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| NDSU WR, Zach Vraa Photo: Matthew Putney/Waterloo Courier |
North Dakota State took care of business in Cedar Falls over the weekend and reclaimed their spot on top from Youngstown State who was on a bye week. This week Youngstown State and North Dakota State will battle it out in probably the biggest game of the year in the MVFC.
#2 Youngstown State (4-0), 288
Youngstown was jumped by North Dakota State on their bye week, but they'll have the opportunity to reclaim top spot as they go head-to-head with the Bison this weekend in Fargo.
#3 Illinois State (4-0), 260
Illinois State struggled against South Dakota this past weekend in Vermillion. The Redbirds will definitely need to work on their defense if they want to compete with Youngstown State and North Dakota State for the MVFC title this year. However ugly it was, a win is a win, and the Redbirds are still undefeated.
#4 South Dakota State (4-1), 132
Like Illinois State, the Jackrabbits also pulled out an ugly win last weekend. The Jackrabbit offense just could not push in the points in the redzone and made way to many mistakes. If they keep making those mistakes they will not beat UNI, YSU, or NDSU and will not make it to the playoffs. The Jackrabbits will have a much-needed weekend off and will look to get healthy before continuing MVFC play against Western Illinois.
#5 Indiana State (3-2), 112
The Sycamores rebounded nicely after their loss against SDSU. The Sycamores looked good against Southern Illinois and Shakir Bell was back in his form. If Indiana State continues that success they could rise in the power rankings in future weeks.
#6 Northern Iowa (1-4), 79
Northern Iowa took a big hit this week. After five weeks, Northern Iowa has only one win--a division two school. There is good news for the Panthers though, the schedule gets easier from here. Northern Iowa will still have to face Illinois State and South Dakota State, but I think that Northern Iowa will prove that they are still a powerful team sometime down the road. Unfortunately, last weeks loss most likely killed any playoff hopes from the Panthers.
#7 Southern Illinois (2-3), 48
Southern Illinois slipped last week against Indiana State and looks like they will likely repeat a poor record again this year. The rest of their schedule is: Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Youngstown State, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, and Western Illinois. I see one win against those teams.
#8 South Dakota (1-3), 38
I think that the Coyotes will be on the rise in the next few weeks. After they're strong showing against Illinois State, they will take on Western Illinois and Missouri State in consecutive weeks. However, after those two games, there are only tough games left on the Coyote schedule.
#9 Western Illinois (2-2), 36
Western Illinois needed their bye week last weekend. After a 2-0 start, they have fallen to .500 and will need to take care of business against USD this weekend in order to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. It is true, Western Illinois has many weaknesses. We'll see if they have improved on those weaknesses in the coming weeks--two straight trips to South Dakota are looming in the next two weeks.
#10 Missouri State (0-5), 8
Penalties, coaching mistakes, poor performance, and lack of team unity. Those were some observations I saw over the weekend at the South Dakota State--Missouri State game. Missouri State has talent but it will take alot of work before the talent is being used in a productive and successful way. Missouri State will take its non-performing talent to Terre Haute to battle it out with the Sycamores this weekend.
Teams on the Rise:
Northern Iowa - It is easily possible that Northern Iowa does not lose another game the rest of the season. Many folks are talking about a possibility of playoffs for Northern Iowa if they do win out.. that would set them at 7-4, but with only 6 D-1 wins. We'll see.
#10 Missouri State (0-5), 8
Penalties, coaching mistakes, poor performance, and lack of team unity. Those were some observations I saw over the weekend at the South Dakota State--Missouri State game. Missouri State has talent but it will take alot of work before the talent is being used in a productive and successful way. Missouri State will take its non-performing talent to Terre Haute to battle it out with the Sycamores this weekend.
Teams on the Rise:
Northern Iowa - It is easily possible that Northern Iowa does not lose another game the rest of the season. Many folks are talking about a possibility of playoffs for Northern Iowa if they do win out.. that would set them at 7-4, but with only 6 D-1 wins. We'll see.
South Dakota - South Dakota played extremely well against Illinois State last weekend, many people were knocking the Redbirds on the poor performance, however, I think that it said more about the Coyotes than it did Illinois State. In the next couple weeks, South Dakota should take care of Western Illinois and Missouri State and put themselves in position to be a middle-of-the-pack MVFC team.
Mystery Teams:
South Dakota State - South Dakota State has proven to be a much improved team than they were last year. However, at 4-1, they'll have to continue their success and beat one of the top three teams in order to end the season 8-3; that should be enough for the playoffs. Also, remember that the Jackrabbits do not play Illinois State this year, they must beat Northern Iowa, Youngstown State, or North Dakota State--only one of those games is at home, however, that game is Hobo Day--South Dakota State's homecoming--and a game the Jackrabbits have traditionally played very tough.
Indiana State - Indiana State is in an odd situation, just like South Dakota State, and will need to pull of a couple of upsets in order to consider the playoffs a reality. Illinois State on November 3rd could be a crucial game for the Sycamores.
Mystery Teams:
South Dakota State - South Dakota State has proven to be a much improved team than they were last year. However, at 4-1, they'll have to continue their success and beat one of the top three teams in order to end the season 8-3; that should be enough for the playoffs. Also, remember that the Jackrabbits do not play Illinois State this year, they must beat Northern Iowa, Youngstown State, or North Dakota State--only one of those games is at home, however, that game is Hobo Day--South Dakota State's homecoming--and a game the Jackrabbits have traditionally played very tough.
Indiana State - Indiana State is in an odd situation, just like South Dakota State, and will need to pull of a couple of upsets in order to consider the playoffs a reality. Illinois State on November 3rd could be a crucial game for the Sycamores.
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