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Herald Missouri Valley Football Conference power poll for Oct. 1

tom miller, grand forks herald
·3 min read

Oct. 1—GRAND FORKS — It was Upset Saturday around the FCS, although No. 1 South Dakota State didn't look the least bit vulnerable against UND in Brookings.

Eight teams ranked in the Top 25 of the FCS lost over the weekend including No. 2 North Dakota State, No. 12 UND and No. 23 Youngstown State from the MVFC alone.

Let's take a trip around the league and see how the conference is shaking out.

1. South Dakota State: The Jacks dismantled UND with 266 yards rushing in a game that wasn't as close as the 42-21 final score.

Isaiah Davis ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Jaxon Janke had three catches for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Adam Bock returned for the defense and had 10 tackles and a sack.

2. Southern Illinois: The Salukis are 4-0 with an FBS win over Northern Illinois. SIU beat Missouri State 33-20 this week.

Nic Baker threw for 285 yards, Ro Elliott ran for 102 yards and Vinson Davis III was the top receiver with nine catches for 84 yards.

SIU's defense held Missouri State to 31 rushing yards on 27 carries.

3. North Dakota State: The Bison turned in a clunker to start conference play in a 24-19 loss to South Dakota in Fargo.

Cam Miller threw for 159 yards, one touchdown and one pick. He was also the team's leading rusher with 12 carries for 65 yards.

4. South Dakota: The Yotes proved their strange non-conference schedule wasn't lying, and they've bounced back after a nightmare 2022.

USD beat NDSU 24-19 in Fargo thanks to Carter Bell's 124 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Yotes quarterback Aidan Bouman was 10-for-12 for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

5. UND: The Fighting Hawks were dominated at the line of scrimmage in a 42-21 loss to South Dakota State.

UND ran 26 times for 68 yards with the longest run of the day a 14-yard Tommy Schuster scramble.

The Jacks kept Bo Belquist in check better than any opponent this season, as he finished with four catches for 23 yards with a long catch of 11 yards.

6. Northern Iowa: Northern Iowa nipped Youngstown State 44-41 in Cedar Falls in an intriguing matchup for the middle of the pack in the league.

UNI QB Theo Day threw for 337 yards and four touchdowns.

The Panthers were led in rushing by Tyjahree Edwards, who had 124 yards on 21 carries. Edwards is a Texas-San Antonio transfer.

7. Youngstown State: The Penguins scored twice late in the fourth quarter but couldn't beat Northern Iowa in a 44-41 road loss.

The Penguins received 332 passing yards from Mitch Davidson.

YSU ran for just 85 yards. Bryce Oliver was the top receiver with seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

8. Illinois State: The Redbirds are 3-1 but have no quality wins (Dayton, Lindenwood, Western Illinois). ISU was on a bye this week.

9. Missouri State: Missouri State starting quarterback Jacob Clark threw for 129 yards before a shoulder injury knocked him out of the game in a 33-20 loss to SIU in Carbondale. Jordan Pachot entered the game and threw for 176 yards but racked up minus-42 yards in lost sack yards.

10. Murray State: D.J. Williams hit Cole Rusk for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as Murray State beat Indiana State 30-28, despite racking up 125 yards in penalties and being outrushed 235 to 101.

11. Indiana State: The Sycamores found a way to lose 30-28 to Murray State despite Piez Lawrence running for 203 yards and three touchdowns and Harry Van Dyne catching 10 balls for 122 yards.

12. Western Illinois: The Leathernecks were on a bye and haven't won a game since Oct. 30, 2021.