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Bears Set for Season Opener at No. 5 Oklahoma

Bears Set for Season Opener at No. 5 Oklahoma

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GAME 1 - Missouri State Bears (0-0) at Oklahoma Sooners (0-0)
Date and Time Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020 | 6:00 p.m. (Central)
Location Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (86,112) | Norman, Okla.
Stadium Map | Directions | Game Day Policies & Procedures
Tickets SoonerSports.com | (405) 325-2424 | StubHub | Digital Ticketing
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Dennis Heim) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television SoonerSports.TV (Pay-Per-View) (Chad McKee, Chuck Long) | Purchase
MSU Watch Party
Series First Meeting
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Oklahoma |  MSU Record Book
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |   #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | @MoStateFootball
Up Next The Bears travel to Central Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 26 (7 p.m.) | Tickets

First and Ten
  • Saturday's game marks the Missouri State debut of head coach Bobby Petrino who enters the 2020 campaign with a career record of 119-56 (.680) with previous head coaching stints at Louisville (2003-06, 2014-18), Arkansas (2008-2011) and Western Kentucky (2013).
  • This is not only the first-ever meeting between Missouri State and Oklahoma in football, it is also coach Petrino's first game against the Sooners. In his career, Petrino is 4-3 vs. current Big XII members as a head coach -- 2-0 vs. Kansas State, 1-1 vs. TCU, 1-1 vs. West Virginia, and 0-1 vs. Texas.
  • The Bears have 9 players on their 2020 roster from the state of Oklahoma, including 3 returning lettermen -- Daniel Allen (OL, Miami), Greg McCalister (S, Oklahoma City), and Damoriea Vick (WR, Oklahoma City). The roster also features 4 true freshmen and a pair of redshirt freshmen from the Sooner State. True freshman Grant Goodson (OL) is from Norman and attended Norman High School.
  • Jordan Murray (Jr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) enters the 2020 season with a reception in 21 consecutive games, tied for the seventh-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.
  • This is the 31st straight year Missouri State (NCAA Division I FCS) has played at least one NCAA Division I FBS program in football. The Bears have played multiple FBS games in six seasons (1990, 1992, 1998, 2011, 2012 and 2015) and have played 14 FBS games against teams from Oklahoma (0-8 at Oklahoma State and 0-6 at Tulsa). MSU is 1-36 all-time vs. FBS foes with its lone win coming Sept. 1, 1990 at UNLV.
  • Lorenzo Thomas (Sr., Jasper, Texas) begins the season ranked 20th on Missouri State's career receiving yards list (1,031). Thomas has 85 receptions in 32 games and needs 43 yards to reach Brad St. Louis (1996-99) at the No. 19 spot on the lifetime receiving yardage list. St. Louis played 10 seasons with the NFL's Bengals.
  • Projected MSU starting quarterback Jaden Johnson (RFr., Memphis, Tenn.) would become the Bears' first freshman QB starter since Kierra Harris made his debut at Arkansas on Sept. 3, 2011.
  • Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino and Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley have mentored three of the last four Heisman Trophy winners -- Lamar Jackson (2016), Baker Mayfield (2017) and Kyler Murray (2018).
  • 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).
  • Tyler Lovelace (Sr., Lee's Summit, Mo.) ranked 3rd nationally in 2019 with 3 fumble recoveries. The standout linebacker now has 5 fumble recoveries in his MSU career, which puts him two away from breaking into the Bears' top 10 in career recoveries.
  • The Missouri State offensive line includes four returning starters -- Daniel Allen (Sr., Miami, Okla.), Derek Kohler (Jr., Platte City, Mo.), Andrew Colvin (Sr., Gainesville, Fla.) and Arin Reynolds (Sr., Newport, Ky.) -- while eight different returning lettermen on the O-line have starting experience. In fact, MSU's returning offensive trenchmen have combined for 46 career starts, including 11 by Allen and 10 by Kohler.
  • At No. 5 in the AP Preseason Top 25, Oklahoma represents the highest-ranked team MSU has ever played. The Bears have played five Top 25 FBS foes over the years, including previous high No. 12 Oregon (9/17/11)..
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 will be making his Missouri State debut in the Oklahoma game.
  • Petrino previously served as head coach in two stints at Louisville as well as Arkansas and Western Kentucky. He has compiled a 119-56 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
  • This is the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Oklahoma.
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