After a convincing win at South Dakota State last week, SIU jumped two spots from No. 3 to No. 1 in the polls.  In league history, six different Valley Football teams have been No. 1, and the league has had a No. 1-ranked  team in seven of the past eight years.

Click on the PDF link below for a full set of league notes, which include school-by-school results, schedules and notes.

THIS WEEK IN VALLEY FOOTBALL...

North Dakota State at Indiana State
Terre Haute, Ind. * 12:05 p.m. ET
Series:  NDSU leads, 1-0 * Last Year:  NDSU, 34-7
Note:  The Bison won the only previous meeting in the series (2008).  The game Saturday is ISU's season finale.

Illinois State at Youngstown State
Youngstown, Ohio * 1 p.m. ET
Series:  Tied, 9-9 * Last Year:  ISU, 54-44
Note:  Illinois State has won the last two games vs. the Penguins, but six of the last seven meetings (and 12 of the 18 overall games in the series) have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

Missouri State at #1 Southern Illinois (Mediacom)
Carbondale, Ill. * 2 p.m. CT
Series:  MSU leads, 16-15 * Last Year:  SIU, 23-17
Note:  It's the final-ever regular-season game at McAndrew Stadium.  SIU has won the last six meetings, including last year on the final play of the game (Chris Dieker to Marc Cheatham pass).

Western Illinois at #11 UNI (Panther Sports Network)
Cedar Falls, Iowa * 6:35 p.m. CT
Series:  UNI leads, 25-12 * Last Year:  UNI, 30-6
Note:  The Panthers have won six of the last eight meetings in the series, but Western has won three of its last four games played in the UNI-Dome.

#12 South Dakota State at Minnesota (Big Ten Network)
Minneapolis, Minn. * 11:05 a.m. CT
Series:  UM leads, 6-0 * Last Meeting:  UM, 19-6 (1933)
Note:  Since, 1985, Valley Football schools are a combined 27-178 against FBS schools, including a 1-26 record against Big Ten members.

Back in the Saddle Again
 Southern Illinois claimed the league's automatic berth for the FCS playoffs with Saturday's win at South Dakota State.  The 2009 season will mark the seventh-straight playoff trip for SIU, matching UNI's league record for consecutive post-season berths.

CONSECUTIVE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES, MVFC:
 7 - Southern Illinois (2003-current)
 7 - UNI (1990-96)
 4 - Western Kentucky (2001-04)
 3 - Western Illinois (1996-98)

CONSECUTIVE APPEARANCES, NCAA History:
16 - Montana (1993-current) - does not count 2009
10 - Eastern Kentucky (1986-95)
 7 - Southern Illinois (2003-current) - counts 2009
 7 - UNI (1990-96)

Wrapping It Up, Almost
 South Dakota State travels to Minnesota this Saturday in the second-to-last regular-season non-conference game for the MVFC in 2009.  The league has combined for an 11-14 non-conference record, but that includes eight games at FBS sites.  The league is an impressive 10-5 against teams from the FCS.  In 2008, the MVFC was 11-8 at home against non-conference teams while posting a 3-12 road record.

Success Against the FBS
 The MVFC has 27 victories against FBS schools since 1985, including at least one every year from 1996 through 2003, and three in the past three years. Southern Illinois (at Indiana in 2006, and at Northern Illinois in 2007) became the first league school since Western Illinois (2002 and 2003) to win against an FBS opponent in back-to-back years.  SIU's win at Indiana is the only for the MVFC against the Big Ten (1-26 all-time).

Crowd Control
 UNI played in front of 70,585 fans at Iowa in the season opener, matching a school record for its largest road crowd.  Missouri State played in front of 55,572 at Arkansas (the second-largest road crowd ever for MSU), while North Dakota State's crowd of 48,831 at Iowa State was the third-largest road crowd for the Bison.  SDSU's all-time record is 46,617 (at Iowa State in 2008).

Kutch in the Clutch
 PK Zach Kutch of Illinois State had six field goals in ISU's 25-7 victory against Western Illinois (Nov. 7).  He's the first player in league history to connect on six treys in a game.

Salem's Lot
 WR Eyad Salem of Illinois State continues to move up the Missouri Valley Football Conference career charts, as he now ranks No. 7 all-time for career catches.  With 2,116 yards, he's the 14th player in league history to reach 2,000 receiving yards.

Cody Slings 'Em
 Junior QB Cody Kirby of Missouri State became the school's all-time record holder after throwing for his 37th career TD in the Bears' victory, topping Jeremy Hoog's 36.  Kirby ranks No. 18 all-time in MVFC history, and he's 17th all-time for career pass yards.

Title Town
 In the league's first 25 seasons, UNI has won or shared the title a league-best 14 times.  Southern Illinois and Western Illinois have the second-most Valley Football titles, with five each.

For All the Marbles
 For the first time since 2005, the league had a winner-take-all contest as Southern Illinois defeated South Dakota State, 34-15, on Nov. 7 to claim the league's AQ.  The game was the first meeting between two teams with 6-0 league records.  The last time the league had a decisive Saturday similar to last 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).

Nine in a Row
 UNI beat Youngstown State for the ninth-straight time on Nov. 7.  The league record for consecutive wins between two league members is 18, set by Western Illinois -- vs. Southern Illinois -- from 1984 until 2002. 

Perfect Seasons in the League
 Southern Illinois (7-0) will be looking to join nine others to record a perfect conference season when the Salukis host Missouri State on Saturday, Nov. 14.  In 2007, UNI (6-0) became the ninth team in league history to win the conference title with an undefeated record.  Before that, Southern Illinois (2004) was the last to do it.  Illinois State (1999), Western Illinois (1988 and 1997) and UNI (1985, 1987, 1994, and 1996) have also gone unbeaten.  SIU is the only to go 7-0 (2004 and 2009); UNI was 5-0 in 1985 and 1996; and the others were 6-0.

Two Teams at 6-0 -- a First
 Counting South Dakota State and Southern Illinois this year, only 10 teams in league history have started a season with at least six-straight conference victories.  All of the previous eight 6-0 teams won the league.

National Rushing Leaders
 Western Illinois RB Herb Donaldson, the league's all-time leading rusher, led the nation in rushing and scoring as a senior in 2008.  This year, the league has four candidates who are currently challenging for the nation's rushing title, as NDSU's Pat Paschall leads the nation while SIU's Deji Karim ranks No. 2.  Notably, four league rushers are in the Top 7 in the NCAA rankings.

Rushing Yards Per Game, National Leaders
1 Pat Paschall, North Dakota State, Sr. 141.00
2 Deji Karim, Southern Illinois, Sr. 137.67
3 David Sinisi, Monmouth, Sr. 130.44
4 James Mallory, C. Conn, Sr. 120.89
5 Kyle Minett, South Dakota State, Jr. 105.22
6 Chase Reynolds, Montana, Jr. 105.00
7 Dre Gibbs, Western Illinois, Sr. 103.00
7 Rudell Small, Jacksonville, Jr. 103.00
9 LaMarcus Coker, Hampton, Sr. 102.11
10 Ryan White, Austin Peay, Jr. 101.00

Leading the Nation
 Several league players rank among the national leaders through games of Saturday, Nov. 7.  Here are league players and teams who rank in the Top 3 nationally:

#1 - Pat Paschall, NDSU (141.0 rushing yards/game)
#2 - Deji Karim, SIU (137.7 rushing yards/game)
#2 - Deji Karim, SIU (187.67 all-purpose yards/game)
#3 - Zach Kutch, ILS (1.87 FG/game)
#3 - Eyad Salem, ILS (8.33 receptions/game)
#2 - South Dakota State (pass efficiency defense)

Six on FCS Lists
 Six Valley football players are among 40 nationwide players listed by The Sports Network as official "Payton Watch" and "Buchanan Battle" members.  The honors will be presented at the 23rd annual FCS College Football Awards in Chattanooga. 

QB Pat Grace, UNI (Payton)
RB Deji Karim, Southern Illinois (Payton)
DE Danny Batten, South Dakota State (Buchanan)
LB Brandin Jordan, Southern Illinois (Buchanan)
DE James Ruffin, UNI (Buchanan)
DT Mychal Savage, Youngstown State (Buchanan)