Herald Missouri Valley Football Conference power poll for Sept. 17
Sep. 17—GRAND FORKS — With three weeks down around the Missouri Valley Football Conference, we're learning a lot more about the strength of each league team.
Here's a quick look around the league.
1. South Dakota State: The Jacks put a drubbing on UND's Week 1 foe Drake 70-7 at Target Field.
Mark Gronowski threw for 226 yards and five touchdowns, while SDSU's running backs ran wild but nobody had to burden much of the load.
Jaxon Janke had seven catches for 85 yards and a touchdown to lead a balanced receiving group.
2. North Dakota State: The Bison tightened in the second half to run away from Central Arkansas 49-31 in the Fargodome.
Cam Miller was incredibly precise, going 18-for-19 for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Eli Green, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, had a breakout performance in the passing game with four catches for 86 yards.
3. UND: The Fighting Hawks hang on to the third spot by default this week after not looking great in a 42-18 loss at Boise State.
Tommy Schuster uncharacteristically struggled as he was sacked six times and fumbled twice as UND battled snapping issues.
The Hawks played without starting running back Isaiah Smith, who's expected back after the bye.
4. Southern Illinois: Quarterback Nic Baker shook off two interceptions as he threw 51 times for 458 yards and three touchdowns in a comeback win 26-25 over SEMO.
SIU's Vinson Davis III, a 5-foot-8 sophomore who was all-Big South at Charleston Southern before transferring to Carbondale, had eight catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
5. Northern Iowa: The Panthers cruised in Pocatello with 388 yards from quarterback Theo Day in a 41-17 win over Idaho State.
Sam Schnee had seven catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns.
6. Youngstown State: The Penguins rolled over Robert Morris 48-28 at home.
Mitch Davidson threw for 339 yards. Northern Michigan transfer running back Tyshon King had 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Junior C.J. Charleston, who missed 2022 with an injury, had six catches for 119 yards.
7. South Dakota: The Coyotes defense continues to impress against lesser opponents as USD beat Lamar 35-6 in Vermillion.
Nate Thomas ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns, while Travis Theis also ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
USD only needed to throw for 96 yards.
8. Missouri State: The Bears had a bye before facing Utah Tech next week.
9. Illinois State: Eastern Illinois beat Illinois State 14-13.
ISU quarterback Zack Annexstad threw two interceptions and was 20-for-36 for 234 yards.
10. Indiana State: Ball State beat Indiana State 45-7.
The Sycamores played Elijah Owens at quarterback. He struggled with 157 yards on 9-for-21 throwing.
Harry Van Dyne had three catches for 80 yards.
11. Murray State: Middle Tennessee beat Murray State 35-14.
D.J. Williams threw for 194 yards and a touchdown.
Cortezz Jones ran for 136 yards.
12. Western Illinois: Lindenwood beat WIU 43-40.
WIU quarterback Matt Morrissey threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
The Leathernecks gave up five passing touchdowns to Lindenwood.
