Oct. 26, 2015
- The Missouri State Bears enter their 2015 Homecoming matchup with the fourth-The Missouri State Bears will be seeking their second win in their series with the 13th-ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits Saturday (Oct. 31) at Robert W. Plaster Stadium
- The Bears have averaged more than 29 points and 444 yards of total offense in their three previous home games against the Jackrabbits; MSU earned a 35-21 victory over the Jacks in their last visit to Springfield (Oct. 19, 2013) for its lone win in the seven-game series
- MSU is looking for its first victory over a ranked opponent since its home win over the 15th-ranked Jackrabbits at Plaster Stadium two years ago; the Bears are winless in two tries against ranked foes this year after going 0-7 against top 25 squads in 2014
- SDSU puled out a come-from-behind 32-28 win over the Bears in their last meeting (Oct. 11, 2014) to improve to 4-0 vs. MSU in Brookings; Jake Wieneke hauled in three touchdown passes and 183 receiving yards on the night for the Jacks, while Kierra Harris and Calan Crowder each tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Bears
- Sophomore Deion Holliman leads the nation in combined kick return yardage (865) and ranks second on the Bears' single-season kickoff return yardage chart (712), only 67 yards behind Tony Gilbert (1989) in the top spot
- Holliman is the first Bear to record at least 100 yards in kickoff returns on four separate occasions in a single season during the Division I era and became just the third Bear to log a 100-yard return last week at South Dakota
- MSU's defense has forced a total of five turnovers over the last two games after recording just four takeaways through the season's first five contests
- Senior Chris Sullens enters Saturday's contest just 354 punt yards shy of Mike Krause's MVFC career record of 11,313; Sullens matched Krause for the Valley record for career punts (277) last Saturday at South Dakota
- Junior linebacker Dylan Cole currently leads the Valley and ranks seventh nationally in tackles per game (12.1) after posting the first 21-tackle game by a Bear in 11 years Saturday at USD; Cole has led the Bears in tackles in each of their seven games this season
- The Bears have scored in 77 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 15, 2008; MSU has suffered just two shutouts since 1991, putting points on the board in 261 of its last 263 contests over the same stretch
Bears Set to Host No. 13 Jackrabbits for Pink Out Game
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The Missouri State Bears (1-6, 0-4 MVFC) return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium Saturday (Oct. 31) to face the No. 13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (5-2, 2-2 MVFC) for a 2:04 p.m. contest that will be broadcast live as part of The Valley on ESPN3 television package. The contest has also been designated as MSU's annual Pink Out Game benefiting the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.
The Bears enter the contest looking to post their first Valley victory of the year and end a five-game slide. MSU engaged South Dakota in a competitive first half this past Saturday in Vermillion, trailing by just two points entering the final five minutes of the opening stanza. But the suddenly-red-hot Coyotes scored on their first four second-half possessions, while limiting the Bears offense to a pair of first downs through the first three periods. USD rolled up a season-high 510 yards of total offense. The Bears were bolstered once again by return specialist Deion Holliman, whose 100-yard kickoff return in the first quarter marked the lone MSU touchdown of the day. Dylan Cole also starred for the Maroon and White, logging the first 20-tackle day for a Bear since the 2004 season.
South Dakota State will also be looking to bounce back from a difficult defeat following a 10-7 setback to No. 21 UNI in a defensive struggle last Saturday in Brookings. Quarterback Taryn Christion led the Jacks' offense, carrying the ball 16 times for 61 yards while completing 15-of-20 passes for 156 yards.
Junior linebacker Dylan Cole continued his impressive 2015 campaign with perhaps his finest all-around performance as a Bear Saturday at South Dakota. The junior logged 21 tackles-the best single-game effort by an MVFC defender this season-including 14 solo stops and a tackle for a loss. Cole, who has led all MSU tacklers in each of the Bears' seven games to date, also broke up a Coyote pass attempt to factor in defending more than a quarter of the 87 offensive plays ran by USD.
Cole's 21 tackles marks the best single-game total for a Bear since Daryl Johnson tallied the same sum against Western Kentucky on Nov. 6, 2004. The Rogersville, Mo., product ranks seventh nationally in both total tackles (12.1) and solo stops (6.3) per outing this fall. In 30 career games, Cole has led all Bears tacklers on 14 occasions, including nine different contests in which he has logged double-digit tackle totals.
The Bears have played before a total of 123,828 fans through their first seven games 2015, or an average of 17,690 spectators per contest, which represents the second-best average attendance in school history.
MSU has played before more than 100,000 fans in each of the last 26 seasons, ranking among the top 40 FCS schools in average home attendance 18 times during that span, including a school-record 234,314 spectators in 2011.
Missouri State's defense forced two more turnovers Saturday at South Dakota and has racked up five combined takeaways in its last two contests after totaling just four over the first five games of the season.
Against Illinois State (Oct. 17), the Bears forced three takeaways - all on fumbles - for the first time in 2015. MSU also recorded its first safety since 2012 to thwart the Redbirds' shutout bid. The three fumble recoveries in a single game was the first such effort for MSU since the 2013 season.
Sullens Sets Sights on Valley Marks
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Chris Sullens punted seven times Saturday at South Dakota to move into a tie with Western Illinois' Mike Krause for the MVFC's career record for punts (277). The Camdenton, Mo., native is also closing in on the Valley's all-time mark for punt yardage after passing SIU's Mark Gagliano for the No. 2 position on the league's career chart Saturday. Sullens needs 354 additional punt yards to match the conference record (11,313), also held by Krause.
Sullens eclipsed the Missouri State career record for punting yardage in the Bears' season-opening setback at Memphis (Sept. 5), passing Jordan Chiles (8,986) for the Bears' all-time mark after averaging 39.9 yards on his nine boots. Sullens recorded a long of 53 yards and pinned the Tigers inside their own 20 on two occasions. His 399 punting yards represented a career best and the ninth-highest single-game total in school history. Sullens set the Bears' single-season mark for total punts (81) last fall and eclipsed Warren Baker's career mark of 239 total punts at Arkansas State (Sept. 19). The senior tacked on 295 total punt yards to his MSU record last Saturday, bringing his career total to 10,959.
Fellow senior Colby Wickwar has served as Sullens's long snapper in each of the duo's 42 career games, combining on 277 clean exchanges out of 278 overall snaps.
