MVFC Top Finishes
1. Jan. 10, 2015 (#2 North Dakota State 29, #5 Illinois State 27) – Illinois State scored on a QB Tre Roberson 58-yard run with 1:38 remaining to take a 27-23 lead in the NCAA title game. Carson Wentz engineered a six-play 78-yard drive capped by his 5-yard TD run with :37 remaining. The Bison picked off Roberson as ISU was approaching field goal range to seal the win.
2. Sept. 27, 2008 – (South Dakota State 50, Stephen F. Austin 48) – SDSU rallied from a 34-6 third quarter deficit to win on the game’s final play on a one-yard TD from Kyle Minett. It remains the biggest comeback in league history.
3. Dec. 17, 2016 (#13 Youngstown State 40, #3 Eastern Washington 38) – Youngstown State earned a trip to the FCS Championship Game with this win in Cheney. TE Kevin Rader hauled in a 5-yard TD pass from Hunter Wells, securing the pass on the back of an EWU defender, with :01 left in regulation.
4. Sept. 17, 2016 (North Dakota State 23, #11 Iowa 21) – Cam Pedersen hit a 37-yard field goal as time expired to lift NDSU to just the fourth-ever win by an FCS team over a ranked FBS team. NDSU scored with 3:41 remaining to close within a point at 21-20, but it failed on a two-point conversion. Iowa went three-and-out on its next possession to set up the last-second heroics.
5. Oct. 17, 2015 (South Dakota 24, #2 North Dakota State 21) – South Dakota stunned the Bison in Fargo with a three-point win. USD scored the game’s final 10 points in the final 4:47, capped by a 33-yard game-winning field goal by Miles Bergner.
OTHERS CONSIDERED
Sept. 17, 1988 (Western Illinois 35, Missouri State 31) The Leathernecks scored three TDs in the final quarter to overcome a one-time 23-point deficit at MSU. Paul Singer’s 28-yard pass to Steve Williams with 1:11 left was the game-winner.
Oct. 18, 2014 (No. 9 Illinois State 37, Western Illinois 34) – ISU rallied from 21 points down with 21 minutes left to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 1967. A 34-yard field goal at 0:00 provided the winning margin.
Nov. 24, 2007 – (UNI 38, New Hampshire 35) -- Eric Sanders completed a 24-yard pass to Montari Leonard, who juggled it then nabbed it, at :07 to lift UNI, which drove 71 yards in the last 1:16 with no timeouts.
Dec. 6, 1997 • YSU trailed 21-0 in the second quarter before rallying for a 37-34 victory at Villanova in the NCAA second round. Youngstown State would win the national championship late that month.
Nov. 4, 2006 • (Youngstown State 31, Southern Illinois 24) YSU scored the final 14 points to overcome a 24-17 deficit to Southern Illinois in the final 5:01. QB Nick Hill was stopped near the YSU goal-line as time expired.
Oct. 20, 2018) (UNI 24, #3 South Dakota State 9) UNI led third-ranked South Dakota State just 14-9 with under six minutes to go but the Panthers struck twice late to upend the Jackrabbits. Xavior Williams’ 30-yard interception return with :23 left turned an eight-point lead into a 24-9 result. His play earned ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 mention that day.
Sept. 8, 2007. (Southern Illinois 34, Northern Illinois 31). The Salukis scored 20 unanswered points to rally over the FBS Huskies. The winning touchdown came on a 30-yard pass from Nick Hill to Justin Allen with 22 seconds remaining.
Sept. 20, 2014 (Missouri State, 33, Central Arkansas 31). MSU needed a 53-yard field goal by Marcelo Bonani with zeroes on the clock. After surrendering the go-ahead TD at 0:59, MSU quickly moved past midfield for the winning kick.
Nov. 21, 2009 (Illinois State 22, #9 UNI 20) –QB Matt Lancaster connects with Eyad Salem on an eight-yard TD pass with 0.6 seconds left to defeat No. 9 UNI. The win prevented a playoff bid for the Panthers.
Nov. 22, 2008 – (South Dakota State 25, North Dakota State 24)—QB Ryan Berry led the Jackrabbits to a win in Fargo for the first time since 1963 after scoring a TD and converting on the two-point try with 2:20 left.
Oct. 13 2012 (#14 Illinois State 35, #8 Youngstown State 28) – Illinois State had 28 unanswered points to rally from a 28-7 deficit against Youngstown State. The 21-point comeback marked the largest in school history for the Redbirds in a victory.
Dec. 11, 1999 • The YSU Penguins overcame a 24-13 fourth-quarter deficit for a 27-24 victory over Florida A&M in the NCAA semifinals. Tim Johnson's interception turned the momentum to help the Guins advance.
Nov. 6, 2010 (Illinois State 41, Youngstown State 39) -- A 40-yard TD pass from Matt Brown to Tyrone Walker with 0.6 seconds left gave Illinois State the victory in the 2010 season finale; Walker finished with 206 yards receiving.
Nov. 3, 2012 – (South Dakota State 16, Southern Illinois 12) – Coach John Stiegelmeier earns his 100th career victory as SDSU drives 94 yards in the final three minutes, converting twice on fourth-down plays. The win kept SDSU’s playoff hopes alive.
Nov 1, 2003 (#7 Southern Illinois 28, #3 Western Kentucky 24) -- The Salukis won this battle between two Top-7 teams. SIU notched the last 15 points, including the winning score with 55 seconds left in a 28-24 victory at Western Kentucky.
Nov. 14, 2015 (#2 North Dakota State 27, #20 Youngstown State 24) – North Dakota State scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win this one in Youngstown. QB Easton Stick capped a nine-play 54-yard drive with a four-yard TD run with :35 left to provide the winning margin.
Sept. 17, 2016 (Indiana State 27, Southeast Missouri State 24) – The Sycamores rallied with 14 points in the final three minutes to win a road game at SEMO. Miles Thompson hauled in a 15-yard TD pass from Isaac Harker with :10 left to lift ISU.
Sept. 10, 2016 (South Dakota 52, Weber State 49) – The Coyotes scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to force overtime against visiting Weber State and then won in the second OT period on a 34-yard field goal by Miles Bergner. QB Chris Streveler connected on a 26-yard pass to Shamar Jackson with :26 left in regulation to force overtime.
Sept 10, 2016 (Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7) – The Redbirds picked up what was then the Conference’s third win at a Big Ten school as Sean Slattery nailed a 33-yard field goal with no time remaining for the win.
Oct. 15, 2016 (#11 South Dakota State 19, #1 North Dakota State 17) – South Dakota State scored the game’s final 16 points and rallied to win after trailing 17-3 with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter. Taryn Christion connected on a two-yard pass with Jake Wieneke with :01 left in regulation.
Oct. 24, 2015 (Southern Illinois 38, Youngstown State 31) – Southern won this one in overtime, but the heroics came in the fourth quarter as SIU rallied from 11 points down with just 5:10 remaining. SIU’s Austin Johnson forced overtime after making an 18-yard field goal with :06 left.
Nov. 3, 2018 (Western Illinois 34, Southern Illinois 31) – Southern held a 31-14 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Leathernecks scored 20 unanswered points to win 34-31. Sam Crosa hit two FGs in the final stanza, including the game-winning 33-yarder with :13 left.
Oct. 6, 2018 (#3 South Dakota State 54, Indiana State 51) – The game resulted in a loss for the visiting Sycamores in overtime, but the Trees scored 10 points in the final 2:08 to force a 48-48 tie. Jerry Nunez hit a 25-yard field goal as time expired. ISU started its final drive at its own one-yard line.
Sept. 15, 2018 (Western Illinois 31, #15 Montana 27) – Western scored 14 points in the final 5:38 to stun visiting Montana. Steve McShane scored both times – once on a 58-yard punt return to ignite the team, and again on an 11-yard TD strike with 2:39 left for the winning margin.
