FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

MVFC

#12 overall#1 in FCSRR50 +12.4Upper strength +15.99 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

Eighteen Titles

In 2023 six MVFC teams entered the 24-team bracket simultaneously — a number no other conference in any division has matched.

FCS9 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: South Dakota State

MVFC · 2026 season

Three things to watch

Wild CardIllinois State's Quietly Elite Profile

Illinois State has gone 9-win or better three of the last four seasons and earns at-large bids that don't generate national headlines. Their defensive system is one of the most underrated in FCS football. If they're healthy in November, they're a quarterfinal team every year.

Conference standings · MVFC · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Youngstown State5-17-2+17.3
2South Dakota State4-17-2+18.6
3South Dakota4-27-3+17.4
4Illinois State3-27-2+15.2
5Northern Iowa3-24-4+12.7
6North Dakota3-36-4+16.6
7Southern Illinois2-34-5+10.3
8Indiana State0-52-7+7.7
9Murray State0-51-8+2.7

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected standings · MVFC · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

# Team W-L Pwr Avg ≥8≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1South Dakota State5-3+5.45.021337668897✓✓
2South Dakota5-3+4.24.81103161849699✓
Challengers
3Youngstown State5-3+4.14.82113261849699✓
4North Dakota5-3+3.54.7182755819599✓
The field
5Illinois State4-4+2.14.4152147749299✓
6Northern Iowa4-4−0.53.931233618596✓
7Southern Illinois3-5−2.93.4162147749299
Rebuilding
8Indiana State3-5−5.42.931132618798
9Murray State2-6−10.52.0311326491

Conference power · FCS

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1MVFCYou are here
+12.4
—South Dakota State
2Big Sky
+10.9
3-1Montana State
3UAC
+10.8
0-1Tarleton State
4Southern
+10.4
1-0Tennessee Tech
5SWAC
+10.0
—Alabama A&M
6Southland
+9.8
—Stephen F. Austin
7OVC
+9.7
5-2Gardner-Webb
8Ivy
+9.6
—Harvard
9MEAC
+9.4
—South Carolina State
10Coastal Athletic
+9.2
—UAlbany
11Patriot
+8.8
—Lehigh
12NEC
+8.2
5-0Central Connecticut
13Pioneer
+8.2
5-0St. Thomas (MN)

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = MVFC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

In 2023 six MVFC teams entered the 24-team bracket simultaneously — a number no other conference in any division has matched.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+12.4
Upper Strength+15.9
Median Power+13.5
Resume Pulse61.2
Avg ATS52.0%
Wins vs Market-0.26
Top-to-Middle Gap3.3
Combined Record45-37

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

MVFC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#77 South Dakota State 7-2 +18.6 88 5-4 -0.09 3-1 over the last 4 (W5 L7 W8 W9)
#89 South Dakota 7-3 +17.4 73 5-4 -0.04 3-1 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 L9)
#90 Youngstown State 7-2 +17.3 87 6-3 +0.94 4-0 over the last 4 (W5 W6 W7 W9)
#98 North Dakota 6-4 +16.6 75 4-5 -0.77 1-3 over the last 4 (L6 W7 L8 L9)
#116 Illinois State 7-2 +15.2 70 4-4 -0.60 3-1 over the last 4 (L5 W7 W8 W9)
#158 Northern Iowa 4-4 +12.7 73 5-3 +1.11 2-2 over the last 4 (W6 L7 L8 W9)
#189 Southern Illinois 4-5 +10.3 32 3-6 -1.19 1-3 over the last 4 (L5 L6 L7 W8)
#221 Indiana State 2-7 +7.7 35 5-4 -0.90 0-4 over the last 4 (L5 L6 L8 L9)
#263 Murray State 1-8 +2.7 17 4-5 -0.80 0-4 over the last 4 (L5 L7 L8 L9)