Behind The Numbers: Week 2 MVFC Preview

Week 2 of the 2026 college football season is finally here. We have another edition of our "Behind The Numbers" series here at FCS Football Central.

Our goal with this series is to highlight teams every week and bring you what I think will be the most important statistic to monitor for that specific game. This won't be a comprehensive preview of the game; we will have that in another article each week, but it will allow me to give you important tidbits on a wide variety of games throughout the season.

The first edition of this series in Week 2 will begin with the MVFC. We will turn our attention to other conferences later this week. South Dakota State and North Dakota should have easy victories, but we will circle back to those teams in the coming weeks.

Eastern Washington at No. 11 South Dakota

Can Nate Bell use his legs to consistently move the chains?

South Dakota has put up elite efficiency numbers offensively over the first two weeks of the season. They've had over a 50% total success rate, which ranks Top 10 nationally. At home, I expect the Coyotes to move the ball well. Eastern Washington has to be multi-dimensional on offense to keep up in this game.

The EWU running backs have struggled this year, averaging 3.6 yards per carry for only 153 total yards in two games. South Dakota has had one of the best run defenses in the league, holding opponents to 3.67 yards per carry. Nate Bell might have to be a superhero once again. He had 351 total yards and 5 touchdowns in a win over UNI.

Duquesne at No. 10 Youngstown State

What will the Youngstown State look like?

Both of these teams had losses to FBS opponents. Duquesne has only played one game this year, so we don't have much data on them. The question coming into the year about Youngstown State was how well the defense would play.

In Week 0, the Penguins actually looked great against an NEC opponent, posting the 13th-best defensive success rate in the country, along with a 45% success rate as they held their opponents to 29 rushing yards on 20 carries. Duquesne is a better team than Mercyhurst, especially with veteran Carson Camp leading the team. Will Youngstown State continue to be dominant? It'll be important to build some momentum before a massive game against SDSU next weekend.

Drake at Northern Iowa

Can Northern Iowa show a pulse in the run game?

After losing a tough game to Eastern Washington, this is a must-win for UNI early in the season if the Panthers want to feel like this program is taking a step forward. The Panthers were awful on the ground, gaining 63 rushing yards on 35 carries. UNI has to show that it can be competitive in the run game this weekend.

SEMO at Southern Illinois

Can Southern Illinois figure out its passing attack?

Southern Illinois has shown that they can still run the ball effectively even without DJ Williams. On the other hand, the passing game has been a total disaster. Against Samford, the Salukis only managed a 29% success rate on passing plays. SEMO has a strong run defense, holding Iowa State to only 108 rushing yards on 31 carries. They also held Indiana State to 1.8 yards per carry in Week 0. They have to figure out the downfield passing game this weekend.

No. 5 Illinois State at Northern Illinois

Will the Redbirds QBs hit enough deep shots to expose a bad NIU defense?

Illinois State's defense has been elite in the small sample size of the season. They held WIU's offense to a 25% success rate and finished with a 29% stuff rate. Northern Illinois was terrible offensively last year, but does have a solid amount of returning production. They project as the 132nd offense in the FBS, but added former Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens this offseason. They were shut out against Iowa in Week 1.

Meanwhile, NIU's defense has a ton of new pieces, only returning around 28% of their production. Gage Roy and Beckham Pellant weren't great last week, combining to be 16-for-35. Even with the lack of efficiency, they were able to be explosive, completing several passes over 20 yards downfield. Illinois State needs to generate its share of explosive plays, and they should get a score that this NIU offense can't reach.

Indiana State at Eastern Illinois

Can Indiana State slow down the Eastern Illinois rushing attack?

Eastern Illinois ran all over Murray State in Week 0, totaling 267 yards on nearly 6.0 yards per carry. Charles Kellom led the Panthers with 171 yards on 9.0 yards per carry. Indiana State actually has been really solid against the run. They held SEMO to less than 2 yards per carry and Purdue to only 4.4 yards per carry. If they can slow down this rushing attack, Elijah Owens could shine as the best quarterback in this matchup.

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