Perfect Saturday:  9-0  -- For the first time in the league’s 42-year history, all Conference teams played and all teams won on the same day.  MVFC teams went 9-0 on Sept. 12 against non-league foes, which included the league’s 50th all-time win against an FBS opponent (Illinois State defeated Northern Illinois).  The MVFC’s 18-8 non-league record is an FCS-best as is the league’s 16-4 record against FCS opponents.

What’s On Tap -- All nine Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are in action this weekend.  Youngstown State and South Dakota State play their league openers in Brookings, while seven other MVFC teams have non-league games. Murray State, North Dakota, UNI, South Dakota, and Southern Illinois all face an FBS team on Sept. 19.

Weekly MVFC Notebook (PDF)
 

Saturday, Sept. 19
Valparaiso at Indiana State [ESPN+]	12 p.m. CT
[#24/25] Southern Illinois at Illinois [Peacock]	1 p.m. CT
Eastern Illinois at [RV] Illinois State [ESPN+]	2 p.m. CT
UNI at [#18/20] Iowa [FS1]	3 p.m. CT
*[#9/9] Youngstown St. at [#2/3] SDSU [Midco/ESPN+]	6 p.m. CT
Murray State at [RV] Oklahoma State [ESPN+]	6 p.m. CT
[#6/6] North Dakota at [RV] Nebraska [BTN]	6:15 p.m. CT
[#10/12] South Dakota at [RV] Boise St. [CBS Sports]	9 p.m. CT

FCS rankings listed are Stats Perform/AFCA Coaches polls; FBS rankings list only the highest rating of AP/AFCA

Against the FBS -- Missouri Valley Football Conference schools have combined for 50 wins against FBS teams since 1985.

MVFC Teams w/ FBS Wins (50)
11 -- UNI
8 -- Western Illinois
6 -- Illinois State, NDSU
5 -- Indiana State, Southern Illinois
4 -- Youngstown State
2 -- SDSU
1 -- Eastern Illinois, Missouri State, South Dakota

Open Season -- Southern Illinois and Missouri State played the league’s first conference game (Sept. 7, 1985), while the earliest start for a league game occurred on Aug. 30, 2001 (Western Illinois vs. Western Kentucky).  Youngstown State and South Dakota State face one another this weekend.  South Dakota State has won seven-straight league-opening games, which is the longest current streak.

Six MVFC Teams Ranked This Week; Five Ranked in the Top 10 -- The league matched a Conference record by placing five teams in the Top 10 of this week’s Stats Perform Top 10. In all, six league teams are ranked in both the Stats Perform and AFCA coaches polls this week.  The league has had five teams ranked in the Top 10 of a national poll during the same week seven times previously, most recently on Sept. 16, 2024.

Two Earn National Honors -- Two MVFC players earned national player of the week honors as QB Beau Brungard of Youngstown State and LB Tye Niekamp of Illinois State have been honored by Stats Perform. Notably, QB Austyn Modrewski of South Dakota was named a national player of the week on Aug. 31.

Ranked vs. Ranked -- This week, there is one MVFC game that features ranked teams playing one another.  In Conference history, there have been 262 games in which two league teams ranked in the top 25 played one another. Of those 262 games, 74 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Twenty-one meetings have occurred in the playoffs. The home team is 143-117 in those games; the higher-ranked team is 166-95. Those figures include two neutral-site games, and one game in which the teams were both ranked No. 25.

MVFC Ranked vs. Ranked (Sept. 19)
*[#9/9] Youngstown St. at [#2/3] SDSU [Midco/ESPN+]    6 p.m. CT

MVFC-Big Sky Challenge Series -- In an effort to publicize current matchups between two of the premier FCS conferences, the MVFC and the Big Sky Conference announced a Challenge Series between the two leagues before the 2017 season. (Only regular-season contests count in the series standings.)  The MVFC claimed the 2026 series with a 3-1 advantage.  The MVFC has never lost a season series in the Challenge.

Efficient QBs in the MVFC -- Five MVFC signal callers rank in the top nine of the NCAA FCS leaderboard for pass efficiency, led by South Dakota’s Austyn Modrzewski (214.2) and North Dakota’s Jerry Kaminski (203.3) who hold the top two spots nationally.

What’s the Score? -- Five MVFC teams rank in the top eight nationally for scoring. North Dakota leads the MVFC (50.3 ppg) and ranks third in the FCS for points per game.

Putting Up the Points -- MVFC QBs hold the top three spots in the FCS for “points responsible for.”

Moving the Football -- Three MVFC programs, led by North Dakota at No. 1, rank in the top four nationally in total first downs this season. The Fighting Hawks have accumulated 80 first downs this year to lead the FCS.

Stopping the Run -- Illinois State (2nd), UNI (5th), and North Dakota (6th) are among the national leaders in rushing defense. The Redbirds lead the MVFC by yielding an average of just 59.3 yards per game on the ground.

Ground Pound -- Four MVFC programs rank in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards per game this season. South Dakota State leads the Conference and ranks No. 4 in the nation with its 265.3 yards per game average.



PRESEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Missouri Valley Football Preseason Poll -- Click Here for Poll Results
Stats Perform Preseason All-America Team -- Click Here
Phil Steele Preseason All-America Team -- Click Here
FCS Football Central Preseason All-America Team -- Click Here
Stats Perform Preseason Watch Lists -- Walter Payton Award  |  Buck Buchanan Award
FCS Punter of the Year Watch List -- Click Here