Sept. 28, 2015
- The Missouri State Bears open their 31st season of Missouri Valley Football Conference play Saturday when they host the 24th-ranked Indiana State Sycamores at Robert W. Plaster Stadium
- MSU is 13-17 all-time in MVFC openers, including a 14-7 setback to Youngstown State in last year's league opener; the Bears are opening the Valley slate at home for the fourth straight season
- Indiana State will be the first ranked opponent the Bears have faced in 2015 after squaring off a school-record seven times against ranked foes last fall; MSU is 21-78 all-time against ranked opponents
- The Bears have scored in 73 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 257 of its last 259 contests over the same stretch
- Saturday's contest will mark the first time since 1993 the Bears and Sycamores have met in a Valley opener; MSU took that contest by a 31-21 margin (at Plaster Stadium), as well as its 1989 (33-26 in Springfield) and 1990 (31-10 in Terre Haute) MVFC openers vs. ISU
- Sophomore tailback Calan Crowder enters Saturday's game just 23 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 211 this season
- MSU drew a sellout crowd of 17,835 in its Sept. 12 home opener vs. Chadron State, marking its second-largest home audience in the 104-year history of the program; since the most-recent renovations to Robert W. Plaster Stadium were completed prior to last season, MSU has drawn an average of 12,694 spectators per home contest
- Senior punter Chris Sullens eclipsed Warren Baker's MSU career mark of 239 total punts at Arkansas State while adding to his school-record for total punt yardage (9,706), with 334 punt yards on 10 kicks vs. the Red Wolves
- Junior linebacker Dylan Cole currently ranks fourth in the Valley and 25th nationally in tackles per game (10.0) after logging back-to-back 11-tackle games against Chadron State and Arkansas State
- Sophomore Deion Holliman leads the MVFC in combined kick return yardage (184) and ranks 16th nationally in punt return average (13.0); Holliman also turned in the Bears' two longest returns of the season at Arkansas State, registering kick returns of 30 and 28 yards
Bears Host Sycamores to Open MVFC Season
|
The Missouri State Bears (1-2, 0-0 MVFC) will look to make it two home wins in a row this Saturday (Oct. 3) when they open their 31st season of Missouri Valley Football Conference play against the 24th-ranked Indiana State Sycamores (2-1, 0-0 MVFC) at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
MSU enters Valley play looking to rebound from a lopsided final margin at FBS foe Arkansas State (Sept. 19), but the Bears will be shooting for their second consecutive victory at Plaster Stadium this season. The Bears held off Chadron State, 21-13, in their home opener on Sept. 12, totaling season highs for rushing (279 yards) and total offense (407) in the win.
Indiana State begins Valley play on the heels of a dramatic 29-28 victory over SEMO (Sept. 19) that came down to a two-point conversion in the closing seconds. The Sycamores, FCS playoff qualifiers last fall, are led by sophomore quarterback Matt Adam, who ranks fourth in the Valley in passing (203.3 ypg.). As a team, ISU brings the conference's No. 4 offensive unit (414 ypg.) into action Saturday.
Close calls have been the norm in recent years for Missouri State versus the Sycamores, as six of the last 10 meetings in the series have been decided by eight points or less. The Bears, who lead the all-time series 17-12, scored a 49-7 win over ISU two years ago in Springfield, where MSU has accumulated an 11-3 all-time mark against the Sycamores.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference is off to another strong start in 2015, with four teams ranked in the top seven of the FCS Coaches Poll for the first time in the history of the league. During the non-conference portion of the season, MVFC teams went 14-0 at home and compiled a 16-3 cumulative record against NCAA Division I FCS competition. The Valley also went 4-2 vs. ranked FCS ranked teams in the first month of the season.
Missouri State is 13-17 in MVFC openers since joining the league in 1985. This season's MVFC opening game marks the ninth time in 10 years the Bears will have played a ranked opponent in their Valley opener. MSU has faced off against ranked opponents in 19 of its previous 30 Valley openers, compiling a 5-14 mark in those contests.
After logging only three combined offensive plays of 25 yards or more in their first two games of the season, the Bears broke out their big-play arsenal in game three of the new season at Arkansas State (Sept. 19). MSU recorded five different offensive plays of at least 25 yards, including runs of 31 and 35 yards and pass completions of 26, 27 and 46 yards.
Additionally, Deion Holliman brought back a pair of long kick returns (30 and 28 yards) vs. the Red Wolves to kick-start the Bears' special teams. Holliman leads the MVFC in combined kick return yards (184) and ranks 16th nationally in punt return average (13.0).
Missouri State has welcomed a host of new faces to its 2015 lineup, as 15 freshmen seen game action in at least one of the Bears' three games to date, including five different starters. In its Sept. 19 setback at Arkansas State, 11 of MSU's 22 total starters on offense and defense were either freshmen or sophomores, while a total of 31 total underclassmen played in the contest. The Bears' youth movement has been especially prominent on the defensive side of the ball, with seven total starters and 10 of MSU's top 13 tacklers coming from either the freshman or sophomore class.
