2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season
League	NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 24, 2019 through January 11, 2020
Teams	10
2020 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois
Picked by	Carolina Panthers (round 2, pick 64)
Regular season
Champion Playoff Participants	North Dakota State South Dakota State Illinois State Northern Iowa
Football seasons
←  2018 2020  →

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		8	–	0					16	–	0
No. 5 Northern Iowa ^		6	–	2					10	–	5
No. 7 Illinois State ^		5	–	3					10	–	5
No. 10 South Dakota State ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
Southern Illinois		5	–	3					7	–	5
South Dakota		4	–	4					5	–	7
Indiana State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Youngstown State		2	–	6					6	–	6
Missouri State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Western Illinois		1	–	7					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference season was the 34th season of college football play for the Missouri Valley Football Conference and part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. This was the MVFC's 8th consecutive season with 10 teams, and would be their last for now as they added North Dakota in the following offseason.

North Dakota State won the conference title and achieved the number 1 overall seed again in the 2019 FCS Playoffs. The Bison would go on to win their 8th National Championship in 9 years. South Dakota State, Illinois State, and Northern Iowa all made the playoffs, with the Jacks being the number 7 overall seed. Illinois State and Northern Iowa both played in the first round. Illinois State beat Southeast Missouri State and Northern Iowa beat San Diego to advance to the second round. In the second round, Illinois State beat 8th overall seed Central Arkansas and Northern Iowa upset South Dakota State to both advance to the quarterfinals. North Dakota State beat Nicholls to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, NDSU beat Illinois State to advance to the semifinals, and Northern Iowa lost to 2nd seeded James Madison. North Dakota State would beat Montana State in the semifinals, and James Madison in the championship.

Coaching changes

North Dakota State

On December 13, 2018, Matt Entz was named the new head coach at North Dakota State. ^[1] Entz takes over for Chris Klieman, who left the program for a head coaching job at Kansas State. ^[2] The Wildcats allowed Klieman to finish out the 2018 playoffs at NDSU before heading to Manhattan.

Preseason

MVFC Media Day

Preseason Poll

The annual preseason poll; voted on by conference coaches, athletic directors, and media members. ^[3]

Predicted finish	Team	Points (1st place votes)
1	North Dakota State	392 (32)
2	South Dakota State	348 (4)
3	Illinois State	289 (3)
4	Indiana State	279 (1)
5	Northern Iowa	266
6	South Dakota	176
7	Youngstown State	153
8	Western Illinois	128
9	Southern Illinois	89
10	Missouri State	80

Preseason awards

Individual awards

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Preseason Team Offense	Ryan Boyle	Indiana State	QB	Sr.
	D.J. Davis	Southern Illinois	RB	Sr.
	James Robinson	Illinois State	RB	Sr.
	Pierre Strong Jr.	South Dakota State	RB	So.
	Clint Ratkovich	Western Illinois	FB	Jr.
	Dakarai Allen	South Dakota	WR	Sr.
	Dante Hendrix	Indiana State	WR	So.
	Cade Johnson	South Dakota State	WR	Jr.
	Briley Moore	Northern Iowa	TE	Sr.
	Drew Himmelman	Illinois State	OL	Jr.
	Zack Johnson	North Dakota State	OL	Sr.
	Dillon Radunz	North Dakota State	OL	Jr.
	Jackson Scott-Brown	Northern Iowa	OL	Sr.
	Wyatt Wozniak	Indiana State	OL	Sr.
Preseason Team Defense	Ryan Earith	South Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Darin Greenfield	South Dakota	DL	Sr.
	Anthony Knighton	Southern Illinois	DL	Jr.
	Derrek Tuszka	North Dakota State	DL	Sr.
	Jabril Cox	North Dakota State	LB	Jr.
	Angelo Garbutt	Missouri State	LB	Sr.
	Jonas Griffith	Indiana State	LB	Sr.
	Christian Rozeboom	South Dakota State	LB	Sr.
	Jeremy Chinn	Southern Illinois	DB	Sr.
	James Hendricks	North Dakota State	DB	Sr.
	Luther Kirk	Illinois State	DB	Sr.
	Devin Taylor	Illinois State	DB	Jr.
	Xavior Williams	Northern Iowa	DB	Jr.
Preseason Team Special Teams	Bradey Sorensen	South Dakota State	LS	Jr.
	Jerry Nunez	Indiana State	PK	Sr.
	Garret Wegner	North Dakota State	P	Jr.
	Je'Quan Burton	Southern Illinois	RS	So.

^[4]

Rankings

Main article: 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Final
Illinois State	STATS Perform	15	16	13	15	14	10	14	11	8	7	11	7	7	13	7
	AFCA Coaches	13	16	12	10	8	6	13	10	7	7	12	8	6	14	7
Indiana State	STATS Perform	16	14
	AFCA Coaches	16	15
Missouri State	STATS Perform
	AFCA Coaches
North Dakota State	STATS Perform	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	AFCA Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Northern Iowa	STATS Perform	18	11	11	9	9	13	10	14	11	9	5	4	9	6	5
	AFCA Coaches	20	12	10	8	7	13	10	15	12	10	7	5	10	6	5
South Dakota	STATS Perform
	AFCA Coaches
South Dakota State	STATS Perform	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	8	5	10	10
	AFCA Coaches	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	4	9	5	12	12
Southern Illinois	STATS Perform
	AFCA Coaches													25т	25
Western Illinois	STATS Perform
	AFCA Coaches
Youngstown State	STATS Perform				24	22	18	19	19
	AFCA Coaches				21	20	17	17	18

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time.

† denotes Homecoming game
^ denotes AP Poll ranking for FBS teams

Regular season schedule

Week 0

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 24	3:00 PM	Samford	Youngstown State	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL		W 45–22	12,560
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 29	6:30 PM	Southern Illinois	No. 17  Southeast Missouri State	Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN+	L 26–44	8,312
August 29	7:00 PM	Western Illinois	North Alabama	Braly Municipal Stadium • Florence, AL	ESPN+	L 17–26	10,567
August 29	8:00 PM	No. 3  South Dakota State	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	FS1	L 21–28	49,112
August 29	8:00 PM	Missouri State	Northern Arizona	Walkup Skydome • Flagstaff, AZ	Pluto TV	L 23–37	6,891
August 31	11:00 AM	No. 16  Indiana State	Kansas	David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	FOX	L 17–24	32,611
August 31	11:00 AM	No. 18  Northern Iowa	No. 21^  Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA	Big 12 on ESPN+	L 26–29(3OT)	61,500
August 31	2:00 PM	No. 25  Montana	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	L 17–31	5,193
August 31	3:00 PM	Butler	No. 1  North Dakota State	Target Field • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN+	W 57–10	34,544
August 31	6:00 PM	No. 15  Illinois State	Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium • DeKalb, IL	ESPN+	L 10–24	14,568
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 7	1:00 PM	Dayton	No. 14  Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		L 35–42	4,950
September 7	2:00 PM	Howard	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		W 54–28	12,390
September 7	2:30 PM	North Dakota	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 38–7	18,923
September 7	2:30 PM	Southern Illinois	UMass	McGuirk Stadium • Amherts, MA	FloSports	W 45–20	10,524
September 7	3:00 PM	Western Illinois	Colorado State	Canvas Stadium • Fort Collins, CO		L 13–38	24
September 7	4:00 PM	Southern Utah	No. 11  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA		W 34–14	9,241
September 7	6:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 4^  Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK		L 14–70	82,181
September 7	6:00 PM	Long Island	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 38–3	10,153
September 7	6:30 PM	Morehead State	No. 16  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 42–14	11,256
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 7	Missouri State

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 14	12:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 18  Delaware	Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE	FloSports	W 47–22	14,489
September 14	1:00 PM	Eastern Kentucky	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		W 19–7	4,416
September 14	1:00 PM	Drake	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 38–10	11,565
September 14	2:00 PM	Duquesne	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		W 34–14	15,991
September 14	2:00 PM	Houston Baptist	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN3	L 52–53	5,077
September 14	2:00 PM	No. 13  Illinois State	Eastern Illinois	O'Brien Field • Charleston, IL	ESPN+	W 21–3	6,119
September 14	3:00 PM	No. 10  Montana State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	L 14–23	4,728
September 14	6:00 PM	UT Martin	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	W 28–14	8,983
September 14	7:00 PM	Missouri State	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN3	L 6–58	18,746
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 14	Northern Iowa

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 21	1:00 PM	Eastern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		W 16–6	6,216
September 21	2:00 PM	No. 6  Kennesaw State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	L 24–35	11,421
September 21	2:30 PM	No. 4  UC Davis	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	W 27–16	18,425
September 21	3:00 PM	South Dakota	Northern Colorado	Nottingham Field • Greeley, CO	Pluto TV	W 14–6	5,745
September 21	3:00 PM	Tennessee Tech	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN3	L 24–38	1,594
September 21	4:00 PM	Idaho State	No. 9  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA		W 13–6	8,339
September 21	6:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Arkansas State	Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR	ESPN3	L 28–41	24,176
September 21	6:00 PM	Southern Utah	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD		W 43–7	14,269
September 21	6:30 PM	Northern Arizona	No. 15  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	W 40–27	9,891
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 21	No. 24 Youngstown State

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 28	6:00 PM	Robert Morris	No. 22  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH		W 45–10	12,659
September 28	7:00 PM	No. 9  Northern Iowa	No. 5  Weber State	Stewart Stadium • Ogden, UT		L 17–29	6,582
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 28	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 3 South Dakota State	No. 14 Illinois State	Missouri State	Indiana State	South Dakota	Southern Illinois	Western Illinois

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 5	12:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 10  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 37–3	13,391
October 5	2:00 PM	Southern Illinois	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	SDSU 38–10	13,776
October 5	2:00 PM	Indiana State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 38–0	5,255
October 5	3:00 PM	Missouri State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	MOST 37–31(3OT)	3,149
October 5	4:00 PM	No. 18  Youngstown State	No. 13  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 21–14	10,137
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 12	12:00 PM	Western Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	INST 20–10	7,243
October 12	1:00 PM	No. 10  Northern Iowa	No. 1  North Dakota State †	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 46–14	18,178
October 12	2:00 PM	South Dakota	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	USD 45–10	5,784
October 12	5:00 PM	No. 3  South Dakota State	No. 19  Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	SDSU 38–28	12,381
October 12	6:00 PM	No. 13  Illinois State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	ILST 21–7	5,525
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 19	12:00 PM	No. 3  South Dakota State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	SDSU 42–23	4,642
October 19	1:00 PM	No. 10  Illinois State	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	ILST 28–14	2,984
October 19	2:00 PM	No. 18  Youngstown State	Southern Illinois †	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	SIU 35–10	7,670
October 19	2:30 PM	Missouri State	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 22–0	18,252
October 19	4:00 PM	South Dakota	No. 14  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 42–27	10,201
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 9

In Week 9, the 2019 edition of the Dakota Marker was preceded by ESPN's College Gameday on the campus of South Dakota State University.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 26	1:00 PM	Western Illinois	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 59–14	10,437
October 26	2:00 PM	No. 11  Northern Iowa	Missouri State †	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	UNI 29–6	6,583
October 26	2:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	No. 3  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	NDSU 23–16	19,371
October 26	2:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 8  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN3	ILST 24–7	8,510
October 26	4:00 PM	Southern Illinois	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	SIU 48–28	4,734
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 2	12:00 PM	No. 9  Northern Iowa	No. 7  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	UNI 27–10	6,705
November 2	12:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	MOST 23–14	4,110
November 2	1:00 PM	South Dakota	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	WIU 38–34	1,728
November 2	2:00 PM	No. 4  South Dakota State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN3	SDSU 35–14	5,108
November 2	5:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	NDSU 56–17	11,102
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 9	2:00 PM	Youngstown State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 56–21	4,561
November 9	2:00 PM	No. 11  Illinois State	No. 4  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN+	ILST 27–18	7,211
November 9	2:00 PM	Missouri State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	SIU 37–14	4,678
November 9	2:30 PM	Western Illinois	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 57–21	17,441
November 9	4:00 PM	Indiana State	No. 5  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 17–9	8,442
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 16	1:00 PM	Youngstown State	Indiana State	Memorial Stadium • Terre Haute, IN		INST 24–17	3,645
November 16	12:00 PM	Missouri State	No. 7  Illinois State	Hancock Stadium • Normal, IL	ESPN+	ILST 17–12	5,701
November 16	1:00 PM	Southern Illinois	Western Illinois	Hanson Field • Macomb, IL	ESPN+	SIU 45–21	1,739
November 16	2:00 PM	No. 4  Northern Iowa	No. 8  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	SDSU 38–7	7,317
November 16	2:30 PM	South Dakota	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN+	NDSU 49–14	17,844
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 23	11:00 AM	No. 7  Illinois State	Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	YSU 21–3	9,190
November 23	1:00 PM	Western Illinois	No. 9  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	UNI 38–7	8,920
November 23	2:00 PM	No. 1  North Dakota State	Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium • Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	NDSU 21–7	5,423
November 23	2:00 PM	No. 5  South Dakota State	South Dakota	DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	USD 24–21	5,405
November 23	2:00 PM	Indiana State	Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium • Springfield, MO	ESPN+	INST 51–24	3,352
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Postseason

See also: 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season § NCAA Division I playoff bracket

In 2019, four MVFC teams made the FCS playoffs. North Dakota State (No. 1) and South Dakota State (No. 7) both received a first round bye. Illinois State and Northern Iowa both were unseeded and played in the first round.

Index to colors and formatting
MVFC member won
MVFC member lost
MVFC teams in bold

All times Central time. Tournament seedings in parentheses

First round

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 30	1:00 PM	No. 13  Illinois State	No. 12  Southeast Missouri State (OVC)	Houck Stadium • Cape Girardeau, MO	ESPN3	W 24–6	3,274
November 30	1:00 PM	San Diego (PFL)	No. 6  Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 17–3	3,743
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Second round

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 7	1:00 PM	No. 6  Northern Iowa	No. 10  South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium • Brookings, SD	ESPN3	UNI 13–10	4,102
December 7	2:00 PM	No. 13  Illinois State	No. 9  Central Arkansas (ASUN)	Estes Stadium • Conway, AR	ESPN3	W 24–14	5,127
December 7	2:30 PM	No. 19  Nicholls (Southland)	No. 1 (1)  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN3	W 37–13	15,690
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Quarterfinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 13	6:00 PM	No. 6  Northern Iowa	No. 2 (2)  James Madison (CAA)	Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA	ESPN2	L 0–17	8,741
December 14	11:00 AM	No. 13  Illinois State	No. 1  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN	NDSU 9–3	14,132
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

Semifinals

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 21	1:00 PM	No. 5 (5)  Montana State (Big Sky)	No. 1 (1)  North Dakota State	Fargodome • Fargo, ND	ESPN2	W 42–14	18,077
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

National Championship

See also: 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
January 11	11:00 AM	No. 2 (2)  James Madison (CAA)	No. 1 (1)  North Dakota State	Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX	ABC	W 28–20	17,866
#Rankings from Stats Perform. All times are in Central Time.

MVFC records vs other conferences

2019-20 records against non-conference foes (through January 11, 2020):

FCS Power Conferences Record Big Sky 5–3 CAA 2–0 FCS Power Total 7–3 Other FCS Conferences Record ASUN 0–1 Big South 1–0 Ivy League None MEAC 1–0 Northeast 2–0 OVC 4–1 Patriot None PFL 4–0 SoCon 1–0 Southland 1–1 SWAC None WAC 2–0 FCS Independents 1–0 Other FCS Total 17–3 FBS Opponents Record Football Bowl Subdivision 1–7 Total Non-Conference Record 25–13

Post Season FCS Power Conferences Record Big Sky 1–0 CAA 1–1 FCS Power Total 2–1 Other FCS Conferences Record ASUN 1–0 Big South None Ivy League None MEAC None Northeast None OVC 1–0 Patriot None PFL 1–0 SoCon None Southland 1–0 SWAC None WAC None Other FCS Total 4–0 Total Postseason Record 6–1

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Newcomer
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1 (Sept. 1) [5]	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU	Kaleb Brewer	DL	INST	Matthew Cook	PK	UNI	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU
Week 2 (Sept. 8) [6]	Javon Williams	RB	SIU	Christian Rozeboom	LB	SDSU	Jaxon Janke	PR/WR	SDSU	Will McElvain	QB	UNI
Week 3 (Sept. 15) [7]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Inoke Moala	DL	INST	Griffin Crosa	K	NDSU	Tre' Strong	CB	SIU
Week 4 (Sept. 22) [8]	Brady Davis	QB	ILST	Elerson G. Smith	DL	UNI	Sam Fenlason	PK	ILST	Avante Cox	WR	SIU
Week 5 (Sept. 29) [9]	Joe Alessi	RB	YSU	Chris Kolarevic	LB	UNI	Jake Coates	PR	YSU	Will McElvian	QB	UNI
Week 6 (Oct. 6) [10]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Elerson Smith	DE	UNI	Brendan Withrow	P	MOST	Trey Lance	QB	NDSU
Week 7 (Oct. 13) [11]	J'Bore Gibbs	QB	SDSU	Clayton Glasco	LB	INST	Garret Wegner	PK	NDSU	J'Bore Gibbs	QB	SDSU
Week 8 (Oct. 20) [12]	Isaiah Weston	WR	UNI	Chris Kolarevic	LB	UNI	Jack Colquhoun	P	SIU	Javon Williams	RB	SIU
Week 9 (Oct. 27) [13]	Avante Cox	WR	SIU	Josh Hayes	CB	NDSU	Matthew Cook	PK	UNI	Avante Cox	WR	SIU
Week 10 (Nov. 3) [14]	Connor Sampson	QB	WIU	Omar Brown	DB	UNI	Kobe Johnson	RB/KR	NDSU	Omar Brown	DB	UNI
Week 11 (Nov. 10) [15]	Austin Simmons	QB	USD	Dylan Draka	LB	ILST	Sam Fenlason	PK	ILST	Jalen Bussey	RB	NDSU
Week 12 (Nov. 17) [16]	D.J. Davis	RB	SIU	Devin Taylor	DB	ILST	Brendan Withrow	P	MOST	Javon Williams Jr.	RB	SIU
										Keaton Heide	QB	SDSU
Week 13 (Nov. 24) [17]	Nathan Mays	QB	YSU	Justus Reed	DE	YSU	Dalton Godfrey	LS	USD	Dominique Dafney	WR	INST
	Dominique Dafney	WR	INST

Players of the Year

On November 27, 2021, the Missouri Valley Football Conference released their Players of the Year and All-Conference Honors. ^[18]

Offensive Player of the Year

• Trey Lance, QB (Fr, North Dakota State)

Defensive Player of the Year

• Derrek Tuszka, DE (Sr, North Dakota State)

Newcomer of the Year

• Trey Lance, QB (Fr, North Dakota State)

Freshman of the Year

• Trey Lance, QB (North Dakota State)

Coach of the Year

• Matt Entz (North Dakota State)

All-Conference Teams

Award Player School Position Year First Team Offense Trey Lance North Dakota State QB Fr. James Robinson Illinois State RB Sr. Pierre Strong Jr. South Dakota State RB So. Clint Ratkovich Western Illinois FB Jr. Dante Hendrix Indiana State WR So. Cade Johnson South Dakota State WR Jr. Isaiah Weston Northern Iowa WR So. Ben Ellefson North Dakota State TE Sr. Drew Himmelman Illinois State OL Jr. Zack Johnson North Dakota State OL Sr. Dillon Radunz North Dakota State OL Jr. Jackson Scott-Brown Northern Iowa OL Sr. Cordell Volson North Dakota State OL Jr. First Team Defense Romeo McKnight Illinois State DL Jr. Justus Reed Youngstown State DL Jr. Elerson Smith Northern Iowa DL Jr. Derrek Tuszka North Dakota State DL Sr. Jabril Cox North Dakota State LB Jr. McNeece Egbim Missouri State LB Sr. Jonas Griffith Indiana State LB Sr. Christian Rozeboom South Dakota State LB Sr. Omar Brown Northern Iowa DB Fr. Jeremy Chinn Southern Illinois DB Sr. James Hendricks North Dakota State DB Sr. Luther Kirk Illinois State DB Sr. Devin Taylor Illinois State DB Jr. First Team Special Teams Matthew Cook Northern Iowa PK Fr. Chandler Collins Missouri State LS Sr. Brady Schutt South Dakota P Jr. Dakota Caton Indiana State RS So.

Award Player School Position Year Second Team Offense Austin Simmons South Dakota QB Sr. D.J. Davis Southern Illinois RB Sr. Javon Williams Jr. Southern Illinois RB Fr. Dominique Dafney Indiana State FB Sr. Luke Sellers South Dakota State FB Sr. Avante Cox Southern Illinois WR So. Caleb Vander Esch South Dakota WR Jr. Christian Watson North Dakota State WR So. Brett Samson South Dakota TE Jr. Spencer Brown Northern Iowa OL Jr. Matt Clark South Dakota State OL Sr. Ernest Dye Jr. Southern Illinois OL Sr. Zeveyon Furcron Southern Illinois OL Jr. Wyatt Wozniak Indiana State OL Sr. Second Team Defense Jared Brinkman Northern Iowa DL Jr. Ryan Earith South Dakota State DL Sr. Darin Greenfield South Dakota DL Sr. Ma'Lik Richmond Youngstown State DL Sr. Jack Cochrane South Dakota LB Jr. Cody Crider Southern Illinois LB Sr. Ty DeForest Illinois State LB Sr. Chris Kolarevic Northern Iowa LB So. Marquise Bridges North Dakota State DB Sr. Qua Brown Southern Illinois DB Jr. Don Gardner South Dakota State DB Jr. Josh Hayes North Dakota State DB Jr. Xavior Williams Northern Iowa DB Jr. Second Team Special Teams Jerry Nunez Indiana State PK Sr. Jared Drake Western Illinois LS Sr. Brendan Withrow Missouri State P Sr. Jake Coates Youngstown State RS Jr.

All-Newcomer Team

Award	Player	School	Position	Year
Newcomer Team Offense	Trey Lance	North Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	J'Bore Gibbs	South Dakota State	QB	Fr.
	Will McElvain	Northern Iowa	QB	Fr.
	Kobe Johnson	North Dakota State	RB	Fr.
	Jeff Proctor	Illinois State	RB	Jr.
	Javon Williams Jr.	Southern Illinois	RB	Fr.
	Dominique Dafney	Indiana State	FB	Sr.
	Avante Cox	Southern Illinois	WR	So.
	Jaxon Janke	South Dakota State	WR	Fr.
	Kacper Rutkiewicz	Illinois State	WR	Fr.
	Adam Solomon	Illinois State	OL	Sr.
Newcomer Team Defense	Quinton Hicks	South Dakota State	DE	Fr.
	Aaron Mends	Illinois State	LB	Sr.
	Jakari Starling	South Dakota	LB	Fr.
	Omar Brown	Northern Iowa	DB	Fr.
	Keawvis Cummings	Indiana State	DB	Sr.
	Zaire Jones	Youngstown State	DB	Jr.
	Marquis Smith	Western Illinois	DB	Jr.
	Diamond Evans	South Dakota State	CB	Fr.
	Michael Griffin II	South Dakota State	S	Jr.
	Clayton Isbell	Illinois State	S	Fr.
Newcomer Team Special Teams	Matthew Cook	Northern Iowa	PK	Fr.
	Jack Colquhoun	Southern Illinois	P	Jr.
	Justin Hall	Western Illinois	RS/WR	Fr.

Source: ^[19]

National awards

On November 25, 2019, STATS Perform released their list of finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Buck Buchanan Award, and the Jerry Rice Award, respectively.

Walter Payton Award

The Walter Payton Award is given to the best FCS offensive player. Trey Lance (QB) of North Dakota State won the award. Lance was also the first freshman to win the Walter Payton Award in its 33-year history. Here were the other MVFC finalists:

• Cade Johnson (WR - South Dakota State)
• James Robinson (RB - Illinois State)

Buck Buchanan Award

The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the best FCS defensive player. Here were the MVFC finalists:

• Jeremy Chinn (S - Southern Illinois)
• Christian Rozeboom (LB - South Dakota State)
• Elerson Smith (DL - Northern Iowa)
• Derrek Tuszka (DL - North Dakota State)

Jerry Rice Award

The Jerry Rice Award is given to the best FCS freshman. Trey Lance (QB) of North Dakota State won the award. Here were the other MVFC finalists:

• Omar Brown (DB - Northern Iowa)
• Javon Williams Jr. (RB - Southern Illinois)

FCS Coach of the Year

Matt Entz of North Dakota State was the only finalist for FCS Coach of the Year.

Finalists source: ^[20]
Winners source: ^[21]

All-Americans

	AP [22] 1st Team	AP 2nd Team	AP 3rd Team	AFCA [23] 1st Team	AFCA 2nd Team	STATS [24] 1st Team	STATS 2nd Team	STATS 3rd Team	ADA [25]	HERO [26] 1st Team	HERO 2nd Team	HERO 3rd Team
Ben Ellefson, TE, North Dakota State					Y			Y				Y
Bradey Sorenson, LS, South Dakota State											Y
Cade Johnson, WR, South Dakota State	Y						Y					Y
Chandler Collins, LS, Missouri State							Y
Christian Rozeboom, LB, South Dakota State		Y		Y		Y				Y
Derrek Tuszka, DL, North Dakota State	Y				Y	Y				Y
Dillon Radunz, OL, North Dakota State	Y			Y		Y			Y	Y
Drew Himmelman, OL, Illinois State	Y			Y		Y						Y
Elerson Smith, DL, Northern Iowa		Y		Y				Y				Y
Isaiah Weston, WR, Northern Iowa												Y
Jabril Cox, LB, North Dakota State			Y				Y			Y
James Hendricks, DB, North Dakota State											Y
James Robinson, RB, Illinois State	Y			Y		Y				Y
Javon Williams Jr., WR, Southern Illinois							Y
Jeremy Chinn, DB, Southern Illinois		Y			Y	Y				Y
Jonas Griffith, LB, Indiana State							Y					Y
LaCale London, DL, Western Illinois												Y
Luther Kirk, DB, Illinois State			Y	Y			Y			Y
Omar Brown, DB, Northern Iowa			Y
Pierre Strong Jr., RB, South Dakota State			Y								Y
Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State		Y			Y		Y		Y	Y
Zack Johnson, OL, North Dakota State		Y						Y		Y

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Game 9	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois State	Hancock Stadium	13,391	11,256	9,891	13,391†	8,510	6,705	5,701				55,454	9,242	69.0%
Indiana State	Memorial Stadium	12,764	4,950	4,416	6,216	7,243†	4,642	4,110	3,645			35,222	5,031	39.4%
Missouri State	Robert W. Plaster Stadium	17,500	11,421†	5,784	6,583	5,108	3,352					32,248	6,449	36.9%
North Dakota State	Fargodome	18,700	18,923†	18,425	18,178	18,252	17,441	17,844	15,690‡	14,132‡	18,077‡	156,962	17,440	93.3%
Northern Iowa	UNI-Dome	16,324	9,241	8,339	10,137	10,201†	8,442	8,920	3,743‡			59,023	8,431	51.7%
South Dakota	DakotaDome	9,100	5,193	5,077	5,255	4,734	4,561	5,405†				30,225	5,037	55.4%
South Dakota State	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium	19,340	10,153	11,565	14,269	13,776	19,371†	7,211	7,317	4,102‡		87,764	10,970	56.7%
Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium	15,000	8,983†	5,525	7,670	4,678	5,423					32,279	6,455	43.0%
Western Illinois	Hanson Field	17,128	4,728†	1,594	3,149	2,984	1,728	1,739				15,922	2,653	15.5%
Youngstown State	Stambaugh Stadium	20,630	12,390	15,991†	12,659	12,381	10,437	11,102	9,190			84,150	12,021	58.3%

Bold - Exceed capacity
†Season high

2020 NFL draft

Main article: 2020 NFL draft

The following list includes all MVFC players who were drafted in the 2020 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team	Notes
Jeremy Chinn	S	Southern Illinois	2	32	64	Carolina Panthers	from Kansas City via Seattle
Derrek Tuszka	ILB	North Dakota State	7	40	254	Denver Broncos	Compensatory selection

Undrafted free agents

Player	Position	School	Team
Kameron Cline	DL	South Dakota	Indianapolis Colts
Dominique Dafney	TE	Indiana State	Indianapolis Colts
James Robinson	RB	Illinois State	Jacksonville Jaguars
Ben Ellefson	TE	North Dakota State	Jacksonville Jaguars
Zack Johnson	OL	North Dakota State	Green Bay Packers
Madre Harper	CB	Southern Illinois	Las Vegas Raiders
Luther Kirk	S	Illinois State	Dallas Cowboys
Luke Sellers	FB	South Dakota State	Detroit Lions
Mikey Daniel	FB	South Dakota State	Atlanta Falcons
Jermiah Braswell	WR	Youngstown State	Arizona Cardinals
Jonas Griffith	LB	Indiana State	San Francisco 49ers

Source: ^[27]

Head coaches

Through January 11, 2020

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	MVFC record	MVFC titles	FCS playoff appearances	FCS playoff record	National Titles
Illinois State	Brock Spack	11	84–50 (.627)	84–50 (.627)	53–35 (.602)	2	5	7–5 (.583)	0
Indiana State	Curt Mallory	3	12–22 (.353)	12–22 (.353)	8–16 (.333)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Missouri State	Dave Steckel	5	13–42 (.236)	13–42 (.236)	7–33 (.175)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
North Dakota State	Matt Entz	1	16–0 (1.000)	16–0 (1.000)	8–0 (1.000)	1	1	4–0 (1.000)	1
Northern Iowa	Mark Farley	19	159–83 (.657)	159–83 (.657)	99–45 (.688)	7	12	16–12 (.571)	0
South Dakota	Bob Nielson [a]	4	207–106–1 (.661)	21–26 (.447)	14–18 (.438)	0	1	1–1 (.500)	2
South Dakota State	John Stiegelmeier [b]	23	166–102 (.619)	166–102 (.619)	66–30 (.688)	1	9	8–9 (.471)	0
Southern Illinois	Nick Hill	4	17–28 (.378)	17–28 (.378)	10–22 (.313)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Western Illinois	Jared Elliott	2	6–17 (.261)	6–17 (.261)	5–13 (.278)	0	0	0–0 (–)	0
Youngstown State	Bo Pelini [c]	5	100–55 (.645)	33–28 (.541)	18–22 (.450)	0	1	4–1 (.800)	0

1. Bob Nielson coached Western Illinois from 2013-15, which included a run in the playoffs that ended in the second round. Nielson also coached Minnesota-Duluth from 1999-2003 and 2008-12, that second stint included five consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances highlighted by 2 National Titles. In the first stint at MN-Duluth included his first Division II playoff appearance. Nielson also coached Wisconsin-Eau Claire from 1996-98 that included one NCAA Division III playoff run that ended in the semifinals. Before that, he coached Wartburg from 1991-95, which included two Division III playoff runs as well. His first head coaching job was at Ripon from 1989-90.
2. John Stiegelmeier has coached South Dakota State since 1997, when the school was still part of NCAA Division II. While in Division II, the school did not achieve any playoff appearances.
3. Bo Pelini previously coached Nebraska of the FBS for 7 straight seasons between 2008-2014. He also coached the Cornhuskers for one game back in 2003. Pelini's teams at Nebraska finished with a 67-27 overall record and a 39-17 conference record between the Big 12 and the Big Ten, since the Cornhuskers moved to the Big Ten in 2011. While at Nebraska, his teams achieved bowl berths in all seven years he was a full-time head coach, including 3 bowl wins in the Gator and Holiday bowls.

References

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