MVFC Week 2 Preview
Chad Lenz & JT Nutt, MVFC Contributors | September 11, 2015
Chad says-
WIU @ ILLINOIS
Lance Lenoir Jr leads the Leathernecks into Memorial Stadium coming of a conference player of the week honor. He’s going to need a fair amount of help to walk out with a win. Illinois looks like a mess from the outside, with Tim Beckman being fired just 2 weeks ago, but it didn’t seem to phase them last week. Based on what I saw from both last week the Leathernecks have a chance, but they are going to get a career day from Lenoir and hope Illinois gives them a couple turnovers to work with.
EWU @ UNI
This Eagles team is going to be the best offense to ever take to Stan Sheriff Field inside the UNIDome. UNI has the defense to keep EWU out of the end zone enough to give a normal offense a shot. Based the abomination that took place in Jack Trice last weekend, where 3 quarterbacks saw the field and the special teams looked like they had never seen a football before, I have no reason to believe the defense will get any help. Sadly, I think this gets ugly in a hurry.
Weber State @ NDSU
Last season Weber State gave a Bison team with significantly fewer holes than this years edition all they could handle. This years Bison team will be without AGS All American left guard Zack Johnson, who is out with a broken leg, and Carson Wentz, who will be out for a couple weeks with a high ankle sprain. They should get CJ Smith back to sure the secondary up a bit, and I expect a focused Bison team taking the field. I think we see a final similar to last years score of 24-7.
Southern Utah @ SDSU
SDSU is going to need to avoid a let down after picking up their first FBS scalp in program history. They may have lost Zach Zenner and Austin Sumner, but Zach Lujan and Issac Wallace looked the part and had numbers almost identical to those we’d have expected from Sumner and Zenner. If Southern Utah’s game against Utah State is a true indicator of what to expect from them moving forward this game could get ugly. The Thunderbirds showed very little signs of life on offense. That could lead to SDSU jumping out big early and never looking back.
Morgan State @ Illinois State
What better way for Illinois State to correct issues from last week than having the Bears of Morgan State roll into town. The Bears gave up 6.9 yards per carry to Air Force last week, so look for offensive coordinator Kurt Beathard work to establish Coprich and Roberson early and often. I don’t think this game ends any better for Morgan State than their 63-7 loss last weekend.
JT Says-
#21 Indiana State @ Purdue
The battle of Indiana will have Purdue vs #21 Indiana State. Purdue opened the season with a loss to former FCS school Marshall 41-31. The Sycamores beat Butler 52-17 with 303 yards of rushing. Lemonte Booker reminding fans of Shakir Bell with 137 rushing yards, 3 rushing TD’s and a 24 yard TD reception. Indiana State with the mild upset in West Lafayette
Chadron State (D2) @ Missouri State
Chadron State a Div-II school that beat Missouri S & T their opening week are coming to Missouri State. Chadron State plays the Colorado School of Mines the following week. Even a good Div II school has no business beating a good FCS school. Missouri State lost to Memphis 63-7 their opening week but a beat down of a Division 2 school will get the Bears back on track.
Robert Morris @ #16 Youngstown State
Bo Pelini nearly knocked off Pittsburgh 45-37. Pelini will look to notch his first win over Robert Morris who lost to Dayton 27-24. Robert Morris went 1-10 last season and will not put up much of a fight vs the #16 team in FCS. Youngstown had over 400 yards of offense against Pittsburgh. Look for them to get over 500 this week.
ORV (31) Southern Illinois @ Southeast Missouri State
Southern Illinois is back. Southeast Missouri State lost 34-3 to Missouri only managing to put up 201 yards of offense including 56 passing yards. Southern Illinois certainly didn’t play in a defensive struggle with Indiana but will be too much for the Redhawks to handle. SIU runs away with it.
South Dakota @ UC-Davis
South Dakota looks the right the ship against UC Davis after being shutout 34-0 by K State. mustering only 61 yards of rushing. South Dakota won 2 games (William & Penn and Northern Arizona) last year, neither team the caliber of UC-Davis. UC-Davis lost to Nevada 31-17. UC Davis QB Ben Scott was 32-47 for 238 yards 1 TD, no picks. The K-State running game beat South Dakota but it will be the UC Davis passing game that beats them this week.
| TIME (CDT) | MATCHUP | TV |
| 11:00 AM | ORV (26) Western Illinois @ Illinois | Big Ten Network |
| 11:00 AM | #21 Indiana State @ Purdue | ESPNNews |
| 1:00 PM | #9 Eastern Washington @ #19 Northern Iowa | ESPN3 |
| 2:00 PM | Chadron State (D2) @ Missouri State | ESPN3 |
| 2:30 PM | Weber State @ #4 North Dakota State | ESPN3 |
| 6:00 PM | Robert Morris @ #16 Youngstown State | ESPN3 |
| 6:00 PM | Southern Utah @ #8 South Dakota State | NO TV |
| 6:00 PM | ORV (31) Southern Illinois @ Southeast Missouri State | NO TV |
| 6:30 PM | Morgan State @ #5 Illinois State | ESPN3 |
| 8:00 PM | South Dakota @ UC-Davis | NO TV |