Title Town -- North Dakota State claimed the MVFC outright title and the league’s AQ for the 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship with a win on Saturday against North Dakota. The title is NDSU’s 12th MVFC crown.
Total MVFC Titles (Outright and Shared, Combined)
16. UNI
12. North Dakota State
5. South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois
3. Illinois State, Missouri State
2. Eastern Illinois, Youngstown State
1. North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Kentucky
MVFC Weekly Notebook (PDF)
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL
MVFC Stats –
Click Here | MVFC Composite Schedule --
Click Here | NCAA Statistics –
Click Here | NCAA FCS Records --
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MVFC Records --
Click Here | MVFC Draft Database --
Click Here | MVFC in the Playoffs --
Click Here | MVFC All-Time Honors --
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Top-25 Polls --
Click Here | Stats Perform --
Click Here | HERO Sports --
Click Here | FCS Nation --
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| Saturday, Nov. 15 |
|
| *#13/18 North Dakota at Murray State [ESPN+] |
11 AM CT |
| *Indiana State at #20/19 Youngstown St. [ESPN+] |
11 AM CT |
| *#17/22 USD at #21/23 Southern Illinois [ESPN+] |
12 PM CT |
| *#14/13 Illinois State at #16/15 SDSU [Midco/ESPN+] |
2 PM CT |
| *UNI at #1/1 NDSU [ABC ND/ESPN+] |
2:30 PM CT |
| FCS rankings listed are Stats Perform/AFCA Coaches polls; |
|
| *denotes MVFC contest |
|
Metrics Magic -- Here’s the breakdown of the Top 19 teams in the Massey Index, by conference. The MVFC has an FCS-best seven teams among the top 19 of the Massey Ratings. Only the Big Sky (4) and United (2) have more than 1.
FCS Conference Representation - Top 19 of Massey
7 -- Missouri Valley Football
4 -- Big Sky
2 -- United
1 -- Coastal, OVC/Big South, SoCon, Southland, Ivy
7 MVFC Teams Ranked -- Seven MVFC teams are ranked this week in both the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches polls. North Dakota State remains No. 1 in both polls this week. Six or more MVFC teams have been ranked in the same top-25 poll 93 times. A minimum of six MVFC teams have been ranked in the Top 25 for 11-straight weeks this season (every week, but the preseason).
And Then There Were Five -- Only five FCS programs enter this weekend with unblemished records -- including NDSU.
FCS Perfect Teams -- through games of Nov. 8
North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 10-0
Lehigh (Patriot) -- 10-0
Montana (Big Sky) -- 10-0
Tennessee Tech (OVC) -- 10-0
Harvard (Ivy League) -- 8-0
FBS Perfect Teams -- through games of Nov. 8
Indiana (Big Ten) -- 10-0
Ohio State (Big Ten) -- 9-0
Texas A&M (SEC) -- 9-0
Winning Streaks -- NDSU ranks second nationally with 17-straight home wins.
Active Win Streaks in the FCS
15 -- Tennessee Tech (OVC-Big South)
14 -- North Dakota State
10 -- Lehigh (Patriot)
10 -- Montana (Big Sky)
Longest Active Home Streaks (FCS)
20 -- Villanova (Next Home Game: 11/25 vs. Stony Brook)
17 -- N. Dakota St. (Next Home Game: 11/15 vs. UNI)
13 -- Rhode Island (Next Home Game: 11/22 vs. Hampton)
NDSU Starts 10-0 -- In MVFC history (counting this season), seven league teams have started a year 10-0 - all previous six teams reached the playoffs - the last four MVFC teams to start a season 10-0 won the FCS title. This marks the fourth time as an MVFC member that NDSU has started a season with 10-straight wins.
Ranked vs. Ranked -- This week, there are two MVFC games that features ranked teams playing one another. In Conference history, there have been 257 games in which two league teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those previous 257 games, 74 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 143-112 in those games; the higher-ranked team is 164-92. Those figures include two neutral-site games, and one game in which the teams were both No. 25.
MVFC Ranked vs. Ranked (Nov. 15)
#17/22 USD at #21/23 Southern Illinois [ESPN+] -- 12 PM CT
#14/13 Illinois St. at #16/15 SDSU [Midco/ESPN+] -- 2 PM CT
Another National Honor -- NDSU punter Aaron Bickerton was named Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week. Bickerton punted a season-high five times for 55.6 yards per punt, the second highest single-game punting average in NDSU’s 22-year DI history.
Winning Against No. 1 -- Thirteen of the previous 22 MVFC wins vs. a top-ranked team have been league games. MVFC programs have a 9-15 all-time mark against non-conference No. 1-ranked teams. As an MVFC member, UNI has defeated a No. 1-ranked team three times.
Upset Special -- In league history, an unranked MVFC team has beaten a ranked MVFC team in November just 40 times in 41 seasons (counting this year). Only four times have two upsets occurred on the same date, but Nov. 1, 2025, marked the first time two unranked MVFC teams beat two Top-10 MVFC teams on the same date (USD vs. No. 8 UND; INS at No. 4 SDSU)
Payton’s Place -- Cole Payton of North Dakota State leads or is near the lead in the FCS in a host of individual statistical categories. His current pass efficiency rating (185.8) would establish an MVFC all-time single-season mark.
Cole Payton in the FCS NCAA Stats (thru 11/8)
1. Yards Per Pass Attempt (11.62)
1. Passing Yards Per Completion (15.99)
1. Completion Percentage (72.7)
2. Passing Efficiency (185.8)
9. Total Offensive Yards Per Game (283.5)
Mighty Defenses -- Top-ranked North Dakota State ranks among the FCS leaders in a host of defensive categories. NDSU leads the FCS in total defense (242.1 ypg).
2025 FCS Defensive Leaders (Rush Yards Per Game)
1. Tennessee Tech (OVC) -- 60.9
2. SFA (Southland) -- 65.5
3. Lehigh (Patriot) -- 67.5
4. Mercer (SoCon) -- 75.2
5. Harvard (Ivy League) -- 91.1
6. North Dakota (MVFC) -- 95.5
7. Wofford (SoCon) -- 98.7
8. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 99.2
2025 FCS Defensive Leaders (Scoring Defense)
1. Harvard (Ivy League) -- 11.6
2. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 11.7
3. Lehigh (Patriot) -- 12.8
2025 FCS Defensive Leaders (Total Defense)
1. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 242.1
2. SFA (Southland) -- 247.9
3. Harvard (Ivy League) -- 264.9
2025 FCS Defensive Leaders (Passing Yards)
1. Prairie View (SWAC) -- 135.0
2. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 142.9
3. Presbyterian (Pioneer) -- 153.4
4. Tarleton St. (United) -- 155.1
5. Saint Francis (NEC) -- 155.4
2025 FCS Defensive Leaders (Def. Pass Efficiency)
1. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 100.91
2. Harvard (Ivy League) -- 100.96
3. Tarleton St. (United) -- 102.40
On the Clock -- North Dakota State (4th, 33:11) and South Dakota State (5th, 33:08) rank among the FCS leaders in time of possession.
FCS Leaders, Time of Possession
1. UT Martin (OVC) -- 34:39
2. Merrimack (FCS Independent) -- 33:57
3. Butler (Pioneer) -- 33:17
4. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 33:11
5. South Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 33:08
Net Returns -- Three MVFC schools rank among the FCS Top 8 in kickoff return average.
FCS Leaders, Kickoff Returns
1. Southeastern La. (Southland) -- 29.71
2. Villanova (CAA) -- 29.62
3. Valparaiso (Pioneer) -- 29.15
4. Texas Southern (SWAC) -- 28.97
5. Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 26.96
6. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 26.20
7. Montana St. (Big Sky) -- 26.08
8. Butler (Pioneer) -- 26.00
8. North Dakota (MVFC) -- 26.00
Turnover Margin -- Four MVFC schools, led by North Dakota State at No. 4, are among the FCS Top 20 in turnover margin this season.
FCS Leaders, Turnover Margin
1. Tarleton St. (United) -- 2.40
2. Dayton (Pioneer) -- 1.56
3. St. Thomas (MN) (Pioneer) -- 1.30
4. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 1.20
5. UTRGV (Southland) -- 1.10
7. South Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 0.90
16. Illinois St. (MVFC) -- 0.50
16. Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 0.50
Beau Knows Football -- A pair of MVFC players are among the top five in the FCS in rushing yards per game. South Dakota RB LJ Phillips leads the MVFC with his 133.1 per game average. QB Beau Brungard of Youngstown State is sixth nationally, but he’s the top rushing QB in the FCS. His 1,145 total rush yards is climbing the all-time single-season leaderboard in league history for rushing by a QB.
All-Time Single-Season Rushing Bests, MVFC QBs
1,334, Aaron Bailey, UNI, 2015 (14 games)
1,291, Tirrell Rennie, UNI, 2010 (12 games)
1,145, Beau Brungard, Youngstown St., 2025 (10 games)
1,100, Trey Lance, NDSU, 2019 (16 games)
1,034, Sheraton Fox, Indiana State, 1999
1,029, Tre Roberson, Illinois State, 2014 (15 games)
998, Beau Brungard, Youngstown St., 2024 (12 games)
FCS Leaders, Rushing Yards Per Game
1. Rodney Nelson, Monmouth (CAA) -- 157.0
2. Joshua Dye, Southern Utah (United) -- 154.3
3. L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota (MVFC) -- 133.1
4. Kente Edwards, Lafayette (Patriot) -- 129.0
5. Josh Pitsenberger, Yale (Ivy League) -- 123.6
6. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 114.5
FCS Leaders, Rushing TDs
1. Joshua Dye, Southern Utah (United) -- 22
2. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 18
3. Barika Kpeenu, North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 15
3. Kente Edwards, Lafayette (Patriot) -- 15
3. Rodney Nelson, Monmouth (CAA) -- 15
6. L.J. Phillips Jr., South Dakota (MVFC) -- 14
6. DJ Williams, Southern Ill. (MVFC) -- 14
6. Eli Gillman, Montana (Big Sky) -- 14
FCS Leaders, Total Offensive Yards Per Game
1. Braden Atkinson, Mercer (SoCon) -- 367.0
2. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 357.2
3. DJ Williams, Southern Ill. (MVFC) -- 300.8
4. Chris Parson, Austin Peay (United) -- 294.1
9. Cole Payton, North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 283.5
FCS Leaders, Points Responsible For Per Game
1. Beau Brungard, Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 22.4
2. Braden Atkinson, Mercer (SoCon) -- 21.8
3. DJ Williams, Southern Ill. (MVFC) -- 19.4
6. Tommy Rittenhouse, Illinois St. (MVFC) -- 17.6
9. Jerry Kaminski, North Dakota (MVFC) -- 16.8
On the Offensive -- MVFC teams are on the leaderboards for scoring offense and rushing offense.
FCS Leaders (Scoring Offense)
1. Tennessee Tech (OVC) -- 45.2
2. Tarleton St. (United) -- 43.6
3. UTRGV (Southland) -- 41.4
7. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 39.6
17. North Dakota (MVFC) -- 35.1
17. Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 35.1
19. Southern Ill. (MVFC) -- 34.9
FCS Leaders (Rushing Offense)
1. Delaware St. (MEAC) -- 284.7
2. Jackson St. (SWAC) -- 267.4
3. Sacramento St. (Big Sky) -- 254.3
6. North Dakota St. (MVFC) -- 222.8
11. North Dakota (MVFC) -- 210.4
14. Youngstown St. (MVFC) -- 206.1
16. Southern Ill. (MVFC) -- 204.3