Seven MVFC teams are ranked this week in the Stats Perform poll, and six of those are ranked in the AFCA Coaches poll. Six MVFC schools are ranked in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls (NDSU, SDSU, UND, SIU, ILS, YSU), while USD clocks in at No. 21 in the Stats Perform rankings and is receiving votes (good for 26th) in the coaches poll.
NDSU (1) and SDSU (2) hold the top two positions in both rankings. It marks the 35th 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 90 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 36 times in its history, including seven-straight weeks this year.
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.
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 three of the top four of that ranking metric (among FCS programs), and seven MVFC teams are in the Top 26 of FCS schools in the Sagarin rankings. North Dakota State ranks 44th among all DI programs and tops the FCS; while SDSU is No. 3 in the FCS-only ranks (64th in DI). UND ranks fourth among FCS schools in the Sagarin (73rd among all DI programs).
| MVFC Team |
Massey |
|
Stats |
AFCA |
Sagarin |
| Top 25 Only |
Rating |
SOS |
Poll |
Poll |
Rank |
| NDSU |
1 |
54 |
1 |
1 |
44 (1) |
| SDSU |
2 |
38 |
2 |
2 |
64 (3) |
| UND |
6 |
9 |
8 |
10 |
73 (4) |
| USD |
10 |
22 |
21 |
RV |
139 (21) |
| SIU |
11 |
10 |
16 |
18 |
124 (13) |
| YSU |
21 |
17 |
22 |
21 |
132 (17) |
| ILS |
25 |
35 |
18 |
20 |
147 (26) |
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. Big South/OVC Association
No. 1 vs. No. 2 -- Counting NDSU-SDSU on Oct. 19, 2024, there have been nine No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups in FCS history, plus nine 1 vs. 2 (seed) matchups in FCS playoff history. The Oct. 19 game in Fargo marked just the third regular-season No. 1 vs. No. 2 game. The results have been split with the top-ranked winning four times, and the No. 2-ranked teams winning five times. In the three previous regular-season meetings against the top-two ranked teams, the home team is 2-1. SDSU hosts NDSU in the Dakota Marker Game on Oct. 25, 2025, marking the fourth time in FCS history a No. 1-No. 2 matchup has occurred in the regular season. It's also the first meeting in league history against two teams with 7-0 records.
FCS No. 1 vs. No. 2 Matchups (9)
12/19/81: No. 2 Idaho State 34, No. 1 Eastern Kentucky 23 (FCS Championship)
10/24/92: at No. 1 UNI 27, No. 2 Idaho 26 (Regular Season)
12/21/96: No. 2 Marshall 49, No. 1 Montana 29 (FCS Championship)
12/18/09: No. 2 Villanova 23, No. 1 Montana 21 (FCS Championship)
1/9/16 (2015 Season): No. 2 NDSU 37, No. 1 Jacksonville State 10 (FCS Championship)
1/11/20 (2019 Season): No. 1 NDSU 28, No. 2 James Madison 20 (FCS Championship)
10/15/22: No. 2 South Dakota State 23, at No. 1 North Dakota State 21 (Regular Season)
1/7/24 (2023 Season): No. 1 SDSU 23, No. 2 Montana 3 (FCS Championship)
10/19/24: at No. 2 North Dakota State 13, No. 1 South Dakota State 9 (Regular Season)
Ranked vs. Ranked - This week, there are two MVFC games that feature ranked teams playing one another. In Conference history, there have been 251 games in which two league teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those previous 251 games, 73 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Twenty meetings have occurred in the playoffs. The home team is 140-109 in those games; the higher-ranked team is 160-90. Those figures include two neutral-site games, and one game in which the teams were both No. 25.
MVFC Ranked vs. Ranked (Oct. 25)
#18/20 Illinois State at #21/RV USD [Midco/ESPN+] -- 1 PM CT
#1/1 NDSU at #2/2 SDSU [ESPNU] -- 7 PM CT
STATS PERFORM TOP 25
| Rank. School (Records) |
Points |
Last Week |
| 1. North Dakota State (7-0, 4-0 MVFC) |
1399 |
38-7 win at Indiana State |
| 2. South Dakota State (7-0, 3-0 MVFC) |
1339 |
35-14 win at Murray State |
| 3. Tarleton State (8-0, 4-0 UAC) |
1276 |
45-10 win over West Georgia |
| 4. Montana (7-0, 4-0 Big Sky) |
1220 |
43-21 win over Sacred Heart |
| 5. Montana State (5-2, 3-0 Big Sky) |
1198 |
No Game |
| 6. UC Davis (5-1, 3-0 Big Sky) |
1078 |
No Game |
| 7. Lehigh (7-0, 2-0 Patriot) |
1035 |
No Game |
| 8. North Dakota (5-2, 3-0 MVFC) |
995 |
38-19 win at then-No. 12 SIU |
| 9. Tennessee Tech (7-0, 4-0 OVC-Big South) |
987 |
52-28 win at Lindenwood |
| 10. Monmouth (6-1, 3-0 CAA) |
909 |
49-21 win over Stony Brook |
| 11. Villanova (5-2, 4-1 CAA) |
683 |
56-14 win over Hampton |
| 12. Jackson State (5-1, 3-0 SWAC) |
638 |
No Game |
| 13. Rhode Island (6-2, 4-0 CAA) |
631 |
58-17 win at UAlbany |
| 14. Harvard (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) |
601 |
31-7 win over Merrimack |
| 15. Lamar (6-1, 3-0 Southland) |
585 |
23-21 win over UTRGV |
| 16. Southern Illinois (4-3, 1-2 MVFC) |
481 |
38-19 loss to then-No. 9 UND |
| 17. Mercer (5-1, 4-0 SoCon) |
475 |
No Game |
| 18. Illinois State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC) |
429 |
40-35 loss to Youngstown State |
| 19. Presbyterian (7-0, 3-0 Pioneer) |
369 |
42-7 win over Stetson |
| 20. Northern Arizona (4-3, 1-2 Big Sky) |
342 |
No Game |
| 21. South Dakota (5-3, 3-1 MVFC) |
296 |
17-14 win at Northern Iowa |
| 22. Youngstown State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC) |
244 |
40-35 win at then-No. 10 Illinois State |
| 23. Abilene Christian (4-4, 3-1 UAC) |
227 |
31-24 loss at Southern Utah |
| 24. Stephen F. Austin (5-2, 3-0 Southland) |
226 |
34-7 win over Nicholls |
| 25. Austin Peay (4-3, 2-2 UAC) |
182 |
No Game |
Dropped Out of Top 25: Idaho (24)
Others Receiving Votes (schools listed on two or more ballots): Southeastern Louisiana (5-2, 3-0 Southland), 176;
Western Carolina (5-3, 4-0 SoCon), 61;
Sacramento State (4-3, 2-1 Big Sky), 47;
North Carolina Central (5-2, 0-0 MEAC), 36;
Lafayette (5-3, 3-0 Patriot), 9;
Penn (4-1, 2-0 Ivy), 8;
Gardner-Webb (4-3, 2-1 OVC-Big South), 7;
Alabama State (4-2, 2-1 SWAC), 6;
Duquesne (5-3, 3-0 NEC), 2;
West Georgia (5-3, 2-3 UAC), 2
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.
AFCA COACHES TOP 25 POLL
| Rank |
School (1st votes) |
Pts. |
Prev. |
Next Game |
| 1 |
North Dakota St. (25) |
625 |
1 |
Oct. 25 at No. 2 South Dakota St. |
| 2 |
South Dakota St. |
597 |
2 |
Oct. 25 vs. No. 1 North Dakota St. |
| 3 |
Tarleton St. |
578 |
3 |
Oct. 25 at Eastern Kentucky |
| 4 |
Montana |
547 |
4 |
Oct. 24 at Sacramento St. |
| 5 |
Montana St. |
501 |
5 |
Oct. 25 at Cal Poly |
| 6 |
UC Davis |
487 |
6 |
Oct. 25 at Northern Colorado |
| 7 |
Lehigh |
465 |
7 |
Oct. 25 at Fordham |
| 8 |
Tennessee Tech |
431 |
8 |
Oct. 25 vs. Southeast Missouri St. |
| 9 |
Monmouth (N.J.) |
417 |
10 |
Oct. 25 at Hampton |
| 10 |
North Dakota |
398 |
11 |
Oct. 25 vs. Indiana St. |
| 11 |
Jackson St. |
345 |
13 |
Oct. 25 vs. Grambling St. |
| 12 |
Villanova |
322 |
14 |
Oct. 25 vs. UAlbany |
| 13 |
Rhode Island |
314 |
15 |
Oct. 25 vs. Bryant |
| 14 |
Mercer |
277 |
16 |
Oct. 25 vs. VMI |
| 15 |
Lamar |
268 |
18 |
Oct. 25 at Northwestern St. |
| 16 |
Presbyterian |
241 |
19 |
Oct. 25 at Dayton |
| 17 |
Harvard |
198 |
20 |
Oct. 25 at Princeton |
| 18 |
Southern Illinois |
165 |
12 |
Oct. 25 vs. Northern Iowa |
| 19 |
Southeastern Louisiana |
164 |
22 |
Oct. 25 at HCU |
| 20 |
Illinois St. |
163 |
9 |
Oct. 25 at South Dakota |
| 21 |
Youngstown St. |
155 |
25 |
Oct. 25 vs. Murray St. |
| 22 |
Northern Arizona |
124 |
21 |
Oct. 25 at Idaho St. |
| 23 |
Austin Peay |
73 |
24 |
Oct. 25 vs. North Alabama |
| 24 |
Stephen F. Austin |
64 |
NR |
Oct. 25 at East Texas A&M |
| 25 |
ACU |
48 |
17 |
Nov. 1 vs. No. 3 Tarleton St. |
Dropped Out: West Georgia (25)
Others Receiving Votes: South Dakota, 32; West Georgia, 29; Western Carolina, 23; North Carolina Central, 17; Lafayette, 13; Penn, 11; Sacramento St., 11; UT Rio Grande Valley, 7; Central Arkansas, 6; Gardner-Webb, 4; Alabama St., 3; Dartmouth, 1; Duquesne, 1.
