Week 8: Missouri Valley Conference Power Rankings
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:49 am
1. North Dakota State: I have stuck with them as my #1 all season and give them the effort-so slight edge over UNI because they are in fact undefeated and rather handily took down a bad Big10 team. They beat the awful Bears of MSU 51-21. And once again, they were my #1 in the summer and I have yet to see a reason to switch that to my UNI fans that are going to attack me for these "meaningful" Power Rankings.
2. Northern Iowa: Defeated the Jackrabbits 31-14. Nice defensive effort against SDSU. Was somewhat close at half, but didn't allow SDSU to do much in the 2nd half.
3. Indiana State: Solidifying their positioning as the #3 team in the conference this year with a 46-24 win over Western Illinois. FYI Shakir Bell is the #1 RB in FCS football right now.
4. Illinois State: Completely shut down South Dakota 28-3 in a game in which the Redbirds were 5 point underdogs. Great win for the Redbirds, but they have a very tough one at home to Indiana State Saturday. If they want any shot at the playoffs, they really need to win this one.
5. Youngstown State: Outscored SIU 28-6 in the 2nd half to beat the struggling Salukis 35-23. This was the first road win under Coach Wolford. Have St. Francis and then Western Illinois at home in the next two weeks. These are two games they should very well win. Expect them to be 5-3 heading into the UNI Dome the first weekend of November!
6. South Dakota State: Gave UNI a game for the first half, but the Panthers were too dominant in this one, especially on the defensive side of the football.
7. Southern Illinois: Despite scoring just 23 on a pretty bad YSU defense, two of their three scores were on short fields. Their offense is pretty ugly to watch and their defense had no answer for the YSU offense in that 2nd half.
8. Western Illinois: Lost to the mighty Sycamores 46-24 as mentioned above. Will get their 2nd conference win of the year this week vs. those awful Bears of MSU.
9. Missouri State: I have no good things to say about them. I predicted them to finish dead last this year because they were destined to be terrible. They may be worse than any of us even had imagined. Their best shot at a win comes this week in Macomb vs. WIU and I doubt they win it.
2. Northern Iowa: Defeated the Jackrabbits 31-14. Nice defensive effort against SDSU. Was somewhat close at half, but didn't allow SDSU to do much in the 2nd half.
3. Indiana State: Solidifying their positioning as the #3 team in the conference this year with a 46-24 win over Western Illinois. FYI Shakir Bell is the #1 RB in FCS football right now.
4. Illinois State: Completely shut down South Dakota 28-3 in a game in which the Redbirds were 5 point underdogs. Great win for the Redbirds, but they have a very tough one at home to Indiana State Saturday. If they want any shot at the playoffs, they really need to win this one.
5. Youngstown State: Outscored SIU 28-6 in the 2nd half to beat the struggling Salukis 35-23. This was the first road win under Coach Wolford. Have St. Francis and then Western Illinois at home in the next two weeks. These are two games they should very well win. Expect them to be 5-3 heading into the UNI Dome the first weekend of November!
6. South Dakota State: Gave UNI a game for the first half, but the Panthers were too dominant in this one, especially on the defensive side of the football.
7. Southern Illinois: Despite scoring just 23 on a pretty bad YSU defense, two of their three scores were on short fields. Their offense is pretty ugly to watch and their defense had no answer for the YSU offense in that 2nd half.
8. Western Illinois: Lost to the mighty Sycamores 46-24 as mentioned above. Will get their 2nd conference win of the year this week vs. those awful Bears of MSU.
9. Missouri State: I have no good things to say about them. I predicted them to finish dead last this year because they were destined to be terrible. They may be worse than any of us even had imagined. Their best shot at a win comes this week in Macomb vs. WIU and I doubt they win it.
