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THE GAME
The Missouri State Bears will look to bounce back from their first conference loss of the season Saturday (Oct. 13), when they conclude a two-game road swing with a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., for a 1 p.m. (CDT) Missouri Valley Football Conference contest with the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Michael Winstead and Patrick Walsh describing the action. The game will also be carried on the Missouri State Radio Network, as
Art Hains and Dennis Heim will once again have the call.
- Despite seeing their three-game win streak end with a 35-28 road loss to South Dakota last Saturday, the Bears received 68 votes in this week's STATS FCS Top 25 balloting and four votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll.
- The Bears are yielding just 152.0 rushing yards per game during MVFC play.
- MSU has averaged 436.0 yards of total offense during league play, with Peyton Huslig topping the 200-yard passing mark in each of the Bears' two conference games.
- Huslig ranks second among all Valley players in total offense (329.0 ypg.) during conference play, while Damoriea Vick and Tyler Currie share the No. 3 positon in receptions (5.5 rpg.).
- The Bears have averaged 455.0 yards of total offense over their last four games, while allowing just 131.5 rushing yards per outing.
SERIES NOTES
- The Bears and Sycamores have met 32 previous times since 1986, with MSU holding a 19-13 edge.
- ISU is 9-7 against the Bears in Terre Haute, but MSU claimed a 45-24 victory over the Sycamores in their last trip to Memorial Stadium in 2016.
- Large margins have been the norm in the series recently, with four of the last five contests ending in 21-point spreads or greater.
- The Bears have averaged 29.8 points per outing in the series, and have topped the 30-point mark in nine of their last 10 wins over ISU.
THE BEARS
- The Bears (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) return 36 letterwinners and 15 total starters from last year's 3-8 squad.
- MSU's defense, which welcomed back nine starters, is led by first-team preseason All-MVFC pick Angelo Garbutt and second-team choice Darius Joseph.
- McNeece Egbim paces the Bears with 46 tackles through the first five contests, while Matt McClellan shares the MVFC lead in sacks (6).
- MSU ranks second overall in the MVFC in both sacks and sacks allowed; the Bears defense has recorded 16 sacks on the season, while the MSU offensive line has permitted just six.
- With 374 yards of offense against USD Saturday, Peyton Huslig (3,590) moved up to ninth on the Bears' all-time list for total offense and is 23 yards behind Derek Jensen in the No. 8 position on the chart.
THE SYCAMORES
- Indiana State (2-3, 0-2 MVFC) is coming off a 54-51 overtime loss at No. 2 South Dakota State last weekend; the Sycamores trailed by 18 points entering the fourth quarter, but racked up 569 yards of total offense in the loss.
- ISU received big performances from running back Ja'Quan Keys and receiver Rontrez Morgan at SDSU; Keys rushed for 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Morgan reeled in nine catches for 155 yards and two TD's.
- The Sycamores are averaging 32.4 points per outing behind a ground attack that ranks second in the MVFC (258.4 ypg.).
LAST TIME OUT...
Missouri State locked up its second straight home win over a Top 25 opponent with its 24-21 decision over No. 9 Illinois State in the MVFC opener for both clubs.
- Missouri State dropped its first MVFC contest of the season with its 35-28 road setback to South Dakota in Vermillion.
- The offenses combined for 991 yards, as Austin Simmons found Levi Falck open for a 40-yard touchdown strike early in the fourth quarter to hand the Coyotes the lead for good.
- The Bears registered 478 yards of total offense, led by Peyton Huslig's big day that included 283 passing yards and a team-high 91 rushing yards; Huslig topped the 200-yard passing mark for the sixth time in his 16-game career with MSU, including the second in a row.
- Tyler Currie enjoyed a career day for MSU, hauling in seven catches for 113 yards and a score.
- MSU's 283 passing yards mark the most for the Bears since their 59-20 win over Indiana State on Oct. 27, 2017.
- Matt McClellan recorded a pair of sacks, while McNeece Egbim's season-high 14 stops led all tacklers.
- Egbim reached double digits in tackles for the second time this season and has half of the club's four 10-plus tackle efforts (Garbutt and Kam Carter).
THE JURY ON CURRIE
Junior receiver
Tyler Currie, who had just seven receptions all last season, snagged seven passes for a career-best 113 yards and a TD at South Dakota last week. The Bears' breakthrough wideout has tallied 11 catches in MSU's last two ball games, and ranks third among all MVFC receivers in receptions per game (5.5) during league action.
MAROON AND WHITE SPECIAL
MSU special teams have been a consistent force for the Bears during the
Dave Steckel era, with the Bears ranking among the top five among all MVFC units in both punt average and punt return average each of the last three seasons.
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The 2018 campaign has been no different, as Missouri State entered the week ranked fifth nationally in both net punting (41.30) and punt return defense (-0.38).
Brendan Withrow ranks 31st nationally in punting average with 42.0 yards per attempt, including eight of his 23 attempts downed inside the 20. Furthermore, the Bears' kickoff return unit has averaged 24.43 yards per attempt, which is good for 24th nationally.
Last fall, MSU ranked second in punt return average (13.0), and fourth in net punt average (37.5), thanks to the leg of Withrow, who ranked 35th nationally with an average of 41.0 yards per punt. Additionally, the Bears kickoff return unit averaged 22.2 yards per return to rank third in The Valley, behind MSU all-time return leader
Deion Holliman's third-consecutive All-MVFC caliber performance.
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SECOND-QUARTER SURGE
The Bears continue to dominate the second quarter, having outscored their opponents by a 62-9 margin in the 15 minutes before halftime this season. Missouri State has also converted 12-of-21 third downs in the second quarter, by far the team's most productive period, which translates to a 57.1 percent success rate before the intermission.
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In particular, the Bears' 28 points in the second quarter against Lincoln (Sept. 6) matched the program record for offensive production in the second period, previously set on Sept. 9, 2006 vs. Southwest Baptist. The Bears posted 150 yards of total offense in the quarter to go with eight first downs and a conversion on their only third down of the period. MSU's high-scoring quarter featured three rushing TD's — two by
Jason Randall — and a 27-yard fumble recovery by
Darius Joseph.
LIMITED LAUNDRY
After ranking in the top 10 nationally last season in fewest penalties (7th) and fewest penalty yards (9th), the Bears have continued that trend into the 2018 campaign. Coach
Dave Steckel's troops have committed just 4.2 penalties per game this year, which ranks seventh nationally. Additionally, the Bears' 36.6 penalty yards per game ranks eighth among all FCS squads.
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SCORING IN BUNCHES
The Bears' 133 points through four games (33.25 ppg.) was the club's highest four-game scoring total since 2010. That total represented an improvement of 13.25 points per game from its 2017 total through the first four games of the season.
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MSU ranks sixth in the MVFC in scoring offense, as well as sixth in rushing offense (188.2 ypg.).
Peyton Huslig ranks fourth among all Valley players in total offense (272.4), while freshman kicker
Parker Lacina is fifth in the league in scoring (7.0 ppg.). Additionally, Huslig and
Jason Randall share the fifth spot in the league race for rushing touchdowns with five apiece.
