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Missouri State

UCA GAME DAY

Bears Look to Settle Score with UCA in Homecoming Clash

October 13, 2020

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 3 - Missouri State Bears (0-2) vs. #11 Central Arkansas Bears (2-3)
Date and Time Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Key Information Fan Guide | Game Program | Weather | No BearFest Village for this game
Location Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) | Springfield, Mo.
Tickets MissouriStateBears.com | (417) 836-7678
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Dennis Heim) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television KOZL-TV / ESPN3 (Don West, Wess Moore) | Watch |
Also airing on KLRT (Little Rock) and KNWA (Fayetteville)
Series UCA leads 5-4 | Last Meeting: UCA 27, MSU 20 (9/26/20), at Conway | STATS
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Central Arkansas |  MSU Record Book  | Video Preview
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |   MSU Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | @MoStateFootball
Up Next The Bears travel to MVFC newcomer North Dakota on Sat., Feb. 20, 2021 (Time TBA)

First and Ten
  • Missouri State concludes its three-game fall slate Saturday when it hosts Central Arkansas (2-3) at 7 p.m. at Robert W. Plaster Stadium in Springfield. It is the second of two meetings this season between the two teams.
  • After the first meeting between the squads on Sept. 26 in Conway, both teams were named STATS FCS Co-Defensive Teams of the Week. Missouri State held the high-octane UCA offense to just 10 first downs and 177 total yards on 60 plays.
  • Tylar Wiltz (Jr., Breaux Bridge, La.) leads all FCS players with 7.5 solo tackles per game. He also ranks 3rd nationally in total tackles per game (11.5) with double-figure stops in each of MSU's first two ball games this fall. After has 12 total stops at Oklahoma in the season opener, Wiltz was named MVFC Performer of the Week.
  • Jeremy Webb (Sr., East Mims, Fla.) is tied for the national lead in interceptions per game (1.0) with two picks in MSU's first two games.
  • Missouri State leads all FCS schools in sacks per game (3.5), tackles for loss (8.5) and red zone defense (.667). The Bears also ranked third nationally in third-down defense (.333).
  • Missouri State is seeking its first win over a ranked opponent since a 24-21 home victory over No. 9 Illinois State on Sept. 29, 2018. MSU clinched that win with a blocked field goal as time expired.
  • Defensive lineman Eric Johnson (Sr., Plainfield, Ill.) and safety Titus Wall (Sr., Plano, Texas) have appeared in 35 consecutive games for the Bears to lead the squad, while wide receiver Damoriea Vick (Jr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) has made a team-high 23 consecutive starts.
  • In the Sept. 26 meeting in Conway, Kevon Latulas (Jr., Port Arthur, Texas) posted game highs in rushing yards (63), receiving yards (83) and all-purpose yards (187) in his first-ever start for the Bears to earn MVFC Performer of the Week honors. Latulas also blocked a punt in the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown to give MSU a 10-0 lead at the time. It was MSU's first blocked punt return for a touchdown since 2017 (Rickey Nichols).
  • Missouri State's 2014 win over UCA in Conway ended on Marcelo Bonani's 53-yard field goal as time expired to lift the visitors to a 33-31 victory. Missouri State accumulated 593 yards of total offense in the contest, the club's second-highest total over the last seven seasons (624 yards on homecoming vs. Indiana State, 10/28/17).
  • Jordan Murray (Jr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) has recorded a pass reception in 22 consecutive games, tied for the fifth-longest streak in program history. He did not play in the first meeting between the teams in Conway. In 2018, Murray broke the Bears freshman receiving record with 33 catches for 378 yards while earning FCS Freshman All-America honors. Murray caught 24 passes for 280 yards last season with a team-high 5 touchdown catches.
  • Lorenzo Thomas (Sr., Jasper, Texas) currently ranks 18th on Missouri State's career receiving yards list (1,077) and needs 73 yards to catch Tyler Currie (2017-19) at the No. 17 spot. Thomas now has 89 receptions in 33 career games. Like Murray, Thomas did not play in the first meeting vs. UCA in Conway.
  • The Bears have 3 players from the state of Arkansas -- all true freshmen -- P.J. Hall (S, Little Rock, Ark.), Bryant Ullrich (ILB, Harrison, Ark.) and Hunter Wood (WR, Springdale, Ark.).
  • Since 2000, Missouri State is 9-11 in homecoming games. The Bears have lost two straight homecoming contests since a 59-20 win over Indiana State in 2017 in which the home squad rolled up 624 total yards.
  • Jaden Johnson (RFr., Memphis, Tenn.) threw for 249 yards at UCA on Sept. 26 which marked the first 200-yard passing game by a Missouri State freshman QB since Cody Kirby passed for 255 yards vs. SEMO in the 2007 season finale (11/10/17). Kirby had three 200-yard games that season, including a high-water mark of 277 yards against Illinois State (10/6/07).
Coach Bobby Petrino
  • Missouri State University officially introduced Bobby Petrino as its new head football coach in a news conference at JQH Arena on the Springfield campus, January 16, 2020.
  • He is 119-58 (.672) in his 15th season as a head coach.
  • Petrino is 0-2 as Bears head coach and is coaching his first-ever game at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. Petrino is 0-1 against UCA after the narrow loss in Conway on Sept. 26.
  • He previously served as head coach in two stints at Louisville as well as Arkansas and Western Kentucky. He has compiled a 119-58 record in 14 seasons at the NCAA Division I FBS level and led his programs to 11 bowl appearances with seven teams ranked in the top 25 at season's end.
  • The Helena, Mont., native is in his 32nd year of collegiate coaching in 2020. He has guided his programs to top-six final rankings in the Associated Press poll three times (2004, 2006, 2011), directing some of the nation's top offensive programs along the way.
  • His clubs have finished in the top five nationally in scoring offense three times, while his 2004 club at Louisville led the country in scoring at 49.8 points per game. He has developed 34 NFL Draft selections during his illustrious career, including four in the first round, and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
  • Petrino and his wife Becky have four children: Kelsey, Nick, Bobby and Katie — and six grandchildren. Nick Petrino is Missouri State's offensive coordinator, while sons-in-law Ryan Beard (defensive coordinator) and L.D. Scott (defensive line) are also on the MSU coaching staff this season.
Series History
  • In a series that dates back to 1937, UCA leads Missouri State, 5-4.
    Missouri State is 3-2 at home in the series and 1-3 on the road all-time against UCA. The last meeting between the two squads in Springfield (9/21/13) was won by UCA, 17-13.
  • In that game, Central Arkansas scored the game-winning TD with 2:30 remaining in the first half to secure a 17-13 victory over MSU in front of 8,963 fans at Plaster Stadium in Springfield. Chase Dixon's 8-yard touchdown reception from Wynrick Smothers capped the drive in a contest that saw no second-half scoring from either team. Missouri State had taken the lead with 9:18 to play in the 2nd quarter on a 3-yard score by Vernon Scott to cap a 71-yard scoring drive. Kierra Harris finished 18-of-38 for 183 yards for MSU with Eric Christophel (6-42) and Dorian Buford (4-80) serving as his top targets. Smothers was 35-of-46 for 280 yards for UCA, including 8 receptions for 128 yards by Kezmin Lewis.
  • In the most-recent meeting (Sept. 26) in Conway, an otherwise great night for Missouri State was spoiled by a pair of lightning-quick scores from Central Arkansas early in the fourth quarter in a 27-20 UCA win. MSU led 20-7 midway through the third quarter before UCA rallied. The purple Bears scored two touchdowns in a 37-second span to start the fourth quarter -- first on a sack and fumble recovery that tied the game, 20-20, at the 14:48 mark. Moments later, UCA returned a punt 57 yards for a TD after holding MSU to a three-and-out possession. MSU held Central Arkansas to 10 first downs, 177 total yards and 3-of-15 on third down. Kevon Latulas (Jr., Port Arthur, Texas) led Missouri State in rushing yards (63), receiving yards (83), all-purpose yards (187) and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the second quarter. Quarterback Jaden Johnson (RFr., Memphis, Tenn.) was 25-of-44 for 249 yards.
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