Despite his services not being needed in the game until the fourth quarter on Saturday against St. Francis (Ill.), Illinois State punter Hayden Futch made the most of his opportunities and turned that into him being named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday by the league office.

Illinois State remained in the No. 4 spot in both the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll and the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll announced on Monday. Illinois State has appeared in every Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll for 32-straight weeks, the sixth-longest active streak in the FCS.

Illinois State junior opposite Ruth Ziegler has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for the opening week of MVC play, announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon.