Nov. 10, 2014 Missouri State Game Notes 
| North Dakota State Game Notes
Game 11 | Missouri State Bears (4-6, 1-5 MVFC) vs. No. 4 North Dakota State Bison (9-1, 5-1 MVFC)
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| Date | Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 | 2:05 p.m. |
| Location | Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) | Springfield, Mo. |
| Tickets | Game 11 Tickets | MSU Season Tickets |
Game Events
| White Out | BearFest Village 11 a.m. | BearWalk 12:45 | Fan Appreciation -- $5 Reserved Bleachers | |
| Fan Information | BearWear | Browser Theme | NEW BearFest Village | MSU Bookstore |
| Television | Mediacom (MC-22) with Don West and Jim Powers |
| Radio | Missouri State Radio Network with Art Hains and Rob Bolks |
Online
| Bears All-Access  | Live Audio Stream  |
MissouriStateBears.com
|  | Football Home Page |
| Connect | @MissouriStBears  | @MoStateFootball | Bears on Facebook  | Bears on Instagram  |
All-Time Series
| NDSU leads 4-2 | Streak: NDSU 3 in a row | Last Meeting: NDSU 41, MSU 26 (10/12/13) |
Next Week
| Missouri State at Northern Iowa (UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa), 4 p.m. |
- Missouri State takes on its sixth ranked opponent in the last seven weeks Saturday (Nov. 15) when it closes out the home portion of its 2014 campaign against No. 4 North Dakota State in a 2:05 p.m. (CST) game at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
- The Bears are 2-4 versus the Bison and 20-81 all-time against ranked foes; five of those 20 wins have come in the last five seasons, however, including a 3-0 victory over then-No. 17 NDSU on Nov. 20, 2010 at Plaster Stadium.
- MSU has either led or been tied with four of its five ranked opponents in the fourth quarter this season; should UNI remain in the FCS Coaches Top 25 next week, the Bears will establish a new program single-season record with their seventh game against a ranked squad.
- Missouri State must draw 12,179 fans Saturday to set a new program record for the best single-season attendance average in school history (13,181, set in 1996); the Bears have drawn 53,737 spectators to Plaster Stadium through four games -- an average of 13,432 per contest, which ranks 13th nationally.
- The Bears are 4-0 this season when rushing for at least 200 yards, but 0-6 when failing to do so; additionally, MSU is 0-4 when allowing the opposition to reach the same mark.
- Chris Sullens' average of 41.7 yards per punt is third among all Valley punters in conference play, while his season mean of 40.4 yards per boot is fifth overall in the league; Sullens has two of the three longest punts in the circuit this season, both measuring 74 yards, and ranks fourth all-time at MSU in punting average (39.9).
- Calan Crowder needs just 34 rushing yards to match Kingjack Washington's MSU freshman record of 674 yards; Crowder leads the team with an average of 64.0 rushing yards per game, which is good for 11th in the MVFC.
- Kierra Harris moved to third on the Bears' career pass completions list last weekend and needs just 16 more passing yards to become the fifth MSU quarterback to eclipse the 4,000 career passing yardage mark; Harris is second in MSU single-season history with 18 passing touchdowns and has had a hand in 25 of the Bears' 28 offensive touchdowns this fall.
- Caleb Schaffitzel is one of 17 MSU seniors slated to be honored on the field prior to kickoff; the Fair Grove, Mo., product ranks eighth on the Bears' career tackles chart (369) and needs nine more stops to move up to the seventh spot.
- Julian Burton needs 12 receptions over the Bears' final two games to equal Clay Harbor's school record of 150 career catches; Burton brings a streak of 30 consecutive games with at least one reception into Saturday's contest.
Missouri State wraps the home portion of its 2014 schedule Saturda afternoon when it entertains three-time defending Division I FCS national champion North Dakota State at Plaster Stadium in a 2:05 p.m. contest. The Bison hold a 4-2 edge in the series, with the Bears' last win coming via a 3-0 upset of a ranked NDSU squad four years ago in Springfield.
The Bears will be looking to snap a three-game slide following a 32-22 loss to SIU in which MSU rallied from a 15-point deficit, only to see the Salukis score the final 10 points to earn the win. MSU will be looking to lock up a winning home campaign, entering with a 2-2 mark at the newly-renovated Plaster Stadium this year. Prior to kickoff the Bears will pay tribute to a 17-member senior class that includes All-American Caleb Schaffitzel and five additional players who have earned All-MVFC recognition during their MSU careers.
Last week's 23-3 loss at Northern Iowa ended NDSU's FCS-record 33-game win streak, as well as its league-record 18-game Valley streak and a string of 18 consecutive road wins. Under first-year head coach Chris Klieman, the Bison are led by running back John Crockett, who averages 108.0 yards per game, and a scoring defense (11.5 ppg) that ranks second nationally. Kyle Emanuel powers that unit with a league-best 13.5 sacks this season.
Fan Appreciation Discount
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All Bears fans can purchase bleacher seats for the Nov. 15 football game against No. 1-ranked North Dakota State for half price. All upper and lower-level bleacher tickets are discounted to just $5. The special is available by phone by calling (417) 836-7678, on-line at MissouriStatebears.com/tickets or in person at the MSU Athletics Box Office at JQH Arena during regular box office hours.
North Dakota State leads the all-time series, 4-2, with the Bison winning two of the three previous battles at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
The series dates back to 2008 when NDSU joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison currently own a three-game win streak in the series with MSU's last win coming in a 3-0 shutout of NDSU in 2010 prior to its NCAA quarterfinal playoff run that season.
Terry Allen is also 2-4 all-time against NDSU.
Bears' head coach Terry Allen will be coaching in his 100th game as MSU head coach on Saturday.
He picked up his 17th MVFC victory at Missouri State on Oct. 25 vs. South Dakota, pushing him into sole possession of third place on the school's coaching list for conference wins. Only former MSU sideline bosses Jesse Branch (31) and Rich Johanningmeier (27) have compiled more league victories for the Maroon and White than Allen.
Allen enters Saturday's game just one win away from matching Howard Blair for the No. 4 spot on the Bears all-time coaching wins list. Overall, Allen is 132-121 (.522) in his 22nd year as a head coach and 37-62 (.374) in nine years at Missouri State. With a 65-45 record in 16 seasons as a head coach at Northern Iowa (1989-96) and Missouri State (2006-present) in league play, Allen trails only current UNI sideline boss Mark Farley (68 wins) in all-time conference victories.
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, Allen sits in third on Missouri State's all-time conference wins list, trailing only Jesse Branch (31 wins) and Rich Johanningmeier (27). Allen's teams have scored 2,371 points overall in his 98 games in Springfield (24.2 ppg), the fourth-highest scoring average under any Bears' head coach.
Southern Illinois rode a career day by redshirt freshman running back Cameron Walter to a 32-22 victory over Missouri State at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. In the first start of his collegiate career, Walter rushed for 210 yards on 37 carries, and quarterback Ryan West threw for three touchdowns, including the go-ahead 36-yard strike to Tay Willis that snapped a 22-22 tie early in the fourth quarter.
Walter, who entered the contest with just 62 career rushing yards on 20 carries, powered the SIU running game all afternoon, accounting for all but 11 of the Salukis 221 rushing yards. His performance marked the first 200-yard rushing effort by a Missouri State opponent in three years and the best single-game total since Murray State's Mike Harris racked up 212 yards on the ground in 2010.
After throwing for 227 yards against the Bears last November in Carbondale, West delivered a clutch performance for the No. 24 Salukis in his first start of the 2014 season as well, completing 16-of-25 passes for 136 yards and three of SIU's four touchdown passes on the day. Half of those passes were reeled in by Willis, who finished the day with 95 receiving yards and the first two-touchdown effort of his career.
Powered by a career-best 120 rushing yards from their own redshirt freshman back, Calan Crowder, Missouri State battled back from a 15-point first-quarter deficit, then knotted the score late in the third period on Marcelo Bonani's third field goal of the game. But SIU's sophomore signal-caller came up big on the first play after Brandon Willingham picked off a Kierra Harris pass and returned the ball 19 yards to the MSU 36 with 13:59 left in regulation. West found Willis streaking alone through the Bears' secondary for the senior receiver's second score of the day and what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown.
MSU appeared poised to answer the Salukis score with a drive of its own, as the Bears moved the ball to the SIU 19 thanks to an 18-yard completion to Julian Burton on third-and-20, followed by a four-yard carry by Crowder on fourth down. But the Bears' second holding penalty of the drive and a Darius Merriweather sack of Harris for a seven-yard loss derailed the scoring chance, as Bonani misfired on a 43-yard field goal try with just under eight minutes to play.
The Salukis turned to Walter to put the game on ice, putting the ball in the rookie's hands on six consecutive play calls. Walter answered the challenge, totaling 38 yards and helping peel nearly five minutes off the clock to set up Thomas Kinney's 47-yard field goal that made it a 10-point game with 2:42 to play.
Crowder carried 25 times in establishing a Bears' single-game best rushing total for the season, while Harris completed 13-of-29 passes for 159 yards and his 18th touchdown pass of the season--a 32-yard toss to Burton that put MSU on the board early in the second-quarter.
Andrew Beisel spearheaded the MSU defense with a career-high 16 tackles--the most recorded by a Bear defender in more than two years--while fellow senior Caleb Schaffitzel added a season-high 15 stops to move up to the No. 8 spot on the Bears' career tackles chart.
The Bears wrap up the regular season at Northern Iowa (4 p.m.), which ranks 11/12 in this week's primary FCS national polls. The Panthers are 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the Valley.
