Around FCS: New Name, New Teams For Missouri Valley

Cfootball Betting Lines

08/27/2008 - Philadelphia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is no truth to the rumor that the name of the Gateway Conference was changed to protect the innocent.

Patty Viverito is still the commissioner of the newly named Missouri Valley Football Conference, not Jack Webb of Dragnet fame

The Gateway moniker was abandoned this spring as the league moved to take advantage of its historical roots and to better identify its programs with a league in which many of its football-playing schools are core members.

One thing that remains the same is the fact that the MVFC is going to be one of the nation's toughest FCS conferences. It already held that status and things got tougher with the addition of two teams from the Great West Conference - North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

Both of those schools were ranked in the Sportsbook Betting Lines preseason top 25, as were Gateway holdovers Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Youngstown State and Western Illinois. It marked the first time that the league had ever had six teams in the poll at the same time, and the number tied the MVFC with the Colonial Athletic Association for the most teams in the poll.

And don't be surprised if teams like Missouri State and Illinois State work into the mix in what could be one of the most entertaining conference races ever in this storied league.

The talent margin in the Missouri Valley is so close that things like who holds the home field advantage in a marquee game may determine who holds an edge for the league championship.

Youngstown State has games with North Dakota State, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa at Stambaugh Stadium. Northern Iowa hosts North Dakota State in a key clash, but has to travel to Southern Illinois and Western Illinois.

1. Northern Iowa (12-1 overall, 6-0 in conference, first last year)

The Panthers had a magical regular season that continued through the first round of the playoffs when they won their 12th straight game with a comeback against New Hampshire in the final seconds. UNI lost to eventual national runner-up Delaware in the quarterfinals. Coach Mark Farley won the Eddie Robinson Award.

Eric Sanders, a four-year starter at QB, who finished as the runner-up for the Payton Award to Georgia Southern's Jayson Foster, has graduated, leaving a hole in leadership that must be assumed by talented, but inexperienced Pat Grace.

Grace can rely heavily on one of the top running backs in FCS, speedy Corey Lewis (1,513 yards, 5.9 average, 16 TDs) and versatile receivers Johnny Gray (70 catches, 13.0 average, five TDs) and Victor Williams (40 catches, 13.0 average, five TDs).

One concern is the loss of offensive linemen Chad Rinehart and Brandon Keith to the NFL, but there are some good young linemen coming up through the ranks.

UNI ranked seventh nationally in defense last season, and should remain strong with game-changing defensive tackle Mark Huygens and defensive end James Ruffin keying the front. Gateway defensive player of the year Brannon Carter has graduated, but De'Veon Harris returns at linebacker.

The secondary was a strength in 2007 with its ability to force turnovers. Safety Clifford Waters graduated, but three starters return, including Darrell Lloyd.

The Panthers hope to end a jinx of missing the playoffs in even-numbered years after success in odd-numbered years.

2. Youngstown State (7-4, 3-3, tied third)

The Penguins had a frustrating year a season after advancing to the semifinals and sharing in a Gateway title. YSU dropped three conference games by a total of 13 points, including a one-point defeat by Northern Iowa.

Offensively, Youngstown State was inconsistent, even with Tom Zetts at quarterback for the fourth straight year. Now Todd Rowan, a talented, but inexperienced performer, takes the controls.

The running game was erratic, but the Penguins hope that the return of Kevin Smith (610 yards, 5.0 average, 10 TDs) and Jabari Scott (524 yards, 5.6, five TDs) will solidify things. Iowa transfer Dana Brown will be added to the mix.

Ferlando Williams Jr. is an exciting player every time he touches the ball, whether as a return man, receiver, running back or even quarterback. Coach Jon Heacock will find even more creative ways to get Williams the ball this season.

Brad Samsa, who moves to center, anchors an offensive line that returns three starters and returns Tyler Booth from a serious knee injury. Brian Palmer is an offensive threat at kicker. He hit 14-of-15 field goals last year.

The defense, which returns 17 lettermen, is built around defensive tackle Mychal Savage (43 tackles, five sacks), who makes everyone around him better. Torrance Nicholson returns beside Savage in a system that moved from the 3-4 to the 4-3 last year.

The graduation of James Terry and Jeremiah Wright hurts at linebacker, but JC transfer Draye Ersery is expected to have a big impact.

3. North Dakota State (10-1, 3-1, second in Great West)

Nick Mertens will have the eyes of the state on him as he takes over at quarterback for four-year starter Steve Walker. The Bison have solid talent around him with tailback Tyler Roehl (1,431 yards, 6.9 average, 21 TDs) fullback Tyler Jangula, tight end Jeremiah Wurzbacher (23 catches, 14.0 average, five TDs) and wide receiver Kole Heckendorf (48 catches, 16.0 average, six TDs) around him.

Tackle Keith Buckman leads a powerful offensive line that returns three starters, but loses All-American Nate Safe.

NDSU had a 20-point differential between points scored and points allowed last season and the defense might be even better this season, despite the loss of linebacker Joe Mays to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Linebackers Ramon Humber (72 tackles) and Mike Maresh (53 tackles) will inherit the mantle of the team's defensive leaders, while defensive end Joe Lardinois (seven sacks) will be a force on the line. Safety Nick Schommer (64 tackles, four interceptions) leads the secondary.

As huge a setback as losing Walker and Mays is, another major graduation loss is Mike Dragosavich, arguably the best punter in FCS last year.

The biggest concern may be the natural adjustment to learning a new league, though the Bison did beat Western Illinois and Illinois State last year.

4. Western Illinois (6-5, 3-3, tied third)

The Leathernecks have been building towards another league title run and this could be the year they get back to the top of the MVFC, if they can get more consistent play at quarterback. Matt Barr started 10 games last year, but finished near the bottom of the NCAA passing efficiency charts (ranked 83rd) and struggled against the more competitive teams on the schedule. If Barr (1,305 yards passing) can give WIU more of a passing presence, it will open things up for the team's running attack.

Senior Herb Donaldson is one of the most dangerous runners in FCS with 2,962 career yards and he has one of the top fullbacks in front of him with Javid Milton.

Western Illinois should be improved on defense after being ranked in the top 25 nationally in six categories last year. All-American linebacker James Williams leads the way, along with cornerback Patrick Stoudmire.

One huge concern at WIU will be the absence of longtime coach Don Patterson at the start of the season. Patterson is recuperating from surgery to remove cancerous tonsils earlier this summer and has been undergoing treatment.

5. Southern Illinois (12-2, 5-1, second)

The Salukis experienced their best season since winning the 1983 national championship, advancing to the semifinals before losing to Delaware. But the fallout of that success was the loss of Jerry Kill and his staff, who moved to Northern Illinois after five consecutive playoff seasons.

Southern Illinois made a great hire by picking up Dale Lennon from North Dakota, making this a year of transition in Carbondale. Lennon's greatest concern will be replacing Nick Hill at quarterback. Hill developed into one of the top QBs in FCS last season.

Either Chris Dieker or Joe Allaria will take over from Hill, and their success will go a long way to determining how good the Salukis will be. But they will be throwing to an entirely new receiving corps.

Larry Warner moves to No. 1 on the depth chart at tailback after rushing for 525 yards last year, with Aaron Lockwood among those opening holes for him.

The Salukis have gotten progressively more athletic on defense in the past several years and return six starters from a unit that was ninth in fewest points allowed (17.2 points per game). Among those back are linebackers James Cloud (8.5 sacks), linebackers Chauncey Mixon (118 tackles) and Bradin Jordan (97 tackles). Cloud moves from defensive end to linebacker.

6. South Dakota State (7-4, 4-1 in Great West, first)

Coming off a Great West championship, the Jackrabbits face a bigger challenge in the MVFC. The adjustment will be made easier by the fact that SDSU played Western Illinois, Youngstown State and Northern Iowa, as well North Dakota State last year.

Quarterback Ryan Berry (2,132 yards, 19 TDs) and JaRon Harris (40 catches, 16.6 average, seven TDs) give the Jackrabbits a good passing combination, but they must replace an outstanding running back in Cory Koenig (1,266 yards, 5.9 average, 15 TDs). Kyle Minnett had 476 yards in a backup role last season for a team that averaged 35 points per game.

The defense was a fairly average unit last season, but hopes to improve with linebackers Jimmy Rogers (110 tackles) and Chris Johnson (106 tackles) in the middle of things. Eric Schroeder (68 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss) is one of the top defensive tackles in FCS and he is joined by a solid defensive end in Danny Batten.

SDSU's biggest weakness will be rebuilding the secondary after losing All- Great West cornerbacks Tyler Koch and Brock Gentile.

7. Missouri State (6-5, 2-4, tied fifth)

Those who know Terry Allen knew it would just be a matter of time before he turned things around at Missouri State, and the talent differential between the rest of the league and the Bears is shrinking quickly.

The Bears developed a high-powered offense last year that finished ranked 10th in NCAA scoring with 36.3 points per game, doubling their production from 2006. Quarterback Cody Kirby (1,742 yards, 11 TDs) emerged as the Gateway freshman of the year, while Kingjack Washington (674 yards, 6.5 average, five TDs) split time at running back.

Clay Harbor (45 catches, 14.4 average) is a big-play threat at tight end, but the rest of the receiving corps will be young. MSU also has four of five starters back on the offensive line.

The defense is the key to the Bears' improvement. After ranking 108th nationally last season, MSU will hope that experience will pay off this season, particularly in pass coverage. The Bears return nine starters and nine of 17 starters. Linebacker Jeremy Dawson (99 tackles) is the unit's leader.

8. Illinois State (4-7, 2-4, sixth)

The Redbirds couldn't mask the disappointment of their 2007 campaign after reaching the quarterfinals in 2006. Ranked No. 7 in the preseason pool, Illinois State dropped its opener 27-24 to Drake and could never recover.

There were significant graduation losses, with quarterback Luke Drone and Buchanan Award finalist Kye Stewart (131 tackles at linebacker) among the departures.

The Redbirds should have one of the top rushing attacks in FCS with Geno Blow (776 yards, 5.4 average, eight TDs) back and Illinois transfer Walter Mendenhall coming in. Quarterback is a question mark.

Jonathan St. Pierre, a former Miami transfer, stabilizes a line that is somewhat inexperienced. Eyad Salem (31 catches, 14.8 average) is the top returning receiver.

Depth issues cropped up on defense when Illinois State suffered some early- season injuries. With eight starters, 10 of their top 13 tacklers returning and some strong transfers added, that shouldn't be as big of a problem this year.

The Redbirds have been sort of a Linebacker U. in recent years and Brandon Wilson is ready to assume the mantle as he moves from defensive end. Pitt transfer Nick Williams should fortify the defensive line and Tom Nelson (86 tackles) is an outstanding safety.

9. Indiana State (0-11, 0-6, seventh)

The Sycamores are trying another rebuilding project with former player Trent Miles attempting to turn things around for a team that has had 11 consecutive losing seasons, lost 14 games in a row and won just one of its past 39 games.

Miles has to find ways to improve a squad that ranked 113th in offense and 116th in defense and has five consecutive last-place finishes in the conference.

Four starters return on offense, including quarterback Charles Dowdell. Jeremie Gray and Brian Jackson are two receiving threats and Kentucky transfer Andre Brown should help the running game.

Linebacker Darrius Middlebrooks (87 tackles) is the top player for a defense that returns seven starters.