This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference honorees include QB Sam Straub of Southern Illinois; QB Chris Streveler of South Dakota; LB Brett Taylor of Western Illinois; PK Cam Pedersen of North Dakota State; LB Jabril Cox of North Dakota State; and LG Jackson Scott-Brown of UNI.

Co-Offense
QB Sam Straub, Southern Illinois
6-4, 240, Jr., Ames (Iowa) High
Straub threw for 368 yards and four touchdowns in SIU’s 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday. Straub went 22-for-34 (65 percent) in the game without turning the ball over. His 368 yards were 10th-most in school history, and he became the first player in program history with three career games of 4+ touchdown passes. 

QB Chris Streveler, South Dakota
6-3, 215, Sr., Crystal Lake (Ill.) Univ. of Minnesota
Streveler accounted for five touchdowns and was near flawless in South Dakota’s big win against Indiana State. In three quarters of work, he completed 27 of 32 passes for 337 yards, and ran eight times for 82 yards. Streveler threw two touchdowns each to wide outs Brandt Van Roekel (10, 55) and Kody Case (35, 22), and scored on a 46-yard touchdown run just before halftime. The Coyotes scored touchdowns on six of Streveler’s eight possessions.

Defense
LB Brett Taylor, Western Illinois
6-2, 230, Sr., Macomb (Ill.) High
Taylor registered a game-high 16 tackles in addition to 2.0 tackles for a loss, one sack and two pass breakups in Western Illinois' 49-30 win over Missouri State. The Macomb native has now at least tied for the team lead in stops in each of the last 11 contests, including all six games this season. During the game, Taylor moved into fourth place all-time in school history in total tackles with 394.

Special Teams
K Cam Pedersen, North Dakota State
6-2, 199, Jr., Eau Claire (Wis.) Regis High
Pedersen’s 36-yard field goal in overtime lifted North Dakota State to a 27-24 win at Youngstown State.  It was Pedersen’s second career game-winning kick.  He also converted a 19-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to tie the game 10-10 and converted 3 of 3 extra-point kicks.  Pedersen has converted his last six consecutive field goal attempts.

Newcomer
LB Jabril Cox, North Dakota State
6-3, 227, RFr., Kansas City (Mo.) Raytown South High
Cox had two solo sacks and made a key tackle for loss in overtime that set up a third-and-13 and led to a missed field goal in North Dakota State’s 27-24 victory at Youngstown State.  He tied a season-high with eight tackles and had six of those stops after replacing injured starter Chris Board.

Offensive Lineman
LG Jackson Scott-Brown, UNI
So., 6-4, 312, Council Bluffs (Iowa) St. Alberts
UNI gained 218 yards to dominate on the ground in its win against South Dakota State, while finishing with 387 total yards for the game. The Panthers only allowed one sack, while holding the ball for a season-high 40:29 minutes. The 60 rushing attempts were the most for the Panthers since earning 63 against Missouri State on Nov. 14, 2015, while Marcus Weymiller’s 42 rushes are the most by any player in the FCS this season.

OTHERS NOMINATED
Offense
QB Nathan Mays, Youngstown State -- Mays ran for 81 yards and threw for 188 in the Penguins' 27-24 overtime loss to North Dakota State. He rushed 21 times in the contest. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

RB Marcus Weymiller, UNI -- Led the Panthers to a road upset of No. 7 South Dakota State on Saturday, after rushing for 170 yards on 42 carries and two touchdowns. Before Saturday’s game, Weymiller had not run the ball since Nov. 19, 2016 (also against SDSU). 

QB Easton Stick, North Dakota State -- Rushed 11 times for a career-high 172 yards and a touchdown in North Dakota State’s 27-24 overtime win at Youngstown State.  Stick’s career-long 80-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter gave NDSU its first lead of the game, 24-17.  He went 11 of 20 passing for 113 yards and two TDs, and he extended his streak to 149 pass attempts without an interception, passing the NDSU record of 143 set by Carson Wentz.

RB Steve McShane, Western Illinois -- Recorded his fourth career 100-yard rushing game, totaling a season-high 143 yards on the ground on 23 carries (6.2 yards per carry). He also scored a 39-yard touchdown in Western Illinois' 49-30 victory over Missouri State. The Freeport, Ill., native also caught two passes for two yards.

WR Malik Earl, Missouri State -- Set a program record with his 14 receptions against the Leathernecks. Earl, who also rushed for a 30-yard touchdown to help stake the Bears to a halftime lead, finished his day with 145 receiving yards and moved up to sixth on MSU’s all-time receptions list (128).

Defense
LB Jabril Cox, North Dakota State -- earned Newcomer of the Week honors

DL Colby Isbell, Missouri State -- Had four total tackles at Western Illinois, including a pair of sacks. The Rogers, Ark., product made three stops for losses totaling 30 yards Saturday, in addition to forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass.

LB Jim Litrenta, South Dakota -- Leader of a defense that limited Indiana State to two field goals and not much else. After totaling six points on two possessions, the Sycamores were limited to 94 yards on 37 plays the rest of the way. Litrenta finished with a game-high eight tackles and had one of nine USD tackles-for-loss. Indiana State ran 22 plays in the second half earned two first downs.
 
DT Donald Mesier, Youngstown State -- Had seven tackles, including four solo stops in the Penguins' 27-24 overtime loss to North Dakota State. He had a sack for a seven-yard loss in the game.

Special Teams
PR Craig James, Southern Illinois -- Had two punt returns and both went for 30+ yards in SIU’s 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday. James had a 33-yard return and a 30-yard return in the win, the longest two punt returns for SIU this year. His first punt return set up a short field for the offense, which took advantage with a 31-yard touchdown drive to give SIU a 21-0 lead at halftime. James also had an interception and two pass breakups in the win. 

K/P JT Bohlken, Illinois State -- Bohlken was home for the weekend, but got a call on Friday when regular ISU punter Zach Breen fell ill. Bohlken got in his car and traveled to Carbondale, Illinois, from his home in Jefferson City, Missouri, to serve as the team’s punter for the first time in his career at ISU. Despite the short notice, Bohlken rose to occasion punting seven times for an average of 44.6 yards per punt against the Salukis. He pinned SIU inside the 20 yard line once and booted a long punt of 56 yards to lead the way for the Redbirds on special teams.

KO Specialist Nathan Erickson, Western Illinois -- Kicked off eight times, compiling six touchbacks and helping to hold all-conference returner Deion Holliman to just 25 total yards on his two returns, with a long of just 15. Erickson averaged 59.0 yards per kickoff (one kickoff came from the Missouri State 35-yard line, not the Western Illinois 35-yard line due to a pair of penalties).

Newcomer
LB Angelo Garbutt, Missouri State --- Led the Bears with eight tackles in their loss to Western Illinois. The Iowa transfer matched his single-game high as a Bear, logging seven solo stops in all.

WR Raphael Leonard, Southern Illinois -- Caught two passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in SIU’s 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday. Leonard caught a 73-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the second half to give SIU a 28-0 lead, and SIU went on to cruise to a 42-7 victory. 

WR Kody Case, South Dakota -- Took two of his three catches to the house in South Dakota’s 56-6 win against Indiana State. Case totaled three catches for 62 yards. In addition to the receiving yards, Case totaled 34 yards on three punt returns and had a 20-yard kickoff return for 116 all-purpose yards.

K/P JT Bohlken, Illinois State -- also nominated at Special Teams

DB Keelon Brookins, UNI -- Received his first collegiate start in Saturday’s win against No. 7 South Dakota State, earned a career-high five tackles, while recording his first-career sack and adding a pass breakup. Before Saturday’s five tackle performance, Brookins had only one tackle this season. 

Offensive Line
C Jacob Judd, Western Illinois
Judd graded out at 94%, did not yield a sack and recorded eight knockdowns in Western Illinois' 49-30 victory over Missouri State. The senior center was integral in paving the way for 282 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per carry and four rushing touchdowns. The Leathernecks scored rushing touchdowns from 29, 61, 39 and 29 yards out, respectively, with Judd helping to open up those big plays. In addition, Judd allowed time for quarterback Sean McGuire to complete 18-of-25 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns. McGuire's touchdowns also came on long plays of 21, 43 and 26 yards. 

Austin Olsen, Southern Illinois
Led Southern’s offense to a blowout 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday. The Salukis piled up 549 yards against a Redbird defense that came into the game allowing just 219 yards per game. Olsen individually did not a allow a sack, helping QB Sam Straub pass for 368 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers. Straub’s 413 yards of total offense ranked seventh in school history. Olsen also got Southern’s run game going—the Salukis ran for 181 yards against an Illinois State defense that came into the game allowing just 47.8 yards rushing per game over its first five games.

RG Austin Kuhnert, North Dakota State
Kuhnert had seven knockdowns and allowed zero sacks in North Dakota State’s 27-24 overtime win at Youngstown State.  He graded out at 100 percent assignment and 84 percent technique while protecting for quarterback Easton Stick, who rushed for a career-high 172 yards and passed for two touchdowns in the victory.