Missouri State Bears (1-2, 0-0 MVFC) vs. No. 12 Illinois State Redbirds (2-0, 0-0 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff:	Sept. 23  |  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:	ESPN3
Live Stats:	MissouriStateBears.com
Game Notes:	Missouri State  |  Illinois State |  MVFC
Series/Last Meeting:	Illinois State leads 20-16-1  |  Illinois State won 37-0 in Normal (Nov. 12, 2016)
Promotions/Tickets:	Alumni Day  |  MissouriStateBears.com

FIRST AND TEN

• The Missouri State Bears open their 33rd season of Missouri Valley Football Conference play Saturday (Sept. 23) at Robert W. Plaster Stadium with a 2 p.m. game against the 12th-ranked Illinois State Redbirds
• The Bears are 14-18 in MVFC openers since joining the league in 1985, with 21 of their 32 openers coming against ranked opponents; MSU has gone 6-15 vs. ranked foes and 8-3 vs. non-ranked opponents in those games
• Ranked 12th in this week's FCS Coaches Poll, the Redbirds represent the 12th ranked opponent for the Bears in a Valley opener over the last 13 seasons; MSU knocked off 24th-ranked Indiana State in their 2016 MVFC opener and has squared off against at least four ranked foes in each of the last seven seasons 
• Saturday will mark the fifth time in six seasons MSU has opened its league slate at home, as well as the third time since 2010 the Bears and Redbirds will have squared off in their Valley opener; the Bears claimed a 37-10 win in 2013 in Springfield, after the Redbirds pulled out a 44-41 double-overtime victory in 2010
• MSU's defense turned in its best performance since the Bears' 2016 season opener vs. Southwestern College Saturday against Murray State, holding the Racers to 273 yards of offense and just 112 in the second half; the Bears also limited the Racers to just 6-of-20 on third down attempts
• Senior receiver Malik Earl moved up to 13th on the Bears' career receiving yardage chart with his 6-catch, 80-yard afternoon vs. Murray State; he surpassed Cadarrius Dotson (1,327) and needs three more yards to match the MSU total of Sean Adams
• Senior return specialist Deion Holliman became the eighth Bear to top the 3,000 all-purpose yard mark for his career in last Saturday's win over Murray State to earn the third MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor; he enters Saturday's game 125 kickoff return yards shy of Tony Gilbert's 28-year-old MSU mark of 2,219 career yards 
• Sophomore linebacker McNeece Egbim logged a career-best 15 stops against Murray State for the first double-digit tackle total by a Bear in 2017
• Calan Crowder led the Bears' offense with his second 100-yard rushing effort in three games this season and his sixth overall as a Bear
• Crowder ranks 10th nationally in rushing yards per carry (8.08) and 11th in total rushing yards (291) 

GAME PREVIEW
The Missouri State Bears wrap up a brief, two-game home stand at Robert W. Plaster Stadium Saturday (Sept. 23) when they entertain one of the Missouri Valley Football Conference's front runners, the Illinois State Redbirds, in the first league game of the season for both squads.

Missouri State is coming off a 28-21 win over Murray State in its home opener last weekend. MSU overcame an early 10-0 deficit with three second-half touchdowns as part of a 360-yard output by the Bears' offense. Calan Crowder carried the ball 15 times for 104 yards and the game-winning touchdown for coach Dave Steckel's squad. Peyton Huslig also stood out for MSU's offense, completing 18 passes for 196 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Illinois State, which leads the all-time series between the clubs 20-16-1, is off to a 2-0 start to the 2017 campaign. Head coach Brock Spack's Redbirds are coming off a 44-13 win at in-state rival Eastern Illinois last weekend. ISU rolled up 451 yards of total offense and held the Panthers to just seven first downs. Quarterback Jake Kolbe completed 13-of-16 passes for 218 yards, while four Redbird backs combined for 233 rushing yards and four ground touchdowns.

The Redbirds, who are giving up just 79 yards per game, are 9-8-1 all-time in Springfield with the teams splitting the last two games at Plaster. The Bears claimed a resounding 37-10 victory in 2013, before ISU returned the favor with a commanding 38-2 win in 2015.

LET'S GET IT STARTED
Missouri State is 14-18 in MVFC openers since joining the league in 1985. This season's MVFC opening game marks the 12th time in 13 years the Bears will have played a ranked opponent in their Valley opener. MSU has faced off against ranked opponents in 21 of its previous 32 Valley openers, compiling a 6-15 mark in those contests. 

BEARS STRONG IN NON-CON
Missouri State continued its tradition of success in non-conference play at home with Saturday's win over Murray State. Since joining the Division I ranks in 1982, the Bears have gone 56-20 overall against non-league foes at Plaster Stadium and have now won four straight home contests versus non-conference opponents. The Bears have also logged at least one non-conference home win in 27 of their last 31 seasons.

MSU has out-scored its last four non-league opponents by a combined 144-34 margin, posting a 57-0 win over Southwestern College (Sept. 1, 2016), a 21-13 victory over Chadron State (Sept. 12, 2015) and a 38-0 white-washing of North Dakota (Sept. 13, 2015) prior to Saturday's victory. 

HISTORIC HOLLIMAN
Just one week after becoming the third MVFC player to top the 2,000-yard mark, senior return specialist Deion Holliman netted another milestone achievement thanks to a career-best 80 punt return yards in the Bears' win over Murray State. For his efforts, Holliman was named the Valley's Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in his career on Sunday.

Holliman became the eighth Bear to top the 3,000 mark for all-purpose yardage  totaling 149 yards (5 rush, 17 receiving, 47 kickoff return, 80 punt return) thanks in large part to several key returns that helped spur MSU's win over the Racers. He logged three big fourth-quarter kick returns, including a career-long 40-yard punt return, as well as a 29-yarder with just over five minutes left on the clock to set up the Bears' game-clinching scoring drive. 

For his career, the Camden, Ark., product now has 2,094 kickoff return yards, which is just 125 shy of Tony Gilbert's Missouri State record. He is also just 224 yards away from matching The Valley's all-time record of 2,318 return yards, set by UNI's Carlos Anderson (2009-12). 

DEFENSE DELIVERS
Powered by a career-best 15-tackle day from sophomore linebacker McNeece Egbim, the Missouri State defense registered its best performance in more than a year Saturday against Murray State. MSU allowed an average of just 3.5 yards per snap and 273 yards of total offense, while holding the Racers to a .300 conversion rate (6-for-20) on third down. 

Five first-time starters turned in strong afternoons for the Bears' defense, including Austin Henderson (7 tackles), Jordan Wilkes (7), Zack Sanders (6) and Tyler Lovelace (4), who each recorded personal single-game highs for tackles in the win.