Ranked vs. Ranked
Before two games this weekend, there have been 165 games in which two ranked MVFC teams have faced one another. In those games, the home team is 97-67 (there was one neutral site game), and the higher ranked team is 100-65. The NDSU-USD meeting marked the 40th game in league history in which both teams are ranked in the Top 10.
MVFC Weekly Notebook (PDF)
Ruling the Rankings
Seven MVFC teams rank in the Top 11 for FCS schools in the Sagarin Rankings. HERO Sports’ BennettRank yields similar results -- with five MVFC schools ranked in the Top 11.
Seven Wins = Success in Playoffs
In the past six seasons, a total of 19 MVFC teams with 7 or more regular-season wins earned a playoff bid (the league had two others with 6 wins get in). Those 7-win teams have combined for a 40-14 playoff record, five national titles and seven title-game appearances. Notably, six of those 14 losses were intra-conference playoff matchups, meaning the MVFC’s 7-win teams have gone 34-8 (.829) in non-league playoff games.
Final Saturday
All five games this weekend will be available on ESPN3. The league’s ESPN3 exclusive production is the UNI-Indiana State contest at 4 pm CT. Brad Wells, Danan Hughes, Don Patterson and Kelly Burke are on the call from Cedar Falls.
Saturday, Nov. 18 (Times CT)
Missouri State at Youngstown State, 11 am | Youngstown, Ohio • ESPN3
#4 North Dakota State at #21 Illinois State, 12 pm | Normal, Ill. • NBC ND / NBCSCH / ESPN3
Southern Illinois at #9 Western Illinois, 1 pm | Macomb, Ill. • ESPN3
#5 South Dakota State at #15 South Dakota, 2 pm | Vermillion, S.D. • MidcoSN / ESPN3
Indiana State at #24 UNI, 4 pm | Cedar Falls, Iowa • ESPN3
Fit to Be Tied?
North Dakota State claimed at least a share of its 7th-straight MVFC crown with its 49-14 win against South Dakota this past Saturday. A win at Illinois State secures an outright crown for the Bison, and NDSU can still earn the league’s AQ into the FCS playoffs with a loss -- the Bison hold the multi-team tiebreaker in the event that NDSU, UNI and SDSU tie for the title (NDSU is 4-0 against common opponents, while UNI and SDSU are both 3-1 against common opponents, which include Missouri State, South Dakota, Western Illinois and Youngstown State). The Bison win the head-to-head tiebreaker against UNI (in the event of a two-way tie for first place at 6-2). And SDSU wins the head-to-head tiebreaker against NDSU (in the event of a two-way tie for first). If there is a first-place tie, co-champions will be declared (the tiebreaker is only implemented to identify the MVFC’s AQ.)
Against the FCS
The MVFC is 18-5 against FCS schools this year, which includes two road losses to ranked FCS teams, one of which (Liberty) is transitioning to FBS. The MVFC is 2-2 against non-league FCS ranked teams.
Playoff Bids - MVFC History
The MVFC has had a league-record five teams selected to the playoffs twice (2014 and 2015). In the past three seasons, the MVFC has had a total of 14 bids. Only CAA Football has had as many as 5 bids (three times).
Playoff Selections - MVFC History
5 -- twice (2014, 2015)
4 -- twice (2003, 2016)
3 or more -- 7 times (03, 06, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16)
2 or more -- 25 times (in 32 seasons)
2 or more playoff bids every year since 1995
The Power 5
In the past seven playoffs (2010-16), five leagues (Big Sky, CAA Football, MVFC, Southern and Southland) have combined to win 126 of 149 total games. The MVFC has 44 of those wins (35 percent).
Dominance By Decade
The Missouri Valley Football Conference has recorded a 44-19 record since 2010 in the playoffs -- better than any other league. Over the last two-plus years the MVFC has a 25-12 record in the playoffs, which includes six intraconference games, meaning the league is 19-6 vs. the rest.
MVFC’s All-Time Best
The Coyotes’ offense this year (513.5 yards/game) would eclipse the league’s all-time mark, established by Southern Illinois in 2004 (502.7 yards/game).
Road Warriors
North Dakota State saw its FCS-best road winning streak end at 12-straight with its loss at South Dakota State on Nov. 4. Western Illinois notched its sixth road win of the year at Indiana State on Nov. 11. That had never before accomplished in its 113 seasons of football prior to 2017. Notably, only 21 teams in league history (including Western this year) have won five road games in a season and all of the previous teams participated in the FCS playoffs. The league record for road wins in a season, including the playoffs, is six -- accomplished by UNI (2007) and Illinois State (2012).
Acklin Climbing The Charts
Western Illinois WR Jaelon Acklin leads the MVFC and ranks No. 3 in the FCS in receiving yards with 1,160. He is just 25 yards away from setting the WIU single-season record. He’s the 33rd receiver in league history to reach 1,000 yards in a season.
Streveler Ranks Ninth-Best
QB Chris Streveler ranks ninth in MVFC history for single-season total offense with 3,520 yards in USD’s first 10 games. He is second in the FCS this year, trailing only Richmond’s Kyle Lauletta (3,598 yards).
The Big D
Dallas Goedert of South Dakota State set a league record for receiving yards by a tight end last year with 1,293 in 13 games. That was also the best in Division I. He leads all DI tight ends in receiving yards again this year with 849 in 10 games. He has 2,726 receiving yards in his career, surpassing SIU’s MyCole Pruitt (2,601 from 2011-14) for the Conference record for career receiving yards by an MVFC tight end.
Tackle Machine
LB Brett Taylor had an FCS-best 28 tackles in Western Illinois’ game vs. South Dakota. That number ranks 5th all-time for a single game in league history. He currently leads the FCS in tackles per game (13.4). Including Taylor, only 15 players in MVFC history have reached 425 career tackles, while Taylor ranks 2nd among active FCS players with 441 career stops. He’s 12th in league history with those 441 career tackles.
Jake Continues To Climb Charts
WR Jake Wieneke of South Dakota State passed Jerry Rice for third place all time in career receiving yards. He ranks No. 3 all-time in the FCS in both career TD receptions (54) and yards (4,782). He holds league career receiving records for TDs (54), yards (4,782) and is second in receptions (267). Lance Lenoir of Western Illinois holds the latter record with 273 career catches.
Against the Best
Using HERO Sports BennettRank metrics to determine ‘top 25’ teams, here’s a snapshot at what leagues have done, as well as individual teams.
Top 25 Victories, By Team
5 -- North Dakota State
4 -- Weber State
3 -- South Dakota State, Southern Utah, UNI, Western Illinois, Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona
2 -- South Dakota, Central Arkansas, Illinois State, Elon, James Madison
Top 25 Victories, By League
20 - MVFC
15 - Big Sky
8 - CAA Football
4 - Southland
1 - SoCon
1 - Ivy