Oct. 6, 2014 Missouri State Game Notes 
| South Dakota State Game Notes
- Missouri State embarks on its first Missouri Valley Football Conference road trip of the season Saturday (Oct. 11) with a 6 p.m. game against No. 19 South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D.
- The Bears are just 1-5 against the Jackrabbits, however, MSU's only victory in the series came last fall at Plaster Stadium in a 35-21 contest (Oct. 19) over then No. 15 SDSU.
- Including last year's win over then-No. 15 SDSU, MSU has knocked off six ranked opponents over the last five seasons and eight Top 25 clubs during head coach Terry Allen's nine-year tenure.
- MSU has dropped each of its previous three games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, averaging just 10.0 points per outing while giving up over 30 points per game to the Jacks; this season, the Bears have averaged 461.7 yards of total offense and committed just one turnover while forcing six in their three road games to date.
- Left tackle Zack Cooley brings an active streak of 39 consecutive starts on the Bears' offensive line into Saturday's game, while fellow senior linemate Richard Galbierz has made 28 straight starts.
- Two of Ryan Heaston's three 100-yard rushing games as a Bear have come against the Jackrabbits, with the junior running back registering a 122-yard effort in MSU's win last season after racking up a career-high 148 yards on the ground two years ago in Brookings -- a 17-7 SDSU victory.
- Missouri State has completely dominated the second half in its five games this fall, outscoring its opponents by a 95-33 margin in the third and fourth quarters combined. MSU has also surrendered just 699 second-half yards this season -- 140 yards per game -- while holding opponents under 100 yards twice in the last 30 minutes.
- Kierra Harris leads the MVFC and ranks eighth nationally in points responsible for per game (18.0); additionally Harris's total of 11 TD passes is the 10th in the country, while his total of 25 touchdown tosses is fifth on MSU's career chart
- Caleb Schaffitzel is the active FCS leader in assisted tackles (187), while Andrew Beisel (182) is second on the same list; Schaffitzel also ranks second on the FCS's total tackles (330) list and fifth in both career interceptions (10) and passes defended (32).
- Julian Burton brings a streak of 25 consecutive games with at least one reception into Saturday's contest, which respresents the fourth-longest in school history; the senior needs just two receptions and 38 receiving yards to crack the Bears' career top five in both categories.
Missouri State will hit the road in search of its first Valley victory of the 2014 season this Saturday (Oct. 11), when the Bears travel to Brookings, S.D., for a second consecutive match-up against a ranked opponent. This time, 19th-ranked South Dakota State awaits MSU, which will be looking for its first road win in the series.
The Bears (3-2, 0-1 MVFC) dropped a hard-fought 14-7 decision to No. 12 Youngstown State to open conference play last weekend at Plaster Stadium. MSU saw the Penguins score a pair of early touchdowns to take control of the contest, but rallied late thanks to a standout effort from its defense. The Bears held YSU scoreless over the final 40 minutes of the game, and came up with a critical blocked punt to set up their only score of the afternoon on a Kierra Harris-to-Gannon Sinclair fourth-and-goal completion. An interception with just over two minutes to play thwarted MSU's last chance for a game-tying drive, however.
South Dakota State (3-2, 0-1 MVFC) came up on the short end of a 45-10 setback to a surging Illinois State team in Normal last Saturday. The Redbirds raced out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back, extending the margin to 35 points by halftime. The Jacks yielded 331 rushing yards while committing four turnovers to overshadow a 144-yard rushing day from Zach Zenner.
South Dakota State leads the all-time series, 5-1, however the Bears won the most-recent matchup, 35-21 on Oct. 19, 2013 at Plaster Stadium in Springfield.
MSU is 0-3 all-time in Brookings, where they dropped a 17-7 decision in their most-recent trip on Sept. 29, 2012.
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 130-116 (.528) in his 22nd year as a head coach and 35-57 (.380) 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 1-5 all-time against South Dakota State, including a two-touchdown win over the Jackrabbits last year in Springfield.
Allen recorded his 60th career MVFC victory with MSU's 37-10 win over Illinois State on Sept. 28, 2013. With a 64-43 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 (67 wins) in all-time Missouri Valley Football Conference victories.
Missouri State's fourth-quarter rally came up short in the first match-up of ranked teams at Plaster Stadium in 18 years, as No. 12 Youngstown State held the No. 23 Bears to 227 yards of total offense to notch a 14-7 victory in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both squads.
The Penguins, who kept the Bears off the scoreboard for the first 55 minutes of the contest, registered a goal-line stand early in the fourth period, then came up with a game-clinching interception at their own 32-yard line with 2:21 to play. YSU harassed MSU quarterback Kierra Harris all afternoon, holding the nation's fourth-rated passer to just 9-of-28 passing for 75 yards, while the Bears' offense converted just 2-of-14 third-down attempts.
Missouri State made it interesting in the closing minutes after a Kurran Blamey blocked punt handed the home club the ball at the YSU 14 with 7:36 to play. The Bears kept the ball on the ground to advance to the Penguins' 3, before a pass interference call on a third-down pass play gave MSU new life with a first down at the 2-yard line.
YSU stood its ground momentarily, stopping Phoenix Johnson for a two-yard loss on first down, before two incomplete passes forced a fourth-down for the Bears. Flushed from the pocket and under heavy pressure, Harris found a wide-open Gannon Sinclair a yard deep in the end zone to register MSU's first points of the afternoon with just 4:58 left on the clock.
Needing a stop to regain possession for a final chance at a game-tying drive, the MSU defense came through when it mattered most, stopping the Penguins on three plays that used just 1:45 of clock time. After a short YSU punt gave the Bears prime field position at their own 43, Harris hooked up with Zac Hoover for MSU's biggest offensive play of the day--a 19-yard completion to the YSU 38.
But Tre Moore, who also finished with a game-high 11 tackles, happened to be in the right place at the right time on Harris's second-down pass attempt, snatching the ball out of the air after it deflected off a Bears' receiver for his second interception of the day, squashing MSU's hopes for a comeback and helping the Penguins record their first win over the Bears in five tries since 2007.
The close call for the Bears was made possible by a valiant defensive effort that held the Penguins to just 95 yards of offense in the second half and forced three turnovers against an offense that had committed just two combined giveaways in its first four games of the season. Christian Hoffmann led the Bears with a season-high 10 tackles, while Dylan Cole made five stops, picked off a pass and recovered a fumble to keep MSU in the game.
But Youngstown State's defense made the difference early, as the Penguins used a pair of big plays to build a 14-point halftime lead while locking down an MSU offense that entered the week averaging 442 yards of total offense.
MSU will return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium next Week (Oct. 18) to host the South Dakota Coyotes in a pivotal Missouri Valley Football Conference game at 2:05 p.m. The Bears have split their first two meetings in the series with USD, including a stunning 17-14 setback last year in Vermillion.
