Football October 08, 2019

Bears Seek Second Consecutive Win Saturday Against South Dakota

Missouri State Bears (1-3, 1-0 MVFC) vs. South Dakota Coyotes (2-3, 1-0 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff:	Saturday, Oct. 12 \| 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:	MVFC-TV/ESPN3 (Brad Wells, Danan Hughes, Connor Onion)
Follow:	Live Stats \| Facebook \| Twitter \| Football Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube
Game Notes:	Missouri State \| South Dakota \| MVFC \| Missouri State Media Guide \| Bears Weekly Media Availability (Video)
Series/Last Meeting:	USD leads 3-2 (MSU 2-0 in Springfield) \| USD won 35-28 in Vermillion (Oct. 6, 2018)
Tickets:	MissouriStateBears.com \| Missouri State students admitted free with BearPass ID
Promotions:	Springfield Community Appreciation Day ($5 day-of-game tickets)

The Game

The Missouri State Bears will look to keep their momentum swinging in the positive direction Saturday (Oct. 12) afternoon when they host the South Dakota Coyotes in a 2 p.m. Missouri Valley Football Conference contest at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.

Saturday's game will be broadcast live via MVFC-TV, streaming on ESPN3, with Brad Wells and Danan Hughes 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.

The Bears and Coyotes enter the game on the heels of Valley-opening wins last week, with MSU claiming a 37-31 triple-overtime victory at WIU, and USD routing Indiana State, 38-0, in Vermillion.
Saturday's game will feature the top two passing offenses in the MVFC, with USD leading the league in passing yards per game (289.2 ypg.) and MSU ranking second (256.0).
MSU is 14-19-1 (.426) in its previous MVFC home openers and 215-172-12 (.554) all-time at Plaster Stadium.
Saturday's game has been designated Springfield Community Appreciation Day; a special day-of-game $5 ticket is available for east-side seating, exclusively for this week's game.

Series Notes

The Coyotes have taken three of the previous five meetings in the series — including each of the last two games — but the Bears are 2-0 vs. USD at Plaster Stadium.
MSU has averaged 29.0 points per game in its previous two home meetings with the Coyotes.
USD pulled out a 35-28 victory over the Bears last fall in a shootout that saw the two clubs combine for 991 yards of total offense; 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

MSU was tabbed for 10th place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference's annual preseason poll.
Led by preseason all-league selection Tyler Currie, the Bears offense brings back six starters, including quarterback Peyton Huslig, who passed for 2,113 yards last fall to rank fifth all time on MSU's single-season passing chart.
Currie and fellow receiver Lorenzo Thomas are tied for second in the MVFC in receptions per game (5.0), while Currie's average of 62.0 yards per outing is the fifth-best figure in the league.
Huslig enters Saturday's game second among all MVFC quarterbacks in passing yardage (256.0 ypg.) and total offense (259.2).
Huslig surpassed the 5,000-yard mark for career passing last Saturday at WIU, climbing to the No. 3 position on the Bears' career charts for total offense and passing yardage; the senior needs two additional passing touchdowns (31) to crack MSU's career top in that category as well.
MSU's defense welcomes back seven starters, led by two-time All-MVFC linebacker Angelo Garbutt and preseason all-conference picks McNeece Egbim and Matt McClellan.
McClellan's season total of 3.0 sacks rates eighth among all Valley defenders, while Tyler Lovelace is second in the league in interceptions (2).

The Coyotes

Picked sixth in the MVFC's preseason poll, USD is coming off back-to-back victories under fourth-year head coach Bob Nielson, who led the Coyotes to a 4-7 season last fall.
Quarterback Austin Simmons leads the MVFC in passing (284.2 ypg.) and total offense (333.2) and ranks second with his 10 passing touchdowns.
Three Coyotes — Caleb Vander Esch (4.2 rpg.), Randy Baker (4.0) and Kody Case (6.3) — each rank among the MVFC's top 10 receivers in catches per contest.

Last Time Out

Missouri State locked up its first victory of the season with a thrilling 37-31 triple-overtime decision over Western Illinois in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both squads last Saturday in Macomb.

The Bears stopped an eight-game skid with the win, which marked their fourth road victory over the Leathernecks in five trips to Macomb since 2009.
The contest marked the first triple-overtime game in MSU history.
Defensive end Matt McClellan came up with two critical sacks on WIU's final drive, including one on the final play of the game to end the Leatherneck's comeback hopes.
MSU posted a season high for both rushing (114) and passing yardage (315).
Lorenzo Thomas hauled in two TD receptions, marking the first multi-touchdown effort by a Bears receiver since Tyler Currie accomplished the feat vs. Southern Illinois last October.
Peyton Huslig matched a career high in completions (28) for the second consecutive week; the senior also equalled a personal best with four TD passes and topped the 5,000 career passing yardage mark.
Brendan Withrow's second-quarter punt of 70 yards was a season-long for the MSU senior, matching his career-long.
Missouri State improved to 2-10 all-time in overtime games, with their first OT win since Nov. 22, 2008 at Indiana State.

Comeback Cubs

In last week's triple-overtime win at Western Illinois, Missouri State erased an early 14-point deficit to the Leathernecks in the longest game in program history.

The Bears' comeback represented their biggest since erasing a two-touchdown margin on Oct. 29, 2016, when they trailed SIU 28-14 at Plaster Stadium, before rallying late in a 38-35 victory over the Salukis. The last time Missouri State earned a road victory after trailing by 14 or more points was Aug. 28, 2014, when MSU overcame a 24-7 deficit at Northwestern (La.) State en route to a 20-point fourth quarter and 34-27 victory.

Withrow Earns MVFC, National Honors

Missouri State punter Brendan Withrow was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week late Sunday for his efforts in helping the Bears to their first win of the season at Western Illinois. On Monday, Withrow was also named STATS FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week.

The senior from Imperial, Mo., set a Missouri State single-game punting average record with an impressive 51.6 average on seven attempts in Macomb. He matched his career-long punt with a 70-yarder in the second quarter and notched four kicks of 50 yards or more with two downed inside the 20.

Withrow's 56-yard punt in the final minute of regulation was downed at the WIU one-yard line in a tie game, giving WIU no attempt at a desperation play and ultimately pushing the game into overtime. He currently ranks eighth nationally with a 45.8 punting average for the season, while the Bears rank fourth nationally — and tops in the MVFC — in net punting (41.52), thanks in part to Withrow's efforts.

Withrow is MSU's first MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week since kick returner Matt Rush earned the award on Nov. 5, 2017.

Captain Consistency

Bears linebacker McNeece Egbim started his 22nd consecutive game last weekend at WIU and celebrated the milestone by recording 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.

The Bears co-captain posted his first double-figure tackle game of the campaign and 11th of his career for an MSU defensive unit that allowed just 13 first downs in the win. Egbim is in his second season as an MSU co-captain. The senior from Rowlett, Texas has recorded at least five tackles in 16 of MSU's last 17 games.

Steady Stewart

Senior receiver Kendall Stewart enjoyed a career day in Missouri State's win at Western Illinois last Saturday, including the first two touchdowns of his MSU career. His eight-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter tied the game for the first time, 14-14, while his 22-yard scoring run on a jet sweep proved to be the game-winner in the third overtime.

Stewart, from Wichita, Kan., finished with a career-best 83 all-purpose yards in the game, including five pass receptions for 61 yards — both career highs 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.

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 in their Valley opener last Saturday. 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 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 41.52, Missouri State ranks fourth nationally — and leads in the MVFC in that key category. Senior punter Brendan Withrow has a 45.8 punting average, which ranks eighth nationally, including 12 (of 27) punts over 50 yards and eight 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 41.8 yards per kick rates third on the Bears' career chart as well.

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