THE GAME
The
Missouri State Bears (4-6, 2-5 MVFC) will put the finishing touches on their 2018 season Saturday (Nov. 17) with a 4 p.m., Missouri Valley Football Conference contest against the
UNI Panthers (5-5, 4-3 MVFC) at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on
ESPN+. The game will also be carried on the
Missouri State Radio Network, as
Art Hains and Dennis Heim will once again have the call.
- UNI brings a 12-game win streak versus the Bears into Saturday's game; the Panthers, who hold a 33-5 overall edge in the series, have beaten MSU by an average of 28 points per outing during the course of the streak.
- MSU is seeking its first five-win season since 2013.
- The Bears have dropped four consecutive contests for the first time Sept. 23-Oct. 21, 2017; MSU last lost five in a row from Nov. 5, 2016 through Sept. 9, 2017.
- Junior quarterback Peyton Huslig needs 10 rushing yards to crack the 1,000-yard mark for his MSU career; Huslig ranks sixth on the Bears' career total offense (5,012) and passing yardage (4,022) charts, and his 22 career TD passes ranks eighth all-time at MSU.
- Missouri State's defense ranks fourth overall in sacks this fall with an average of 2.30 per game; Claudio Martin's average of 0.67 sacks per game ranks fourth among all MVFC defenders, while Matt McClellan's 0.60 rates seventh.
- Junior linebacker Angelo Garbutt enters Saturday's game as the Valley's fifth-leading tackler on the year with 88 stops.
SERIES NOTES
- UNI has dominated the overall series with MSU, winning 33 of the previous 38 meetings, as well as 17 of 19 in Cedar Falls.
- MSU has dropped 12 straight in the series, with its last win coming on Oct. 8, 2005, with a 24-21 decision in Springfield; MSU has not won in Cedar Falls in 20 years (24-21 on Oct. 3, 1998).
- The Panthers have won their last nine meetings with MSU in the UNI-Dome, scoring an average of 39.2 points.
- UNI head coach Mark Farley is 16-1 all-time vs. MSU, while Bears coach Dave Steckel is 0-3 vs. UNI.
THE BEARS
- The Bears (4-6, 2-5 MVFC) return 36 letterwinners and 15 total starters from last year's 3-8 squad.
- Peyton Huslig ranks 33rd among nationally in both passing yards (2,041) and total offense (241.0 ypg.).
- Tight end Jordan Murray's 32 receptions and four receiving touchdowns both represent freshman records at Missouri State, while his 345 receiving yards currently rank fourth on the Bears' rookie list.
- Angelo Garbutt's average of 8.8 tackles rates fifth overall in the MVFC and 31st nationally, while McNeece Egbim (8.5) ranks eighth in the league.
- MSU special teams have been among the best in the Valley, with the Bears ranking third nationally in punt return defense (2.0) and ninth in net punt average (38.9); The Bears also lead the league in field goal percentage (1.000), while MSU ranks fifth in kickoff return average (21.5).
THE PANTHERS
- Under 18th-year head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers are battling for their 20th FCS playoff berth.
- UNI brings the FCS's toughest schedule into play Saturday, according to the Massey Ratings.
- The Panthers lead the MVFC and rank fourth nationally with their four defensive touchdowns this fall.
- Austin Errthum leads the MVFC with 15 field goal conversions; UNI's special teams also rank among the FCS's top 25 in kickoff coverage and net punting.
LAST TIME OUT...
The Bears fell to No. 1 North Dakota State in their final home game of the season, as the Bison raced out to a 34-point halftime advantage and never looked back.
- NDSU quarterback Easton Stick completed his first 11 passes of the game—four of which went for touchdowns—as the Bison scored on their first four possessions of the afternoon and outgained the Bears by a 238-9 margin in first-quarter total offense.
- Stick matched NDSU and Plaster Stadium record for single-game TD passes with five by the end of the first half, connecting with four different receivers to send the unbeaten Bison to the locker room with a 34-0 cushion.
- NDSU, which scored 27 points before the Bears registered their initial first down of the game, racked up 322 yards of offense in the opening half.
- Missouri State broke into the scoring column with five-yard Jeremiah Wilson run that capped a six-play, 84-yard drive early in the third period, ending an offensive dry spell that had extended for more than 64 minutes of clock time over its last two contests.
- The Bears defense limited the Bison to just 161 second-half yards, but the MSU offense struggled to generate a consistent attack, finishing the day with 213 total yards.
- Wilson rushed for a career-best 87 yards on 15 carries to pace the MSU ground game
- Claudio Martin led the MSU defense with eight stops, including 1.5 sacks to up his team-best total to 6.0 sacks for the season.
THE DRIVE FOR FIVE
The Bears head into their final contest of the season looking for their fifth win, a milestone that would be a first under fourth-year head coach
Dave Steckel and MSU's first five-win season since 2013.
Missouri State has already faced off against a pair of ranked foes to begin the month of November, including its Nov. 3 game at No. 6 South Dakota State and last weekend's tilt against top-ranked North Dakota State. UNI enters Saturday's game receiving votes in both the STATS FCS Top 25 and the AFCA Coaches poll.
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HUSLIG LEAVES HIS MARK
Peyton Huslig eclipsed several milestones in Saturday's loss to NDSU, including topping 4,000 career passing yards, 5,000 career yards of total offense and 2,000 passing yards this season. The dual-threat signal caller ranks third on MSU's single-season plays list (433) — just 30 shy of the club's single-season record — and eighth on the single-season total offense list (2,410) and passing yards list (2,041). For his 21-game career, he also ranks high on MSU's all-time passing list with the No. 6 passing yardage total (4,022) and total offense total (5,012) in program history.
Huslig accounted for 419 yards of total offense, including a career-high 404 passing yards against Southern Illinois (Oct. 27). Both efforts ranked No. 3 all-time in Bears' single-game history and represent the best numbers by a Bears QB since A.J. Porter's 460 passing yards and 426 total offensive yards against Illinois State in 2003.
Huslig's four TD passes against the Salukis tied the junior for the fifth-best total by a Bears signal-caller, and most since
Brodie Lambert's five touchdown tosses against WIU in 2015. Huslig's 27 completions and 46 pass attempts in the SIU game also ranked seventh and fifth, respectively, all-time on the MSU single-game list. The game was Huslig's fifth 200-yard passing game of the season and eighth of his 20-game-career.
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FAB FROSH
Missouri State's offense has received a notable boost from a pair of rookie receivers this fall.
Jordan Murray has already eclipsed the Bears' freshman record for receptions with 32, while
Damoriea Vick sits in a tie for fourth on the list with 27 catches. The dynamic duo has combined for more than 34 percent of the Bears' pass receptions for the year.
Murray also owns MSU's rookie mark for touchdown catches after hauling in his fourth scoring catch of the season against Southern Illinois (Oct. 27). The tight end from Lee's Summit, Mo., ranks fourth on the Bears' freshman list for receiving yardage (345), while Vick is second on the list with 360 yards — just 70 yards shy of Anthony Pegues' MSU freshman record.
GARBUTT GRINDING
Junior linebacker
Angelo Garbutt has been the Bears' top tackler of late, registering double-figure stops in five-straight ball games from Oct. 6 through Nov. 3.
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Garbutt matched a career high with 12 tackles against Southern Illinois, and his 88 stops on the season rank fifth overall in the MVFC. In conference games this fall, he is averaging 9.7 tackles, which is tied for the fourth-best mark in the circuit.
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