Missouri State Bears (1-5, 0-3 MVFC) vs. No. 13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-2, 1-2 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff:	Oct. 21  |  2:04 p.m. (CDT)
Location:	Springfield, Mo.
Site:	Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500)
Radio:	Missouri State Football Radio Network/KTXR 101.3 FM
Watch:	Valley Football on ESPN3
Live Stats:	MissouriStateBears.com
Game Notes:	Missouri State  |  South Dakota State  |  MVFC
Series/Last Meeting:	South Dakota State leads 8-1  |  South Dakota State won 49-24 (Nov. 5, 2016)
Promotions/Tickets:	Camp Reunion  |  Bear Up With Louie  |  MissouriStateBears.com

FIRST AND TEN

• The Missouri State Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium for a 2 p.m. Missouri Valley Football Conference contest against the No. 13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits Saturday (Oct. 21)
• South Dakota State will ride a three-game win streak in its series with MSU into Saturday's game; the Jackrabbits claimed a 49-24 victory last November in Brookings, and the Bears' lone win (35-21) in nine previous meetings with SDSU came at Plaster Stadium four years ago 
• With Saturday's matchup against the No. 13 Jackrabbits, the Bears will have squared off against at least five ranked opponents in seven of the last eight seasons; MSU's lone win (Oct. 19, 2013) over SDSU came against a Jackrabbits squad that was ranked 15th nationally at the time
• The Bears posted their best rushing performance of the season last weekend at Western Illinois, totaling 216 yards on 41 carries for an average of 5.3 yards per attempt; six different Bears have recorded rushing touchdowns this fall, led by Calan Crowder's four TDs  
• Colby Isbell recorded 2.0 sacks at Western Illinois on Saturday, breaking into the Bears' all-time top five for TFLs with 31.0 for his career; he ranks fourth in the MVFC in sacks (0.67) during league play
• Malik Earl moved up to sixth on the Bears' career receptions list with a MSU single-game record 14 catches at WIU and needs eight more to crack the top five; Earl also ranks ninth in all-time receiving yardage at MSU with 1,694 yards, which is just nine yards shy of Jeff Hewitt in the No. 8 spot on the chart 
• Deion Holliman leads the Valley and ranks 13th among all FCS players in combined kick return yardage (552); the MVFC's career record holder for KR yardage also rates 18th nationally in punt return average (10.8)
• Brendan Withrow brings the No. 14 punt average (42.9) into Saturday's game after averaging better than 41.5 yards per boot in all but one game this season; the Bears' punt defense ranks third in the Valley, yielding an average of just 1.7 return yards per punt 
• Led by the play of Isbell, MSU's defense posted season highs for sacks (3.0) and forced fumbles (2) last Saturday at WIU; the Bears also blocked their first punt since Nov. 15, 2014 vs. North Dakota State and scored their first special teams TD of the season on Rickey Nichols' block and eight-yard return for a score
• The Bears posted their two longest scoring drives (by yardage) of the season last week at WIU, using a 93-yard drive to open the contest and an 83-yard march capped by Earl's 30-yard TD rush to build a 21-7 first-half lead

GAME PREVIEW
The Missouri State Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium Saturday (Oct. 21) for their first home game in nearly a month when they entertain the 13th-ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits in a 2 p.m. Missouri Valley Football Conference contest.

MSU is 1-1 at home this season and looking to rebound from a crazy loss at No. 14 Western Illinois last week in Macomb. WIU scored 36 points in the second half -- and 14 in the final four minutes -- to escape with a 49-30 win. Malik Earl stood out for the Bears, pulling in a school-record 14 receptions for 145 yards.

South Dakota State has dropped two of its last three games, including a 38-18 home loss to UNI last week in Brookings. Receivers Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert have combined for 51 receptions through six games with All-American Wieneke accounting for eight touchdowns for coach John Stiegelmeier's squad. 

Even though SDSU has won eight of the nine meetings between the clubs, most of the four previous matchups in Springfield have been memorable ball games. The Bears beat the No. 15-ranked Jacks, 35-21, on homecoming in 2013 behind 122 rushing yards by Ryan Heaston and 105 by Mikael Cooper-Falls. MSU quarterback Ashton Glaser's 65-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter sealed the win.

METEORIC MALIK
Senior wide receiver Malik Earl registered a day to remember in the Bears' setback at Western Illinois Saturday, breaking a Missouri State program record with his 14 receptions against the Leathernecks. The Oklahoma City native eclipsed Jeff Hewitt's single-game Bears record of 13 catches, set on Oct. 7, 2000 at Indiana State, and matched the fourth-best single-game reception effort in MVFC history. 

Earl, who also rushed for a 30-yard touchdown to help stake the Bears to a 21-13 halftime lead, finished his day with 145 receiving yards and moved up to sixth on MSU's all-time receptions list (128), just 22 shy of Clay Harbor's school record for career catches.

With four catches for 73 yards in the Bears' MVFC opener with Illinois State, Earl moved past three Bears to move into MSU's career top 10 for receiving yardage as well. With 1,694 yards, Earl climbed to ninth on the chart, passing Anthony Pegues (1,445), Steven Rush (1,461) and Mark Marcos (1,486) with his performance vs. ISU and enters the week just nine yards away from Jeff Hewitt in the No. 8 position on the chart.

ISBELL MAKES HIS MOVE
Senior defensive lineman Colby Isbell turned in a big performance for the Bears at Western Illinois as well, finishing with 3.0 tackles for losses totaling 30 yards in MSU's 49-30 setback. Isbell recorded a pair of sacks, forced a fumble and broke up a pass to spearhead the Bears' defensive efforts, and moved into MSU's all-time top five for tackles for loss. With 31.0 career TFLs, Isbell trails P.J. Jones in the No. 4 position on the list by one stop, and former teammate Dylan Cole (40.5) by 9.5 tackles.  

Isbell's average of 0.67 sacks per outing in MVFC play is good for the fourth-best mark in the league, while his 1.5 TFLs per contest is fifth among all Valley defenders in conference play. An anchor on the Bears' defensive line since his arrival on campus in 2014, Isbell has started 32 consecutive games for MSU dating back to Nov. 1, 2014 vs. Indiana State.

RANKING THE BEARS
Several Bears factor prominently among the national leaders in individual statistical categories, including Deion Holliman, who ranks 13th nationally with his 552 combined (kickoff/punt) return yards. Holliman ranks second in the Valley and 18th nationally in punt return average (10.8), while his average of 22.8 yards on kickoffs ranks fifth in the Valley and 48th among all FCS players. 

Thanks to Holliman's efforts, Missouri State factors prominently in the national team rankings as well, checking in this week at No. 12 and No. 27 for punt and kickoff returns, respectively. MSU punter Brendan Withrow has turned in a strong start to the season after missing the final nine games of the 2016 campaign due to injury. Withrow's average of 42.9 yards per punt is the third-best in the MVFC and 14th overall nationally. As a result, the Bears are allowing just 5.7 yards per punt return, good for 30th among all FCS schools and third in the Valley. 

BEARS, CARDINALS TEAM UP ON TICKET SPECIAL
Missouri State is teaming up with the Springfield Cardinals on a 'Bear Up With Louie' ticket offer, which will allow fans to purchase tickets at 50% off the regular price when mentioning the 'Springfield Cardinals Special.' The offer is not valid on phone or online purchases. Tickets must be purchased in-person in advance through the Old Missouri Bank Ticket Window at JQH Arena during normal box office hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or on game day at Plaster Stadium, starting at 10 a.m.

Additionally, Saturday's game will feature a MSU Football Camp Reunion, with special discounted reserved bleacher or reserved bleacherback seats available for advance sales by mentioning 'Camp Reunion' when purchasing tickets through the JQH Arena box office or on game day at Plaster Stadium. For more information, or to order tickets as a group, contact Duane Miller at (417) 836-8899.