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ursus arctos horribilis
May 11th, 2021, 03:33 PM
Sunday, May 16
#1 South Dakota State vs. #2 Sam Houston
National Championship - Frisco, Texas [ABC] -- 1 p.m. CT

Conference records: CAA (4-2), Southland (3-0), MVFC (6-4); OVC (1-1); Patriot (0-1); Pioneer (0-1); NEC (0-1); Big South (0-1); Southern (0-1); Big Sky (0-2). Valley Football schools have combined to go 6-4 in the 2020-21 playoffs, which includes two intraconference matchups (the league is 4-2 against non-MVFC teams).

2020-21 MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Updated MVFC Stats – Click Here (http://www.mvc.org/football/stats/confstat.htm) | MVFC Composite Schedule -- Click Here (https://valley-football.org/calendar.aspx?path=football)
NCAA Statistics – Click Here (https://stats.ncaa.org/rankings/change_sport_year_div) | Top-25 Polls -- Click Here (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/fcs-coaches-poll)
MVFC Records -- Click Here (http://www.mvc.org/football/records.pdf) | MVFC Playoff History -- Click Here (http://www.mvc.org/football/playoffs.pdf) | MVFC Draft Database -- Click Here (https://valley-football.org/sports/2020/3/24/FB_0324202857.aspx?path=football)
FCS Insider -- Click Here (https://fcsinsider.com/) | Stats Perform -- Click Here (http://www.fcs.football/fcsfront.asp) | HERO Sports -- Click Here (https://herosports.com/category/college-football/fcs/)



#1 Seed vs. #2 Seed -- For the seventh time in FCS history, the top two seeds will face one another in the title game. It marks the first time that it’s happened in back-to-back seasons (#1 NDSU defeated #2 JMU in last year’s title game.) The #2-seeded team has won five of the previous times in the games featuring the top two seeds. Seasons in which it has occurred: 1981, 1996, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2019 (the last 3 games were played in January of the following calendar year.)
Top-25 polls -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference continues to dominate the Top 25 rankings, with six teams in both the Stats Perform and AFCA coaches final regular-season polls.
5 Teams in the Field -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference matched an all-time high with five bids in this year’s field. Only three times previously in FCS playoff history has one conference sent as many as five teams in a 16-team field (CAA had five bids in both 2007 and 2008, and the CAA holds the all-time record with six berths during the 2018 tournament.)
MVFC All-Americans -- In the recently announced 2020-21 Stats Perform FCS All-America Team (Monday, May 10), the Missouri Valley Football Conference had an FCS-best 16 players honored, including 10 on the first-team unit. North Dakota State led all FCS schools with six selections.
MVFC in the Playoffs -- The Missouri Valley Football Conference is 109-59 during the past 23+ years in the FCS playoffs (since 1997). That includes 15 intra-conference matchups, meaning the league is 94-44 (.681) against teams from other leagues. Overall, a league team has appeared in 15 championship games and in 28 semifinal games, including SDSU’s semifinal and title-game appearances this year. The league’s 121 all-time playoff wins are more than any other FCS league (despite not participating in the first seven tourneys).
Against the Top 25 -- League teams have combined for a total of 24 top-25 wins this year (six non-league games and 18 wins against league foes). SDSU is 5-1 against Top-25 teams.
Title Contenders -- The 2020-21 season marks the 15th title appearance for a league team. The league is 9-4 in previous title games, although Youngstown State (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994) and Southern Illinois (1983) both played in the championship prior to joining the league. All 15 of the league’s title-game appearances have occurred since 1997.
Title Games, Consecutive Years -- South Dakota State has extended the MVFC’s FCS-record to 10-straight title game appearances for the league. The CAA (5 in a row), OVC (4-straight) and SoCon (4 appearances in a row) are next on the list. Last year featured an MVFC (NDSU) and CAA (James Madison) matchup.
Against the Southland -- An MVFC team has faced a Southland Conference team in the title game four times previously, and the MVFC is 4-0 in those matchups. The MVFC holds a 60-53-2 all-time record against Southland teams, including a 2-3 mark this season.
The Power 5 -- In the past 11 playoffs (2010-20/21), five leagues (Big Sky, CAA Football, MVFC, Southern and Southland) have combined to win 196 of 232 total games. The MVFC has 73 of those 196 wins (37 percent).
Elite Company -- NDSU and SDSU are the only two FCS programs to reach the playoffs each of the last nine seasons. NDSU holds the longest active streak with 11 consecutive trips to the playoffs. Every league member, including past members, have earned a playoff spot.
Dominance By Decade -- The MVFC is 73-32 (.695) since 2010 in the playoffs -- which includes 13 intra-conference games (meaning the league is 60-19 against teams from other leagues). The league was 67-28 during the past decade, and only the CAA also had a winning record from 2010-2019 (44-39).
All-Time Title Game Trips -- The MVFC has 10 total titles, the most by an FCS league. The 2020-21 season marks the 15th title game appearance for an MVFC member. The SoCon leads with 16 trips.


16 - Southern Conference (8 titles)
15 - Missouri Valley Football (10 titles)
14 - Big Sky Conference (6 titles)
13 - CAA Football (6 titles)
12 - Independents (9 titles)*
 9 - Southland Conference (1 title)
 4 - Ohio Valley Conference (2 titles)
*includes 5 combined trips by YSU (4) and SIU (1), with 4 FCS titles when they played as independents.