FIRST AND 10
- The Missouri State Bears will look to build on a strong opening-game performance Saturday (Sept. 10) when they embark on their first road trip of the 2016 campaign to take on the Murray State Racers in a 6 p.m. non-conference game at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Ky.
- The Bears and Racers have met on nine previous occasions, with Murray State claiming all but one contest in the series; the Racers have won three straight from the Bears, including a 41-38 decision in Murray three years ago in the most-recent meeting of the two programs
- Offense has been the name of the game in the series, particularly when the Bears visit the Racers at Roy Stewart Stadium; the two clubs have combined to score 267 points in the last three games in the series at Murray -- an average of nearly 88 points per contest
- MSU logged its largest margin of victory (57 points) since September 21, 1991 in the opener vs. Southwestern, as well as its first shutout and biggest single-game offensive output of the Dave Steckel era
- The Bears defense also logged a potent debut, holding SC to a combined 3-of-23 on third and fourth-down chances, as well as a total of 116 yards of total offense
- Preseason All-America linebacker Dylan Cole will bring a streak of 36 consecutive starts into Saturday's game; Cole ranks third on the Bears' career chart for tackles for loss and 13th on MSU's all-time tackles list with 320, just 18 behind Dennis Heim in the No. 12 spot
- Cole was one of three Bears to earn preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors after racking up 152 tackles last fall, which was good for the seventh-best single-season tackle total in program history; return specialist Deion Holliman led the nation in combined kick return yardage in 2015 en route to earning a first-team All-Valley nod, and safety Jared Beshore also garnered an honorable mention spot on the MVFC preseason team
- Holliman logged 152 combined kick return yards in the season opener, including a 91-yard return on the opening kick for his third career TD return en route to earning MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week laurels
- Junior defensive lineman Colby Isbell logged career-best totals for tackles (7) and sacks (2.5) in MSU's opening-game win, while coming within just one-half tackle of matching Cole's MSU single-game record for stops for a loss (6.0)
- Nineteen different Bears made their MSU debuts in the opener, including four redshirt freshmen — Coleman Clanton, Colin Bess, Cameron Price and McNeece Egbim — who drew starting assignments
GAME PREVIEW
After a successful season debut last Thursday, the Missouri State Bears (1-0) will look for their second straight victory Saturday (Sept. 10) with a 6 p.m. road non-conference test against the Murray State Racers (0-1) at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Ky.
If Saturday's game holds true to recent series form, the 10th meeting of the Bears and Racers should provide plenty of fireworks. The two teams have combined to total 267 points in the last three contests staged in Murray, including a 41-38 decison in 2013, as well as a record-setting 72-59 shootout in 2010.
Missouri State is coming off a breakthrough 57-0 victory over Southwestern College in its season opener, handing head coach Dave Steckel his first shutout victory since taking over the Bears' reins last fall. MSU's big win included 321 rushing yards by the offense, which was powered by quarterback Breck Ruddick's 166 yards of total offense and 132 rushing yards by Nick Masoner.
QUITE AN OPENING ACT
Missouri State's 57-0 opening night win over Southwestern featured a number of milestone performances for the Bears, most notably in that it marked their largest margin of victory since September 1991. MSU's dominant win handed Dave Steckel his first shutout as Bears head coach and represented the program's biggest opening-night victory since 1927, when the Maroon and White clobbered Southwest Baptist by a 94-0 score. The win also represented the Bears' first shutout in an opener since 2003 (a 48-0 win over East Central). The Bears also ran their home-opener win streak to three straight games and improved to 66-35-4 all-time in home openers, including a 25-8-2 record in such games since joining the Division I ranks in 1982.
Offensively, the Bears' 321 rushing yards vs. Southwestern marked their best single-game performance since racking up 366 yards on the ground in their last trip to Murray on Sept. 14, 2013. Breck Ruddick's 0.867 completion percentage (13-of-15) vs. SC represented the best single-game mark for a Bears quarterback since 2000, when Austin Moherman went 21-of-24 (.875) at Indiana State.
DYNAMITE DEION
Junior return specialist Deion Holliman started the new campaign with a bang for the Bears, lighting the fuse on the game's opening kick with a 91-yard return for a touchdown. Holliman, who finished the night with 173 all-purpose yards, added a nine-yard TD reception on MSU's next possession and later returned Southwestern's second kickoff of the game 38 yards to set up another score.
With his 129 return yards, Holliman not only earned the second MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week nod of his career, but also moved past Steven Rush (1,120) for third place on the Bears' career kickoff return yardage chart. Holliman will be looking to duplicate a record-setting 2015 campaign that saw the Camden, Ark., native pace all of FCS football in combined kick return yardage. Holliman's 1,049 kickoff return yards eclipsed Todd Speight's (Western Illinois) league record, set in 2009. Over the last decade, there have been just 18 games in which a Bear has logged 100 kickoff return yards, and Holliman has posted six of those over the Bears' last 12 games.
DEFENSE DELIVERS
Not only did the MSU defense hand its head coach his first shutout, it also notched the first opening game white-washing of a Bears opponent since the 2003 opener vs. East Central. Led by a career night from junior defensive lineman Colby Isbell, the defense limited Southwestern to seven first downs and 116 yards of total offense. Thanks in large part to Isbell's 2.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for losses, the Bears flustered the 'Builders into converting just 3-of-23 combined third and fourth down attempts. Isbell, who came within just one-half tackle of matching teammate Dylan Cole for the MSU single-game record for stops for a loss, did all of his damage in the first half and helped the Bears hold SC to a mere 0.86 yards per carry on the night.
EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN
Senior linebacker Dylan Cole was recognized as one of the nation's elite defenders entering the 2016 season, earning All-America accolades from no fewer than four major voting entities, as well as a spot on STATS' FCS Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Cole was one of seven Missouri Valley Football Conference standouts to earn first-team STATS FCS Preseason All-America honors, while a total of 99 NCAA Division I FCS players were cited for All-America recognition by STATS.
Last fall, Cole led Bears in total tackles in every game and averaged 15.4 stops per outing during league play en route to picking up first-team All-MVFC recognition. He finished the year as the MVFC leader in tackles per game (13.8), which ranks third among all NCAA Division I FCS defenders. The Rogersville, Mo., product logged nine double-digit tackle totals and averaged 6.6 solo tackles per game, which was tops in the conference and fifth overall in the FCS ranks. Cole completed the season with six straight double-digit tackle performances and 152 total tackles — good for seventh on the Bears' single-season list.
VALLEY MAKING ITS MARK
In addition to serving as the conference home of five-time defending NCAA Division I FCS national champion North Dakota State, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has enjoyed a string of recent success against FBS opponents. The Valley's 10 members have combined for 12 wins vs. FBS teams over the last seven seasons, including UNI's victory at Big 12 foe Iowa State last week. In all, the MVFC has posted 39 victories against FBS opponents since 1985 including at least one such win in each of the last seven seasons.
Last year, the league placed five teams in the FCS playoffs for the second consecutive season. Dating back to 2013, MVFC schools have combined to post a 45-1 home record against non-league opponents, and the Valley has gone 123-27 vs. non-conference FCS opposition over the past six years.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Missouri State can once again make a valid claim as having one of the toughest schedules in the Division I FCS ranks this fall. Based on this week's STATS' FCS Top 25, the Bears are slated to meet five of the top 20 teams in the nation, in addition to traveling to perennial FBS power Kansas State on Sept. 24.
All eight of the Bears' MVFC foes entered the season either ranked in the top 20 or receiving votes from the STATS voters. Over the last two seasons, MSU has squared off against a total of 13 ranked opponents. In fact, the Bears have played no fewer than three ranked opponents in any of the last 11 seasons. MSU has taken on a total of 33 top 25 clubs in the last six seasons alone and brings a record of 21-84 against ranked foes into the 2016 campaign.
CHART TOPPERS
Returning All-MVFC performers Dylan Cole and Deion Holliman are coming off milestone 2015 campaigns and entered the new season already in prominent positions on several MSU and MVFC career statistical lists. Cole ranks third in tackles for loss (32.5) and 13th in total tackles (320) after registering the seventh-best single-seasons tackle total (152) last year.
Holliman, meanwhile, will be looking to top his record-setting 2015 season that included a Valley record for kickoff return yards and the top overall combined kick return yardage total in the nation. The junior broke MSU kick return yardage records for a single-game (238) and season (1,049) last year and ranks third on the Bears' career chart with 1,222 yards.
LEADING THE SLEUTH
The Missouri State players have elected three co-captains to represent them throughout the 2016 season. Senior Dylan Cole will represent the defense as captian, while senior Riley Shantz and junior Malik Earl will lead the offense this fall.
