles, including a half-sack, in the Jackrabbits’ overtime loss to Southern Illinois on Oct. 9. Bock’s previous high was 13 tackles last season against North Dakota State and matched versus Southern Illinois in their last matchup, an FCS playoff quarterfinal this past May. Bock’s 17 tackles are tied for sixth-most in a game by a Jackrabbit since tackles became an official NCAA statistic in 2000, and are the most by an SDSU player since Christian Rozeboom tallied 18 stops in a 2017 game at Missouri State. Bock currently leads the team with 41 tackles after the fifth double-digit-tackle performance of his career. 
 
Longest of the Long
Malik Lofton’s 97-yard fumble return for touchdown in the third quarter of the Jackrabbits’ Oct. 9 game against Southern Illinois is the longest such return on record in program history.  SDSU’s Pierre Strong, Jr., also scored on an 85-yard run in the fourth quarter for the longest run of his career. It marked the first time since a 2014 game at Indiana State that SDSU had two scoring plays of 85 or more yards in the same contest. That previous feat was accomplished in a 2014 game at Indiana State, when Jake Wieneke scored on a 91-yard pass from Austin Sumner in the third quarter and Zach Zenner tallied a 94-yard touchdown run later in the second half. 

Another OT Victory
For the second consecutive week Southern Illinois won when its opponent failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt in overtime at home. Reserve linebacker Branson Combs broke up the Jackrabbits’ two-point conversion pass attempt sealing SIU’s first win over SDSU since a 2013 win in Brookings. Saluki RB Donnavan Spencer’s 10-yard TD run on SIU’s fourth play to open the overtime proved the game winner. SIU trailed 20-0 in the second quarter against the Jackrabbits. The 20-point comeback matches the second largest comeback in SIU history. 

What a Stretch
SIU’s last three wins: 1) Matched the third largest comeback in school history (17 points) in beating Illinois State, 35-17; 2) Blew a 21-0 lead at WIU and won in OT 31-30 when the Leathernecks failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt following their first overtime TD; 3) Matched the second largest comeback in school history in winning at #2 South Dakota St., 42-41.

Historic Start for SIU
The Salukis are 5-1 overall for the first time since 2014, and SIU is 3-0 in the MVFC for the first time since the Salukis were 8-0 en route to their last MVFC regular season title in 2009. 

Lenoir Gets More
WR Landon Lenoir caught a career-high 10 passes for 147 yards and two TDs in the SDSU win. Lenoir is third all-time (15 shy of #2) at SIU with 182 career receptions. His 2,315 career receiving yards is good for third place all-time at SIU and 14th all-time in the MVFC. His 16 career TD receptions is good for sixth place all time at SIU. 
 
Sampson Shines (Again)
QB Connor Sampson continued his standout fall season with another career-best day on Saturday at Indiana State. The veteran quarterback went for 449 passing yards -- a personal career-best that sits third in the program’s all-time single-game rankings. Additionally, his 36 completions are the second-most in a program game (36-59). He threw four touchdowns and had one interception.

Dynamic Duo
Dallas Daniels (143 receiving yards) and Tony Tate (109 receiving yards) are the first pair of Western receivers to finish with 100 or more receiving yards apiece since Dennis Houston and Daniel Bender achieved the feat in this year’s home opener versus Eastern Washington.  Daniels reached new season-highs in receiving yards (143) and receptions (7).

Crenshaw Sets QB Rush Record
QB Demeatric Crenshaw set a school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in the Penguins’ 41-33 win over Missouri State.  His total is fourth-best for a QB in MVFC history.  Crenshaw rushed for 195 yards on 22 attempts against the Bears to break Matt Rycraft’s mark of 152 yards set in 2003 vs. Western Illinois.  His 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter tied for the fourth-longest rushing score by a quarterback in school history.

RUSHING YARDS BY QB, MVFC HISTORY
245, Donte Pimpleton, WKU, vs. Illinois St., 2001
207, Julian Reese, INS, vs. Illinois State, 2001
200, Aaron Bailey, UNI, vs. Portland State, 2015
195, Demeatric Crenshaw, YSU vs. MSU, 2021
194, Tirrell Rennie, UNI, vs. Youngstown St., 2010

Breaking the 6K Mark
TB Jaleel McLaughlin eclipsed the 6,000-yard career rushing mark with a 156-yard effort against Missouri State.  In 40 career games (28 at Notre Dame, Ohio and 12 at YSU) he has 6,027 yards on 953 carries and has scored an impressive 60 touchdowns. He is the active career NCAA leader in attempts, touchdowns, and yards.  McLaughlin is just the 34th player in NCAA history (all Divisions) to rush for 6,000 career yards.   In 12 games at YSU, McLaughlin has rushed for 1,279 yards and scored 12 TDs. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight of his last 10 contests.  In 28 games at Notre Dame, he had 24 100-yard performances.

White Having Breakout Season
Sophomore DB Jordan White is having a breakout season for the Penguins. White has 33 total tackles, including 21 solo stops in five games. He recorded his second interception of the season against Missouri State. In the spring, White had 16 total tackles.

Taking Turns
Three MVFC schools rank in the Top 6 in the FCS in turnover margin, through games of Oct. 9.  UNI is second nationally (+1.80).  North Dakota State and South Dakota State are tied with Villanova at +1.40 for sixth-best in the FCS.

Seeing Red
Through five games, North Dakota State has only allowed its opponent inside the Red Zone seven total times.  The Bison have yielded points on just three of those seven trips (2 TDs, 1 FG).  That conversion rate of 42.9 percent is the best in the FCS.  And the seven Red Zone trips allowed is second in the FCS to Princeton (6), which has played one fewer game.  And Youngstown State is one of just four schools that remain perfect in the Red Zone.  YSU has converted all 14 of its Red Zone trips on offense into points (11 TDs, 3 FGs).  Missouri State and South Dakota State are also among the national leaders, at 7th and 12th, respectively.   SEMO (20-of-20), Lamar (3-of-3) and Duquesne (24-of-24) are tied with Youngstown State for the FCS lead.