Penguins picked to finish third in MVFC

Staff report

ST. LOUIS

The Youngstown State football team, which advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision national championship last season, has been picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this fall, the conference announced on Tuesday.

In the closest preseason voting in the MVFC’s 33-year history, North Dakota State received 21 of 40 first-place votes and 380 points while South Dakota State had 19 first-place votes and 379 points. No other team received a first-place vote. Conference coaches, media members and sports information directors were polled.

NDSU has earned the league title for six straight years, four times sharing it with another league school.

The Penguins, who play host to both SDSU and NDSU this season, were third with 290 points.

On Monday, four YSU players were named preseason All-MVFC selections. They were offensive tackle Justin Spencer, center Vitas Hrynkiewicz, linebacker Armand Dellovade and punter Mark Schuler, a Springfield High School product.

YSU opens MVFC play against the Jackrabbits on Sept. 30 at Stambaugh Stadium. Two weeks later, on Oct. 14, YSU entertains the Bison.

NDSU and SDSU are set to square off in Brookings, S.D., on Nov. 4. The Jackrabbits won in Fargo during the regular season but lost the rematch in the Fargodome in the FCS quarterfinals.

A year ago, head coach Bo Pelini’s Penguins were picked fifth in the league before finishing in sole possession of third place and winning four games in the playoffs to reach the final before falling to James Madison.

UNI was tabbed fourth (255), Illinois State was fifth (246), Western Illinois was sixth (188), South Dakota was seventh (182), Southern Illinois was eighth (132), Missouri State was ninth (81) and Indiana State was 10th (67).

YSU also plays host to Illinois State and Missouri State with its road games at UNI, South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.

The MVFC is coming off a season in which four teams represented the conference in the playoffs. The MVFC has had four or more playoff teams in three straight seasons (earning five each in 2014 and 2015). Illinois State was one of the four playoff teams from the MVFC last year, and the Redbirds are tabbed fifth in this year’s poll with 246 points, narrowly behind the fourth choice in the poll — UNI (255 points).

A pre-season favorite has claimed the league crown 19 times (in 31 previous polls). North Dakota State was picked to win the league last season.

The 2017 season will be the 33rd in MVFC history. In its first 32 seasons the conference owns seven national crowns.