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| Northern Iowa's RB David Johnson tries to find room against Iowa. Despite losing, Northern Iowa played well in Iowa City. (Photo: QCTimes/Kevin Schmidt) |
#1 Illinois State (3-0), 206 (points)
Illinois State pulled off a dramatic overtime win in Normal this weekend over Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois. You might argue that this win displayed Illinois State's weakness, however, I disagree. Illinois State proved that they can change their game-plan halfway through and still come out with a win facing adversity. Matt Brown stepped up huge and delivered the best game of this collegiate career throwing 5 touchdowns and nearly 500 yards.
#2 Youngstown State (3-0), 171
Youngstown State struggled with NEC foe Albany on Saturday. However you look at it, this was definitely the Penguins worst performance this year. Kurt Hess was off and the defense couldn't stop Albany's quarterback Will Fiacchi. Albany is a strong team from the NEC, however, Youngstown State should have pulled away in the second half with its' depth. The Penguins are still undefeated, but they will need to have a good week of practice if they want to beat Northern Iowa next weekend.
North Dakota State had a weekend off and will face a winless Prairie View A&M team in Fargo next weekend.
#4 Northern Iowa (1-2), 100
Despite being 1-2, Northern Iowa is playing very well--and the formula has picked up on it. Iowa slowly put the Panthers away over the weekend, but I think Northern Iowa played well and proved they will compete for a playoff bid even with an extremely tough schedule. Northern Iowa will get a chance to make a statement next weekend when they battle it out with Youngstown State
#5 South Dakota State (2-1), 92
South Dakota State has sort of snuck up on me. I figured the defense would be improved from last year, but so far this year. The Jackrabbit defense didn't allow a touchdown to UC Davis and the Aggies were never even in the red-zone. Besides running back Zach Zenner, the Jackrabbit offense fizzled out multiple times as it crossed mid-field. South Dakota State will play Indiana State next weekend and will need to work on finishing drives in order to stay on the rise.
#6 Indiana State (2-1), 85
After two straight weeks of playing lower-level competition, Indiana State has fallen below South Dakota State in the Power Rankings. Indiana played Drake--a good team from the Pioneer League-- over the weekend and struggled to stop the Bulldog offense early on. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime, but the Sycamores pulled away in the second half and won 27-10. Shakir Bell had 2 TDs and 349 yards rushing.
#7 Southern Illinois (1-2), 45
I predicted against it--but Southern Illinois got a much needed win and some even more needed confidence over the weekend as they beat Ohio Valley Conference member Southeast Missouri State. Kory Faulkner played his best game this year throwing for 2 touchdowns 384 yards. Southern Illinois will play Missouri State in Springfield next week.
#8 Western Illinois (2-1), 44
Western Illinois traveled to Ames, Iowa to battle Iowa State over the weekend and played better than anticipated. The score says 37-2, however, the game wasn't that close. Western Illinois racked up only 178 yards of offense compared to Iowa State's 504. The Cyclone second string came in during the third quarter, and the third string came in during the fourth. Next weekend Western Illinois will take on Illinois State.
#9 South Dakota (1-1), 40
South Dakota is the only Missouri Valley team that hasn't played an FBS opponent. That will change next weekend as they travel to Evanston, Illinois to play Big Ten member, Northwestern.
#10 Missouri State (0-3), 19
I've got to say I'm a little disappointed to see Missouri State lose to Murray State over the weekend. The team just looked flat. Ashton Glaser threw two interceptions and the defense played poor as well. Next week the Bears will try to get back on track as they host Southern Illinois next weekend.
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