Oct. 20, 2014
Missouri State Game Notes 
| Illinois State Game Notes
- Missouri State begins a two-game road swing with a 6 p.m. contest against No. 9 Illinois State Saturday
(Oct. 25) at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill. - The Bears are 2-2 on the road this season, averaging 29.5 points per outing in such contests; MSU has won two of its last three road games in conference play dating back to last season.
- Head coach Terry Allen needs one more victory to match Howard Blair (38) for the No. 4 spot on MSU's career coaching wins list and three more wins to equal Mark Farley's MVFC record of 68 career conference victories.
- MSU's offense has scored on 14 of its last 15 trips inside the red zone, including 12 touchdowns; the Bears have scored on 19 of their 21 (.905) red zone appearances this season.
- Missouri State leads the MVFC with 16 takeaways, including a league-best nine interceptions, through the first seven games the season; the Bears rank 16th in the country in interceptions, while their 1.29 turnover margin is fifth nationally.
- Junior punter Chris Sullens earned his second MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor this season and the third of his career Sunday after booming a 74-yard punt and pinning South Dakota inside its own 20-yard line six times in last week's 31-12 Bears' win.
- Left tackle Zack Cooley brings an active streak of 41 consecutive starts on the Bears' offensive line into Saturday's game, while fellow senior linemate Richard Galbierz has made 30 straight starts.
- Quarterback Kierra Harris ranks eighth nationally in points responsible for (18.0 ppg), 11th in passing yards per completion (14.39) and 12th in passing touchdowns (14) this season; the senior also ranks fifth in school history with his career total of 4,392 yards of total offense.
- Safety Caleb Schaffitzel moved into MSU's top 10 for career stops with his 11-tackle effort last Saturday vs. South Dakota; the senior safety is the active FCS leader in assisted tackles (197) and ranks third on the FCS's total tackles (345) list and fifth in career interceptions (10).
- Senior receiver Julian Burton brings a streak of 27 consecutive games with at least one reception into Saturday's contest, which respresents the fourth-longest in school history; the senior has cracked the Bears' career top five in both receptions (123) and all-purpose yardage (3,355) since the start of conference play.
Missouri State begins a challenging late-season stretch Saturday that will see it take on five consecutive top 25 teams. This week, the Bears travel to Normal, Ill., for a 6 p.m. match-up with No. 9 Illinois State at Hancock Stadium. MSU will be looking to continue a pattern of recent success against the Redbirds following two straight victories over ISU, and three wins over ranked ISU squads during head coach Terry Allen's tenure.
The Bears will be looking to even the all-time series with Illinois State this weekend when Allen takes his club to Normal for the 35th meeting between the programs. ISU leads the series, which dates back to 1971, by a 17-16-1 margin. Missouri State has a pair of wins in its last three trips to Hancock Stadium, and bested the Redbirds by a 37-10 margin last September in Springfield. MSU is coming off its first Valley win of the season -- a 31-12 victory over visiting South Dakota, in which senior quarterback Kierra Harris threw for three first-half touchdowns and ran for another.
Illinois State rallied from a 21-point deficit to claim a 37-34 win over Western Illinois last weekend to keep its perfect season intact. Junior running back Marshaun Coprich ranks second in the MVFC with an average of 140.7 rushing yards per game, while junior signal-caller Tre Roberson leads the league in total offense (254.8 ypg). Defensively, linebacker Pat Meehan spearheads the ISU charge, averaging 8.2 stops per game to rank fifth in the conference.
Illinois State leads the all-time series by a narrow 17-16-1 margin. Missouri State, which is 8-8-1 in Normal, has won two in a row in the series and has snagged two road wins over the Redbirds in their last three trips to Hancock Stadium, including a 24-17 victory over then-No. 11 ISU.
Illinois State's last regulation win over the Bears on its home turf was a 38-14 win in 2006. The Redbirds scored a 44-41 double-overtime win over MSU in 2010, and the Bears scored a 34-28 at Hancock Stadium in 2008.
Missouri State head coach Terry Allen entered the 2014 season 13th in victories among active FCS head coaches and 32nd on the NCAA's all-time FCS victories list. Additionally, he sits in third on Missouri State's all-time conference wins list, trailing only Jesse Branch (31 wins) and Rich Johanningmeier (27). Overall, Allen is 132-118 (.528) in his 22nd year as a head coach and 37-59 (.385) in his ninth season at Missouri State. The 1979 UNI graduate is is a five-time MVFC Coach of the Year and has previous head coaching stints at UNI (1989-96) and Kansas (1997-2001).
He is 11-6 all-tiime against Illinois State, including a 4-4 record with the Bears.
Allen recorded his 60th career MVFC victory with MSU's 37-10 win over Illinois State on Sept. 28, 2013. With a 65-46 record in 16 seasons as a head coach at UNI (1989-96) and Missouri State (2006-present) in league play, Allen trails only current UNI sideline boss Mark Farley (68 wins) in all-time Missouri Valley Football Conference victories.
Missouri State notched its first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory of the season with a 31-12 homecoming decision over South Dakota at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. The Bears built a 25-point lead thanks to a strong all-around performance, including a season-high 279 rushing yards and a big day from quarterback Kierra Harris.
Harris matched a career high with three touchdown passes and rushed for another to lead the Bears' rejuvenated offensive attack in front of 15,537 spectators--the eighth largest home crowd in school history. The senior recorded three separate runs of 20 yards or more en route to a career-best 90 rushing yards on just seven carries--an average of 12.9 yards per attempt. He also climbed to fifth on MSU's single-season chart for touchdown passes, moving past A.J. Porter with his 14th scoring toss of the year late in the first half.
The Bears averaged 6.5 yards per carry as a team to finish with their best team rushing effort since a 366-yard performance at Murray State on September 14, 2013. MSU, which moved to 6-3 in homecoming games under head coach Terry Allen, used the big play to pull away, recording 10 offensive gains of 10 yards or more in the victory.
Each of Harris's three scoring passes came in the opening half to help the Bears build a commanding 24-3 advantage by intermission, including a 53-yard scoring strike to Malik Earl that put MSU on the board midway through the first quarter. Harris, who completed 7-of-15 passes for a total of 133 yards in the half, also found Gannon Sinclair on a 29-yard touchdown connection with 11:51 left in the second quarter, before a 12-yard shovel pass to Julian Burton stretched the Bears' lead to 21 points with just 40 ticks left on the clock.
The Bears rolled up 259 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes of the contest, rushing 23 times for 126 yards thanks in large part to the duo of Calan Crowder and Ryan Heaston, who combined for 81 ground yards on 16 carries. MSU's defense turned in a strong showing in the opening half as well, holding the Coyotes to 84 yards in the second quarter.
A trio of Bears led MSU's stalwart defensive front that allowed just 354 yards of total offense, including only 47 in a scoreless fourth quarter. Dylan Cole led the Bears with 12 stops to establish a new MSU season high and match his personal single-game best total, while Caleb Schaffitzel and Jeremy Springer each registered 11 total tackles. Additionally, Sullens turned in a strong day for the Bears on special teams, pinning the Coyotes inside the 20-yard line six times and booting a 74-yard punt in the second quarter that represents the fourth-longest in school history.
MSU will wrap a two-game conference road swing with a trip to Indiana State for a Noon (Central) kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute. The Sycamores are ranked 22nd in The Sports Network Top 25 and have the same 4-3 overall and 1-2 MVFC records as the Bears.
