Week 10 Missouri Valley Football Conference Breakdowns
#1 North Dakota State @ Missouri State, Saturday, 2:00
North Dakota State is coming off of a nice 23-17 victory over Southern Illinois. What is more interesting about that game is the fashion in which North Dakota State won. They were down 17-10 at the start of the fourth quarter and reeled off 13 straight to seal the victory. The Bison have proven that they can win tight games in the face of adversity—that character will be useful come playoff time. Missouri State, on the other hand, is coming off of three straight wins (one against 7-2 Illinois State) and is looking to make a statement that they are no longer to be taken lightly in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kierra Harris has certainly proved a lift in terms of confidence and success for this Bears squad, however, he will need to improve his decision making if he wants to lead his team to a victory in Fargo.
Projected Score: North Dakota Sate 42, Missouri State 24
Northern Iowa @ Western Illinois, Saturday, 2:00
Northern Iowa is coming off of a tough loss against Illinois State. The Redbirds moved the ball all over the Panther defense and Illinois State’s defense took advantage of multiple mistakes made by freshman quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen. Northern Iowa has talent, but has failed to come together as a team and play consistent football. This weekend Northern Iowa will travel to face another struggling traditional MVFC power, Western Illinois. I think that the Leathernecks will continue to struggle moving the ball and the Panther offense will get into rhythm early in a pretty solid Northern Iowa win.
Projected Score: Northern Iowa 31, Western Illinois 17
South Dakota @ Youngstown State, Saturday, 2:00
Youngstown State will likely get back on track on Saturday when they face off with winless conference newcomer South Dakota. Kurt Hess and company have just not been in sync during their four game losing streak and that will have to change if they want to end at 7-4 with an outside shot of a playoff selection. On the Coyote side of things, they will likely feel out a new quarterback this week in hopes to find some sort of offensive production. I don’t think that South Dakota has the defense to stop the Penguins and this one might be over quickly.
Projected Score: Youngstown State 42, South Dakota 21
#14 Illinois State @ #17 Indiana State, Saturday, 2:05
This is likely the biggest game in the Missouri Valley this weekend. Illinois State has been very up and down the past few weeks and is hoping not to have another let down after beating Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls last weekend. The key to this game will be the Redbird rushing attack. If Illinois State can come out and run the ball like they did against Northern Iowa they should have a good chance of knocking off Indiana State. On the other hand, the Sycamores defense has been playing lights out since the North Dakota State game. If that continues this one should be controlled by Indiana State.
Projected Score: Indiana State 23, Illinois State 17
#22 South Dakota State @ Southern Illinois, Saturday, 2:00
South Dakota State played very well last week against Youngstown State, however, with the passing game rolling the Jackrabbits might let up a little bit in their running game. The Salukis have been red hot and had a good showing in Fargo last weekend. I expect the Salukis to control the tempo of the game and force the Jackrabbits into mistakes. This game has serious playoff implications; it either catapults South Dakota State into serious playoff consideration or keeps the Salukis playoff hopes alive. Either way, this game should be close, but I have to take a hot Saluki team in Carbondale.
Projected Score: Southern Illinois 31, South Dakota State 26
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