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Missouri State

9.26 FB Game Week

Grid Bears Set for First of Two Games vs. UCA

September 21, 2020

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 2 - Missouri State Bears (0-1) at Central Arkansas Bears (1-1)
Date and Time Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 | 7:00 p.m. (Central)
Location First Security Field at Estes Stadium (9,500) | Conway, Ark.
Tickets TicketReturn.com | (501) 852-2234
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Dennis Heim) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN3 (John Liddle, Shea Walker) | Watch
Series Series tied, 4-4 | Last Meeting: MSU 33, UCA 31 (9/20/14), at Conway
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Central Arkansas |  MSU Record Book
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |   MSU Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | @MoStateFootball
Up Next The Bears host Central Arkansas on Saturday, Oct. 17 (7 p.m.) at Plaster Stadium

First and Ten
  • Missouri State continues its three-game fall slate on Saturday when it travels to Conway, Ark., to take on UCA (1-1) at 7 p.m. in the first of two meetings this season between the two teams.
  • Over the last 15 seasons, Missouri State has accumulated eight wins when allowing 30 or more points. Two of those wins have come over UCA -- first with a 42-38 win at Plaster Stadium (9/22/07) and then later with a last-second field goal clinching a 33-31 win at Estes Stadium (9/20/14) in the most-recent meeting.
  • In the last meeting between MSU and UCA at Estes Stadium (9/20/14), Marcelo Bonani's 53-yard field goal as time expired lifted 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 vs. Indiana State, 10/28/17).
  • The Bears have 3 true freshmen players from the state of Arkansas -- P.J. Hall (S, Little Rock, Ark.), Bryant Ullrich (ILB, Harrison, Ark.) and Hunter Wood (WR, Springdale, Ark.).
  • 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. 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.
  • Missouri State is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference which has produced eight of the last nine national champions at the NCAA Division I FCS level. The MVFC has five teams ranked in the FCS preseason Top 25 -- including four of the top nine -- with two additional teams receiving votes.
  • The Bears have been one of the least-penalized teams in the FCS the last four years in a row. Last season, Missouri State was flagged 59 times for 496 yards (11 games), which ranked 19th and 17th, respectively among all FCS programs. In terms of number of times penalized per game, MSU previously ranked 18th nationally in 2018 (4.91), 7th in 2017 (3.45), and 7th in 2016 (4.36).
  • Defensive lineman Eric Johnson (Sr., Plainfiled, Ill.) and safety Titus Wall (Sr., Plano, Texas) have appeared in 34 consecutive games for the Bears to lead the squad, while wide receiver Damoriea Vick (Jr., Oklahoma City, Okla.) has made a team-high 22 consecutive starts.
  • Missouri State started 5 freshmen in the season opener at Oklahoma, including a pair of true freshmen -- Kellen Porter (RB, St. Louis, Mo.) and Grant Goodson (OL, Norman, Okla.). Likewise, the Bears starting rotation at OU included 4 transfers -- Jaden Johnson (RFr., QB, Memphis, Tenn.), Isaiah Sayles (DE, San Antonio, Texas), I.K. Ahumibe (DT, Cerritos, Calif.) and Jeremy Webb (CB, East Mims, Fla.). Johnson was the first MSU freshman to start at QB since 2011, while Webb snagged an interception against the Sooners in his Bears debut.
  • In 2019, linebacker Tyler Lovelace (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) ranked 3rd nationally with 3 fumble recoveries. In his MSU career, Lovelace now has 5 total recoveries which puts him two away from breaking into the Bears' top 10 in career fumble takeaways.
  • Grant Burkett (RFr., Allen, Texas) made his MSU debut with a 40.1 punting average at Oklahoma on 9 attempts. His long for the day was a 50-yarder on the fourth punt of his collegiate career.
  • With 151 wins since 2001, Central Arkansas is the winningest college football team in the state of Arkansas in that span, at any level. UCA's best outing was an 11-3 record in 2005 when the Bears reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs and tied the school record for victories. They won 10 Division I games en route to a 10-3 record in 2016, including an FCS Playoff victory vs.  Illinois State, and had another 10-2 season in 2017.
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 0-1 as Bears head coach after the Sept. 12 opener at Oklahoma and has never coached against UCA.
  • Petrino is 26-5 as a head coach in games played in Arkansas.
  • Petrino previously served as head coach in two stints at Louisville as well as Arkansas and Western Kentucky. He has compiled a 119-57 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, the Bears and Bears are 4-4 against each other on the gridiron.
  • Missouri State is 3-2 at home and 1-2 on the road all-time against UCA in the series. MSU also won the most-recent meeting (in Conway) with a 33-31 decision on Sept. 20, 2014.
  • In that game, Marcelo Bonani's 53-yard field goal as time expired lifted Missouri State to a 33-31 victory at Estes Stadium. MSU quarterback Kierra Harris drove the Bears 43 yards in the final minute (including 44 passing yards to Julian Burton) to set up Bonani's career-long kick. UCA scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard carry by Willie Matthews with 59 seconds left in the game before MSU's dramatic drive. MSU racked up 593 yards on the evening with Harris going 20-of-35 for 342 yards and Burton snagging 10 receptions for 194 yards. UCA QB Ryan Howard was 18-of-26 for 242 yards while Willie Matthews carried 15 times for 71 and a pair of fourth-quarter TDs.
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