No More Warm-Ups in the Valley
Illinois (2-1) 48 Southern Illinois (2-2) 10
Not a whole lot to discuss here. The Salukis were unfortunately out gunned from the jump on this one. Ibrahim Sanogo did record a sack to bring his season total to 4.5 which leads the MVFC. He has been a bright spot transferring in out of Albany for what has honestly been a better than people are willing to give it credit for SIU defense.
Indiana State (2-2) 39 Valparaiso (1-2) 16
Indiana State did their job and dispatched their Pioneer League foe. Their front 7 had a monster day. They played outstanding defense and held Valpo to -7 net rushing yards off the back of 12 TFLs and 4 sacks for the team defense. The other big story was starting Sycamore QB Eljah Owens leaving the game with a hand injury.
Brady Allen played well in relief and did start some games last year but that is something to watch going forward.
#3 Illinois State (4-0) 49 Eastern Illinois (1-3) 13
Illinois State dominated this one bell to bell. It wasn’t anything overly flashy, but they were completely dominant.
Big notes out of this one, Illinois State continued to roll all 3 QBs out there, and to be fair all 3 played well going a combined 25 for 33 330 yards and 3 TD through the air and 16 carries for 85 yards. Rot continues to look like the best passer, and Kwiatkowski continues to look like the best runner so one would think they narrow down to those two in those roles are some points Also, of note Victor Dawson missed another game, but given the opponent and the nature of his injury it may have been a load management thing.
Iowa (3-0) 55 Northern Iowa (1-2) 0
Goose egg. What had been a promising start to the year for the UNI offense completely fizzled out against Iowa. They had 155 total yards. But hey. They got to play in Iowa City. Isn’t that just the coolest thing ever?
Isn’t that what they all dreamed of? That is what their local media would not stop talking about in the open press conferences on media day. Well. Hope they enjoyed the trip.
All eyes were in Brookings last week for what at the time was an early season Top 10 match up. Both teams played well through stretches and showed their strengths, but ultimately, it was South Dakota State’s physicality in the run game and cage rush on defense that won them the day. The Jacks rushed for a massive 308 yards on 45 carries with most if it coming in the form of a coming out party for true sophomore running back Josiah Johnson who carried it 30 times for 238 yards and 2 scores.
Brungard did have a solid day through the air for Youngstown, going 27 for 35 for 292 yards, 2 scores and a pick. But as stated, the Jackrabbit front 7 totally took his legs and by proxy the Youngstown rush attack out of the game entirely. Brungard carried the ball for 13 yards for just 32 yards and was sacked a season high twice.
The other big story was SDSU star QB Chase Mason getting hurt on the last play of the first half. This is obviously significant to watch going forward, but as far as Saturday night went the “605 Hogs” took over the came and out it on theirs and Johnson’s backs.
Oklahoma State (2-1) 59 Murray State (1-3) 0
Second pay game of the year for Murray State, second beating. I know coach Jody Wright would like to get away from playing two FBS game but for now unfortunately his athletic department is requiring it of him. As for as of not for the game from Murray there really wasn’t anything. They only had 5 first downs the entire game and were completely dominated in every statistical category.
Nebraska (3-0) 34 #7 North Dakota 7 (3-1)
I know this was a game against what looks to be an upper half Big Ten opponent this year, but I was still a little underwhelmed by UND’s performance. Do I think they are in major trouble? No. Do I think overall this game will have any long-term bearing on their season? Also not likely. They did gros 153 yards on the ground but 5 sacks dropped their net number to 99. Defensively there was also a bright spot in DT Kylyn Macklin recording 3 TFLs.
Boise State (2-1) 38 #4 South Dakota (3-1) 24
The Yotes went out to Boise and put up a heck of a fight on the infamous blue turf. They were overmatched physically getting out rushed 325 to 36, and out gained 533 to 279 in total yards. However, winning special teams, creating turnovers, and hitting a few big plays allowed them to play the spoiler recipe perfectly, and gave them a chance to tie it with around 5-6 minutes left that ultimately came up short.
Austyn Modrzewski, Tysen Boze, and Tennel Bryant form such a dangerous combination in the passing game that can strike from anywhere, and that is why this team’s ceiling is bona fide national title contender. However, down to down consistency and not relying on swing plays on both sides of the ball are the last piece of the puzzle that this team is going to need to put together. Lastly of note LB Wade Abrams had day leading the defense with 14 total tackles, 1 for lass, 1 pressure, and 1 PBU.
Week 4 Preview
#7 North Dakota (3-1) @ Indiana State (2-2), 1 PM EST, ESPN+
UND looks to bounce back after a loss to FBS Nebraska last week, while Indiana State looks to build off their convincing win over Valparaiso. Two biggest storylines in this one, can UND improve their reputation/history of underwhelming performances on the road? How does Indiana State fair with QB2 Brady Allen at the helm?
Realistically this is a game that North Dakota should control most of the way, but even with Allen Indiana State might put up enough points to at least make it interesting for a half.
This is the national game of the week for most people, and for sure outside of the Big Sky Conference. This is a huge game for both teams. For USD a win means a huge early season ranked win in the bank for playoff seeding and in a venue they have historically struggled. A loss means 0-2 against the first two quality teams they have played this year and possibly a bit of a pause to the hype they have been getting early
on here. On the flip side YSU only plays 11 games this year. This is almost bordering on must win.
A win likewise for them goes towards them starting to build that early season playoff resume and a return to the Top 10 in the polls. A loss means a losing record, 0-3 against quality opponents, and possibly dropping out of the ranking entirely.
So, what are the keys to the matchup itself? Can a USD defense that has at times struggled to get off the field on 3rd downs this year (2nd to last in the conference at 44.83%) slow down what was up until playing the Jackrabbit defense the most efficient (and still ranks top 10 nationally) offense in the FCS? On the flip side can the YSU front 7 get pressure on the most efficient passer in the league so far this in Austyn Modrzewski (rtg of 193) while also slowing playing gap sound to slow down the 3 headed USD rushing attack after getting lashed week. At the end of the day the team that gets 2-3 stops might just win this one. If you like points you will want to see this one.
#3 Illinois State (4-0) @ Northern Iowa (1-3), 4 PM CST, ESPN+
Can Northern Iowa’s offense bounce back this week after a strong start to the season fizzled out in Iowa City, especially against one of the top defenses in the country? I am also curious to see if we do in fact, contrary to what Coach Spack said in his media availability next week, start to see Illinois State zero in on one primary QB.
Southern Illinois (2-2) @ Murray State (1-3), 6 PM CST, ESPN+
The best opportunity the Salukis will have to find any sort of run game and offensive rhythm before the conference schedule kicks into high gear on them will be this week. I think Murray struggles with, like I have said has been a solid SIU defense. However, can they find enough of their offense to make this one ugly and steal one?
Eastern Illinois (1-3) @ #2 South Dakota State (3-1, 1-0), 6PM CST, ESPN+/Midco
What was originally probably a game most folks were planning to catch the box score on is now one they are probably going to keep an eye on. The fact of the matter is SDSU should be able to play bully ball and this won’t be close. However, with Chase Mason out there will be a fair amount of eyes on back up Josh Holst and how he runs the offense, as well as if they decide to use QB3 Jack Henry at all.
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