Jul. 1—SIOUX FALLS — This year marks the 12th time I’ve filled out a preseason ballot for the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and the first 11 times I did it, I may have voted for someone other than North Dakota State twice (I know for sure I voted for SDSU in 2023, not sure about 2022, and I’m not gonna search out the article on the website of my former employer).
This year, of course, the Bison are not on the ballot, gone to the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference. The Bison did not win the national championship on their way out the door (though they may well have been the best team in the FCS), but that doesn’t change the fact that the remaining teams in the FCS and MVFC have to feel like the crack in the door is showing a lot more light than it was when NDSU was always looming as the subdivision’s 800-pound gorilla.
SDSU, of course, won two national championships to temporarily impede the Bison dynasty, and they were the only Valley team to win one after NDSU started winning theirs (Youngstown State won four national championships and Southern Illinois one when the Jacks and Bison were still Division II).
Illinois State has twice been a runner-up. USD still hasn’t reached a title game, but over the last few years they seem to have jumped up a tier among FCS contenders. North Dakota was a regular national championship contender in Division II, maybe now with the Bison moving up they’ll have a better chance of playing for titles in FCS.
But with those two titles (and five straight semifinal appearances from 2020-2024), SDSU had pretty clearly ascended to the No. 2 spot in the FCS hierarchy, with Montana State, the current national champion, right there with them.
With that being the case, and with the Jacks enjoying a stronger nucleus of returning players than most of their Valley peers, SDSU is my pick to win the conference in 2026.
1. South Dakota State
2. Youngstown State
3. North Dakota
4. South Dakota
5. Southern Illinois
6. Illinois State
7. Northern Iowa
8. Indiana State
9. Murray State
A couple notes. I don’t necessarily think the Penguins are the second-best team in the Valley (I tend to lean towards UND based on returning talent), but YSU has a more favorable schedule than USD and UND. Not more than two games separate YSU and Illinois State at 2-thru-6, and each of the six could (should?) be in the playoffs. I gave Indiana State the nod over Murray State because their head-to-head game is in Terre Haute (though the Racers did beat the Sycamores there last year).
