Seven different MVFC teams are ranked this week. Five schools are ranked in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls (NDSU, SDSU, SIU, ILS, UND), while USD clocks in at No. 22 in the Stats Perform rankings, and YSU is No. 25 in the AFCA poll. NDSU (1) and SDSU (2) hold the top two positions in both rankings. It marks the 34th time in MVFC history that the league held the top two positions.
Including this week, six or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same top-25 poll 89 times, including a record 12-straight weeks in 2014 (and 10 times in 2024). The league has had seven or more teams ranked in the same week 35 times in its history, including six-straight weeks this year. The MVFC has had five teams ranked in the Top 15 44 times in league history, including five occasions this season. Four league teams are ranked in the Top 10 this week.
STATS PERFORM TOP 25
The top seven teams in the poll remained in the same order after all won games this past weekend. Top-ranked North Dakota State (6-0) and No. 2 South Dakota State (6-0) seek to remain perfect this week, leading into their Oct. 25 showdown. The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll is released each Monday during the regular season and one day after the FCS championship game (to be played Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee). A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.
| Rank |
School (Record) |
Pts. |
Last Week |
| 1 |
North Dakota State (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) |
1399 |
45-17 win over then-No. 8 Southern Illinois |
| 2 |
South Dakota State (6-0, 2-0 MVFC) |
1340 |
31-3 win over Northern Iowa |
| 3 |
Tarleton State (7-0, 3-0 UAC) |
1265 |
41-23 win at Utah Tech |
| 4 |
Montana (6-0, 3-0 Big Sky) |
1222 |
28-9 win over Cal Poly |
| 5 |
Montana State (5-2, 3-0 Big Sky) |
1206 |
48-14 win over Idaho State |
| 6 |
UC Davis (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky) |
1086 |
45-24 win over then-No. 14 Northern Arizona |
| 7 |
Lehigh (7-0, 2-0 Patriot) |
1023 |
31-7 win at Columbia |
| 8 |
Tennessee Tech (6-0, 3-0 OVC-Big South) |
954 |
27-13 win at Charleston Southern |
| 9 |
North Dakota (4-2, 2-0 MVFC) |
869 |
35-17 win over Youngstown State |
| 10 |
Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC) |
866 |
46-32 win at Murray State |
| 11 |
Monmouth (5-1, 2-0 CAA) |
846 |
42-31 win at Towson |
| 12 |
Southern Illinois (4-2, 1-1 MVFC) |
812 |
45-17 loss at then-No. 1 North Dakota State |
| 13 |
Abilene Christian (4-3, 3-0 UAC) |
560 |
30-13 win at then-No. 21 West Georgia |
| 14 |
Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 SWAC) |
557 |
38-34 win over Alabama State |
| 15 |
Villanova (4-2, 3-1 CAA) |
521 |
29-21 win at Elon |
| 16 |
Rhode Island (5-2, 3-0 CAA) |
512 |
38-27 win over New Hampshire |
| 17 |
Lamar (5-1, 2-0 Southland) |
454 |
33-23 win at East Texas A&M |
| 18 |
Harvard (4-0, 2-0 Ivy) |
435 |
34-10 win over Cornell |
| 19 |
Northern Arizona (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky) |
376 |
45-24 loss at then-No. 6 UC Davis |
| 20 |
Mercer (5-1, 4-0 SoCon) |
359 |
38-14 win at Princeton |
| 21 |
Presbyterian (6-0, 2-0 Pioneer) |
299 |
31-25 win at Butler |
| 22 |
South Dakota (4-3, 2-1 MVFC) |
257 |
19-14 win at Indiana State |
| 23 |
Austin Peay (4-3, 2-2 UAC) |
224 |
34-20 loss at Eastern Kentucky |
| 24 |
Idaho (2-4, 0-2 Big Sky) |
183 |
49-33 loss to Northern Colorado |
| 25 |
Stephen F. Austin (4-2, 2-0 Southland) |
152 |
No game |
Dropped Out of Top 25: West Georgia (21)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): West Georgia (5-2, 2-2 UAC): 126;
Southeastern Louisiana (4-2, 2-0 Southland): 96;
Gardner-Webb (4-2, 2-0 OVC-Big South): 54;
Sacramento State (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky): 28;
Brown (3-1, 1-0 Ivy): 25;
Youngstown State (3-3, 0-2 MVFC): 23;
Western Carolina (4-3, 3-0 SoCon): 23;
North Carolina Central (5-2, 0-0 MEAC): 18;
Northern Colorado (3-3, 1-1 Big Sky): 9;
Eastern Kentucky (3-3, 1-1 UAC): 5;
Lafayette (5-2, 3-0 Patriot): 5
Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll Voting Panel – Stats Perform: Craig Haley.
Big Sky Conference: Riley Corcoran, Tyson Rodgers, Larry Weir.
CAA Football: Roger Brown, Matt Harmon, Rob Washburn.
Ivy League: JJ Klein, Craig Larson.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Kendrick Lewis, Patricia Porter-Mayfield.
Missouri Valley Football Conference: Kyle Grooms, Dom Izzo, Randy Reinhardt.
Northeast Conference: Sarah Boissonneault, Brian Cleary.
OVC-Big South Football Association: Mike Bradd, Kyle Schwartz, Mark Simpson.
Patriot League: Eric Malanoski, Ryan Sakamoto.
Pioneer Football League: Cody Bush, Larry Hansgen.
Southern Conference: Scott Keeler, Andrew Miller, Ralan Wardlaw.
Southland Conference: Matthew Bonnette, James Dixon, James Hill.
Southwestern Athletic Conference: Curtis Ford, Ronnie Johnson.
United Athletic Conference: Brian Morgan, Benjamin Ray, Jake Withee.
National Representatives: Sean Anderson, Stan Becton, Zack Carlton, Gene Clemons, Joe DeLeone, Matt Dixon, Steven J. Gaither, Sam Herder, Emory Hunt, Doug Kelly, Kyle Kensing, Brandon Lawrence, Zach McKinnell, Jon Passman, Omar Rashon Borja, Ryan Roberts, Timothy Rosario, Kent Schmidt, Phil Sokol, Reggie Thomas, Ralph Ventre, Jamie Williams.
MVFC On Top of the FCS
Missouri Valley Football teams have combined for a 22-6 record against FCS teams from other conferences - best in the FCS. Last year, MVFC teams were an FCS-best 29-9 vs. non-league FCS opponents, including an 11-5 mark vs. ranked FCS teams.
In the Metrics
Seven of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s 10 programs rank in the top 25 of the Massey FCS Ratings. In Sagarin, the MVFC has four in the top nine of that ranking metric (among FCS programs), and seven MVFC teams are in the Top 25 of FCS schools in the Sagarin rankings. North Dakota State ranks 38th among all DI programs and tops the FCS; while SDSU is No. 2 in the FCS-only ranks, and 53rd in DI.
| MVFC Team |
Massey |
Massey |
Stats |
AFCA |
Sagarin |
| Top 25 Only |
Rating |
SOS |
Poll |
Poll |
Rank |
| N. Dakota State |
1 |
51 |
1 |
1 |
38 (1) |
| S. Dakota State |
2 |
30 |
2 |
2 |
53 (2) |
| North Dakota |
7 |
9 |
9 |
11 |
84 (5) |
| Southern Illinois |
8 |
16 |
12 |
12 |
114 (9) |
| South Dakota |
11 |
23 |
22 |
RV |
139 (22) |
| Illinois State |
21 |
42 |
10 |
9 |
140 (23) |
| Youngstown St. |
25 |
21 |
RV |
25 |
134 (19) |
Strength of Schedule (SOS) is taken from Massey ratings; Sagarin rankings are overall DI football with FCS rank.
Sagarin FCS Conference Rankings
1. Missouri Valley (also ahead of FBS CUSA)
2. Big Sky
3. United Athletic
4. Ivy League
5. Southern
6. Southland
7. Coastal
8. Patriot
9. Big South/OVC Association
AFCA FCS COACHES POLL
The top five remained intact after seven weeks of action. No. 1 North Dakota State took down another ranked opponent, this time it was then-No. 9 Southern Illinois, 45-17. The loss only dropped the Salukis three places to No. 12. No. 3 Tarleton State moved its record to 7-0 after beating Utah Tech, 41-23. The Texans will host No. 23 West Georgia, who are looking to rebound after dropping a tough one to No. 17 ACU, 30-13.
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (26) |
650 |
1 |
Oct. 18 at Indiana St. |
| 2 |
South Dakota St. |
621 |
2 |
Oct. 18 at Murray St. |
| 3 |
Tarleton St. |
598 |
3 |
Oct. 18 vs. No. 23 West Georgia |
| 4 |
Montana |
567 |
4 |
Oct. 18 vs. Sacred Heart |
| 5 |
Montana St. |
525 |
5 |
Oct. 25 at Cal Poly |
| 6 |
UC Davis |
504 |
6 |
Oct. 25 at Northern Colorado |
| 7 |
Lehigh |
470 |
8 |
Oct. 25 at Fordham |
| 8 |
Tennessee Tech |
465 |
7 |
Oct. 18 at Lindenwood |
| 9 |
Illinois St. |
431 |
10 |
Oct. 18 vs. No. 25 Youngstown St. |
| 10 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
410 |
11 |
Oct. 18 vs. Stony Brook |
| 11 |
North Dakota |
391 |
12 |
Oct. 18 at No. 12 Southern Illinois |
| 12 |
Southern Illinois |
323 |
9 |
Oct. 18 vs. No. 11 North Dakota |
| 13 |
Jackson St. |
318 |
14 |
Oct. 25 vs. Grambling St. |
| 14 |
Villanova |
289 |
17 |
Oct. 18 vs. Hampton |
| 15 |
Rhode Island |
267 |
18 |
Oct. 18 at UAlbany |
| 16 |
Mercer |
249 |
19 |
Oct. 25 vs. VMI |
| 17 |
ACU |
228 |
21t |
Oct. 18 at Southern Utah |
| 18 |
Lamar |
203 |
24 |
Oct. 18 vs. UT Rio Grande Valley |
| 19 |
Presbyterian |
176 |
23 |
Oct. 18 vs. Stetson |
| 20 |
Harvard |
145 |
25 |
Oct. 18 vs. Merrimack |
| 21 |
Northern Arizona |
100 |
16 |
Oct. 25 at Idaho St. |
| 22 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
98 |
NR |
Oct. 18 vs. Northwestern St. |
| 23 |
West Georgia |
70 |
21t |
Oct. 18 at No. 3 Tarleton St. |
| 24 |
Austin Peay |
64 |
15 |
Oct. 25 vs. North Alabama |
| 25 |
Youngstown St. |
53 |
20 |
Oct. 18 at No. 9 Illinois St. |
Dropped Out: Idaho (13)
Others Receiving Votes: Gardner-Webb, 37; South Dakota, 34; Stephen F. Austin, 34; Lafayette, 28; Western Carolina, 19; North Carolina Central, 14; Idaho, 10; Sacramento St., 10; UT Rio Grande Valley, 10; Brown, 8; Dartmouth, 7; Penn, 7; Alabama St., 5; Central Arkansas, 4; Elon, 3; Furman, 3; East Tennessee St., 1; Eastern Kentucky, 1.
