Sept. 15, 2014 Missouri State Game Notes 
| Central Arkansas Game Notes
- The Missouri State Bears will make their first trip to Conway, Ark., since 2006 Saturday when they meet the UCA Bears in a 6 p.m. non-conference game at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
- Saturday's game will feature two of the nine Division I football programs currently using the nickname of Bears; MSU is 4-4 against other Bears' programs, including a 3-4 ledger against UCA and 1-0 mark against Maine.
- Missouri State ranked 26th in this week's FCS Coaches Poll with a season-high 28 points; MSU is one of eight MVFC squads receiving votes in the poll, including six clubs that rank in the Top 25 this week; additionally, the Bears made their debut in the Anygivensaturday.com Top 25 Poll, ranking 23rd in this week's edition.
- MSU's win over North Dakota moved head coach Terry Allen into the fifth spot on the Bears' career coaching wins chart; Allen passed Randy Ball with his 35th victory at MSU and needs just three more wins to catch Howard Blair in the fourth spot on the list.
- The Bears have outscored the opposition by a combined 40-6 margin in the fourth quarter and 68-16 in the second half this season; MSU has out-gained its three opponents 362-128 in the final period and has not allowed more than 47 yards of total offense in the fourth.
- Sophomore linebacker Dylan Cole has been the Bears' leading tackler in two of their three games and ranks fifth among all FCS defenders in tackles for loss (2.8/game) this season.
- Kierra Harris leads the MVFC and ranks sixth nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.32) this season; additionally Harris's total of eight TD passes is the third-best in the country and his 180.7 pass efficiency rating is the fourth-highest in the FCS ranks.
- Junior Chris Sullens posted a net average of 40.5 yards per punt in last week's win, pinning UND inside the 20-yard line five times to claim the second MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor of his career.
- MSU's defense notched its first shutout since 2010 last week, holding UND to 166 yards of total offense and seven first downs--the lowest figure for a Bears' opponent in the Allen era (since Nov. 1, 2003 vs. Indiana State).
- After last week's record-breaking crowd at Robert W. Plaster Stadium (18,386), Missouri State ranks No. 5 in this week's FCS home attendance rankings.
After posting one of the more memorable performances in recent Missouri State football history, the Bears (2-1) return to the road for their final non-conference test of the season Saturday (Sept. 20) when they take on the University of Central Arkansas Bears (1-2) at First Security Field at Estes Stadium in Conway, Ark. MSU, which blanked North Dakota 38-0 in its home opener last weekend, will be looking for its first 3-1 start to a season in seven years, while UCA will try to get back to the .500 mark after falling short in its upset bid at No. 18 Montana State last Saturday.
The Bears used a shutdown defensive performance and a second-half scoring barrage to beat North Dakota before a record-setting crowd of 18,386 at Robert W. Plaster Stadium last Saturday evening. MSU built a 14-0 halftime lead thanks in large part to its defense, then pulled away with three touchdowns in a five-minute span in the second half to improve to 2-1 for the first time since 2009. Overall, the Bears' defense limited UND 166 yards of total offense and just seven first downs. Calan Crowder recorded his first career 100-yard rushing performance to help Missouri State tally a season-high 235 ground yards, and Kierra Harris tossed three second-half touchdown passes to put the game out of reach. The Bears forced a trio of UND turnovers on the night and piled up 247 total yards in the second half.
UCA rallied with 20 fourth-quarter points to nearly overcome a 37-13 deficit at Montana State last week. Quarterback Ryan Howard threw for 337 yards off the Bears' bench and totaled five touchdown passes, three of which went to Desmond Smith.
Central Arkansas leads the all-time series, 4-3, in a rivalry that dates back to 1937. The Bears are 0-2 in two previous trips to Conway (1950 and 2006) -- both narrow losses. MSU has outscored the purple Bears 125-124 in the previous seven games combined.
Last year in Springfield, Wynrick Smothers lifted No. 13 UCA past the Bears, 17-13, with a pair of first-half touchdown passes before UCA's defense held MSU scoreless over the last 39 minutes to preserve the narrow victory. Kierra Harris was 18-for-38 through the air for Missouri State for 183 yards, with Eric Christophel hauling in 6 catches for 42 yards. UCA outgained the Bears by a 280-183 margin and both teams forced a turnover.
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 130-115 (.531) in his 22nd year as a head coach and 35-56 (.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 1-2 against Central Arkansas, and the Bears are 8-20-1 all-time against current Southland Conference members.
Allen recorded his 60th career MVFC victory with MSU's 37-10 win over Illinois State on Sept. 28, 2013. With a 64-42 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 used a shutdown defensive performance and a second-half scoring barrage to post a 38-0 victory over North Dakota before a record-setting crowd of 18,386 at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
Playing its first home game in newly-refurbished Plaster Stadium, MSU built a 14-0 halftime lead thanks in large part to its defense, then pulled away with three touchdowns in a five-minute span in the second half to improve to 2-1 for the first time since 2009. Overall, the Bears' defense limited UND 166 yards of total offense and just seven first downs, as the largest home audience in school history witnessed MSU's first shutout victory since a 3-0 win over North Dakota State on Nov. 20, 2010.
Calan Crowder recorded his first career 100-yard rushing performance to help Missouri State tally a season-high 235 ground yards, and Kierra Harris tossed three second-half touchdown passes to put the game out of reach. The Bears forced a trio of UND turnovers on the night and piled up 247 total yards in the second half.
The Bears capitalized on a key special teams play on the initial play of the second period to register the first points of the evening. Chris Sullens boomed a 47-yard punt to pin the visitors on their own 2-yard line, one of four punts inside the opposition's 20 in the opening half for the Bears' junior punter. Three plays later, a pair of Missouri State freshmen teamed up to put the Bears on the board, as Sean Bernard charged through the UND line to sack quarterback Joe Mollberg and force a fumble in the end zone, where Cecil Bratton fell on the loose ball for his first career touchdown and a 7-0 MSU lead.
Missouri State stood tall once again late in the half, forcing a UND punt with just over three minutes left on the clock. Harris set the tone for the drive by ripping off a 28-yard run on the first play, and Crowder rushed for 33 more two plays later to set the Bears up with a first down at the UND 16. Crowder--who totaled 119 yards on 13 rushes--carried two more times for a total of nine yards before Harris covered the final seven yards of the of the 79-yard drive with a pair of runs to extend the MSU lead to 14-0 with just 22 seconds to play in the half.
The Bears kept the defensive pressure on at the onset of the third period, limiting UND to just 25 yards and just one first down in the quarter. Harris provided the spark for the offense, meanwhile, connecting with Willis Chambers for a 37-yard scoring strike and LeMarcus Stewart on a 40-yard touchdown throw to increase the margin to 28-0 by the end of the period.
Harris added a third touchdown pass following an Alexz Jones 30-yard interception return to the UND 5 two plays into the fourth quarter. Gannon Sinclair was the recipient this time, hauling in Harris's short toss on the first play of the drive to run the lead to 35-0 with 14:03 to play.
Harris finished the night 11-of-16 for 149 yards and ran his season total to eight touchdown passes with three scoring completions.
MSU will have an open date on Sept. 27 before returning home to face Youngstown State on Oct. 4. at Robert W. Plaster Stadium at 2 p.m. Even though YSU leads the all-time series, 11-5, the MVFC foes have not defeated the Bears since 2007.
