MVFC Preseason Football Poll

August 1, 2022 by Courtesy valley-football.or

Defending FCS National Champ North Dakota State has been tabbed as the league preseason favorite in a poll conducted by league coaches, media, and sports information directors.

NDSU received 39 of a possible 41 first-place votes and 446 total points to edge South Dakota State, which earned 407 points and the remaining two first-place tallies.  Missouri State was picked third in this year’s preseason poll with 355 total points, while Southern Illinois (4th, 306 points) and UNI (5th, 304 points) were tightly bunched for the next two spots.  A returning playoff participant from last season, South Dakota was picked 6th with 235 points.  North Dakota (190), Illinois State (178), Youngstown State (132), Indiana State (109) and Western Illinois (44) round out the voting.

In 2021, for the first time in Conference history, six Missouri Valley Football Conference teams earned bids into the 24-team FCS playoff field.  Only one other conference in NCAA history has received six bids in a single playoff (CAA in 2018).  The MVFC had received as many as five bids four times previously (2014, 2015, 2017, and in Spring 2021).

League schools combined for eight wins in the 2021 tournament, capped by North Dakota State’s championship game victory against Montana State.  NDSU extended the MVFC’s FCS-record to 11-straight title game appearances for the league.  The CAA (5 in a row), OVC (4-straight) and SoCon (4 appearances in a row) are next on the list.  Notably, the 2021 season marked the 16th title appearance for a league team. The league is 11-5 in title games, although Youngstown State (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) and Southern Illinois (1983) both played in the championship prior to joining the league.  All 16 of the league’s title-game appearances have occurred since 1997.

The MVFC is 81-38 (.681) since 2010 in the playoffs -- which includes 15 intra-conference games (meaning the league is 66-23 against teams from other leagues for a phenomenal .776 winning percentage).  Last season, MVFC teams combined to go 25-5 against non-conference FCS teams.  All five losses were to ranked FCS teams, all of which made the 2021 playoff field.

The 2021 season was capped by an incredible presence in the April 2022 NFL Draft.  A total of nine MVFC players were drafted, setting an all-time high for the Conference (surpassing the previous-record total of five in 2021).  UNI’s Trevor Penning (19th overall pick) became the first Panther selected in the first round of the NFL draft as he joined North Dakota State QBs Carson Wentz (2016) and Trey Lance (2019) as the only MVFC student-athletes to do so.

The 2022 season will mark the eighth year in an agreement with ESPN to distribute all 61 league home games on ESPN3 (or ESPN+), while the league has implemented other initiatives to promote its institutions, student-athletes and coaches, including a weekly podcast series (“First and Goal”), and video segments that review (“Two-Minute Drill”) and preview (“The Extra Point”) each week’s contests throughout the season.  The MVFC and other FCS leagues have partnered in the production of a weekly “FCS ALL IN” special which will air throughout the season beginning later this month.

An MVFC preseason favorite has claimed the league crown 22 times (in 26 previous polls).

PRESEASON POLL

Congrove Computer Rankings
1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Missouri State
Complete MVFC League Computer Rankings