The FCS Wedge

Apologies in advance, but this review is going to be a bit shorter than my usual ones. Apparently sitting outside at Hanson Field watching football for 3 hours in 45-degree weather is not conducive to great health, so I’ll just do a quick hit of the highlights.

The Scores

Missouri State – 29
Indiana State – 26

Southern Illinois – 3
Illinois State – 51

Youngstown State – 7
South Dakota State – 36

North Dakota State – 34
Western Illinois – 7

Northern Iowa – 42
South Dakota – 28

Missouri State at Indiana State

Missouri State pulled ahead early in this game with 3 TDs in the first half, two on runs by MSU RB Donovan Daniels. INSU RB Ja’Quan Keys helped keep the Sycamores in this game though, with a couple of rushing TDs in the second half (to go along with 1 in the first). A FG by INSU PK Jerry Nunez gave Indiana State a 5 point lead, but on essentially the final drive of the game, MSU took advantage of an ISU holding penalty to convert on 4th and 5 and extend the drive. Then, with 16 seconds left in the game, on 4th and goal, MSU QB Peyton Huslig hit WR Lorenzo Thomas on a 4-yard TD pass. The Bears would go for 2, fail on a pass attempt, but were given a second chance to try after a pass interference penalty on the Sycamores. They’d get the extra 2 on a run by RB Jeremiah Wilson to give Missouri State the 3-point win.

MSU QB Peyton Huslig had 169 yards and 1 TD passing and 34 yards rushing. RB Donovan Daniels had 62 rushing yards including 2 TDs. LB Angelo Garbutt and S Titus Wall each had 11 tackles in the game, with Garbutt also getting 1 sack. INSU RB Ja’Quan Keys had a great performance, running for 141 yards and 3 TDs. LB Jonas Griffith finished the game with 17 tackles (6 solo) and Punter Travis Reiner averaged 50 yards per punt on 3 punts.

Missouri State is now 4-2 overall…the first time the Bears have had a 4-2 record since October 2007 and are 2-1 in the MVFC. They welcome Western Illinois to Springfield, MO next weekend. Indiana State is 2-4 with an 0-3 MVFC record. They’ll head over to Carbondale, IL to play Southern Illinois.

Southern Illinois at Illinois State

I knew Illinois State’s defense was good, but this was even more of an impressive performance than I expected. SIU was held scoreless in the first half, while ISU put up 4 TDs and a FG (mostly in the 2nd quarter) to take a 31-0 halftime lead. Outside of a 26-yard SIU FG, it was more of the same in the second half, with the Redbirds continuing to pull ahead en route to a 51-3 victory.

The points were pretty well spread around the offense for ILSU, with QB Brady Davis throwing 4 TD passes to 4 different receivers: WRs Andrew Edgar, Spencer Schnell, and Braxton Haley, and TE Robert Gillum. Davis was awarded the MVFC Newcomer of the Week award for his 4-TD performance. The other 3 TDs were by 3 different runners: RB James Robinson with 202 yards and 1 TD rushing, RB Markel Smith with 143 yards and 1 TD, and backup QB Jake Kolbe with 1 attempt…1 yard for 1 TD. LB Zackary Mathews led the team with 8 tackles (3 solo). SIU’s best performance came from WR Raphael Leonard with 81 receiving yards on 7 catches and LB Bryce Notree led the Salukis with 10 tackles (3 solo).

Southern Illinois drops to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference. They welcome the Indiana State Sycamores to town next weekend. Illinois State is now 5-1 with a 2-1 conference record, but will have a tough run the next few weeks, heading up to Fargo to take on North Dakota State next weekend before playing South Dakota State and UNI in back-to-back weekends. With the current state of things, it looks like ISU at NDSU and then SDSU at ISU the next weekend will likely decide who’s going to be the conference champion this year.

Youngstown State at South Dakota State

The Penguins kept things close for a while, putting up a TD in the first quarter against the Jackrabbits TD (XP missed) and FG, only down by 2. Unfortunately for YSU, it would be their only points of the game. Meanwhile SDSU picked up a few more to take a 16-7 lead into halftime, and then pull ahead for good on 3 TD runs including a long 49-yarder by QB Taryn Christion and finish with 36-7 win.

YSU QB Montgomery VanGorder threw for 202 yards and 1 TD, but also had 2 INTs. The lone TD to TB Christian Turner. RB Tevin McCaster was held to 60 yards on 22 attempts and LB Armand Dellovade led the Penguins with 7 tackles. SDSU QB Taryn Christion only threw for 78 yards and 1 TD, but also ran for 89 yards and 2 TDs. RB C.J. Wilson ran for 119 yards and 1 TD after RB Isaac Wallace went out with an injury. I have not heard for sure, but unfortunately for the Senior RB, it looks like he might be done for the season, and barring a possible medical redshirt, possibly even his football career. WR Cade Johnson picked up a receiving TD on his only catch of the game (for 23 yards). LB Christian Rozeboom and CB Zy Mosley each had INTs while DE Ryan Earith and LB Seven Wilson led the team with 7 tackles each (4 solo for both) and Earith had a sack. SDSU Punter Brady Hale won the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week award after kicking 7 punts averaging 42.6 yards per, including a 57-yarder and dropping 2 within the 20 yard line.

Youngstown State drops to 2-4 with a 1-2 MVFC record and heads back home to play the other DI South Dakota team…the Coyotes. SDSU is sitting at 4-1 overall with a 2-1 conference record and heads down to Cedar Falls to take on Northern Iowa.

North Dakota State at Western Illinois

(AKA the reason I now have a cold)

Outside of a couple of drives, this game was pretty much all about the Bison defense. Early in the 2nd quarter, WIU had their only lead of the game after a 5 yard TD pass to WR Isaiah Lesure gave the Leathernecks a 7-3 advantage. From then on though, NDSU was able to surge ahead, putting together a drive with a few long runs by RBs Bruce Anderson and Lance Dunn and QB Easton Stick and then later in the quarter, a fumble by WIU was picked up by LB Dan Marlette and returned 38 yards to the end zone. In the second half, NDSU held WIU scoreless and put up 3 more TDs of their own to win by a final of 34-7.

NDSU QB Easton Stick threw for 123 yards and 1 TD and ran for a net of 2 (after getting sacked 4 times by the WIU defense). RBs Lance Dunn and Ty Brooks each ran for 1 TD, with Dunn leading the team with 64 rushing yards. WR Darrius Shepherd had 5 catches for 67 yards and 1 TD. CB Marquise Bridges forced the fumble that was returned for TD by the previously-mentioned LB Marlette. LB Jabril Cox and S Michael Tutsie each had INTs, while FS James Hendricks had 2 INTs and 3 tackles to earn the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week award. WIU QB Sean McGuire threw for 209 yards and 1 TD, but also had 3 INTs (the 4th INT coming off of backup QB Connor Sampson). WR Isaiah Lesure had a career day catching 12 passes for 170 yards and the lone TD. The WIU ground game woes continued, as the Leathernecks only totaled 9 yards rushing in the game. LB Quentin Moon and D-lineman Khalen Saunders led WIU with 11 tackles each. Saunders also had 2 sacks and a forced fumble (recovered by NDSU).

As a Leatherneck fan, I feel like I do need to point out that all 4 of the interceptions came on the last 4 WIU drives late in the 3rd and in the 4th quarters once NDSU was up by a few and they were trying to force some big plays to get WIU back into the game. The Leatherneck defense performed very well for the most part, although there’s only so much you can do when you give the defending national champions 5 turnovers and usually pretty good field position.

Anyway, NDSU is now a perfect 6-0 and 3-0 in the conference and welcome Illinois State to the Fargodome next weekend. WIU falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the MVFC, although thankfully (for me), the last 5 games are potentially winnable if we’re able to get our offense moving a bit better. They head down to Missouri State next weekend.

Northern Iowa at South Dakota

The first half was a very back-and-forth game, with 4 lead changes and going into halftime with the Panthers up 21-13. Late in the 3rd, a long drive for the Coyotes would tie things up at 21, but UNI would respond with a quick 5-play drive to retake the lead on a 21-yard TD pass. They’d then pull further ahead after an INT gave UNI good field position, on one 25-yard TD pass. On the next play from scrimmage for USD, a fumble recovered in the end zone by UNI put them ahead by 21. The Panther defense gave up one more TD, but held South Dakota the rest of the game to win 42-28.

UNI QB Eli Dunne threw for 257 yards with 4 TDs, ran for 7 yards and 1 TD, and won the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week award. The yards and TDs were fairly evenly spread out, with 7 receivers catching at least 3 passes for 20+ yards but nobody having more than 41 yards. TD catches were by WRs Nick Fossey and Jaylin James, RB Marcus Weymiller, and TE Briley Moore. LB Chris Kolarevic continued his excellent first season on the field with 11 tackles (8 solo), DB Xavior Williams had the INT and DB Zac Kibby, DL Elerson Smith, and LB Rickey Neal each forced fumbles, 2 of which were recovered by UNI. USD QB Austin Simmons threw for 325 yards and 2 TDs, but also had 1 INT and a fumble that turned the ball over. RB Brandon Thull ran for 37 yards and 1 TD. WR Dakarai Allen had 6 catches for 98 yards and 1 TD, and RB Kai Henry had the other TD catch. DB Andrew Gray led the Coyotes with 13 tackles (9 solo) and DL Kameron Cline had 4 tackles, 4 for loss (1 sack) and a forced fumble. Punter Brady Schutt had 3 kicks for 50.7 yards per punt average.

UNI finds themselves at 3-3 with a 2-1 conference record and welcomes South Dakota State to the UNIDome next weekend. South Dakota is also 3-3 with a 2-1 MVFC record and heads over to Ohio to take on Youngstown State.

MVFC Standings

Team, Overall (MVFC)
North Dakota State, 6-0 (3-0)
Northern Iowa, 3-3 (2-1)
South Dakota, 3-3 (2-1)
Missouri State, 4-2 (2-1)
Illinois State, 5-1 (2-1)
South Dakota State, 4-1 (2-1)
Western Illinois, 2-4 (1-2)
Youngstown State, 2-4 (1-2)
Indiana State, 2-4 (0-3)
Southern Illinois, 1-5 (0-3)

How’d I Do?

MSU @ INSU – I thought Bears 38-32. It was Bears 29-26. I overestimated the offenses a bit, but fairly close in terms of the spread.

SIU @ ILSU – I thought Redbirds 37-14. It was Redbirds 51-3. Overestimating SIU’s offense in this case. I knew ISU’s defense was good having seen them live the weekend before. I figured it’d be a pretty solid win though.

YSU @ SDSU – I thought Jackrabbits 47-18. It was Jackrabbits 36-7. Again with the overestimating offenses apparently. Dead-on with the spread though (29 points). Big time rebound for the Bunnies.

NDSU @ WIU – I thought Bison 28-16. It was Bison 34-7. Turnovers…sure…5 turnovers…that I didn’t really expect. I figured WIU’s defense would do ok, and they did, but was hoping our offense would be able to do a little more. It wasn’t a complete blowout, so I’ll call it a “win” in terms of my prediction.

UNI @ USD – I thought Coyotes in a close one, 31-30. It was Panthers in a less-than-close one, 42-28. It was pretty close for a good part of the game, until a couple of turnovers really pushed this one UNI’s way. Congrats to the Panther defense for proving me wrong.

Previously I was 7-3 in my picks. Add in 4-1 this week and I’m at 11-4 overall.

Up next week is the “who wants it least” game with Indiana State at Southern Illinois, Western Illinois hoping to rebound at Missouri State, “Top o’ the conference to ya” matchup with Illinois State at North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Northern Iowa coming off of big wins going head-to-head at the UNIDome, and South Dakota taking the long flight out to nearly Pennsylvania to take on Youngstown State.

On to week 7 of the regular season. NDSU is still good…Missouri State is decent…Indiana State has…an offense?…really?…they haven’t had one of those in like, nearly a decade….crazy.
All times listed as Central time zone and ranking numbers based on the AGS Poll. Here’s the full list along with starting times and places you can find them on TV/streaming video:

Saturday, October 16th
1:00 PM – ORV Missouri State (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) at Indiana State (2-3, 0-2 MVFC), ESPN+
2:00 PM – Southern Illinois (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) at #10 Illinois State (4-1, 1-1 MVFC), ESPN3
2:00 PM – Youngstown State (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) at #4 South Dakota State (3-1, 1-1 MVFC), ESPN+
6:00 PM – #1 North Dakota State (5-0, 2-0 MVFC) at ORV Western Illinois (2-3, 1-1 MVFC), ESPN+
6:00 PM – ORV Northern Iowa (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) at #20 South Dakota (3-2, 2-0 MVFC), ESPN+

Missouri State at Indiana State – 1 PM on ESPN+

Last Year: Missouri State won 59-20 in Springfield, MO

So, at the beginning of the season, most people probably had this game circled on their calendar as the one that would really decide…once and for…well…this season at least…who would finish last place in the conference. Since then though, MSU has huge wins against currently #10 Illinois State, Northern Arizona, and a very strong performance against #20 South Dakota. Indiana State doesn’t have quite as many successes, but they have won 2 (that’s two more than last year) and put up 51 points last weekend taking current #4 South Dakota State to OT in Brookings. So, while it doesn’t appear that either team are “world beaters” at this point, both have, for the most part, been outperforming expectations at this point and it’s entirely possible when it all shakes out at the end of the season, that neither team is at the bottom of the conference and that MSU could conceivably have a winning record.

Missouri State QB Peyton Huslig leads the team in both passing (208.8/game with 6 TDs and 7 INTs) and rushing (63.6/game with 5 TDs). RB Jason Randall is averaging just under 60 ypg on the ground with 5 TDs as well. The Bears top receiver in yardage is WR Damoriea Vick with 46.2/game although he doesn’t have any receiving TDs. WRs Tyler Currie and Antwan Woods and TE Jordan Murray all have 2 receiving TDs each. Placekicker Parker Lacina is a perfect 5 for 5 on FGs for the season including kicks from 40 and 42 yards out and is 20 for 21 on XPs. LB McNeece Egbim leads the team in tackles with 42 (26 solo) and has 2 sacks. DE Matt McClellan is tied with two NDSU players for the most sacks in the conference so far with 4.5 through 5 games.

Indiana State QB Ryan Boyle has been throwing for 155 ypg with 2 TDs and 1 INT, but the player with the most impact on the Sycamores offense is RB Ja’Quan Keys who is currently leading the conference with 130.2 rushing ypg and has 8 TDs. No player has over 50 receiving yards per game, although WRs Dante Hendrix and Rontrez Morgan are just under that with Morgan having both of the receiving TDs thrown this year. LB Jonas Griffith has 54 tackles (30 solo) and an INT, and DB Jamal Jones has 38, with 27 of those being solo tackles as well as a fumble recovery. Griffith is currently 2nd in the MVFC in tackles per game

Both teams seem to be improved over the last few years and both teams have shown that they can, at times, put up some pretty big numbers offensively. Even though the game is at ISU and it’s their Homecoming, I feel like Missouri State is currently a bit ahead of Indiana State in their “improvement”. I think the Bears pull out a fairly high-scoring win (not like last week’s INSU@SDSU game level of “high scoring” though)…around 38-32.

Southern Illinois at #10 Illinois State – 2 PM on ESPN3

Last Year: SIU beat ILSU 42-7 in Carbondale

Unlike the previous two teams, Southern Illinois looked like they weren’t going to be too bad this year, but outside of an early win over Murray State, they haven’t quite been able to put together a win, losing 1-score games to South Dakota and Youngstown State in back-to-back weeks. Illinois State, meanwhile, has an impressive record with wins over FBS Colorado State and then last week against Western Illinois and with an odd loss at Missouri State being the only blemish.

Southern Illinois QB Sam Straub has been throwing for 286 ypg and has 9 TDs along with 8 INTs. Straub also runs for ~25 ypg and has 2 rushing TDs, but RB DJ Davis is the one getting most of the ground yardage with 120/game (good for #2 in the MVFC currently) and 3 TDs. WR Raphael Leonard gets 77 ypg and 4 receiving TDs so far, while TE Nigel Kilby may only have 34 ypg but also has 4 receiving TDs. Defensively, DE Bryce Notree leads the Salukis with 36 tackles (26 solo), 2 sacks and 1 INT. DE Anthony Knighton leads the team with 3.5 sacks. Both of those defensive players are Sophomores…in fact, none of the top 11 tacklers on SIU’s defense are Seniors, so that may be something to watch for next year with a more experienced defense on the field.

Illinois State QB Brady Davis averages 211 ypg with 10 TDs through the air and has 0 INTs so far this season (although a couple of passes in last week’s game should have been INTs if the WIU defenders didn’t have the nasty habit of dropping balls when they’re thrown directly at them….but I digress), and Davis has 1 rushing TD. The key to the Redbirds offense is RB James Robinson who has 116 ypg and 8 TDs. RB Markel Smith does pretty well too with 60 ypg and 2 TDs so far. The top receiver is WR Spencer Schnell, who has hauled in 30 catches for 86.4 ypg and 4 TDs. LB Zackary Mathews has 46 tackles so far (26 solo) and 1 sack, and DB Luther Kirk has 3 INTs returned a total of 51 yards including 1 for TD last week to go along with 23 tackles. Punter JT Bohlken currently leads the conference with a 45.1 yard per punt average with 13 inside the 20 and 13 of 50+ yards (out of 28 total punts). There’s still a lot of season to go, but that punting average is currently the 6th best in MVFC history.

Despite having some definite issues (lack of a good passing game being the big one), Illinois State is playing some good football right now…Southern Illinois on the other hand, has been struggling. This game is at ISU; at Homecoming; and while maybe not quite as big of a football rivalry as they have with WIU, ISU and SIU have played 81 times going back to 1929 and also play in the same conference for all sports (so that adds some depth to the rivalry); plus they’re going to want some revenge against an SIU team that unexpectedly crushed them last year. I personally feel like ISU is going to put together a really good game this weekend and roll against the Salukis…37-14.

Youngstown State at #4 South Dakota State – 2 PM on ESPN+

Last Year: Youngstown State beat South Dakota State 19-7 in Youngstown, OH

The Penguins were able to pull off a win last week at home against SIU on a FG in the final 30 seconds of the game, however it’s been a rough season so far for YSU, having lost to Non-Scholarship Butler to start the season and losing to WIU two weeks ago. South Dakota State meanwhile were on the verge of losing back-to-back games for the first time since 2015, requiring an overtime period to defeat Indiana State after losing a close game at rival NDSU the previous week.

YSU QB Montgomery VanGorder has been passing for 229 ypg this season with 10 TDs and 5 INTs as well as running for just over 25 ypg. The receiving TDs get spread around pretty well, with WRs Zach Farrar, Samuel St. Surin, Darius Shackleford, Natavious Payne, Jermiah Braswell and TB London Pearson having 1 receiving TD each, while WR Kendric Mallory and TE Miles Joiner each have 2. RB Tevin McCaster is the big threat on offense though, with a 107 ypg average and 6 TDs rushing. LB Armand Dellovade has 43 tackles (26 solo) with 1 sack and 1 INT. DE Shereif Bynum is doing well, with 22 tackles, but 8 of them for loss (2nd in the MVFC) including 4 sacks and 7 QB hurries.

SDSU QB Taryn Christion is having a great year, ranking 3rd in the MVFC for yards per game (270.5), 1st in passing TDs (15), and is 35 points ahead of the #2 QB (NDSU’s Easton Stick) in QB Efficiency. His top receivers are WRs Cade Johnson (102.8 ypg and 7 TDs) and Adam Anderson (93.2 ypg and 3 TDs and are currently the two top receivers in the MVFC in yards per game. RB Isaac Wallace has been getting it done on the ground, averaging over 103 ypg with 4 TDs so far, including the game-winner last week in OT. LB Dalton Cox leads the Jackrabbits in tackles with 24 (14 solo) and LB Christian Rozeboom appears to have taken a step back from his impressive performances of the last two years with 23 tackles currently.

Last week, I predicted a big win for SDSU over Indiana State…I, and probably most people, were very surprised at how that one played out. This week, SDSU is going to want to prove that last week was a fluke…playing at home, at Hobo Day (Homecoming), against one of only 3 teams to beat them last year (so they’ll want revenge). Youngstown State has, so far, shown very little to indicate that they can compete with the top teams of the conference, and I don’t think they’ll fare very well in Brookings. I think SDSU will struggle a little at stopping YSU’s McCaster, but YSU will struggle a lot at stopping all aspects of the Jackrabbit offense….47-18 South Dakota State wins.

#1 North Dakota State at Western Illinois – 6 PM on ESPN+

Last Year: NDSU won 24-12 in Fargo

Alright…time for my Leathernecks. After a tough loss at in-state rival Illinois State last weekend that was a close game up until the last few minutes, WIU is looking at a 2-3 record and likely can only lose one more game if they want a shot at the playoffs. Thankfully we return home this week to play…um…#&%*. The NDSU Bison are, as I’m sure everyone is aware, the defending national champions, are the unanimous #1 team in the FCS, and have won their 5 games this season by an average of nearly 27 points.

Anyway, here’s the stats…

NDSU QB Easton Stick is having a great year. He’s only thrown for 170 ypg and 9 TDs, but only has 1 INT and also runs for an average of nearly 39 ypg and 7 TDs. He’s 9th in the conference in yardage, but 2nd in the conference in efficiency. That’s in large part, due to RBs Bruce Anderson (98.4 ypg and 3 TDs) and Lance Dunn (63.4 ypg and 4 TDs). Their stats may not look huge, but that’s mostly because the Bison have been so far ahead in many games that they’ve been able to take the starters out early relatively often. WR Darrius Shepherd is the top receiving threat when Stick does throw the ball, with 17 catches for 63.8 ypg and 4 TDs. The other big thing NDSU has going for them is their defense…#1 in the conference in points allowed, yards allowed…by ground, air, and combined, and sacks. Oh, and they’re also the least penalized team in the MVFC as well. Safety Robbie Grimsley leads the team with 38 tackles (20 solo) and 1 INT. LBs Dan Marlette (32 tackles, 5 for loss) and Jabril Cox (31 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 INTs returned for TDs) are absolute beasts, and D-linemen Cole Karcz and Greg Menard each have 4.5 sacks.

WIU QB Sean McGuire hasn’t been doing too badly either, throwing for nearly 269 ypg and 13 TDs and as of last weekend, is now WIU’s all-time leader in career TDs and passing yards. He does tend to force things a bit and occasionally make bad decisions, as evidenced by the 6 INTs he’s thrown, including a pick-6 against ILSU last week. The top receivers in yardage are WR John Brunner (66.4 ypg and 2 TDs) and Tony Tate (55 ypg and 2 TDs) but the one who actually gets the most catches is RB Steve McShane. McShane is only averaging 54.8 ypg w/ 2 TDs on the ground, but also has 39 ypg and 4 TDs receiving. He’s also a special teams threat, returning punts an average of 14.1 yards per with 1 TD. Otherwise though, the Leathernecks are averaging under 100 rushing yards per game, which is…you know…not great. On defense, LBs Quintin Moon (55 tackles, 36 solo, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery) and Zach Glisan (47 tackles, 27 solo) are doing well, with Moon leading the MVFC in tackles, both combined and solo. LB Pete Swenson has also stepped up this year, leading the conference in tackles for loss with 10 (4 sacks).

I’m not going to say that Western doesn’t have a chance in this game, but it’s going to be tough. On the plus side, NDSU is known for dropping usually 1 conference game a year before barreling through the rest of the year and into the playoffs…also they have seemed to have difficulties playing in Macomb, winning by 8 in 2016 and needing two TDs in the 4th to come from behind and win by 7 in 2014…so that tells me there’s the potential for this to be a “trap game” for the Bison. Then again…the odds are not in the Leathernecks favor in this one. I’m going to have to go with a 28-16 win for NDSU in this game and hope that I’m proven wrong.

Northern Iowa at #20 South Dakota – 6 PM on ESPN+

Last Year: UNI won 34-29 in Cedar Falls, IA

UNI is coming off a home loss to NDSU where they were able to stick with the Bison for 3 out of 4 quarters. Like WIU, they’re also 2-3 and 1-1 in the conference and can really only drop one more to have a reasonable shot at the playoffs. South Dakota, on the other hand, has won their first two conference games (they haven’t played either of the XDSU’s yet though), winning by 7 last week at home against Missouri State.

Northern Iowa QB Eli Dunne is averaging 199 ypg with 8 passing TDs, although QB Colton Howell has also started 1 game and played a decent amount of time this year, throwing for 43 ypg and has 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. The top receiving targets are TE Briley Moore (55.2 ypg w/ 2 TDs) and freshman WR Deion McShane (51 ypg w/ 2 TDs and the younger brother of WIU’s Steve McShane). RBs Trevor Allen and Marcus Weymiller each have 2 rushing TDs and 68 and 53 yards per game on the ground respectively. R. Freshman LB Chris Kolarevic leads the Panthers with 54 tackles (17 solo) with 2 for loss and 1 INT and was recently named to the Jerry Rice Award watch list (top freshman in the FCS). LB Duncan Ferch is right behind at 48 tackles (12 solo) with 2.5 for loss and 2 INTs. UNI’s placekicker Austin Errthum has been doing pretty well, making 8 out of 10 FGs with 2 in the 40+ range (long of 46) and is 15 out of 15 on XPs.

South Dakota QB Austin Simmons has done a great job filling a Streveler-sized hole in the Coyote offense, leading the conference with nearly 320 ypg and 10 TDs with 3 INTs as well as running for 2 TDs. WRs Dakarai Allen (78 ypg and 3 TDs) and Levi Falck (nearly 58 ypg and 1 TD) get the most catches. None of the USD RBs average over 46 ypg, although Ben Klett (3 TDs) and Kai Henry (2 TDs) get the most. On defense, twin brothers Alex (LB) and Andrew (DB) Gray lead the team in tackles. Alex has 45 (29 solo) with 2 sacks, 1 INT and 1 fumble recovery, while Andrew has 40 (18 solo) with 2 INTs, 2 forced fumbles, was named MVFC defensive player of the week the last two weeks in a row and was named the STATS FCS Defensive player of the week last week. DL Darin Greenfield leads the team in tackles for loss with 6, sacks (3), and QB hurries (6). Placekicker Mason Lorber has struggled with FGs however, making 6 out of 11 attempts.

This game is tough to pick for me. UNI has a worse record against a little tougher schedule so far, USD is a little better with a little easier schedule. If I had to pick one team who’s better right now on a neutral field…I’d probably go with UNI, but not by much. However, this isn’t on a neutral field and I think that gives a slight edge to USD. Most predictions out there have the margin within a point or two and mine is no different…I’m going to have to pick South Dakota in a nailbiter…31-30.