GAME PREVIEW
The Missouri State Bears (3-1, 1-0 MVFC) will be shooting for their second-straight win over a ranked opponent Saturday (Oct. 8) when they host the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (4-0, 1-0 MVFC) in a 2:04 p.m. (CDT) Missouri Valley Football Conference game at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.

Missouri State, which knocked off No. 24 Indiana State last Saturday in Terre Haute, is searching for its first 2-0 MVFC start since 1997. The Bears defense pitched a second-half shutout of the Sycamores, allowing just 116 yards of total offense. Senior All-America candidate Dylan Cole earned STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week honors after logging 13 tackles and contributing to two of the Bears' four fourth-quarter takeaways, while Malik Earl and Calan Crowder accounted for five of MSU's six touchdowns.

North Dakota State, the five-time defending FCS national champion, is coming off a 31-10 home win over No. 18 Illinois State last Saturday. Quarterback Easton Stick completed passes to nine different receivers, including three second-quarter TD's, in the win. Additonally, RJ Urzendowski leads the nation with his 25.88 yards per reception average.

ROAD TO SUCCESS

One key to Missouri State's hot start to the 2016 season has been its play on the road, with three of the Bears' first four games taking place away from Robert W. Plaster Stadium. MSU, which entered the season on a 10-game road skid, is a perfect 2-0 on the road against FCS competition this season, including Saturday's win at No. 24 Indiana State, which represented its first victory over a ranked foe since Oct. 19, 2013 (vs. No. 15 South Dakota State) and the Bears' first win vs. a Top 25 squad on the road since an Oct. 20, 2012 decision over No. 11 Illinois State in Normal.

THE EARL OF TERRE HAUTE
Junior receiver Malik Earl turned in a career performance to help the Bears knock off the Sycamores in Terre Haute Saturday, hauling in a career-best 11 catches for 161 yards and two critical touchdowns. Earl did all of his damage in the first three quarters before the Bears built a double-digit lead early in the fourth period. His final catch — an eight-yard TD reception from Brodie Lambert with 1:44 left in the third — put the Bears in front to stay and moved him into a tie with Jason Cannon (Oct. 21, 1995 at Western Illinois) and Clay Harbor (Nov. 14, 2009 at Southern Illinois) for the second-best single-game reception total in program history.

Earl, whose second-quarter 69-yard scoring catch marked the longest MSU play from scrimmage this season, finished just two receptions shy of Jeff Hewitt's (Oct. 7, 2000 at Indiana State) school record of 13 catches, while his yardage total ranked 16th on the Bears' all-time single-game list.

CROWDER POWER
Junior tailback Calan Crowder left his stamp on the Bears' win in Terre Haute as well, rushing for a season-high 131 yards on just nine carries — three of which went for touchdowns. Crowder's average of 14.6 yards per carry represents the best single-game figure by a Bear since 2010, when Chris Douglas averaged 19.1 yards per tote against Murray State. Crowder ripped off a career-long 64 yard TD rush in the second quarter, then put the finishing touches on the victory with a pair of fourth-quarter scoring runs to surpass his previous career-best single-game touchdown total.

SECOND-HALF STRANGLEHOLD
MSU's win over Indiana State featured another strong stretch drive, particularly by the Bears defense, which held the Sycamores scoreless and limited their high-octane offense to just 116 yards of offense and seven first downs in the second half. That effort continued a second-half trend for the MSU defense, which has allowed just nine combined points in the third and fourth quarters this season. In the three games in which MSU has played past intermission, it has allowed an average of just 15.3 rushing yards and 3.0 points, while forcing a total of eight turnovers in the second half alone.
 

BIG HONORS FOR BEARS DUO
After playing integral roles in the Bears' win at No. 24 Indiana State, a pair of Bears brought home Missouri Valley Football Conference honors this week. Dylan Cole earned not only MVFC Defensive Player of the Week recognition, but also national defensive player of the week honors from both STATS and College Sports Madness. Meanwhile, Sam Ellifrits claimed MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week laurels after helping the MSU offense roll up a season-high 473 yards of total offense.

Cole sparked a defensive resurgence by the Bears that ultimately lifted the Bears to just their second victory in a conference opener since 2004. Thanks in large part to the co-captain's 13 tackles, the MSU defense held ISU's high-powered offense to 116 second-half yards, while forcing four key turnovers in the fourth quarter to seal the Bears' biggest road win ever over a ranked foe. Cole, who moved into the Bears' all-time top 10 for career tackles in the victory, accounted for two of MSU's late takeaways, picking off a pass and forcing a fumble to help secure the outcome.

Thanks in part to Ellifrits' work up front, junior tailback Calan Crowder posted a career day with three touchdowns and 131 rushing yards in the victory. MSU logged its three longest scoring drives of the season in the win, each extending 11 plays or more, while also posting the season's two longest gains from scrimmage on back-to-back snaps in Malik Earl's 69-yard scoring reception and Crowder's 64-yard TD run.
 

LET'S GET IT STARTED
With its win at Indiana State last Saturday, Missouri State is now 14-18 in MVFC openers since joining the league in 1985. This season's MVFC opening game marked the 10th time in 11 years the Bears have played a ranked opponent in their Valley opener. MSU has faced off against Top 25 foes in 21 of Valley openers, compiling a 6-15 mark in those contests.

RANK AND FILE

Several Bears also factor prominently among the national leaders in individual statistical categories, including junior Deion Holliman, who ranks 16th among all FCS kick returners with his average of 27.3 yards per return. Holliman also ranks 18th in combined kick return yardage (338) and 54th in all-purpose yards per contest (117.5).

On the defensive side of the ball, Colby Isbell ranks among the top FCS defenders in both tackles for loss (1.9 per game) and sacks (0.88 per game), and Dylan Cole is 51st in solo tackles (5.0) and tied for third in the MVFC in total tackles per game (8.8).

OFF TO THE RACES
Missouri State's 3-1 start to the season is its 10th since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1982 and its second in the last three seasons. Of those previous 10 starts, six have ended in winning seasons for the Bears, including the only two FCS playoff appearances in program history (1989 and 1990). MSU has started five of those seasons with at least four wins in its first five games, ending each above the .500 mark.

The Bears' 28-22 victory at Murray State gave them their first 2-0 start to a season since 2007, when they won their first two games over Missouri S&T and Tennessee-Martin before finishing the season 6-5 under then-second-year head coach Terry Allen. MSU's 2-0 start this season was its eighth as a Division I program and its 28th overall.

BIG-TIME D
With three victories in four games to kick off the 2016 season, the Bears have received sizable contributions from both sides of the line of scrimmage. In particular, the Missouri State defense enters the week ranked among the nation's stingiest units.

The Bears have allowed an average of just 20.3 points per outing — good for the second-best mark in the MVFC and the 15th-best scoring defense in the country — while their rush defense (76.5 ypg.) is second in the league and ranked fifth among the 122 FCS teams. Furthermore, the Bears' total defense (299.0 ypg.) ranks 10th in the nation, while their total of 61 first downs allowed is the seventh-best in the FCS ranks.

TAKE THAT
In Saturday's win over Indiana State, the Bears forced five turnovers in a game for the first time since Sept. 29, 2012, when they picked off three passes and recovered a pair of fumbles at South Dakota State. That effort followed a four-takeaway contest Sept. 10 at Murray State.

Through four games, MSU has already recorded 11 takeaways, after registering just 13 in 11 games last fall. So far, MSU leads the MVFC in both interceptions (7) and total takeaways, ranking 10th in the nation in each category. Last year, the Bears picked off six passes for the season and didn't log their 11th takeaway until the 10th game of the season. Both Dylan Cole and Skyler Hulse are among the top-rated FCS players in takeaways, with Cole's 0.5 interceptions per contest ranking 21st, and Hulse's two fumble recoveries ranking third.