Three Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked in the Top 25 this week, including Southern Illinois (3/3), South Dakota State (9/9), and UNI (12/11) [Coaches poll is listed first, followed by The Sports Network rankings.] Illinois State and Missouri State are among those schools receiving votes this week.
Consecutive Ranks in Top 25
Including the Nov. 2 poll, Southern Illinois has been ranked in 88-straight regular-season polls. It's the second-longest-such streak in league history. UNI, meanwhile, has the third-longest streak (64), and it is also current. The league record for consecutive poll appearances is 96 (UNI, 1990-97).
Top-10 Teams
Valley Football has had at least two teams in the Top 10 in 43 of the last 46 regular-season polls. South Dakota State and Southern Illinois represent the league this week in the Top 10.
For All the Marbles
For the first time since 2005, the league will have a winner-take-all contest as South Dakota State hosts Southern Illinois on Saturday. The winning team will claim at least a share of the regular-season title and the conference's automatic bid into the FCS playoffs. The game will be the first meeting between two teams with 6-0 league records.
The Last Time ...?
The last time the league had a decisive Saturday similar to next weekend's SDSU-SIU game in Brookings was in 2005, when UNI claimed the league's automatic bid on the final weekend of the regular season with a 25-24 victory against SIU. That forced a three-way co-championship and UNI won a tiebreaker with the tri-champs (SIU, YSU).
Another Top-25 Battle
Southern Illinois and South Dakota State play one another this week, marking the third time this year that two ranked league teams will face one another. There have been 83 previous games in which two league teams ranked in the Top 25 played one another. Of those 83, 20 times both teams were in the Top 10. Two meetings have occurred in the playoffs. The home team is 51-32, while the higher-ranked team is 45-38.
Ranked vs. Ranked, This Season
Oct. 17 -- #5 Southern Illinois 27, at #2 UNI 20
Oct. 24 -- #11 S. Dakota State 24, #6 UNI 14
Nov. 7 -- #3 S. Illinois at #9 South Dakota State
Sports Network's FCS College Football Poll
Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1. Richmond Spiders (123) 8-0 3,481 1
2. Montana Grizzlies (9) 8-0 3,299 2
3. Southern Illinois Salukis (7) 7-1 3,218 3
4. Villanova Wildcats (1) 7-1 3,039 4
5. William & Mary Tribe 7-1 2,834 5
6. Elon Phoenix 7-1 2,783 6
7. Appalachian State Mountaineers (1) 6-2 2,677 7
8. New Hampshire Wildcats 7-1 2,508 8
9. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 7-1 2,428 9
10. South Carolina State Bulldogs (1) 7-1 2,224 10
11. Northern Iowa Panthers 5-3 1,968 12
12. McNeese State Cowboys 6-2 1,967 13
13. Holy Cross Crusaders 7-1 1,571 17
14. Eastern Illinois Panthers 7-2 1,388 20
15. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 6-2 1,248 11
16. Liberty Flames 6-2 1,117 23
17. Jacksonville State Gamecocks 5-3 1,091 22
18. Colgate Raiders 8-1 975 24
19. Weber State Wildcats 5-4 917 14
20. Central Arkansas Bears 5-3 723 15
21. Eastern Washington Eagles 6-3 634 NR
22. Prairie View A&M Panthers 5-1 612 25
23. Delaware Blue Hens 5-3 506 16
24. Florida A&M Rattlers 6-2 489 NR
25. Lafayette Leopards 7-1 379 NR
Others receiving votes: Cal Poly 219, Northern Arizona 195, Eastern Kentucky 158, Massachusetts 148, Southeastern Louisiana 139, Central Connecticut State 109, Texas State 107, Penn 88, Montana State 84, Harvard 80, Butler 67, Southern Utah 56, James Madison 56, Grambling 37, Tennessee Tech 29, Maine 27, Alabama A&M 19, Jacksonville 19, Chattanooga 18, Gardner-Webb 15, Morgan State 15, Stony Brook 15, Drake 12, Dayton 10, North Dakota 8, Illinois State 7, Old Dominion 5, Hampton 2, Southern 2, Missouri State 1, The Citadel 1, UC Davis 1.
2009 FCS Coaches Poll - Week 9 (November 2, 2009)
1. Richmond (28) 8-0 700 1
2. Montana 8-0 667 2
3. Southern Illinois 7-1 646 3
4. Villanova 7-1 614 4
5. William & Mary 7-1 580 5
6. Elon 7-1 552 6
7. New Hampshire 7-1 510 7
8. Appalachian State 6-2 508 8
9. South Dakota State 7-1 475 9
10. South Carolina State 7-1 453 10
11. McNeese State 6-2 419 11
12. Northern Iowa 5-3 374 14
13. Eastern Illinois 7-2 323 19
14. Holy Cross 7-1 317 17
15. Jacksonville State 5-3 273 20
16. Eastern Washington 6-3 225 21
17. Liberty 6-2 201 24
18. Stephen F. Austin 6-2 200 15
19. Central Arkansas 5-3 181 12
20. Colgate 8-1 161 T25
21. Weber State 5-4 149 13
22. Prairie View A&M 5-1 116 T25
23. Florida A&M 6-2 81 NR
24. Lafayette 7-1 74 NR
25. Delaware 5-3 71 18
Others receiving votes (points in parentheses): Cal Poly (38), Butler (37), Eastern Kentucky (27), Northern Arizona (27), Southeastern Louisiana (16), Texas State (16), Massachusetts (10), Montana State (9), Southern Utah (9), Central Connecticut State (8), Grambling State (8), Harvard (6), Chattanooga (5), James Madison (5), Alabama A&M (4), Drake (3), Pennsylvania (2).
Courtesy: The Valley
