In the FCS Huddle: Missouri Valley is FCS standard

Published February 05, 2015

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Be careful of the water flowing through the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

It runs quite deep.

Five of the 10 Valley teams were ranked again Monday in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 - led by No. 1 and three-time defending national champion North Dakota State - and the other five all received votes in the poll after the conference continued its superb start to the season this past Saturday.

Missouri Valley teams tied a two-year-old conference record by earning eight wins, and they collectively outscored the opposition, 359-148.

Eight of the 10 teams have winning records and they are a combined 19-9. It includes a 15-1 record against other FCS teams and the Valley is the only conference with two wins over FBS competition after Indiana State, which beat Ball State this past Saturday, joined North Dakota State, which opened its season with a triumph at Iowa State.

In addition to NDSU (3-0), the ranked Valley teams were No. 10 South Dakota State (2-1); No. 11 Northern Iowa (0-2), which has lost close games to two FBS opponents; No. 16 Southern Illinois (3-0); and No. 19 Youngstown State (2-1). Illinois State was just three spots outside the Top 25, and Indiana State, Missouri State, Western Illinois and South Dakota also received votes.

"Valley Football has always been tough from top to bottom, but this year in particular, it's being proven on the field," said Mike Kern, associate commissioner of the conference.

"Everyone knows about North Dakota State and what the Bison have done, but the league is incredibly deep - there's not going to be an easy weekend. Indiana State was picked last in our preseason poll, yet the Sycamores became just the fifth FCS team this year to knock off an FBS program with its win at Ball State. The league's preseason top five are all ranked, but the other five have combined for a 9-5 non-conference record, and four of those losses were at FBS programs. What a sensational start for us."

North Dakota State, which claimed 146 of the 161 first-place votes in the poll, can't rest easy after winning its FCS-record 27th straight game with a shutout of Incarnate Word this past weekend. Fourth-ranked Montana (2-1) from the Big Sky Conference will visit the Fargodome on Saturday in the biggest non- conference matchup of the FCS season. The Grizzlies improved to 2-1 by handing South Dakota a 28-20 loss - the only one for Missouri Valley teams against FCS competition.

While NDSU has won the last three FCS national titles, Montana has made the second-most championship game appearances - seven, with victories in 1995 and 2001.

The only change within the Top 10 was South Dakota State moving to No. 10 by flip-flopping spots with Northern Iowa. The new Top 10 stood as No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 2 Eastern Washington (2-1), No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana (2-1), No. 4 Montana, No. 5 Coastal Carolina (3-0), No. 6 McNeese State (1-1), No. 7 New Hampshire (1-1), No. 8 Villanova (1-1), No. 9 Jacksonville State (1-1) and No. 10 South Dakota State.

After No. 11 Northern Iowa, it was No. 12 Bethune-Cookman (2-0), No. 13 William & Mary (2-1), No. 14 Montana State (2-1), No. 15 Chattanooga (1-2), No. 16 Southern Illinois, No. 17 Richmond (2-1), No. 18 Fordham (2-1), No. 19 Youngstown State and No. 20 Tennessee State (2-1).

Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Furman (2-1); No. 22 Northern Arizona (2-1); two teams that entered the rankings for the first time this season, No. 23 Eastern Kentucky (3-0) and No. 24 Liberty (2-1); and No. 25 Sam Houston State (1-3), which fell 10 spots after its 23-game home winning streak was snapped by Division II power Colorado State-Pueblo.

Maine and Eastern Illinois both fell from the Top 25 after losses on Saturday.

A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.

During the regular season, the Top 25 will be released every Monday afternoon, except for the final weekend of the regular season, when it will be released Sunday morning, Nov. 23, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field.

The Sports Network will release a final Top 25 following the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/in-the-fcs-huddle-missouri-valley-is-fcs-standard