Five MVFC teams are ranked in Top 25 polls this week as SDSU, NDSU, Southern Illinois, North Dakota, and Youngstown State represent the league in both polls.

South Dakota State and North Dakota State are No. 1 and No. 2 in both the Stats Perform and AFCA rankings. Those two occupied the top two spots eight weeks last year (NDSU was No. 1 for 7 of those weeks), before meeting in the national championship game in Frisco, a game won by SDSU. It marks the 54th time in league history that two MVFC teams had held two of the Top 3 spots in a national poll.



A minimum of five Valley Football schools have been ranked in each regular-season poll in 2023.

The MVFC has nine of its 12 programs in the Top 29 of the Sagarin Ratings, including six of the Top 14 (five of the Top 10, and three of the Top 5) among FCS programs.  The MVFC is the top-rated FCS league in the Sagarin Ratings.

South Dakota State is ranked No. 1 across the board (Sagarin, Massey, Stats Perform and AFCA rankings); while North Dakota State is ranked No. 2 in all metrics.



A total of seven FCS teams have perfect records through games of Sept. 23.  NDSU, SDSU and Southern Illinois are all looking for 4-0 starts. The league has had three teams reach 4-0 or better in the same season twice previously (2012 and 2017).  

When No. 1 SDSU and No. 11 North Dakota face one another on Sept. 30 it will mark the 219th time two ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have played one another.  In the 218 previous such-meetings the home team is 124-92 and the higher-ranked team has a 136-82 record. 

Sagarin Conference Ratings
1. Missouri Valley Football
2. Big Sky
3. United Athletic
4. CAA Football
5. Ivy League
6. Southern
7. Big South/OVC