MVFC Week 10 Preview
Chad Lenz & JT Nutt, MVFC Contributors | November 05, 2015
JT Says-
Missouri State vs Youngstown State
Youngstown will make it 2 wins in a row after losing 3 straight Valley games. Youngstown has been far from good this season but certainly not nearly as terrible as Missouri State. Mo State has given up 246 points in 5 conference games. Youngstown, has been plagued by inconsistency but a glorified scrimmage against the woeful Bears is just what the doctor ordered. Youngstown will not be a playoff team this year but could certainly contend in future seasons. Youngstown trailed only briefly in last week’s 23-21 win over Western Illinois while putting up 356 yards. They will put up at least 400 this week and win this game 42-7.
Illinois State vs South Dakota State
Illinois State looks to remain undefeated. I would say this is the game of the week but last time I said that about a Jackrabbit game they got dominated by the Bison. We can’t judge anything about the last week’s Jackrabbit game because they played against the junior varsity team known as Missouri State. Illinois State got all it could handle having to come in back late in the 3rd and finally in the 4th quarter against Indiana State. They needed a 2 point conversion and barely stopped the Sycamores on 4th down, stopping them just a yard short. With the exception of Southern Illinois, Illinois State has the best offense in the Valley. The Jackrabbits defense has only allowed 53 points in 5 conference games. it will be a battle but Illinois State is just better on both sides of the ball. They continue to stay undefeated and win a defensive battle 17-14.
Indiana State vs Northern Iowa
The Panthers look to continue their winning ways in the UNI Dome. The Sycamores have not been the the UNI Dome since 2011 and have not won there in over a decade. Indiana State has lost 2 in a row while UNI has won 2 in a row. The UNI defense is for real and the offense finally showed signs of life with 200 passing yards against South Dakota. The UNI defense has given up only 7 points in the past 2 games. Coincidentally the Sycamores only put up 7 against the Jackrabbits whose defense is very similar to the Panthers. Aaron Bailey is starting to get a groove in the passing game and UNI will take another step forward. They win this one 35 – 7.
Chad says-
Southern Illinois @ South Dakota
The Coyotes, while improving, still have a ways to go to catch the rest of the league. They have a few nice players but have a complete dearth of talent top to bottom, compared to the rest of the league. Last week they managed just 187 yards of offense, and just 61 yards in the last three quarters of the game, though UNI’s defense is quite stingy. Southern Illinois isn’t known for their defense, and gave up 395 yards to NDSU last week. While USD doesn’t have the Bison run game, their team’s strength is the run game. Up until this week I would have taken SIU running away, literally and figuratively, from USD. However, Dale Lennon dismissed defensive end Adam Brandt, who had 17 career starts, and suspended running back Daquan Isom, who leads the team with 1,149 yards for some legal issues. I think Iannotti is good enough to carry SIU to a win today, but don’t be shocked to see the Coyotes pull out a W.
Western Illinois @ North Dakota State
Fun stat about this series – the home team has never won a game, though the two have played just six times and the last time WIU played in Fargo was 2010, also known as the last time the Bison didn’t win the title. Thanks to falling short against Youngstown State last week the Leathernecks have their back against the wall, facing likely playoff elimination with 4 losses on their record. That will do one of two things for them: 1. Create an intense sense of urgency that will lead them to the win OR 2. create an intense sense of urgency that leads to costly mistakes that NDSU turns into points. If I’m a betting man I’d go with the latter of the two options. Quarterback Easton Stick has looked brilliant for NDSU, and I don’t think that changes this week. I’m going to go with NDSU by 14.
