Oct. 5, 2015
- The Missouri State Bears enter their Saturday (Oct. 10) Missouri Valley Football Conference matchup with the Southern Illinois Salukis in search of their first league victory in 2015
- SIU holds a slim 19-18 edge in the all-time series after claiming a 32-22 victory in Springfield last November; MSU is 8-10 vs. the Salukis on their home turf, including a 37-27 win on Nov. 9, 2013, which represents its most recent MVFC road victory
- MSU has made its way into the end zone in each of its six trips to the opponents red zone this season
- The Bears have scored in 74 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 15, 2008, marking the third-longest such streak in school history; MSU has suffered just two shutouts since 1991, putting points on the board in 258 of its last 260 contests over the same stretch
- Sophomore receiver Malik Earl has recorded at least three receptions in each of MSU's four contests this season and ranks eighth overall among MVFC receivers in receptions per game (3.8)
- Sophomore tailback Calan Crowder enters Saturday's game just five rushing yards shy of the 1,000 mark for his MSU career; Crowder set a Bears freshman record with 766 yards last fall and leads the club with 229 this season
- MSU's offensive line has allowed just five sacks on the season, which is the second-best mark in the MVFC and 34th among all NCAA Division I FCS squads
- Senior punter Chris Sullens owns Missouri State career records for both punts (252) and punt yardage (9,957) and enters Saturday's contest just 25 punts shy of Mike Krause's (Western Illinois) Valley mark of 277 career punts
- Junior linebacker Dylan Cole currently ranks third in the Valley and 34th nationally in tackles per game (9.8) after leading the Bears in tackles in each of their four games this season
- Sophomore Deion Holliman's 182 combined return yards (kickoffs and punts) Saturday vs. ISU represented the best single-game total for a Bear during the Division I era; Holliman leads the MVFC in combined kick return yardage (366), punt return average (20.2) and punt returns for TDs (1)
Bears, Salukis Seek First Valley Victory
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After suffering conference opening losses this past weekend, both the Missouri State Bears (1-3, 0-1 MVFC) and Southern Illinois Salukis (1-3, 0-1 MVFC) have their sights set on reversing their fortunes by locking down their first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory Saturday (Oct. 10) when the two clubs meet in a 6 p.m. game at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale.
Missouri State suffered its second-straight setback last Saturday with a 56-28 loss to Indiana State at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. The Bears posted a strong start against the nationally-ranked Sycamores, using a pair of early Calan Crowder touchdown runs to take a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. MSU finished with a season-high 197 passing yards thanks to junior quarterback Brodie Lambert, who completed 26-of-43 attempts, including a late eight-yard scoring pass to Zac Hoover. But the Sycamores scored 28 unanswered points to overcome the deficit and racked up 516 yards of total offense over the final three periods of play.
Southern Illinois suffered a tough-luck loss Saturday in Macomb, as the Salukis fell in the final seconds for the third time this year. Western Illinois booted a 20-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to seal the 37-36 decision. SIU has sustained three losses this season by a combined five points. Head coach Dale Lennon's squad enters Saturday's game averaging a Valley-best 508.8 yards of total offense per outing, thanks in large part to quarterback Mark Ionnotti. The conference's individual leader in total offense (352.0 ypg.), Iannotti also ranks among the league's top 10 in both passing (285.0 ypg.) and rushing (67.0 ypg.).
Sophomore return man Deion Holliman has consistently displayed the skills that make him a home run threat every time he touches the football. But the Camden, Ark., product finally broke free and went the distance Saturday vs. Indiana State, bringing back a 58-yard return for a touchdown to mark the longest punt return for a Bear in nine years and the ninth-longest in school history.
Holliman's effort represented the first for MSU since LeMarcus Stewart returned a blocked punt for a touchdown last year vs. Southern Illinois (Nov. 8) and the longest by a Bear since Eric Davis turned in a school-record 88-yard punt return at Central Arkansas on Sept. 19, 2006. Holliman totaled 182 combined return yards (kickoffs and punts) against the Sycamores -- the top single-game effort by a Bear during the program's Division I era. Holliman leads the MVFC and ranks sixth nationally in punt return average (20.2 yards per return) this season, while his 366 total combined kick return yards are the 14th-best total in the nation.
Missouri State recorded six sacks as a team for the first time in five years Saturday vs. Indiana State. Led by sophomore defensive end Colby Isbell's 2.0 sacks, the Bears' defensive line accounted for 4.5 of the 6.0 sacks.
The last six-sack game for MSU came on Sept. 3, 2010 in their season opener against Eastern Kentucky. Prior to Saturday's performance, the Bears had not logged a six-sack game vs. a league foe since Oct. 17, 2009 at Western Illinois.
Junior quarterback Brodie Lambert aired it out Saturday with a career-high 26 completions against Indiana State, matching three other MSU signal-callers for the 11th-best single-game total in school history. In his first home start as a Bear, Lambert also connected with Zac Hoover on the first scoring pass of his career and totaled a personal-best 197 passing yards for the day.
