Missouri Valley Football Conference Weekly Notebook

Players of the Week

Offense
QB Chris Streveler, South Dakota Sr., 6-3, 215, Crystal Lake (Ill.) Marian Central Catholic High / Minnesota

Streveler passed for 306 yards, ran for a game-high 119 yards, and accounted for four of South Dakota’s five touchdowns in a 35-27 win at Bowling Green. It was the program’s second win against a FBS program (Minnesota, 2010).

Streveler passed for 300 yards for the second time in 12 games as a Coyote, and surpassed 100 yards rushing for the sixth time. His three rushing scores are a career best, and he hooked up with Kody Case on a 72-yard bomb in the middle of the first quarter.

Streveler has accounted for 10 touchdowns in two games this season.

Defense

SS Robbie Grimsley, North Dakota State Jr., 6-0, 191, Hutchinson (Minn.) High

Grimsley recorded his eighth and ninth career interceptions in North Dakota State’s 40-13 win at Eastern Washington.  Grimsley had two other pass breakups and totaled four tackles for the Bison, who slowed the Eagles to 54 plays and allowed just 73 yards in the final three quarters.

LB Jared Farley, UNI Sr., 5-11, 224, Cedar Falls (Iowa) High With Saturday’s game vs. Cal Poly tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, Farley scooped up a fumble and took it 48 yards for the score.

The touchdown return was Farley’s first of his career, while the fumble recovery was Farley’s
fifth at UNI. Farley finished the game with 11 total tackles, with four solos and seven assists.

Special Teams

PK Chase Vinatieri, South Dakota State So., 6-1, 210, Sioux Falls (S.D.) Roosevelt High
Vinatieri booted a career-long 47-yard field goal and scored what proved to be the decisive
touchdown on a fake field goal to lift the fourth-ranked Jackrabbits to a 31-27 victory at
Montana State.

He also recorded touchbacks on five of his six kickoffs to limit the Montana State return game.

Newcomer

DE Justus Reed, Youngstown State Jr., 6-3, 250, Clearwater (Fla.) Central Catholic

Reed had three sacks and three quarterback hurries in the Penguins’ 30-0 win over
Robert Morris. It was the first shutout win for the program in exactly five years – Sept. 9,
2012. He had five total tackles in the game.

Offensive Lineman LT Nick Jensen, South Dakota Jr., Vermillion (S.D.) High

Graded out at 78 percent in leading the Coyotes to a 35-27 win against Bowling Green. It
was the program’s second win against an FBS program. The Coyotes racked up 520 yards of
total offense against the Falcons including 214 on the ground and 306 through the air. Three
of USD five TD drives spanned 74 yards or more, including a 99-yard touchdown drive to
open the game that gave USD a 7-0 lead.

SIU defense leads the nation in the least rushing yards gained

The MVFC holds the top four spots in the NCAA FCS statistics for rushing yards allowed
per game. Last week, Southern Illinois held Mississippi Valley State to minus-8 rush
yards, and the Salukis currently lead the nation (having played just one game).
FCS Leaders – Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed
Rank, Team (Conf.) Rush Yds. YPG
1. Southern Illinois (MVFC) 29 -8 -8.0
2. Illinois State (MVFC) 21 0 0.0
3. North Dakota State (MVFC) 51 39 19.5
4. Western Illinois (MVFC) 46 57 28.5
5. Sacred Heart (Northeast) 61 58 29.0
6.. N.C. A&T (Mid-Eastern) 69 87 43.5
7. Monmouth (Big South) 54 107 53.5

Running Away With It

Six MVFC schools rank among the Top 20 in the FCS in rushing yards per game, led
by North Dakota State’s 436.5-yard figure.  Three MVFC schools rank in the Top 8.

FCS Leaders – Rushing Yards Per Game
Rank, Team (Conf.) Rush Yds. YPG
1. North Dakota St. (MVFC) 116 873 436.5
2. The Citadel (Southern) 140 809 404.5
3. Western Caro. (Southern) 97 695 347.5
4. Illinois State (MVFC) 48 320 320.0
5. Kennesaw St. (Big South) 106 602 301.0
6. Prairie View (Southwestern) 45 297 297.0
7. Sacred Heart (Northeast) 104 588 294.0
8. Southern Illinois (MVFC) 54 285 285.0
9. Wofford (Southern) 109 543 271.5

7 MVFC Teams in Top 25

For the 12th time in league history, seven MVFC teams are ranked in the same
week. Notably, 3 teams are in the Top 5 for the second time in history (9-28-15:
NDSU-2; ILS-3; SDSU-5). HERO Sports’ BennettRank is also listed and is a computer
predictive metric that ranks all FCS teams. The Sagarin ranking ranks all 254 Division I teams, but the number listed is each team’s position within the FCS.

Team FCS STATS HERO SAG.
North Dakota State 2 2 1 1
South Dakota State 4 4 4 3
Youngstown State 5 6 3 4
Illinois State 14 18 13 9
UNI 18 21 16 6
Western Illinois 22 20 19 12
South Dakota 23 23 22 13
Southern Illinois — rv 32 21
Indiana State — — 51 56
Missouri State — — 73 60

Sagarin Rankings, Conference Leaders (FCS)
1. MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL
2. CAA Football
3. Southern
4. Big Sky
5. Big South