During the FCS playoffs a year ago, North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance caught 25 passes for 375 yards and seven touchdowns. (Photo by GoBison.com)
By Barry Bottino and Dan Verdun
Plenty of players on North Dakota State’s star-studded roster enjoyed key moments in the FCS playoffs last season.
But head coach Tim Polasek, speaking Monday at the Missouri Valley Football Conference media day in Sioux Falls, S.D., said one player in particular was a major reason for the team’s 10th FCS national championship in the past 14 years.
“Bryce Lance exploded onto the scene last year and had an unbelievable playoff run,” Polasek said of the senior wide receiver. “Without his big plays, I don’t know if we’re standing up here as the defending national champions.”
Lance, the younger brother of former NDSU quarterback Trey Lance, enjoyed massive success in the playoffs. During four postseason games, he caught 25 passes for 375 yards and seven touchdowns.
For the season, his 17 TD catches led the nation, while his 75 catches and 1,071 yards ranked second- and third-best in NDSU history for a single season.
While Lance is likely to be among the top Walter Payton Award candidates as the nation’s top offensive player in 2025, Polasek’s team has some question marks.
“We need to see who will push through on the offensive line and how our quarterback (senior Cole Payton) can play in big moments,” he said.
Despite those questions, the Bison were voted first in the MVFC preseason poll and collected 39 of 42 first-place votes.
Linebacker Logan Kopp said his position group is among those that got younger in the offseason.
“I’m the only senior left in the linebacker room,” he said. “There’s a big expectation for me and for our coaches to put our young players in position to be able to have success on Saturdays.”
Change at the top
Jeff Jackson has officially taken over as MVFC commissioner. He replaces Patty Viverito, who has been the conference’s lone commissioner since its inception as the the Gateway Athletic Conference in 1985.
Viverito retired following the 2024-25 season. The league announced Monday the championship trophy is now named in her honor.
Jackson has been the Missouri Valley Conference commissioner in March 2021 and officially began his role with the league office on July 1, 2021.
New year, same Jackrabbit goal
First-year head coach Dan Jackson is new to his job but not a newcomer to expectations in Brookings, S.D.
“The standard at South Dakota State has always been to win a national championship,” said Jackson, whose team was voted to finish second in the MVFC poll. “That’s what it was when I got there as a graduate assistant in 2012, when we didn’t have nice facilities and we were just clawing away.”
The Jackrabbits lost more than two dozen players in the transfer portal, including star quarterback Mark Gronowski to FBS Iowa and a reported 14 players who followed former head coach Jimmy Rogers to FBS Washington State.
Despite the losses, quarterback and offensive line are expected to be strengths.
“Our offensive line is as good as anybody around,” Jackson said.
Quarterback Chase Mason, Gronowski’s backup, will take over after rushing for six touchdowns and throwing two TD passes a year ago.
“Chase is really big and he’s really fast and he’s really athletic,” Jackson said of his 6-foot-4, 230-pound QB. “I’m excited to see him show that he’s a complete quarterback.”
New leader of the Coyote pack
South Dakota was picked to finish third in the conference and also garnered three first-places votes.
Travis Johansen takes over as head coach following the retirement of Bob Nielson. Johansen spent the last six seasons as USD’s defensive coordinator.
A year ago, the Coyotes earned a share of the MVFC title and reached the FCS semifinals. Expectations remain high, especially given USD’s returnees to a high-powered offense that averaged 35.8 points per game in 2024.
“Our aspirations haven’t changed, the expectations and potential for our program hasn’t changed,” Johansen said. “Nothing that happened in the offseason deters us or degrades any confidence that we have internally.”
An offensive line anchored by Adrian Hawkins allows quarterback Aidan Bouman and running back Charles Pierre Jr. to showcase their talents.
Bouman passed for nearly 3,000 yards while tossing 19 touchdowns and only four interceptions last season. Pierre Jr. rushed for 1,244 yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 7.4 yards a carry.
“That gives us confidence,” Johansen said. “They could have gone and played other places and chosen those routes. We understand what their value is to USD and their loyalty to this place. We all feel that. We’re chasing things that are bigger than the dollar.”
Sizing up Youngstown
Picked fifth in the preseason poll behind Illinois State, Youngstown State head coach Doug Phillips said moving up the standings required adding more bulk, especially on defense.
“We knew we needed to get some size,” Phillips said. “We needed a couple of 300-pounders and we went out and got them.”
Incoming defensive tackles Cameron Cunningham (Fayetteville State) and Thomas Jolly (Grand Valley State) are 305-pounders who played last season at the Division II level.
“If you don’t have (size) up front, it’s going to be a long day,” Phillips said.
The offense is bolstered by the return of quarterback Beau Brungard, a junior who threw 12 TDs last season and was a big threat on the ground, running for 998 yards and 16 touchdowns.
In 2024, the Penguins finished 4-8 and lost four games by seven points or less.
“In this league, you’ve got to finish,” Phillips said.
A familiar face returns to Grand Forks
For the first time in 12 years, the Fighting Hawks have a new head coach. Eric Schmidt takes over, replacing Bubba Schweigert who was let go at the end of last season.
Schmidt is no stranger to Grand Forks. He played linebacker at UND and was a captain of its 2001 Division II national championship team.
Schmidt served as North Dakota’s defensive coordinator (2014-19). He also spent six seasons as an assistant at Southern Illinois (2008-13). He returns to campus following stints at three different FBS schools.
“The top of the league is really good,” Schmidt said. “As you go through it, the depth of the league is probably even better than it was in 2019 when I left.”
Versatile back and kick returner Sawyer Seidl and linebacker Malachi McNeal are standout performers for the Fighting Hawks.
“Coach Schmidt has done a great job of getting everyone on the same page and working toward one common goal,” said McNeal, a Warren Township High School graduate.
A new era begins in Cedar Falls
For the first time since 2000, Northern Iowa will not be led by Mark Farley. The UNI graduate and former linebacker retired at the end of last season, ending the longest tenure in MVFC history.
Todd Stepsis, who spent the last six years as the head coach at Drake, takes over the reins after winning back-to-back Pioneer League championships.
“If you were to ask me the best part of the past seven months, it’s been our players,” Stepsis said. “A lot of people ask me what was the most attractive part of being the head coach at Northern Iowa. The history and the tradition and the UNI-Dome, how cool is that place?
“There’s so much going for it, but it’s community engagement. The community needs us. They love their Panthers. You see purple and gold everywhere.”
The Panthers placed 13 players on the MVFC preseason watch list, led by tight end Derek Anderson.
Northern Iowa last made the FCS playoffs in 2021. The Panthers have won 16 MVFC titles (10 outright, six shared) but none since 2010.
With 2026 being the 50th anniversary of the UNI-Dome, the university has launched a fundraising campaign to upgrade the facility.
“How can we embrace the past and have an even brighter future?” Stepsis said.
Indiana State features two downstate Illinois stars
Indiana State last produced a winning season in 2018. That season the Sycamores posted a 7-4 overall record (5-3 in MVFC) yet did not receive a playoff bid.
Indiana State, which opens its season Aug. 28 with D2 McKendree prior to hosting regional rival Eastern Illinois Sept. 6, begins fall camp Sunday.
“We’ve stayed pretty true to where we’re at. We’re always going to start our recruiting in the state of Indiana and then we’ll recruit the surrounding states,” said Curt Mallory, who began his time in Terre Haute in 2017. “As far as the transfer portal goes, we’re going to where the players are, just like most people.”
On offense, downstate Jacksonville High School product Elijah Owens provides a dual-threat at quarterback. As a redshirt freshman last fall, Owens led the team in rushing and passing.
Springfield native Rashad Rochelle caught a team-best 58 balls for 523 yards and four TDs.
“I think you’re going to see the offense spread some things out and get the ball out in space. We’re anxious to showcase that,” Mallory said. “When you get the ball in Elijah’s hands, he can do some really great things.”
The Sycamores feature Stats Perform FCS All-American defensive back Kimal Clark, a transfer from Central Connecticut State.
Linebacker Dallas Westhoff returns after suffering a season-ending injury nine games into last fall.
“Your defense is only as strong as you are in the middle,” Mallory said. “I felt that will be the same case this year with Dallas in the middle and what we have interior-wise. We’re strong up front and I really like our safeties.”
Building at Murray
Murray State’s first year in the MVFC provided some eye-opening scores. The Racers did not win a league game and lost six of those contests by 28 points or more.
“A lot of bruises. A lot of black and blue,” head coach Jody Wright said of the 2024 season. “We were not where we needed to be from a size standpoint on the line of scrimmage and it was humbling a lot of Saturdays.”
Murray was picked to finish 10th in the 10-team preseason poll.
The Racers, who start fall camp next week, will welcome a whopping 56 freshmen into the program.
“A lot of freshmen are going to have to play,” Wright said. “We’ve definitely made strides.”
Wright said his program is focused on developing high school players from winning programs to build the foundation of its roster. Those incoming players also have a passion for the game, which is a prerequisite on Wright’s team.
“You better love football in this conference,” he said. “You’ve got to learn to be tough, play with bruises and play in hostile environments.”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
Find us on social media!
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Blue Sky: PSPigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment