Seven league teams are ranked in the AFCA Coaches poll this week, and six are ranked in the Stats Perform poll.  All 11 MVFC members are receiving votes in the coaches poll.  The league has had seven or more teams ranked in the same week 29 times in its history, including all five polls this season.

SDSU (1) and NDSU (2) hold the top two positions, marking the 24th time in Conference history the MVFC went 1-2 in a poll.  Notably, four MVFC teams have been ranked in the Top 10 the same week 39 times in MVFC history.  




MVFC schools are 21-6 against FCS opponents this year, with three of those six losses coming to ranked FCS non-league teams.  The 21-6 mark against peer FCS programs is the best of any FCS league.

Eight of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s 11 programs rank in the Top 30 of the Massey FCS Ratings, which includes five MVFC teams in the top 11.  Southern Illinois has the toughest rated non-league schedule, according to Massey, as SIU’s strength of schedule is No. 8.  South Dakota State is next-best in the MVFC, at No. 10 for SOS.


Two Conference games this week features ranked MVFC teams playing one another.  There have been 231 games in which two league teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those 231 games, 66 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Nineteen meetings have occurred in the playoffs. The home team is 130-99 in those games; the higher-ranked team is 145-85. Those figures include two neutral-site games, and one game in which the teams were both ranked No. 25.

Nationally, here are the five top-25 matchups this week.  Four top-25 teams, including #1 South Dakota State and #19 UNI, do not have a game on Sept. 28.

• #2/2 North Dakota State at #18/15 Illinois State
• #4/4 Idaho at #14/11 UC Davis
• #17/17 Southern Illinois at #5/5 South Dakota
• #19/25 Lamar at #7/7 Central Arkansas
• #12/13 Mercer at #23/RV Wofford