Miller's Power Rankings: Week 10

South Dakota State reciever's Trevor Tiefenthaler gets up
after catching the game-winning TD with 7 seconds remaining.
(Photo: Joel Hawksley/TheSouthern)

#1 North Dakota State (8-1), 445 (points)
As expected, North Dakota State won in Springfield and likely sealed a spot in the playoffs. However, it was more of a challenge many Bison fans expected. Brock Jensen had another sub-par day (3 INTs) but should likely get back into rhythm next week if wideout Zach Vraa is 100%. The Bison defense stepped up and bailed the offense out with another stellar performance. Despite allowing 17 points, the defense only allowed 149 yards of total offense (only 22 yards of passing) and forced three turnovers. Next week they'll take on the Jackrabbits for the Dakota Marker and likely the Missouri Valley title should either team win out. North Dakota State will have multiple key aspects of the game going for them next Saturday. One, the pass defense; South Dakota State has been held to season lows the past two weeks which has been countered with a late-season surge of quarterback Austin Sumner. However, if North Dakota State forces the Jacks to throw the ball the Bison will likely force young Sumner into making crucial miscues. Should the Bison defense shut down the Jackrabbits early, the Bison should win Saturday mostly uncontested. On the other hand, the South Dakota State defense has been a high-point for this Jackrabbit team all season. The Jackrabbits certainly have talent and the ability to force turnovers and create chaos for the opposing offense. Next weekend will likely be a barnburner in Fargo... of course, I've used that phrase once before in week #5 and we all know how that turned out.

#2 Illinois State (8-2), 313
Illinois State likely knocked the Sycamores out of the playoffs over the weekend and again are finding themselves in a position to shoot for a Missouri Valley title. The Redbirds will have a week off to prepare for a battle against top-ranked North Dakota State. Over the weekend the Illinois State pass defense came up with 2 INTs to help seal the victory against Indiana State, if the defense brings the same intensity and focus to Fargo the Redbirds could make some noise. However, the two losses that Illinois State did suffer came from teams they should have beaten, to me that shows a lack of focus and maturity which could play a role in the fate of this Redbird team. With eight wins Illinois State has a good chance of punching an at-large bid to the playoffs. However, they will be routing for no upsets in other leagues or else they could be on the outside looking in. 

#3 South Dakota State (7-2), 265
As soon as many South Dakota State fans wrote off playoffs, Sumner led the Jackrabbits 94 yards for a touchdown with seven seconds left to keep playoff hopes alive in Brookings. What is concerning about this Jackrabbit team is that the offense seems to have flip-flopped. The past two weeks South Dakota State has accumulated 635 yards of passing opposed to 103 yards of rushing. We can argue that the success of the passing game has been an opportunistic transition as teams boxed up defenses at the line to stop breakout running-back Zach Zenner. Sure. However, great teams have the ability to mix-up play calling and run an effective balanced offensive attack; South Dakota State has proved powerful, either passing or running, but not at the same time. They will have to do BOTH if they want to keep a stout Bison defense on their heels this weekend. Again, both North Dakota State and South Dakota State control their fates, if they win their games, they win the Missouri Valley outright. SDSU+NDSU+Dakota Marker+Playoffs+MVFC title=Barnburner. 

#4 Indiana State (7-3), 262
Indiana State had a real let-down this past weekend against Illinois State. The Sycamores looked posed to control their destiny and find themselves in the playoffs. However, offensively Indiana State did not have control and made crucial mistakes that cost them the game against Illinois State and, ultimately, the playoffs. The good news for Indiana State is that Mike Perish is young and will have plenty of time to develop into a great Valley quarterback, also, Shakir Bell will be back next year. At the beginning of the year, it looked like this matchup between Youngstown State and Indiana State would be a game with playoff implications, however, after Youngstown State's collapse and Indiana State's slip-up this game will ultimately be about pride for these two squads. If Indiana State wins, they will finish the season 8-3, which is a great record. However, with that win against Quincy (D-II) not counting in the eyes of the playoff selection committee a 7-3 Indiana State team will likely be left out. 

#5 Southern Illinois (5-5), 193
Southern Illinois nearly pulled off a big win against South Dakota State over the weekend. However, the defense stopped playing 2 minutes early and Jackrabbit quarterback Austin Sumner threw a late TD to end all playoff hopes for the Salukis. The playoff hopes were a stretch before this loss as the Salukis could only end 7-4, however they can now only reach 6 D-I wins which leaves them ineligible for playoff selection. Thats the bad news. The good news is that the Salukis have proved alot this year and next year Southern Illinois should be a real contender with a very, very good defense. Saluki quarterback Kory Faulkner also proved that he can be an effective quarterback. Southern Illinois will face Western Illinois in two weeks for their final game of the year and should end with a winning record despite a rough start to 2012. 

#6 Youngstown State (5-4), 183
Well, Youngstown State ended the losing streak, but this unimpressive win really captures what has happened to this Penguin team. All life has been sucked out of Youngstown State and it will take everything they have to finish 7-4. Despite being outgained significantly in yardage in the first half, the Coyotes hung with Youngstown State and took the game all the way to the final minutes. Kurt Hess and company will take on Western Illinois who has a world of problems of their own. This game should allow the Penguins to gain a little confidence before they match up with Indiana State. 

#7 Northern Iowa (3-6), 174
Northern Iowa got a good confidence-building win against a weak Western Illinois squad. 40-0 was the final score in Macomb as the Panthers smothered any possibility of momentum for Western. Running back David Johnson ran for 149 yards and quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen threw 2 TDs in the rout and will look to do the same next weekend against South Dakota. The best Northern Iowa can do is 5-6 and with a surging Missouri State team, 4-7 could be a realistic ending for a season-to-forget in Cedar Falls. 

#8 Missouri State (3-7), 116
Missouri State played well against North Dakota State, defensively. However, as I mentioned last week, quarterback Kierra Harris needs to turn that corner and make less mistakes if the Bears want to challenge teams. The Bears will have a week off before they take on Northern Iowa. The game against the Panthers will be a confidence builder and a way to end 2012 on a positive note. 

#9 Western Illinois (3-6), 24

Speaking of ending seasons on a positive note, Western Illinois needs to seriously find a way to play defense or else they might not grab any momentum by the time the offseason arrives. The next two games for the Leathernecks include Youngstown State and Southern Illinois. Both of those teams  have had their struggles, but none of their struggles can compete with the amount of frustration Leatherneck fans have seen this season. Offensively, the Western Illinois line has been the worst in the Valley. This has contributed to multiple problems included poor quarterbacking, sub-par running, and terrible confidence. The past two weeks Western has been outscored 82-3. Leatherneck fans, this team is young and Western will be back in the coming years. 

#10 South Dakota (1-8), 13
South Dakota is still winless in the conference. However, they played better against the Penguins. Quarterback Josh Vander Maten got the starting nod despite poor performances the past two weeks, while he didn't turn the ball over against Youngstown State, he also didn't get in the endzone. Running-back Jasper Sanders scored the only Coyote touchdown of the day as he scampered from 22-yards out. South Dakota has two games left, they'll host Northern Iowa this weekend and then travel to Brookings, SD to take on rival South Dakota State.