Southern Illinois became the first team in the 25-year history of the Missouri Valley Football Conference to win eight conference games in a season (although the opportunity to go 8-0 has only existed this year and last).  SIU is only the 10th team in conference history to go undefeated in league play.

Seven of the league's nine teams are in action this weekend, and three of the four contests involving MVFC schools have post-season implications.  Playoff selections will be made between 2-2:30 pm CT on ESPNews on Sunday, Nov. 22.  The league has had at least two playoff teams every year since 1995, but more than two only twice.  Three teams represented the conference in 2006 and four teams in 2003.  A league team has reached the semifinals in 11 of the past 13 years, which includes two national crowns. 

For a full conference notebook, featuring school-by-school notes and additional conference information, please click on the PDF icon near the bottom of this page.

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES (NOV. 21)

#9 UNI at Illinois State (Mediacom)
Normal, Ill. * 1 p.m. CT
Series:  UNI leads, 17-8 * Last Year:  UNI, 31-17
Note:  The Panthers have won three in a row in the series and five of the last six.  The only ISU win in that span was a 38-3 smashing in 2005 in Normal.

#12 South Dakota State at Western Illinois
Macomb, Ill. * 1:05 p.m. CT
Series:  WIU leads, 4-2 * Last Year:  SDSU, 24-22
Note:  Five of the six previous meetings have been decided by seven points or less, including each game in the past two seasons (WIU, 29-26, 2007) (SDSU, 24-22, 2008).

Youngstown St. at N. Dakota St. (NBC North Dakota)
Fargo, N.D. * 1 p.m. CT
Series:  YSU leads, 2-1 * Last Year:  YSU, 32-24
Note:  All three previous games in the series have been decided by eight points or less.  The teams had a home-and-home series in 1972 and 1973 before renewing the series last year.

#1 Southern Illinois at SE Missouri State
Cape Girardeau, Mo. * 1 p.m. CT
Series:  SEMO leads, 36-30-8 * Last Meeting:  SIU, 58-23 (2005)
Note:  The teams haven't faced one another in four years, but the Salukis have won the last three meetings by a combined score of 128-33.

Perfect Seasons in the League
 Southern Illinois (8-0) joined nine others in recording a perfect conference season when the Salukis beat Missouri State last Saturday.  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); UNI was 5-0 in 1985 and 1996; and the others were 6-0.

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

Behind the Eight Ball
 The Missouri Valley Football Conference has had at least two eight-game winners for 15-straight seasons.  The last time the league had more than two eight-game winners in the same season was in 2006 (Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Youngstown State).  In 24 previous Valley Football seasons, 46 teams have won eight or more games during the regular season, and all but five have made the playoffs:  UNI (in 1989 and 1999), WIU (in 1994), and YSU (in 2001 and 2005) are the only league teams to win eight and not make it.

Harbor Closes Out Career
 Bears' All-America TE Clay Harbor closed out a stellar career with a career-high 11 pass receptions Saturday at SIU, collecting 111 receiving yards and his 10th career TD reception on the final play of his career.  He also extended his reception streak to 33 straight games, which tied a Bears career record and is the fourth-best streak in the league's 25-year history.  His final career totals of 150 receptions for 1,906 yards rank No. 1 and No. 4, in school history.  While his 1,906 match the league record for receiving yards by a tight end (Rodney Porter, Indiana State, 1986-89).

CONSECUTIVE GAMES W/CATCH, MVFC History
44, Eddie Berlin, UNI, 1997-00
38, Cornell Craig, Southern Illinois, 1996-99
35, Laurént Robinson, Illinois State, 2003-06
33, Clay Harbor, Missouri State, 2006-09
33, Gunnard Twyner, Western Illinois, 1993-95
33, Jason Cannon, Missouri State, 1995-97
33, Mike Furrey, UNI, 1997-99
32, Alan Turner, Southern Illinois, 2006-07
30, Kyle Smith, Youngstown State, 2003-05

Blank Stares
 UNI shut out Western Illinois last weekend (34-0).  Valley Football teams have recorded a minimum of three shutouts in nine of the past 10 years.  Since 1985, a total of 23 conference games have been shutouts, and UNI has six of those (three of them coming in the past two seasons):

Team -- Last Shutout Recorded
ILS -- Sept. 24, 2005 (42-0 vs. Murray State)
INS -- Aug. 29, 1996 (48-0 vs. Mars Hill)
MSU -- Sept. 18, 2004 (45-0 vs. Union)
NDSU -- Sept. 17, 2005 (41-0 vs. Weber State)
UNI -- Nov. 14, 2009 (34-0 vs. Western Illinois)
SDSU -- Sept. 19, 2009 (41-0 vs. Indiana State)
SIU -- Oct. 31, 2009 (33-0 vs. Indiana State)
WIU -- Oct. 18, 2008 (56-0 vs. Indiana State)
YSU -- Sept. 26, 2009 (28-0 vs. Indiana State)

Karim Moving Up List
 Southern Illinois' Deji Karim is on pace to challenge the league's single-season record for all-purpose yards.  Karim leads the league now with 1,849 all-purpose yards, and will likely crack the 2,000-yard plateau on Saturday at SEMO.  Here's the 10 previous MVFC players to crack 2,000 all-purpose yards for a season:

ALL-PURPOSE YARDS, Season:
2,330, Arkee Whitlock, S. Illinois, 2006 (13 games)
2,249, Larry Warner, S. Illinois, 2008 (12 games)
2,245, Aaron Stecker, Western Illinois, 1997
2,178, Corey Lewis, UNI, 2007 (13 games)
2,142, Karlton Carpenter, Southern Illinois, 1998
2,105, Arkee Whitlock, S. Illinois, 2005 (13 games)
2,014, David Wright, Indiana State, 1992
2,008, Michael Cosey, Missouri State, 1996
2,007, Jamie Jones, Eastern Illinois, 1991
2,004, Cornell Craig, Southern Illinois, 1999

Wrapping It Up
 Southern Illinois travels to Southeast Missouri State this Saturday in the last regular-season non-conference game for the MVFC in 2009.  The league has combined for an 11-15 non-conference record, but that includes nine games at FBS sites.  The league is an impressive 10-5 against teams from the FCS.

Four Score ...
 RB Pat Paschall rushed for four touchdowns in North Dakota State's win at Indiana State, marking just the second player to rush for four scores this year (Cliffton Gordon of Illinois State did it against Austin Peay).  Only five players in league history (WIU's Travis Glasford did it twice) have rushed for more than 4 TDs in a game previously.

6, Travis Glasford, WIU, vs. Cheyney, 2004
6, Pierre Rembert, ILS, vs. Missouri State, 2005
6, Herb Donaldson, WIU, vs. Indiana State, 2006
5, M. Abdulqaadir, SIU, vs. W. Virginia Tech, 2002
5, Travis Glasford, WIU, vs. Youngstown State, 2003
5, Gerald Davis, MSU, vs. Indiana State, 2007
4, several players

Turnover Margin Leaders
 Southern Illinois leads the league and ranks No. 5 nationally with a turnover margin of +15.  SIU's 11 turnovers committed in 2009 are one shy of what is believed to be the league record for fewest in a season.

Highest Turnover Margin, MVFC History
+24 -- Eastern Illinois (1995)
+22 -- UNI (1996, 2008)
+17 -- W. Illinois (1998); Western Kentucky (2002)
+16 -- Western Illinois (1999); Youngstown State (2000)
+15 -- INS (97); WIU (88, 00); UNI (90, 07), SIU (04)

Fewest Turnovers Lost in a Season, Since 1992
10 - Eastern Illinois, 1995; Youngstown State, 1999
11 - S. Illinois, 2006 (13 games); W. Illinois, 2007
12 - S. Illinois, 2004 (12 games); UNI, 2004
13 - Indiana State, 1994; Western Kentucky, 2001

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. 6 all-time for career catches.  With 2,172 yards, he's the 14th player in league history to reach 2,000 receiving yards:

MOST RECEPTIONS, Career:
249, Eddie Berlin, UNI, 1997-00
242, Mike Furrey, UNI, 1997-99
207, Cornell Craig, Southern Illinois, 1996-99
196, Sam Logan, Indiana State, 2002-06
192, Laurént Robinson, Illinois State, 2003-06
177, Eyad Salem, Illinois State, 2007-present
176, Dedric Ward, UNI, 1993-96

MOST RECEIVING YARDS, Career:
3,876, Dedric Ward, UNI, 1993-96
3,735, Eddie Berlin, UNI, 1997-00
3,544, Mike Furrey, UNI, 1997-99
3,508, Cornell Craig, Southern Illinois, 1996-99
3,007, Laurént Robinson, Illinois State, 2003-06
2,558, Rickey Garrett, Illinois State, 1996-99
2,426, Reggie Gray, Western Illinois, 2002-05
2,385, Sam Logan, Indiana State, 2002-06
2,303, Brent Little, Southern Illinois, 2002-05
2,243, Kenny Shedd, UNI, 1989-92
2,243, Gunnard Twyner, Western Illinois, 1993-95
2,172, Eyad Salem, Illinois State, 2007-present

Back in the Saddle Again
 Southern Illinois claimed the league's automatic berth for the FCS playoffs with the Nov. 7 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)

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. 3.  Notably, four league rushers are in the Top 11 in the NCAA rankings.

Rushing Yards Per Game, National Leaders
1 Pat Paschall, North Dakota State, Sr. 139.67
2 David Sinisi, Monmouth, Sr. 137.50
3 Deji Karim, Southern Illinois, Sr. 135.60
4 James Mallory, C. Conn, Sr. 118.60
5 Chase Reynolds, Montana, Jr. 109.60
6 Toddrick Pendland, McNeese St., Sr. 105.33
7 Chris Evans, Samford, Jr. 105.30
8 Rudell Small, Jacksonville, Jr.  103.00
9 Kyle Minett, South Dakota State, Jr. 102.60
10 Ryan White, Austin Peay, Jr. 102.30
11 Dre Gibbs, Western Illinois, Sr. 100.70

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 (139.7 rushing yards/game)
#3 - Deji Karim, SIU (135.6 rushing yards/game)
#3 - Deji Karim, SIU (184.9 all-purpose yards/game)
#3 - Zach Kutch, ILS (1.90 FG/game)
#3 - Eyad Salem, ILS (8.30 receptions/game)

#1 - Southern Illinois (intercpetions)
#2 - South Dakota State (pass efficiency defense)
#2 - UNI (scoring defense)
#3 - UNI (pass efficiency)

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)