Five league teams are ranked the Coaches poll and four are ranked in the Stats Perform poll this week. The league has three of the Top 4 (NDSU, SDSU, USD) in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches poll.





All FCS ranked teams are in action on Saturday, which features four games that have two top-25 teams facing one another.  Two of those top-25 matchups involve MVFC teams.  Illinois State -- the league’s other ranked team this week -- hosts previously ranked North Dakota in its home finale.

FCS Top-25 vs. Top 25 Matchups This Week (N23)
No. 1/1 NDSU at No. 4/4 USD, 1 pm CT (ABC ND/Midco/ESPN+)
No. 9/10 Montana at No. 2/2 Montana St., 12 noon MT (Scripps/ESPN+)
No. 12/11 SEMO at RV/No. 25 Tennessee St., 3:30 pm CT (ESPN+)
No. 3/3 SDSU at --/No. 18 MoState, 2 pm CT (MC22/ESPN+)



Three of the Top 4, Again -- For the fifth time this season, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has three teams ranked among the Top 4 in a national poll.   Top-ranked North Dakota State is joined by No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 4 South Dakota in this week’s Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls. Notably, the league has had two of the top three spots in the top-25 rankings 69 times in its 40-year history, including all 13 weeks this season.  Three league teams have been ranked among the nation’s Top five the same week 23 times, including 10 times this year.  The MVFC has had three of the Top 4 positions in a national poll seven times in its history, including five times this year.

Top-25 Polls with 3 MVFC Teams in Top 4
9/19/22    NDSU (1), SDSU (2), MSU (4)
FINAL 23    SDSU (1), NDSU (3), USD (4)
9/30/24    SDSU (1), NDSU (2), USD (4)
10/7/24    SDSU (1), NDSU (2), USD (4)
10/14/24    SDSU (1), NDSU (2), USD (4)
10/2124    NDSU (1), SDSU (3), USD (4)
11/18/24    NDSU (1), SDSU (3), USD (4)

Six of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s 11 programs rank in the top 19 of the Massey FCS Ratings.  In Massey, Southern Illinois’ strength of schedule leads the MVFC and is No. 2 nationally (behind Portland State).  UNI (5), South Dakota State (6), North Dakota State (7), North Dakota (8), South Dakota (9), Youngstown State (10) and Missouri State (12) -- give the MVFC eight of the nation’s top-12 toughest skeds.

Six MVFC football programs rank among the Top 11 in Jeff Sagarin’s football ratings, which includes 3 of the top 4 FCS teams.  The MVFC is the highest-rated FCS conference in Sagarin:

Sagarin FCS Conference Ratings (Sagarin)
1. Missouri Valley Football
2. Big Sky 
3. United Athletic
4. Coastal
5. Southern