Herald Missouri Valley Football Conference power poll for Oct. 29
Oct. 30—GRAND FORKS — Most of Saturday's action in the Missouri Valley Football Conference went as planned other than UND struggling mightily to put away Indiana State and perhaps South Dakota State's blowout win over South Dakota.
Here's a quick lap around the league to see what happened.
1. South Dakota State: The Jackrabbits' defense was dominant in beating South Dakota 37-3 in the DakotaDome, a place SDSU hasn't had great memories lately. The Jacks picked off two passes and held USD's run game to 50 yards.
2. Southern Illinois: The Salukis had no problem in Macomb, smoking Western Illinois 63-0. Lashaun Lester ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the sophomore's first action of the season.
3. South Dakota: South Dakota's defense has been stellar all season but couldn't hold up against SDSU, a team that has now blown out UND, USD and Northern Iowa. Aidan Bouman threw two interceptions and SDSU ran for 266 yards and four touchdowns.
4. Northern Iowa: In perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the day, the Panthers beat Illinois State 24-21 in Normal. Theo Day threw for 289 yards and new running back Amauri Pesek-Hickson ran for 107 yards on an incredible 30 carries with two touchdowns.
5. North Dakota State: The Bison led 28-3 at halftime and had no trouble with the Missouri Valley newcomers in Fargo. Cam Miller threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
6. North Dakota: UND won 36-33 in overtime over Indiana State, but it sure felt like a loss in the Alerus Center. The Hawks have struggled with Gaven Ziebarth out and have now turned in back-to-back rough performances.
7. Youngstown State: Mitch Davidson threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-28 win over Missouri State. Bryce Oliver had six catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns.
8. Illinois State: The Redbirds kept it tight with Northern Iowa in a 24-21 loss but were only able to run for 45 yards and didn't have a single carry of 10 or more yards.
9. Missouri State: The only thing keeping Missouri State this high is the epic struggles of the three teams below it. In a 44-28 loss to Youngstown State, the Bears were led by Jordan Pachot's 341 yards passing.
10. Murray State: The Races only managed 164 yards of total offense in a blowout loss at North Dakota State.
11. Indiana State: Indiana State is limited offensively but showcased why the Sycamores are a tough out in a 36-33 overtime loss at UND. Starting quarterback Cade Chambers' injury status will be important for the remaining few games.
12. Western Illinois: The Leathernecks trailed 35-0 Southern Illinois at halftime and that's about it. Matt Morrissey threw for 48 yards.
