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Missouri State

Game Week UNI

Game Preview: Bears Back Home for Senior Day vs. UNI

November 10, 2021

#14 Missouri State Bears (6-3, 5-2 MVFC) vs. #20 Northern Iowa (5-4, 3-3 MVFC)
Date and Time Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 | 2:05 p.m. (Central)
Location Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) | Springfield, Mo.
Promotion FAN APPRECIATION DAY $3 Tickets | BearFest Village Opens at 11 a.m.
Game Information Stadium Procedures | Tailgating & BearFest Village | Weather
Tickets MissouriStateBears.com | (417) 836-7678 | Stadium Box Office Opens at 10 a.m. on Game Day
Program Digital Game Program
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Dennis Heim) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Don West, Corey Riggs) | Watch
Series UNI leads 35-6 | Last Meeting: MSU 13, UNI 6 (3/20/21) | Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Northern Iowa | MVFC | MSU Media Guide
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram | Bears Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | @MoStateFootball
Up Next Missouri State travels to Dixie State on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. (Central)

First and Ten
  • With wins in three of their last four games, the red-hot Missouri State Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium on Saturday to entertain Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) in MSU's Valley finale. The Bears come into the game with a 5-2 record in league games and are currently in sole possession of second place in the conference.
  • The Bears have won 6 in a row at home and are gunning for their first unbeaten home ledger since 2010.
  • Jason Shelley (QB, Frisco, Texas) is coming off his 9th straight 200-yard passing game to start his Missouri State career, a Bears season record. In Saturday's win at No. 7 Southern Illinois, Shelley broke Missouri State's single-season total offense record (2,806) and moved within 244 yards of Jay Rodgers (1999) single-season passing record (2,741). He also eclipsed 4,000 career passing yds. and threw his 25th career TD in the SIU game.
  • For the first time since 2010, the Bears have scored 30 or more points in 7 different games. MSU has hit the 30-point plateau in 7 of its last 8 games overall and ranks 24th nationally in scoring (32.3).
  • The Bears are shooting for their first 7-win season since 1996 (7-4). MSU is also trying to rack up 6 conference wins for just the second time in program history, done previously by the 6-0 MIAA championship team of 1978.
  • Shelley ranks 10th nationally in total offense (313.9*), 14th in points responsible for (128*), 12th in passing yards (2,254), 13th in passing yards per game (281.8), 18th in passing TDs (16), 25th in passing efficiency (144.9) and 26th in completions per game (20.25). (*Leads MVFC). Shelley was named to the CFPA National Player of the Year Midseason Watch List and the Walter Payton Award Watch List this week.
  • Coach Bobby Petrino is now 10-3 against MVFC opponents, making him the second-fastest Bears coach to reach 10 conference wins. Only Jim Mentis (1965-67) got there quicker, going 10-1 in his first 11 MIAA games.
  • Wide receiver Tyrone Scott (Estill, S.C.) has five 100+ yard receiving performancs this season, which is a Bears season record. In Valley play, he leads all conference wideouts with 107.3 receiving yards per game, while overall, he is averaging 90.1 receiving yards which ranks 14th nationally. Scott's 811 receiving yards ranks 13th, and his 8 receiving TDs ranks 12th in the FCS, and he is just 102 yards shy of Jermaine Saffold's 2011 single-season receiving yardage record (913).
  • The Bears have logged 6 fourth-quarter, game-winning scoring drives under second-year head coach Bobby Petrino, including 3 this season with Jason Shelley at QB. This season, the Bears have 9 scoring drives of 90 seconds or less and 15 drives of two minutes or less.
  • The Missouri State offense ranks 5th nationally in 3rd-down efficiency (.474)*; 9th in yards per completion (13.9); 11th in first downs (210); 12th in red zone offense (.889); 16th in passing (280.3); 17th in time of possession (32:03); 19th in total offense (431.1); 24th in scoring (32.3); 26th in passing efficiency (141.44). *leads MVFC
  • Grant Burkett (P, Joplin, Mo.) ranks 1st in the MVFC and 4th nationally in punting average (46.3), while helping the Bears rank 2nd nationally in net punting (43.23). He has 13 punts this season of 50 yards or more.
  • Jose Pizano (K, Lehi, Utah) leads the MVFC and ranks 3rd nationally in field goals per game (1.78). He also ranks 15th nationally in scoring (8.8), while his .842 field goal accuracy (16-for-19) ranks 14th among all FCS kickers. His season FG total (16) is the 3rd-best in MSU history. Pizano's 51-yd FG at SIU was a career long and Missouri State's longest field goal since Marcelo Bonani's game-winning 53-yarder at UCA (9/20/14).
  • The Bears defense ranks 6th nationally in takeaways (20); 13th in interceptions (11); 16th in 3rd-down defense (.320); 23rd in turnover margin (+0.56); and 28th in red zone defense (.750).
  • The Bears have scored on their opening drive in 4 straight games (2 straight TD's) while MSU opponents have punted on their opening drive in 5 straight games and 7-of-9 games on the season.
  • Montrae Braswell (CB, Avon Park, Fla.) is coming off 7 tackles and 4 PBU's in last week's win at Southern Illinois. He ranks 32nd nationally and 3rd in the MVFC in passes defended per game (1.1). Braswell is also one of the nation's top kickoff returners, ranking 5th in the FCS and 2nd in The Valley (29.9).
Coach Bobby Petrino
  • Bobby Petrino is in his second season as Missouri State's head football coach after joining the Bears program on January 16, 2020. He is currently 130-64 (.670) in his 16th season as a head coach and is 11-8 at Missouri State, including a 6-2 ledger at Plaster Stadium and 5-6 road record. As Bears head coach, Petrino is now 10-3 in Valley games (5-1 at home). He is 1-0 all-time against Northern Iowa (0-0 in Springfield).
  • He picked up his 75th career conference victory on Oct. 2 at Illinois State and his 130th all-time win on Nov. 6 at Southern Illinois..
    During the 2020-21 season, Petrino helped lead the Bears to a 5-1 mark in Missouri Valley Football Conference play to earn a share of the MVFC regular-season title. His efforts not only landed him the prestigious Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year Award, but also led the Bears to their first NCAA FCS playoff appearance in 30 years.
  • ESPN recently ranked Petrino #77 on its Top 100 college football coaches of the last 50 years.
  • Petrino previously served as head coach in two stints at Louisville as well as Arkansas and Western Kentucky. He spent 14 seasons at the 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 33rd year of collegiate coaching overall, having guided his programs to AP top-six final rankings three times (2004, 2006, 2011) and 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 (49.8 ppg). 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 rivalry that began in 1980, UNI has dominated the all-time series, 35-6. The Bears are 3-17 all-time at home against the Panthers with the last victory coming in 2005.
  • In the spring (3/20/21), the Bears used a 13-play, 91-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the day to score the game's only touchdown with Matt Struck completing a 3-yard TD pass to Carson Buddemeyer in a 13-6 MSU victory in Cedar Falls. Missouri State never trailed and held No. 10 UNI to just 11 first downs and 27 rushing yards in a dramatic victory.
  • The March 20 victory in Cedar Falls gave MSU its first win at the UNI-Dome since 1998 and snapped a 14-game win streak by the Panthers in the series.. | Stats




 
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