Mark Iannotti named MVFC co-Offensive Player of the Week
09/06/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
ST. LOUIS - Southern Illinois quarterback Mark Iannotti was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference's co-Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Sunday night. Iannotti had an NCAA-best 517 yards of total offense in the season opener at Indiana.
Iannotti had a historic performance against the Hoosiers. He posted the most yards of total offense of anyone in any division of NCAA football in Week 1. His 517 yards tie him for second in MVFC history, the most by any MVFC player since 1999. Iannotti broke the SIU record held by co-offensive coordinator Nick Hill. He is the first player in SIU history to rush for more than 300 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in the same game--and he threw for 411 yards, second-most in school history.
Iannotti threw for four touchdowns without and interception in the 48-47 loss. He completed 77 percent of his passes (24-for-31) in the game and averaged 17 yards per completion and 13 yards per pass attempt. His 231.4 passing efficiency ranks fourth in the FCS, and he leads the nation in points responsible for (32), pass yards per game (411) and total offense (517).
Despite playing in only 13 career games for the Salukis, Iannotti already ranks in the top-10 in school history in career touchdown passes (10th, 26) and 250-yard passing games (t-5th, five).
Iannotti shared MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors with South Dakota State's Jake Wieneke, who caught eight passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in SDSU's first-ever win over an FBS opponent, a 41-38 win at Kansas. Youngstown State safety LeRoy Alexander earned MVFC Defensive Player and Newcomer of the Week honors. Western Illinois wide receiver and return specialist Lance Lenoir, Jr., earned MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The award is the Iannotti's second career MVFC weekly honor. He was named MVFC Newcomer of the Week last year after tying a school record with six touchdown passes against Southeast Missouri last season. SIU heads to SEMO next weekend for a game against the Redhawks at 6 p.m. CT on Sept. 12.
