Football October 22, 2019

Bears Return to Plaster for Homecoming Date With Panthers

Missouri State Bears (1-5, 1-2 MVFC) vs. No. 11 UNI Panthers (4-3, 2-1 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff:	Saturday, Oct. 26 \| 2:05 p.m. (CT)
Location:	Springfield, Mo.
Site:	Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) \| Bearfest Village
Radio:	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Dennis Heim) \| Listen Live \| Missouri State Football Radio Network
Watch:	ESPN+ (Don West, Corey Riggs)
Follow:	Live Stats \| Facebook \| Twitter \| Football Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube
Game Notes:	Missouri State \| UNI \| MVFC \| Missouri State Media Guide \| Bears Weekly Media Availability (Video)
Series/Last Meeting:	UNI leads 34-5 (UNI leads 16-3 in Springfield) \| UNI won 37-0 in Cedar Falls (Nov. 17, 2018)
Tickets:	MissouriStateBears.com \| Missouri State students admitted free with BearPass ID
Promotions:	2019 Missouri State Homecoming \| Maroon Out

The Game

Honoring a campus tradition that dates back to 1921, the Missouri State Bears (1-5, 1-2 MVFC) will entertain the No. 11 UNI Panthers (4-3, 2-1 MVFC) Saturday (Oct. 26) afternoon at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. The contest will mark the sixth time the Bears and Panthers have met on Missouri State's Homecoming, with UNI claiming each of the previous five games.

Saturday's 2:05 p.m. (CT) contest will be streamed live via ESPN+, with Don West and Corey Riggs 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 first of two-straight home contests against ranked foes; MSU is 0-2 against Top 25 squads this season but has recorded at least one win over a ranked opponent in two of the last three seasons.
The Bears are looking for their fifth homecoming victory in eight years; they are 26-22 in homecoming games since 1971.
MSU has averaged 33.7 points per game in its last 12 homecoming contests since 2007, topping the 30-point plateau in nine of those outings.
The Bears will be looking to stop a five-game home skid that dates back to last year's homecoming setback to Western Illinois; MSU's longest home losing streak as a Division I program was six games (Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 22, 2012).

Series Notes

UNI has dominated the overall series with MSU, winning 34 of the previous 39 meetings, as well as 16 of 19 games in Springfield.
MSU has dropped 13 straight in the series, with its last win coming on Oct. 8, 2005, with a 24-21 decision in Springfield.
The Panthers have won their last six contests with MSU at Plaster Stadium, allowing an average of just 8.5 points per outing during the win streak.
UNI head coach Mark Farley is 17-1 all-time vs. MSU, while Bears coach Dave Steckel is winless in his four previous meetings with UNI.

The Bears

Led by preseason all-league selection Tyler Currie, the Bears offense brings back six starters, including quarterback Peyton Huslig, the MVFC's active leader in career passing yardage (5,466) who ranks third on the Bears' all-time lists for total offense, completions and passing yardage.
Currie leads the MVFC in receptions per game (5.5), while his average of 59.0 yards per outing is fourth among all league receivers.
Huslig enters Saturday's game second among all MVFC quarterbacks in passing yardage (228.7 ypg.) and fourth in total offense (234.0).
On the defensive side of the ball, McNeece Egbim leads all Valley defenders in tackles (13.7 tpg.) during conference play, while Tyler Lovelace leads the conference in takeaways (2 FR, 2 INT).

The Panthers

Under the direction of 19th year head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers enter the contest coming off a 42-27 win over South Dakota last weekend.
Quarterback Will McElvain ranks third among all Valley players in total offense (244.7 ypg.) and passing (217.3 ypg.), while Isaiah Weston leads the conference in both receiving yardage (99.9 ypg.) and receiving touchdowns (8).
Linebacker Bryce Flater is the league's third-leading tackler, headlining a defensive unit ranks fourth in both scoring (23.6 ppg.) and total defense (340.9 ypg.).

Last Time Out

Missouri State suffered its second straight defeat with a 22-0 decision at No. 1 North Dakota State last weekend.

Led by McNeece Egbim's game-high 14 tackles, MSU's defense enjoyed one of its best performances of the season, holding the top-ranked Bison to a season-low point total, while forcing a season-high seven punts by the two-time defending national champions.
A pair of early NDSU touchdowns and a stout defensive showing was enough for the Bison to extend the second-longest winning streak in FCS history.
Quarterback Trey Lance completed 21-of-31 passes for 225 yards, while rushing for 79 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the first quarter.
Paced by Adam Cofield's 93 yards and two rushing touchdowns, NDSU gained 222 ground yards, while the Bison defense held the Bears' running game to just 21 yards on 20 carries for the game.
Peyton Huslig completed 20-of-37 passes for 164 yards, marking his fourth straight game with at least 20 completions — the longest such streak of his MSU career; Damoriea Vick reeled in six of those completions for 72 yards to lead all receivers.
Missouri State fell to 0-8 all-time against top-ranked teams, five of which have come against the Bison.

Welcome Home

The Bears continue a campus tradition that dates back to 1921 on Saturday when they entertain Northern Iowa on Homecoming at Plaster Stadium. The Bears are 26-22 on homecoming since 1971 and are hosting the Panthers on homecoming for the sixth time. Even though the Bears are 0-5 against UNI on homecoming, four of the contests have been decided by six points or less, and three games have been decided by a field goal or less. It is Northern Iowa's first trip to Springfield for homecoming since 2003.

MSU will be looking to claim its fifth homecoming victory in the last eight years. MSU is 26-22 in homecoming games since 1971. In their last 12 homecoming games, the Bears have averaged 33.7 points and over 430 yards of total offense per outing.

Don't Worry With Currie

Senior receiver Tyler Currie snagged a career-high nine passes against South Dakota in week two of Valley play.With four more catches Saturday at NDSU, Currie hiked his MVFC-leading reception total to 33 for the season.

In two home games this season, Currie has 15 catches (7.5 per game) for 154 yards (77.0). The All-MVFC standout has multiple receptions in all six games this season.

Captain Consistency

Bears linebacker McNeece Egbim notched a game-high 14 tackles at North Dakota State last week, marking his 13th career double-figure tackle game — and third in three conference games this season. The senior from Rowlett, Texas posted seven solo stops and 3.5 tackles for loss against the top-ranked Bison with five stops on third-down plays.

Egbim is averaging 13.7 tackles per game in Valley play with back-to-back double-digit stops in the Bears' first three league contests. At Western Illinois in MSU's MVFC opener, he recorded a season-high 15 tackles to lead a resurgent Bears defense. The All-MVFC performer also set a personal best with 13 solo stops in the contest and broke up a pair of WIU passes, before recording 12 tackles against South Dakota (Oct. 12). The senior has recorded at least five tackles in 18 of MSU's last 19 games.

Holliman Taken in XFL Draft

Former Bears standout Deion Holliman was one of 85 players selected from FCS programs in last week's XFL Draft. UNI's Elijah Campbell -- taken fourth among DBs by the DC Defenders — headlined a list of 12 former MVFC players drafted by teams in the upstart league.

Holliman, a three-time All-MVFC selection, was taken by the Defenders in the open round portion of the draft. He finished his MSU career in 2017 as the MVFC's all-time leader in kickoff return yardage (2,445) after totaling 493 yards on 22 returns as a senior. The Camden, Ark., product averaged 109.4 all-purpose yards per outing and rated among the top 10 punt returners in the country with a Valley-best average of 12.4 yards on his 16 returns.

Huslig Leaves His Mark

Peyton Huslig eclipsed several statistical milestones in 2018, including topping 4,000 career passing yards, 5,000 career yards of total offense and 2,000 passing yards for the season. The dual-threat signal caller ranked seventh on the single-season total offense list (2,479) and sixth on the Bears' passing yards list (2,113).

MSU's senior signal-caller matched career highs with 28 completions and four passing touchdowns to help lead the Bears to a triple-overtime road win over Western Illinois (Oct. 5) in their Valley opener. Huslig finished 28-of-44 with no interceptions and 315 passing yards — his third-best single-game passing output of his career. He accounted for 231 passing yards in the second half and overtime alone. Huslig also eclipsed 5,000 career passing yards in the victory to become just the third player in MSU history to reach that milestone while securing his 11th career 200-yard passing effort. His 41-yard TD strike to Tyler Currie midway through the fourth quarter capped a 21-0 run and gave the Bears their first lead of the game after trailing by 14 points early, while his 25-yard scoring pass to Lorenzo Thomas on the first play of overtime set a blistering pace in the extra time.

Maroon and White Special

MSU special teams have been a consistent force 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 three of the last four seasons.

The Bears have been one of the best punting units in the FCS ranks so far this fall. With a net punting average of 39.57, Missouri State ranks 16th nationally — and leads in the MVFC in that key category. Senior punter Brendan Withrow has a 42.9 punting average, which ranks 21st nationally, including 13 (of 42) punts over 50 yards and 11 downed inside the 20. Last fall, Withrow ranked 40th nationally in punting average with 41.0 yards per attempt, including 22 of his 62 attempts downed inside the 20. Withrow's career punt average of 41.4 yards per kick rates third on the Bears' career chart as well.

Honoring No. 20

For the third straight season, Missouri State's players will be honoring former teammate Richard Nelson with his number "20" on their helmets.

Nelson was shot and killed in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nev., on Jan. 14, 2017, while attempting to intervene in an attack on his sister. Nelson, who was just 18 years old, was a tailback on the team and redshirted during his first and only with the Bears in 2016. He was a graduate of Chaparral High School in Las Vegas.

The team also has a standing memorial to Nelson in the MSU Football facility with the words "Always A Bear" over a large photo of Nelson.

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