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THE GAME
Looking to stop a three-game slide, the Missouri State Bears (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) return to Robert W. Plater Stadium for their final home contest of the season against the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (9-0, 6-0 MVFC) Saturday (Nov. 10) at 2 p.m.
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Saturday's game will be broadcast live as the Missouri Valley Football Conference's game of the week on
ESPN+, with Scott Warmann and Don Patterson 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.
- Saturday's game marks the final home contest for 16 Missouri State seniors, including co-captains Jared Beshore and Jordan Turner.
- MSU is 0-6 all-time vs. top-ranked teams; the Bears are 1-1 against top 10 teams this season, stopping a 41-game losing streak against top 10 foes with their win over No. 9 Illinois State (Sept. 29).
- The Bears have dropped three consecutive games for the first time since October 2017.
- MSU is averaging 242.7 passing yards per game during MVFC play, which ranks fourth among all league aerial attacks.
- Junior quarterback Peyton Huslig needs two rushing yards to crack the 1,000-yard mark for his MSU career; he ranks fourth in the conference in total offense (271.2 ypg.) during MVFC play.
- Missouri State's defense features two of the top six tacklers in the Valley during league action, with Angelo Garbutt (63 tackles) and McNeece Egbim (56) ranking third and sixth, respectively.
- Senior receiver Tyler Currie has hauled in at least four receptions in six straight games dating back to the Illinois State game.
SERIES NOTES
- The Bears will be looking to stop a seven-game losing streak in the series with NDSU, as well as their third win against the Bison overall.
- MSU last defeated NDSU on Nov. 20, 2010, with a 3-0 decision at Plaster Stadium.
- The Bison have averaged 39.7 points per outing during their seven-game streak in the series, while allowing just 12.6 points.
- MSU has lost 11-straight games to teams from the Dakotas dating back to the 2014 season, when the Bears toppled South Dakota (Oct. 18) in Springfield.
THE BEARS
- The Bears (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) return 36 letterwinners and 15 total starters from last year's 3-8 squad.
- Peyton Huslig ranks 30th in all of FCS football in passing yards (1,954) and 31st in total offense (259.0 ypg.).
- MSU's defense has racked up 21 sacks on the season, led by Matt McClellan's 5.5 sacks.
- Angelo Garbutt's average of 9.2 tackles rates fifth overall in the MVFC and 26th nationally, while McNeece Egbim (8.8) ranks seventh in the league.
- MSU special teams have been among the best in the Valley, with the Bears ranking fourth nationally in punt return defense (2.0) and sixth in net punt average (39.6); The Bears also lead the league in field goal percentage (1.000), while MSU ranks second in kickoff return average (22.6).
THE BISONÂ
- Under fifth-year head coach Chris Klieman, the Bison (9-0, 6-0 MVFC) are coming off a 17-7 home win over Youngstown State last weekend.
- Winners of six of the last seven national titles, NDSU owns the longest active winning streak in
 the FCS (15) and the second-longest in MVFC history.
- The Bison lead the Valley in rushing (257.7 ypg.), rushing defense (100.7) and total defense (296.4).
- Paced by Greg Menard's 7.0 sacks, NDSU leads the MVFC in sacks (3.22 per game).
LAST TIME OUT...
The Bears dropped their third consecutive game last Saturday (Nov. 3) at No. 7 South Dakota State, as the Jackrabbits raced to an early lead and cruised to a 59-7 win over MSU in Brookings.
- SDSU reeled of a 31-point second quarter, marking the largest single offensive output in a period by a Bears' opponent this season.
- The Jacks piled up 421 first-half yards, highlighted by nine different gains of 20 yards or more, to take a 31-point bulge into intermission; five of those big gains went the distance, with quarterback Taryn Christion passing for a pair of touchdowns and rushing for another.
- Unable to generate any offensive momentum against the Jackrabbit defense, the Bears were forced to punt on six of their first seven possessions of the game.
- Angelo Garbutt provided a bright spot for the MSU defense, logging 11 tackles to register his fifth-consecutive double-digit tackle total.
- Kam Carter also recorded 10 stops, and Jared Beshore picked off a pair of passes to lead the Bears defense.
- With 135 yards of total offense, Peyton Huslig (2,331) moved up to eighth on the Bears' single-season yardage chart, passing Cody Kirby (2,227 in 2008) and Jeremy Hoog (2,250 in 1996).
SENIOR CELEBRATION
Sixteen Missouri State seniors will be recognized during pregame ceremonies Saturday, including co-captains
Jared Beshore and
Jordan Turner.
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In addition to Beshore (S) and Turner (OL),
Tre Betts (CB),
Cole Christensen (OL),
Aaron Clardy (OL),
Easton Flaugh (CB),
Skyler Hulse (DE),
Nick Masoner (RB),
Marquis Prophete (OL),
Brad Pryor (OL),
Jason Randall (RB) and
Matt Rush (CB) are all three-time lettermen for the Bears. Other senior honorees are
JaMario McClendon (S),
Anthony Monken (QB),
Scotty Schaffner (TE) and
E.J. Sutton (DT).
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DRIVE FOR FIVE
The Bears head into their final two games looking for their fifth win of the season, a milestone that would be a first under fourth-year head coach
Dave Steckel and MSU's first five-win season since 2013.
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Missouri State has three ranked foes on its November slate, including last week's game at No. 6 South Dakota State, Saturday's game against top-ranked North Dakota State and its season finale at No. 22 UNI.
HUSLIG LEAVES HIS MARK
Peyton Huslig is just 46 yards shy of eclipsing 2,000 passing yards for the season. He would become just the seventh Bears' signal caller to reach this milestone and first since Cody Kirby in 2010. Likewise, Huslig's 2,331 yards of total offense for the year ranks eighth on the MSU season chart, just 437 yards off Jay Rodgers' 1999 record of 2,768.
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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.
'ZO' ON THE GO
Sophomore wide receiver
Lorenzo Thomas gathered in four catches for 30 yards last Saturday at South Dakota State to extend his streak of double-figure reception yardage performances to eight straight. That effort followed a career-best eight-catch, 173-yard day against Southern Illinois — both career highs. Seven of his receptions against the Salukis went for first downs with catches of 44, 39, 32 and 17 yards among his many highlights on the day, averaging 21.6 yards per reception.
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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 on Oct. 6. That effort marked the first 100-yard receiving game by a Bear this season. For the season, Currie leads the team with five touchdown receptions, good for fourth in the Valley.
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The Bears' breakthrough wideout has tallied 29 catches in MSU's last six games, and is seventh among all MVFC receivers in both receptions per game (4.8) and receiving yards per outing (68.8) during league action.
GARBUTT GRINDING
Junior linebacker
Angelo Garbutt has been the Bears' top tackler of late, registering double-figure stops in five-straight ball games. Garbutt matched a career high with his 12 tackles against Southern Illinois, and his 83 stops on the season rank fifth overall in the MVFC. In conference games this fall, he is averaging 10.5 tackles, which is the third-best mark in the circuit. His 33 assisted tackles ranks fourth in the league in Valley contests.
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