I'm what I would call a seasonal sports fan. My interests change as the seasons roll along. That means that because it's the middle of July, I'm ready for college football.
To put it mildly, I'm absolutely ecstatic for football to come this fall. College football, first and foremost, is my favorite and then as the NFL starts up and I get midway through the preseason, I won't be able to get enough.
Via this blog, I will funnel my excitement into looking at the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Specifically today, I'll look at the non-conference slate of the nine league members and try to get a sense of the key matchups. If you remember, I covered the FBS matchups in April and that can be read here.
Toughest Out of the Gate: Southern Illinois at SE Missouri State - Sept. 3
With four of the nine league members facing FBS teams, the Salukis are saddled with the toughest of matchups in Week One. Southern Illinois heads to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to face the defending Ohio Valley Conference champions in Southeast Missouri State. The Redhawks finished 9-3 in 2010, after going 2-9 in 2009 and beat #5 SIU for the first time since 2002 in Carbondale, 24-21. The two squads are separated by about 50 miles and the Salukis would probably like to avenge last year's home loss.
Most Interesting Matchup: UNI at Stephen F. Austin - Sept. 10
The two likely favorites in the MVFC and Southland, respectively, will take the field in Texas in the season's second week, with a good chance both teams will be ranked in the top 10 amongst the polls. The Lumberjacks edged UNI in Cedar Falls last season, 22-20 and bring back nine starters on offense including a pair of All-American wide-outs in Cordell Roberson and Grayln Crawford. Panthers QB Tirrell Rennie can make this a proving ground if he wants to be on the short list of elite FCS players, with a strong performance on the road.
Easiest Non-Conference Schedule: North Dakota State
This was a close one with NDSU edging out Youngstown State for the softest schedule honor. NDSU hosts Lafayette and St. Francis (PA), who are not near being football powers. That idea is reiterated by the 3-19 record the two squads combined for in 2010 and both teams will meet in early September with the Bison. Add in three-win Minnesota, whom the Bison have defeated before and NDSU has one of the easier out-of-conference in FCS football this year. YSU's two FCS opponents (one of them being St. Francis) combined for one win but the Penguins make up for it by having Michigan State on the schedule.
Hardest Non-Conference Schedule: Missouri State
I'm not picking on the Bears. After all, they are the ones who agreed to play at Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Oregon in the first three weeks of the season. It's bad enough scheduling the Razorbacks and Ducks, but the EKU Colonels finished 6-5 last year. Missouri State isn't going to have as strong of team as it had last year and they are unlikely to gain a lot of ground in the first three weeks of 2011.
Non-Conference Strength of Schedule (Based on 2010 Records, Winning Pct. in Parentheses)
1. North Dakota State: 6-28 (.176%)
2. Illinois State: 11-21 (.344%)
3. Youngstown State: 12-22 (.353%)
4. Indiana State: 13-23 (.361%)
5. Southern Illinois: 15-20 (.429%)
T6. South Dakota State: 19-15 (.559%)
T6. UNI: 19-15 (.559%)
8. Western Illinois: 26-9 (.743%)
9. Missouri State: 28-9 (.757%)
Biggest Non-Conference Upside
SDSU and Western Illinois stand with the most to gain from their three non-conference games. Their FBS opponents (Illinois and Missouri) will be tough to beat but can make some waves with out-of-conference victories. The Jacks have Southern Utah to open at home and head to Cal Poly in week three, both leaving room to start a turnaround from a disappointing 5-6 mark last year. The Leathernecks host Pioneer League foe Jacksonville, who finished 10-1 last year and visits Sam Houston State early in the season. Western gets a great chance to prove that they are back in 2011 and that second place conference finish a year ago wasn't a fluke.
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