This week's Missouri Valley Football Conference players of the week include QB Theo Day of UNI; WR Carter Bell of South Dakota; SS Dennis Shorter of South Dakota; RB Plez Lawrence of Indiana State; P Orion Phillips of Murray State; and OG Mason McCormick of South Dakota State.
When No. 1 SDSU and No. 22 Illinois State face one another on Oct. 7 it will mark the 220th time two ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference teams have played one another. In the 219 previous such-meetings the home team is 125-92 and the higher-ranked team has a 137-82 record. (Rankings are based on appearance in either the Stats Perform or AFCA poll; the numbers above also include two neutral site games.)
South Dakota has been tabbed “FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week” by Stats Perform after the Yotes knocked off previously unbeaten and No. 2 North Dakota State this past weekend. The Coyotes have defeated a nationally ranked opponent in every season since 2013, including a win in Fargo in 2015.
Indiana State freshman Plez Lawrence rushed for 203 yards in his first collegiate start against Murray State on Sept. 30. He’s the first league freshman to eclipse 200 rushing yards in a game since 2018. It’s only happened three times dating back to at least the 2007 season.
Illinois State is looking to post the league’s 20th all-time win against a No. 1-ranked team when it faces top-ranked South Dakota State. League schools have a combined 8-14 record in non-league games against the nation’s top-ranked team. Eleven of the previous 19 MVFC wins against a No. 1 team have been league games.
Including Southern Illinois’ 14-11 win at Northern Illinois on Sept. 9, 2023, Missouri Valley Football Conference schools have combined for 49 wins against FBS teams since 1985. A league member has picked up at least one FBS win for 13 of the last 14 seasons (only missing the 2020-21 COVID season in which only one FBS team was played).
The MVFC has a 18-6 mark against teams from FCS leagues this year. Remarkably, a league member has only lost seven games to an unranked FCS foe since September 2019, going 53-7 against FCS unranked teams during that span.
ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS
- FLYING BACK INTO THE TOP 25 -- Despite not playing last weekend on a bye, the Illinois State football team has found itself back in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll at No. 22 heading into week six of the regular season. The Redbirds are one of six MVFC teams ranked, joining South Dakota State (1), Southern Illinois (5), North Dakota State (8), North Dakota (15), and South Dakota (21).
- BREAKING THE STIGMA -- This week, Illinois State Athletics kicks off Student Athlete Mental Health Week alongside Hilinski’s Hope and 160+ other universities. Redbird Athletics is taking time to #BreakTheStigma by curating a collective week of action focused on eliminating stigma and increasing mental health resources for universities and colleges. Join us in telling the world that #MentalHealthMatters.
- ANNEXSTAD BOUNCES BACK -- Coming off a tough performance in a loss to Eastern Illinois the week before, quarterback Zack Annexstad was in full control of the Redbird offense from the get-go in ISU' 48-17 win over Lindenwood. The Norseland, Minnesota, native had the best game of his career as a Redbird since transferring from Minnesota prior to the 2022 season, throwing for a career-best 288 yards and accounting for three touchdowns in the win over the Lions. Annexstad completed 78.7 percent of his passes (26-of-33) with two scores and added a touchdown on the ground. His big strike of the day came on a 62-yard touchdown connection to Dan Sobkowicz in the second quarter.
- NEXT MAN UP -- True freshman running back Josh Robinson made the most of his opportunity to carry the ball against Lindenwood. The Bolingbrook, Illinois, native got his because of injuries for the Redbirds at the running back spot to Mason Blakemore and Wenkers Wright and did not disappoint, as he ran for team-best 84 yards on eight carries with his first career touchdown. Robinson averaged 10.5 yards per rush against the Lions, with his long run of 37 yards setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Zack Annexstad in the fourth quarter.
INDIANA State SYCAMORES
- Lawrence Cracks 200 -- Plez Lawrence made the most of his first collegiate start on Saturday afternoon as the redshirt freshman recorded 203 rushing yards on 29 carries and scored three touchdowns against Murray State. The Kokomo, Ind. native took the ball between the tackles for a majority of the contest with a 31-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter his longest carry of the night. Lawrence became the first freshman in the MVFC to break 200 rushing yards in a single game since South Dakota State's Pierre Strong Jr. went for 253 rushing yards and three touchdowns against South Dakota on November 17, 2018. Lawrence became the first ISU freshman running back to break 100 rushing yards since Shakir Bell in 2010 (146 vs. Illinois State). Lawrence became the first freshman in the MVFC to break 200 rushing yards in a single game since South Dakota State's Pierre Strong Jr. went for 253 rushing yards and three touchdowns against South Dakota on November 17, 2018. Lawrence became the first ISU running back to crack 200 rushing yards since Dominique Dafney went for 244 yards and four touchdowns on November 23, 2019, against Missouri State.
- Van Dyne Goes for 100 -- Harry Van Dyne posted a career-high 10 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in a dominant receiving performance in the MVFC opener against Murray State. Saturday marked his first game with over 100 receiving yards in his ISU career as the redshirt senior was the favorite target by Cade Chambers on the night. He became the first ISU receiver to post 10 catches or more since Dante Hendrix went for 10 catches, 121 yards, and a touchdown on October 16, 2021, against Missouri State.
MISSOURI STATE BEARS
- Missouri State sophomore running back Connor Lair recently announced that he will be undergoing cancer treatment in the coming weeks as he begins his battle with stage four Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Diagnosed in early September, he will miss the remainder of the season and is asking for Missouri State fans to keep him in their thoughts as he begins a rigorous treatment schedule over the next six months.
- The Bears boast the No. 2 passing offense in the FCS ranks, averaging 328.0 yards per game, which also leads the MVFC. Two weeks ago against Utah Tech, MoState racked up a school-record 462 passing yards and followed that with 305 yards last week against SIU. MoState also ranks 5th in pass efficiency (167.52) and 7th in yards per completion (14.74), both of which lead the MVFC.
- The Bears rank 32nd nationally in scoring offense (31.8) this season and have scored two or more touchdowns in 14 straight home games, dating to March 13, 2021. MoState is 11-3 at home in that span (8-2 in MVFC games), while scoring 30 or more points in 11-of-14 contests.
- Bears safety Todric McGee (So., Wichita Kan.) ranks 20th nationally in solo tackles per game (5.8) and 20th in total tackles per game (10.0). He ranks 2nd in the MVFC in solos and 3rd in total tackles per game.
- Wide receiver Hunter Wood (Jr., Springdale, Ark.) has recorded 3 receiving TDs in the last two games to jump to 29th nationally in receiving scores (3), which is tied for second-best in the MVFC.
MURRAY STATE RACERS
- MSU Wins Inaugural MVFC Game -- The Murray State Racers defeated the Indiana State Sycamores 30-28 Saturday in their first Missouri Valley Football Conference game at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky. The victory for the Racers (2-2) came in front of a crowd of 13,213, the 15th largest in Stewart Stadium history and the largest in the history of MSU Family Weekend. The Racers began the game by scoring a safety by Caldra Williford and ended it with putting the game away with a 37-yard scoring pass from DJ Williams to Cole Rusk. Chris Hill, Jr. gave the MSU defense another big play when he grabbed a batted pass by CJ Barnes and took it 32 yards for a touchdown to start the second half. Murray State becomes the eighth MVFC team to play its first conference game after the league's inaugural season in 1985.
- Phillips Named MVFC Specialist of the Week -- Orion Phillips became the first Racer to win one of the MVFC weekly awards when he was named the league's Special Teams Player of the Week. The freshman from Australia continued his impressive rookie campaign with a big performance against Indiana State. Phillips booted five punts, totaling 229 yards for a 45.8-yard average including a massive 67-yard effort that would be downed at the one-yard line. The 67-yard boot was the second-longest punt in the MVFC in 2023, falling just short of the 71-yard mark set by Illinois State earlier this season. Phillips placed four of his five punts inside the 20-yard line. The MSU record for the longest punt is 90 yards in 2002 by Brian Bivens against Southeast Missouri. This season, the freshman has 580 punt yards with four punts over the 50-yard mark. His 44.6-yard average ranks him within the top 15 in FCS competition.
- Racers Look For Road Success --- Since 2015, the Racers are 12-34 on the road which includes a mark of 12-22 against FCS opponents. MSU's last road win came on Nov. 20, 2021, at Eastern Illinois by a score of 20-13. MSU has lost their last eight away from home. The Racers meet South Dakota for the first time on the football field and just the second time in any sport. The Racers and Coyotes played softball in Florida in the spring of 2019.
NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING HAWKS
- This will be only the fourth meeting all-time between North Dakota and Western Illinois. NoDak holds a perfect 3-0 lead in the series between the two squads and is 1-0 in games played at the Alerus Center. The two teams last met on Oct. 23, 2021, when North Dakota defeated Western Illinois, 34-10, at the Alerus Center. That game was also a Homecoming matchup and UND is 67-32-4 in Homecoming contests.
- The most recent Homecoming win was a 48-31 victory over then-ranked No. 7 Missouri State on Oct. 1, 2022. The Fighting Hawks have not lost a Homecoming game since Sept. 22, 2018, when Idaho State defeated North Dakota, 25-21 in the Potato Bowl.
- The protection from the offensive line has allowed UND QB’s to have a completion percentage of 71.4 percent, a mark that sits
- No. 4 in the country and No. 2 in the MVFC. Fighting Hawk quarterbacks have a team passing efficiency rating of 153.43, which sits No. 19 nationally and No. 5 in the conference. NoDak averages 242.5 yards passing per game.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON
- MILLER SETS RECORD: Quarterback Cam Miller leads the FCS and ranks fifth in all divisions with a 78.2 completion percentage through four games. Miller was 18-for-19 against Central Arkansas and his 94.7 completion rate was an NDSU single-game record for passers with more than 10 attempts. Miller completed his last 17 attempts against UCA and his first six against South Dakota to set a new NDSU record with 23 consecutive completions, breaking Brock Jensen’s 2013 record of 21 straight against Kansas State (14) and Ferris State (7).
- MULTIPLE TARGETS: NDSU has 18 players with at least one pass reception through the first four games of the season led by Zach Mathis with 15 catches, Joe Stoffel with 12 and Eli Green with 10. Last year’s team had 17 players with at least one catch.
- CROSA CONNECTS: Bison kicker Griffin Crosa has made 107 consecutive PATs dating back to 2019, the fifth most in Missouri Valley Football Conference history. Crosa is fifth all-time at NDSU in PATs made and sixth in attempts (151-for-152) and his career PAT percentage of 99.3 is second in school history behind Jake Reinholz, who was 87-for-87 from 2018 to 2021. Crosa is seventh all-time at NDSU with 28 field goals made and ranks first with an 84.8 career field goal percentage (28-for-33).
NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS
- UNI's victory over No. 19 Youngstown State was the 94th all-time top-25 win for the Panther football program, and 60th such win under head coach Mark Farley.
- Quarterback Theo Day moved up to fifth on UNI's all-time passing yards list (6,631) with a 337-yard performance against Youngstown State, passing Steve Sandon (1978-81) and Eli Dunne (2015-18). Day also extended his streak and school record of games with a passing touchdown to 26. UNI's passing offense has averaged 302.5 yards per game, the second-best mark in the MVFC behind Missouri State and eighth-best average nationally. Day leads the MVFC in passing yards (1,201), passing yards per game and total offense (291). Day's 300.2 yards per game through the air is the fourth-best average in FCS.
- Running back Josh Jenkins recorded 103 kickoff return yards against Youngstown State, the first Panther to record over 100 yards on kick returns in a game since Xavior Williams in 2018 against North Dakota State.
- Placekicker Matthew Cook extended his career streak of made PAT kicks against the Penguins. Cook has made all 135 PAT attempts in his career.
- Sam Schnee leads the league in all-purpose yards per game (116.5), receiving yards and touchdowns (378 for four TDs) and receiving yards per game (94.5). Schnee also ranks fourth in the nation in receiving touchdowns.
- Noah Pettinger is second in the MVFC and ranks 13th in the FCS with a 44.1 yards per punt average.
- Entering a two-game road trip, the Panthers will look for a sixth straight win on Saturday against the Sycamores. UNI's five-game winning streak against Indiana State is its longest against active MVFC opponents.
SOUTH DAKOTA COYOTES
- South Dakota hosts conference newcomer Murray State Saturday in what will be the Racers’ first road game as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Murray State topped Indiana State 30-28 at home last week and is 2-0 against FCS opponents this season. Both of those games have been at home.
- Saturday will be the 106th Dakota Days (homecoming) football game The Coyotes are 67-33-5 (.662) all-time on Dakota Days and have won 17 of their last 21 Bob Nielson is 6-0 on Dakota Days. Murray State is USD’s 15th different Dakota Days opponent in the last 17 years USD is 67-33-5 on Dakota Days (31-12 inside the DakotaDome). The most points USD has scored in a homecoming game is 60 (60-7 vs. Morningside in 1973). The highest-scoring Dakota Days was in 1968 when South Dakota defeated South Dakota State
- Carter Bell (Off.) and Dennis Shorter (Def.) are the reigning Valley Players of the Week Bell, Jack Martens and JJ Galbreath have combined for 42 of USD’s 48 receptions
- USD is back in the national rankings for the first time since the end of the 2021 season
- USD has scored on nine of 11 possessions over the past two games (9 TDs, 1 FGs) The Coyotes have outscored teams 59-6 in two games inside the DakotaDome this year.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS
- BOCK RETURNS -- South Dakota State linebacker Adam Bock saw his first action of the season in the Jackrabbits’ Sept. 30 game against North Dakota. The senior from Solon, Iowa, registered a game-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and the team’s first sack of the season. Bock recorded double figures In tackles for the 12th time in his career as the Jackrabbits limited UND to 68 yards on the ground.
- WINNING STREAKS CONTINUE -- South Dakota State extended several winning streaks with its 42-21 victory over North Dakota on Sept. 30. First, the Jackrabbits extended their overall winning streak to 18 games dating back to last season. SDSU has won 10 games against ranked opponents in that span, including two victories over North Dakota, North Dakota State and Montana State. The Jackrabbits will face another ranked opponent this weekend, when it travels to Illinois State (22nd in AFCA coaches’ poll). SDSU also won its 10th consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference game and lengthened its current home winning streak to 15.
- ANGEL-IC PERFORMANCES -- Running back Angel Johnson has made the most of his limited opportunities thus far during the 2023 season. In four games, Johnson has averaged 11.6 yards in the 21 times he has touched the ball, recording 205 yards on 17 carries and adding two receptions for 16 yards. Over the last two games, Johnson scored rushing touchdowns of 21 and 66 yards against Drake on Sept. 16, while adding a 50-yard touchdown burst for the final SDSU score in the Jackrabbits’ Sept. 30 victory over North Dakota.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SALUKIS
- No. 5-ranked Southern Illinois is 4-0 for the first time since 2007 and earned its highest national ranking since climbing to No. 3 in the polls on Oct. 25, 2021. The Salukis are one of only three undefeated FCS teams, along with South Dakota State (4-0) and Harvard (3-0).
- SIU plays at Youngstown State (2-2) on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT in a game that will be televised on ESPN+. The Penguins have own seven of the last 10 meetings between the schools, including last year's season finale, in which YSU rallied from a 14-point, fourth quarter deficit to win, 28-21.
- Two Salukis are closing in on major career milestones. With 7,773 passing yards, quarterback Nic Baker is 122 yards shy of school passing record held by Joel Sambursky. Running back Ro Elliott needs just 19 yards to reach 2,000 yards career rushing. He would be only the 12th player in school history to reach that plateau.
WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS
- The Leathernecks come out of the bye with a Saturday trip to North Dakota. Western Illinois has lost three straight post-bye week games but is 7-3 in their last 10 games after a bye.
- Matt Morrissey continues to be near the top of the MVFC in passing categories, leading the league in completions (96), while ranking second in yards (1113) and average passing yards per game (278.3).
- Bradyn Smith is tied for the conference lead in total tackles (41) and tackles per game (10.3).
YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS
- Offense Putting Up Points -- In three of four games this season the Penguins have scored at least 40 points. YSU opened the season with 52 points and the past two games had 48 against Robert Morris and 41 at UNI. The 41 points that YSU scored against the Panthers was its third most in the 35-game series. Last year YSU scored 40-or-more points on three occasions. The last time the Guins scored 40-plus at least four times in a season was 2019.
- Block Party -- In three of four games, YSU has blocked a punt. The Guins are just one of 10 FCS teams to block at least three kicks so far this season. In the opener, Michael Voitus blocked a Valparaiso punt and Jaylen Castleberry returned it for a touchdown. Against RMU, Daryan Bowling was able to get his hands on a punt as well. Last Saturday at UNI, Bryce Oliver blocked a punt that was recovered by Deamontae Diggs and set the Guins up at the UNI nine-yard line.
- Tough On the Run -- The Penguins are one of just 14 FCS teams who are allowing under 100 yards rushing per game. YSU is allowing just 93.2 yards per contest so far this season, which ranks 12th in the NCAA. On 103 carries, the Guins have surrendered just 373 yards this season. However, 160 of those yards have come on four carries (60, 40, 30, 30). On the other 99 attempts, YSU has allowed 213 yards (2.15 per rush).