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Assuming you knew about this – and ESPN and the NCAA haven’t gone out of their way to tell people – their broadcast on ABC will be going up against five different NFL games with postseason implications.
FCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP: NORTH DAKOTA STATE VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATEWHERE: TOYOTA STADIUM, FRISCO, TEX.WHEN: SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2:00 PM ESTTV/STREAMING: ABC / WATCHESPN For the second time in the last decade, two teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference will play each other for the national title. The last time this happened also involved North.
This Sunday – idiotically slotted against the NFL – the FCS National Championship Game will feature North Dakota State and South Dakota State in what will likely be the least watched ABC National Championship game in our lifetimes.
It is now at crunch time as we enter the last week of the regular season. The Week 11 results make the MVFC field a little muddled. We do know that South Dakota State is the outright champion of the league and North Dakota State will finish in second in the standings. The Jackrabbits will.
South Dakota State is the MVFC champion, well at least co-champion right now after the Jackrabbits won a tough road contest this past week over Northern Iowa. The Jacks have claimed the automatic qualifier for the league and will look to be at least a Top 2 seed in the playoffs by winning their last.
It is becoming crunch time in the MVFC right now as teams are jockeying for playoff spots. The title though looks to go through Brookings, South Dakota this year as South Dakota State is the only undefeated team left in the MVFC play. The Jackrabbits continued their winning ways this past weekend with an impressive.
South Dakota State has taken a firm grip on the MVFC race following the Jackrabbits second straight road win in the state of North Dakota. SDSU defeated UND in Grand Forks this past week a week after also defeating North Dakota State in Fargo. The Jacks defeated the Fighting Hawks in somewhat of a similar.
The MVFC race is starting to take shape as there are just two undefeated teams left in conference play after last weekend. South Dakota State and Southern Illinois are those two unblemished squads and both had impressive wins this past week. SDSU had the spotlight game not just within the MVFC ranks but nationally as.
The highlight game this week is something that has not happened ever before in the MVFC when the top two ranked teams meet in the regular season when #2 South Dakota State travels to #1 North Dakota State.
Five games again daunt the MVFC schedule this week with Western Illinois being the lone MVFC with a bye.
Five games highlight the Week 5 schedule. Three MVFC squads will play their first conference game in Youngstown State, Indiana State, and Illinois State this week.
Wow, just when most were about to write off Southern Illinois as contender in the MVFC, the Salukis shocked the world with its upset at Big 10 Northwestern. SIU was coming off of two straight out-of-conference losses to start the season to UT Martin and Southeast Missouri State. So this upset was definitely not expected..
The Missouri Valley Football Conference began its conference play this past week with North Dakota hosting Northern Iowa. Both teams were coming off of FBS losses in Week 1 so the winner here in Week 2 would stay in the race. UND QB Tommy Schuster passed for 275 yard and two touchdowns, while RB Tyler.
In Week 1, all 11 schools that make-up the MVFC will be in action in non-conference games.
The league will remain at 11 members for this year but will grow to 12 next season as Murray State, which joined the Missouri Valley Conference for its other sports this year but will play one last season in the Ohio Valley Conference for football this fall before joining the MVFC.
The CAA’s move to become a 13 team superconference begs a different question for the FCS – what if that’s the only way forward for any number of smaller FCS conferences? Are we on the brink of a new era, where five, six, and seven member conferences are a thing of the past?
FRISCO, Tex. — North Dakota State, who was the #2 seed in this year’s Division I FCS Playoffs, scored on its first three drives to really finish off the 2022 National Championship game. The Bison also scored the first 35 points of the game to dominate #8 seeded Montana State to a 38-10 final in.
These two border state schools in the northern part of the country head south to Texas to see who is the best in the FCS this year when Montana State and North Dakota State meet this Saturday.
For the Bison, this is old hat. This is NDSU’s ninth trip to Frisco in the last 11 years. The two missing years were this past spring’s contest–held then due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2016 when James Madison upset NDSU in the semi-final round. And all prior eight trips to north Texas have resulted in the Bison capturing the crown.
For Montana State, this is the first trip to the national title game since 1984 when the Bobcats won the title over Louisiana Tech in a game played in Charleston, S.C. MSU has been a contender in the playoffs though as the last season this team played it made it to the FCS semifinals in 2019 to the same team it will playing this year in the title game in NDSU.
This year, North Dakota State will play for its unprecedented ninth Division I title in football to enter its first title game in a new decade after winning eight of ten titles in the 2010s. The Bison will be facing Montana State, who are somewhat the new kids on the block. Of course, Montana State.
FCS SEMIFINAL PLAYOFF MATCHUP: SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT MONTANA STATEWHERE: BOBCAT STADIUM, BOZEMAN, MONT.WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 12:00 PM MSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN2 / WATCHESPN The other semifinal game between James Madison and North Dakota State will rightfully get its attention as those are the top seeds left in the final four but the South Dakota State-Montana State.
FCS SEMIFINAL PLAYOFF MATCHUP: JAMES MADISON AT NORTH DAKOTA STATEWHERE: FARGODOME, FARGO, N.D.WHEN: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 8:15 PM CSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN2 / WATCHESPN This JMU-NDSU rivalry has been blooming over the past five seasons but like all good things, they have to come to an end. This will be the last meeting (at least with both at.
This game will mark the second matchup between SDSU and Villanova on the gridiron. The first meeting also took place in the postseason, with the Jackrabbits pulling out a 10-7 victory on a late field goal in 2016 in a game played at Brookings.
FCS QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF MATCHUP: EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT NORTH DAKOTA STATEWHERE: FARGODOME, FARGO, N.D.WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 11:00AM CSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN / WATCHESPN Two conference champions meet in Fargo in this quarterfinal round match-up. East Tennessee State won the Southern Conference title this year and defeated Kennesaw State in the second round of the Division I FCS.
FCS SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP: SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT SACRAMENTO STATEWHERE: HORNET STADIUM, SACRAMENTO, CALIF.WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 6:00PM PSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN+ A first time match-up will take place in Sacramento in the Division I FCS Second Round when South Dakota State visits Sacramento State. Sacramento State was the Big Sky Conference champions with an unblemished conference mark to.
FCS SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT NORTH DAKOTA STATEWHERE: FARGODOME, FARGO, N.D.WHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2:30PM CSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN+ Southern Illinois advanced the first round last week by defeating Missouri Valley Football Conference mate South Dakota on the road. The reward for the Salukis is to face another MVFC foe on the road in #2.
FCS FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP: NORTHERN IOWA AT EASTERN WASHINGTONWHERE: ROOS FIELD, CHENEY, WASH.WHEN: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH, 1:00 PM PSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN+ Two of the Division I FCS powerhouse program meet again in the playoffs when Northern Iowa travels to Eastern Washington. These two programs have been two of the most dominant FCS programs over the past.
FCS FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP: TENNESSEE-MARTIN AT MISSOURI STATEWHERE: ROBERT W. PLASTER STADIUM, SPRINGFIELD, MO.WHEN: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH, 3:00PM CSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN+ Missouri State is back in the playoffs for the second season in a row and fourth season overall. The Bears were co-champions of the MVFC last spring to get their first bid to the postseason.
FCS FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT SOUTH DAKOTAWHERE: DAKOTADOME, VERMILLION, S.D.WHEN: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH, 5:00PM CSTTV/STREAMING: ESPN+ It is a rarity that two teams from the same conference play each other in the first round of the FCS playoffs but that is the case in this match-up. The NCAA rule for the opening round.
These two teams were actually conference members of the now defunct Great West Football Conference until SDSU left that league after the 2007 season. UC Davis left the league after the 2011 season. Both moved to their current leagues of the Missouri Valley Football Conference for SDSU and the Big Sky Conference for UC Davis.
If you weren’t following the key FCS Playoff matchups last week involving the playoffs, boy did you miss out!
This was unquestionably “hard reset” week for the Top 25 as this was the first real slate of games that changed the way people thought about their ballots.
This week, we get another dose of top game with two involving both ranked squads in UNI at NDSU and SIU at SDSU being the top two games with three others involving MVFC squads.
It was a late start being on the west coast, but it was worth staying up for.
If the first week of MVFC play is any indication on how the 2021 season is going to go, we are in for a wild season to go on.
The conference games start this week for the MVFC. The league through three full weeks of action sit with a 17-2 record versus other FCS conference teams, which is the best record amongst all conferences in non-conference action.
After two weeks, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has again showed why it is the top league in Division I FCS.
This week, all the other ten MVFC squads are in action with Indiana State having a bye in this Week 1.
The Panthers and Sycamores began their rivalry in 1901 and Saturday’s game will be the 88th meeting between the two schools. Eastern Illinois holds a narrow 43-40-4 advantage in the series to date.
Besides NDSU, North Dakota and Northern Iowa look like the toughest completion to unseat the Jackrabbits from the MVFC crown. Missouri State and Southern Illinois appear other teams that look like playoff hopefuls again this fall.
The NDSU 2021 spring season was the worst team from the Fargo school in the last decade. The Bison still went to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs but fell at eventual national champion Sam Houston in that round after NDSU defeated Eastern Washington in the first round.
South Dakota State finally got over the hump this past spring. The Jacks beat North Dakota State in the final regular season game to earn the top seed in the FCS playoffs where they would host all playoff games in Brookings. SDSU used that home field advantage to dispatch Holy Cross, Southern Illinois, and Delaware to reach their first ever national championship game in Frisco, Texas.
The newest MVFC member is North Dakota had a very successful first season in the MVFC this past spring in being a tri-champion. The Fighting Hawks won their first ever DI playoff game over MVFC mate Missouri State before falling to FCS power James Madison in the quarterfinals.
Northern Iowa was just not on its game this past spring in finishing with a losing record for the first time since the 2016 season. That next season of 2017, the Panthers bounced back to make the playoffs. UNI hopes to duplicate that in the 2021 season.
Southern Illinois got over the hump this past spring with its first playoff bid since 2009. SIU used the most of their appearance in getting an upset win at Weber State in the first round and the Salukis advanced to the quarterfinals but lost at 31-26 heartbreaker to MVFC mate South Dakota State.
MSU finished tied for the conference crown and also received the team’s first playoff bid since 1990. While the Bears would fall in the first round to MVFC foe North Dakota, the team exceeded expectations by a long shot in Perinto’s first campaign in Springfield.
Illinois State lost its first three contests before defeating Western Illinois in what would be their last game of the spring. Illinois State after that win then shut down their season due to safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
USD started Carson Camp as the first freshman quarterback to start a season opener in recorded history at USD. He was the Valley’s second-leading passer and ranked 16th nationally at 241 yards per game.
Coach Doug Phillips took over the Penguins this past spring season after most recently being on the staff of FBS Cincinnati. He was previously on the YSU staff as a graduate assistant in 1991 and 1992.
Western Illinois had no problems really on offense this past spring with QB Conner Sampson leading the team with two go-to receivers in Dennis Houston and Tony Tate being his prime targets.
Indiana State was the lone MVFC squad to decide to not play any game in the spring 2021 schedule. The Sycamores will be the first MVFC team to play this fall with a game at home in Week 0 versus the Ohio Valley’s Eastern Illinois.
