ST. LOUIS (MVC) -- For the first time since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the 2008
season, South Dakota State has been tabbed as the league pre-season favorite in a poll
conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. South Dakota State
returns 10 offensive starters and 10 defensive starters from its Spring 2021 team, which
reached the FCS title game and earned a share of the MVFC crown.
SDSU received 24 first-place votes and 454 total points to edge North Dakota State,
which earned 435 points and had 18 first-place tallies. North Dakota and Southern Illinois
were third and fourth with 357 and 345 total points, respectively. UNI, which received the
remaining first-place vote, had 311 points to finish fifth. And defending tri-champ Missouri
State was picked sixth with 256 points. Illinois State (196), South Dakota (163), Youngstown
State (126), Indiana State (112) and Western Illinois (83) rounded out the voting.
Collectively, the league returns 88 percent (212 of 242 student-athletes) of its starting
lineups to this year's fall rosters (from Spring 2021, and for Indiana State Fall 2019). UNI,
notably, is slated to return all 11 starters on both sides of the ball.
Although the 2020-21 season did not yield a national championship, the season may have been one of the most successful in league history as the Conference and its member schools navigated through a season that was shifted from the fall to the spring. Despite cancelled games due to COVID-19 which also led to multiple league teams who became unable to compete or complete the season, five MVFC teams made a playoff field that was limited to only 16 total participants. Three schools shared the league title (Missouri State, North Dakota, and South Dakota
State), marking just the second time in league history that the Conference had tri-champions. Those three schools were joined in the playoff field by North Dakota State and Southern Illinois. Four teams advanced to the quarterfinals, and South Dakota State reached its first title game.
SIU, which snapped NDSU’s FCS- and league-record 39-game winning streak, was making its first playoff appearance since 2009; Missouri State earned its first league title and first playoff appearance since 1990; UND reached the playoffs in its first year as an MVFC member; and NDSU and SDSU extended their streaks of consecutive playoff trips to 11 and nine-straight years, respectively.
In 2020-21, five MVFC teams were ranked in the Top 13 of the final Stats Perform Top 25 poll, led by SDSU’s No. 2 ranking. The league had an FCS-best 16 student-athletes on the FCS Stats Perform All-America team, and the MVFC had a league-record five players taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, highlighted by QB Trey Lance of NDSU who was the third overall pick.
In terms of post-season success, a league school has now reached the title game 11 times since 2011 (North Dakota State-8, Illinois State-1, South Dakota State-1, Youngstown State-1). South Dakota State extended the league’s FCS-record streak of having at least one MVFC team in the finals to 10-straight years as the Jackrabbits reached the FCS Championship in the Spring of 2021, falling to second-seeded Sam Houston State in the final seconds.
Missouri Valley Football
2021 Preseason Poll
Team Points
- South Dakota State (24)…………………�..454
- North Dakota State (18) …………………�..435
- North Dakota …………………………………�.357
- Southern Illinois………………………………�345
- UNI (1)…………………………………………�..311
- Missouri State…………………………………�256
- Illinois State……………………………………�196
- South Dakota…………………………………�.163
- Youngstown State……………………………�126
- Indiana State …………………………………�.112
- Western Illinois …………………………………�83
A pre-season favorite has claimed the league crown 22 times (in 35 previous polls).
The 2021 season will mark the seventh in an agreement with ESPN to distribute all 44 league games on ESPN3 (or ESPN+), while the league has implemented other initiatives to promote its institutions, student-athletes and coaches, including a weekly podcast series (“First and Goal�), and video segments that review (“Two-Minute Drill�) and preview (“The Extra Point�) each week’s contests throughout the season. The MVFC and other FCS leagues have partnered in the production of a weekly “FCS ALL IN� special which will air 15 times on Saturdays throughout the season on a dedicated YouTube channel, beginning Aug. 21.
In addition to today's team rankings, the Conference has announced its preseason team, voted on by coaches, sports information directors, and a media panel. All 11 teams have at least one honoree, topped by Southern Illinois with 13 total selections.
2021 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team
FIRST TEAM
QB Tommy Schuster, R-So., North Dakota
RB Pierre Strong Jr., Jr., South Dakota State
Otis Weah, R-Jr., North Dakota
FB Hunter Luepke, Jr., North Dakota State
TE Zach Heins, So., South Dakota State
WR Avante Cox, Jr., Southern Illinois
Dennis Houston, Sr., Western Illinois
Christian Watson, Sr., North Dakota State
OL ZeVeyon Furcron, Sr., Southern Illinois
Garret Greenfield, So., South Dakota St.
Cody Mauch, Sr., North Dakota State
Cordell Volson, Sr., North Dakota State
Matt Waletzko, Sr., North Dakota
DL Jordan Berner, Sr., Southern Illinois
Jared Brinkman, Gr., UNI
Caleb Sanders, Jr., South Dakota State
Spencer Waege, Sr., North Dakota State
LB Logan Backhaus, Sr., South Dakota State
Spencer Cuvelier, Sr., UNI
Grant Dixon, Youngstown State, Sr.
James Kaczor, Sr., North Dakota State
DB Montrae Braswell, So., Missouri State
Qua Brown, Sr., Southern Illinois
James Ceasar, Sr., Southern Illinois
Don Gardner, Sr., South Dakota State
Michael Tutsie, Sr., North Dakota State
P Brady Schutt, Sr., South Dakota
PK Matthew Cook, Jr., UNI
LS Dalton Godfrey, Jr., South Dakota
AP Javon Williams Jr., So., Southern Illinois
RS Christian Watson, Sr., North Dakota State
SECOND TEAM
QB Stone Labanowitz, Sr., Southern Illinois
RB Isaiah Davis, Fr., South Dakota State
Jaleel McLaughlin, Sr., Youngstown State
FB Jason Garrett, Jr., Southern Illinois
TE Noah Gindorff, Sr., North Dakota State
WR Jaxon Janke, So., South Dakota State
Tony Tate, Sr., Western Illinois
Caleb Vander Esch, Sr., South Dakota
OL Landon Bebee, Jr., Missouri State
Dan Becker, Youngstown State, Sr.
Wes Genant, Sr., South Dakota State
Mason McCormick, So., South Dakota St.
Trevor Penning, Sr., UNI
DL Kevin Ellis, Sr., Missouri State
Eric Johnson, Sr., Missouri State
Anthony Knighton, Sr., Southern Illinois
Eli Mostaert, So., North Dakota State
LB Devon Krzanowski, Sr., North Dakota
Brock Mogensen, So., South Dakota
Bryson Strong, Jr., Southern Illinois
Tylar Wiltz, Sr., Missouri State
DB Omar Brown, Jr., UNI
Austin Evans, Gr., UNI
Evan Holm, 5th Year, North Dakota
Zaire Jones, Sr., Youngstown State
Kyriq McDonald, Sr., Missouri State
P Jack Colquhoun, Sr., Southern Illinois
PK Jose Pizano, Jr., Missouri State
LS Bradey Sorenson, Sr., South Dakota State
AP Deion McShane, Sr., UNI
RS Tony Tate, Sr., Western Illinois
HONORABLE MENTION
QB Will McElvain, Jr., UNI
Connor Sampson, Sr., Western Illinois
RB Tyler Hoosman, Sr., UNI
FB Tim McCloyn, Sr., Illinois State
TE Josh Babicz, Sr., North Dakota State
WR Dante Hendrix, R-Jr., Indiana State
Isaiah Weston, Sr., UNI
OL Isaiah Edwards, R-Sr., Indiana State
Mason Scheidegger, Sr., South Dakota
William Waddell, Sr., Western Illinois
DL James Jackson, Sr., Youngstown State
Jacob Matthew, Sr., South Dakota
Inoke Moala, R-Sr., Indiana State
Reece Winkelman, Jr., South Dakota St.
LB Jack Cochrane, Sr., South Dakota
Jaxson Turner, 5th Year, North Dakota
DB Jordan Canady, 5th Year, North Dakota
Myles Harden, Fr., South Dakota
Benny Sapp III, Sr., UNI
P Adam Fellner, Sr., Western Illinois
PK Nico Gualdoni, Sr., Southern Illinois
LS Dan Heilbron, Jr., Southern Illinois
AP Christian Turner, Sr., Youngstown State
RS Luke Skokna, Jr., North Dakota
Total picks, includes honorable mentions, by school:
� Illinois State � 1; Indiana State � 4; Missouri State � 7; North Dakota � 8; North Dakota State � 10 (Christian Watson a duplicate honoree) UNI � 11; South Dakota � 8; South Dakota State - 12; Southern Illinois - 13; Western Illinois � 5 (Tony Tate a duplicate honoree) Youngstown State - 6
