Missouri Valley Football Conference dominates this weekend's FCS playoff games

Programs from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and especially the Dakotas, remain very prominent and in the top tier of the Football Championship Subdivision.

The new home for Murray State football kept its title of the dominant FCS conference by placing six schools in the playoff bracket -- South Dakota State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Youngstown State.

As the playoffs get started with eight games Saturday, defending champion and top-seeded South Dakota State will take time to get healthier while enjoying a first-round bye.

Conversely, North Dakota State, the most dominant program over the past dozen years with nine national titles, finds itself in an unfamiliar spot in its 14th consecutive tournament — the first round. The Bison (8-3), 45-21 losers to the Jackrabbits in last year’s championship, will host playoff newcomer Drake (8-3).

South Dakota State will take a 25-game winning streak into its second-round game against Gardner-Webb or Mercer, another first-time participant.

The Jackrabbits’ last loss was by 7-3 at Iowa to start last season in a game in which two safeties by the Hawkeyes was the difference.

Local teams in action Saturday include Southern Illinois, hosting Nicholls State; and Austin Peay, hosting Chattanooga.