This week's Missouri Valley Conference players of the week include WR Xavier Lane of Missouri State; MLB Spencer Cuvelier of UNI; and DB/RS Montrae Braswell of Missouri State.
Offense Player of the Week & Newcomer of the Week
WR Xavier Lane, Missouri State
6-4, 210, Jr., Montgomery, Ala., Carver High/Western Kentucky
Lane scored the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds left in the game to lift Missouri State over No. 16-ranked Central Arkansas. With the game hanging in the balance in the waning moments, the Bears faced a second-and-10 at the UCA 26 when QB Jason Shelley hit Lane at the 12-yard line for a first down. Lane slipped two defenders and found the end zone to score a dramatic, game-changing TD for the Bears. Lane finished with 9 receptions for 148 yards, both career highs, with 68 yards-after-catch on the evening. His receiving yardage marked the most by any Missouri State player since 2018.
Defensive Player of the Week
MLB Spencer Cuvelier, UNI
6-3, 245, R-Jr., Cresco, Iowa, Crestwood High/Iowa Central CC
Cuvelier led a Panther defense that surrendered only 16 points and forced 6 turnovers. The standout linebacker recorded a team-high 15 total tackles. Seemingly in the middle of the action on every big play, Cuvelier recorded two fumble recoveries and also forced another fumble. Cuvelier held a very potent running attack by Sacramento State to 106 yards rushing on 32 attempts.
Special Teams Player of the Week
CB Montrae Braswell, Missouri State
6-0, 190, So., Avon Park, Fla., Avon Park High/Central Michigan
Braswell’s 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 3:05 remaining gave Missouri State a 30-27 lead in Saturday’s home win over No. 16 Central Arkansas. It was the second career kickoff return for a touchdown for the 2020 Sophomore All-American, and began a remarkable comeback effort for Missouri State in the game’s deciding moments. He also tallied 3 total tackles in the contest, including a pair of solo stops.
OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
QB Chris Oladokun, South Dakota State -- In less than two quarters of action Sept. 11 against Lindenwood, Oladokun completed 12-of-14 passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns. South Dakota State scored touchdowns on all five of the drives Oladokun led en route to a 52-7 home victory. He threw two touchdown passes each to tight ends Zach Heins (4, 2 yards) and Tucker Kraft (5, 13 yards).
QB Anthony Thompson, Indiana State -- Thompson paced the Indiana State offense throughout the game as the senior quarterback completed a career-high 21 passes on 34 attempts and added a late touchdown pass in the Sycamores’ nonconference loss to Northwestern. Thompson completed passes to seven different receivers in the game and finished second on the team with six carries to supplement the INS offense in the game. On Indiana State’s scoring drive, Thompson complete five passes, three to Phazione McClurge before finding Zach Larkin over the middle from nine yards out for the Sycamores’ score.
QB Theo Day, UNI -- Day started the game as the backup but was put into the game against (RV) Sacramento State in the second half to lead UNI to a 34-16 victory. In just 30 minutes of play, the redshirt sophomore went 6-11 for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Day entered the game with the Panthers trailed 9-7 before leading UNI to 27-0 scoring run in his first 15 minutes on the field. Day connected with Isaiah Weston for two deep balls including a 34-yard touchdown pass. Day added his second touchdown at the end of the quarter with a 9-yard pass to Quan Hampton in the back corner of the endzone.
RB Travis Theis, South Dakota -- Theis carried 12 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Coyotes’ ground attack against Northern Arizona. He scored on touchdown runs of 13 yards and 1 yard in the first half in helping USD score the game’s first 34 points.
QB Connor Sampson, Western Illinois -- Against the nationally ranked Montana Grizzlies, Connor completed 21 of 31 passing attempts (67.7%) for 111 yards and one interception. It was his tenth consecutive game of 100 or more passing yards.
RB Jalen Bussey, North Dakota State -- Bussey had a game-high 105 all-purpose yards in North Dakota State’s 64-0 home win over Valparaiso. He carried five times for 82 yards including a career-long 72-yard touchdown, and he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass on his only reception of the game. Bussey has seven total touchdowns in 10 career games and is averaging 10.4 yards per attempt on 59 carries.
QB Tommy Schuster, North Dakota -- Schuster recorded numerous career-highs at FBS foe Utah State, finishing with 345 passing yards while completing 29-of-43 passes. In addition to career-highs in those categories, he also registered one passing touchdown as UND built a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter against the Aggies. The 300-yard passing game was his second in 11 career appearances.
LB Ty Shannon, North Dakota -- Shannon recorded a career-high eight tackles at Utah State, stopping 1.5 behind the line to lead the University of North Dakota in both categories. Shannon stopped five Aggies solo with three assisted tackles on the night.
CB Destin Talbert, North Dakota State -- Talbert tied a career high with four solo tackles in North Dakota State’s 64-0 home win over Valparaiso, including a forced fumble inside the 10-yard line on punt coverage that led to a Bison touchdown one play later. Talbert, playing in a backup role, has made four tackles in each of NDSU’s first two games this season and got his first collegiate interception in the season-opener against Albany.
DB Michael Lawson, Western Illinois -- Game two was a career night for Michael on Sept. 11 at Montana. The senior registered 13 tackles (eight solo), two interceptions, and a forced fumble. One of those interceptions resulted as a pick-six for a 75-yard touchdown. That particular interception return places ninth-best on the all-time single-game list. Michael is the first Leatherneck to return an interception for a touchdown since Quentin Moon did at North Dakota State in 2017 (43 yards). Michael is also the first player to record two interceptions since Eric Carrera ironically did the same against Montana in 2018. It was the first multi-interception game of his career.
LB Jonathan Joanis, South Dakota -- Joanis recorded his first collegiate interception and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown to stop Northern Arizona’s opening drive of the second half. Joanis also totaled three tackles during the game.
LB Matt Thompson, Indiana State -- Thompson turned in a career effort on the biggest stage this season as the redshirt senior recorded career highs in tackles (11) and tackles for loss (2.0), while limited Northwestern to just 275 total offensive yards. Thompson saw increased playing time after the first two drives and his entry helped play a factor in limiting Northwestern to just nine first downs and 138 total yards over the final three quarters in giving the Sycamores a chance to keep the game within reach. Thompson recorded three tackles on Northwestern’s opening drive of the second quarter to force NW’s first punt of the game and he added seven more stops (six solo) as well as a TFL in the second half in the loss.
CB PJ Jules, Southern Illinois -- Jules had a pick 6 that gave SIU a 23-21 halftime lead at Kansas State, before falling 31-23. Saluki defense held Wildcats to 380 total yards and forced four turnovers. Jules had 3 tackles.
S Titus Wall, Missouri State -- Wall was Missouri State’s top defensive standout in Saturday’s win over No. 16 Central Arkansas as he racked up 7 total tackles, including a team-high 6 solo stops for the Bears. He also accounted for one of three MSU sacks on the evening with 1.5 tackles for loss. The squad co-captain has now started 23 games in his MSU career.
P Travis Reiner, Indiana State -- Reiner put together a 40.9 punt average over a career-high nine punts and downed three balls inside the 20-yard line in Indiana State’s loss on Saturday to Northwestern. Reiner connected on a trio of punts in the third quarter that went 49, 50, and 53 yards, while he added a tackle in the special teams effort.
P Adam Fellner, Western Illinois -- Against Montana, Adam punted nine attempts for 365 yards. His longest one came in a 48-yard boot.
PK Mason Lorber, South Dakota -- Lorber tied his career-long with a 44-yard field goal Saturday and was also good from 41 yards. Both kicks came in the first half as the Coyotes built a 27-0 lead. Lorber also sent all seven kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.
CB Jayden Price, North Dakota State -- Price’s 45-yard punt return touchdown on the fifth play of the game sparked North Dakota State to a 64-0 home win over Valparaiso. Price also recovered and returned a fumbled punt inside the Valpo 5 to set up another Bison touchdown. He ranks seventh in the FCS with a league-best 15.7 average on punt returns despite having a 60-yard touchdown called back due to penalty in the season-opening win over Albany.
PK Cole Frahm, South Dakota State -- Frahm booted a career-long 54-yard field goal and connected on all six of his extra-point attempts for nine points in the Jackrabbits’ 52-7 win over Lindenwood at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium on Sept. 11. Frahm’s previous career-long field goal was 52 yards against Youngstown State during the 2020-21 spring season.
RS Luke Skokna, North Dakota -- Skokna returned three kicks for 75 yards at Utah State, surpassing the 75-yard plateau for the first time since 2019 at Cal Poly. The junior’s return game helped the Hinsdale, Ill., product finish with a career-high 145 all-purpose yards, the highest single-game total of his career.
RB Amar Johnson, South Dakota State -- Johnson carried 15 times for 105 yards (7.0 ypc) and scored a touchdown in South Dakota State’s 52-7 home victory over Lindenwood on Sept. 11. He recorded a long run of 28 yards in the game, with his touchdown coming from a yard out midway through the third quarter for the final Jackrabbit score.
QB Quincy Patterson, North Dakota State -- Patterson accounted for 196 yards of total offense with two touchdowns in the first half of North Dakota State’s 64-0 home win over Valparaiso. Patterson was 4 of 5 passing for 102 yards including a 65-yard TD to Christian Watson, and he carried four times for 94 yards including a 52-yard TD as the Bison built a 43-0 halftime lead. Patterson has completed 76 percent of his passes in his first two starts for NDSU.
DT Nick Gaes, South Dakota -- Gaes had a career-high five tackles including two for loss in aiding a defense that yielded seven points and 350 yards Saturday against Northern Arizona.
DB Darius Joiner, Western Illinois -- After posting 12 tackles against Ball State in the season opener, Darius once again did the same against Montana in week two - ending with five solo pull downs. He also collected his first interception as a Leatherneck.