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Missouri State

FB Game 8

Bears Prep for Showdown at No. 24 Youngstown State

October 24, 2023

Missouri State Bears (3-4, 2-2 MVFC) at #24 Youngstown State (4-3, 2-2 MVFC)
Date and Time Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 | 1:02 p.m. (Central)
Location Stambaugh Stadium (20,630) | Youngstown, Ohio
Tickets MPV.Tickets.com | (330) 941-1978
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Steve Savard, Corey Riggs) | Bears Radio Network | Varsity App/Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Drae Smith, Chris Sammarone) | Watch
Series Youngstown State leads 16-7  | Last Meeting: MSU 25, YSU 22 (11/12/22) | FInal Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Youngstown State | MVFC | MSU Media Guide
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |
Coach Beard Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | #OutHitOut Hustle | @MoStateFootball

First and Ten
  • Locked into a six-way tie for fourth place in the ultra-competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Bears head to Youngstown State this week for a Saturday (1 p.m. Central) showdown with the No. 24-ranked Penguins at Stambaugh Stadium. The Bears have won two of the last three meetings against YSU and are looking for their first road win in the series since 2011.
  • Devin Goree (Jr., Denton, Texas) was named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Bears to a second straight Valley win by racking up a game-high 8 total tackles vs. over Murray State, including 3 solo stops and 2.5 sacks in the victory. In his 40th straight appearance, Goree execute a key fourth-down sack on the final play of the game. He has 5.5 sacks over the last two ball games and ranks 15th nationally in sacks (0.79).
  • The Bears rank 3rd in the nation red zone scoring, converting 95.7 percent of their red-zone opportunities (22-of-23), which is just behind South Dakota State (.957, 24-of-25) in the MVFC. The Bears have also converted redzone touchdowns 65.2 percent of the time (15-of-23).
  • Celdon Manning (Sr., Allen, Texas) has a history of good performances against YSU, logging 151 rushing yards on 27 carries in 2 previous games against the Penguins, including a 99-yard effort (22 carries) in the 2020-21 season.
  • MSU leads the MVFC and ranks 7th nationally in passing offense, racking up 297.9 yards per game through the air. MSU also ranks 9th in the FCS in pass efficiency (159.76) and 14th in yards per completion (13.90).
  • With a month left in the season, the Bears rank No. 4 among all FCS teams in strength of schedule, according to MasseyRatings.com and No. 6 according to the NCAA. 
  • In his first 3 career starts, Jordan Pachot is 2-1 and averaging 257.7 passing yards and 20 completions per game. He already ranks 17th nationally in pass efficiency (149.9), 19th in yards per pas attempt (8.27), 24th in completion percentage (.651) and 30th in yards per completion (12.70).
  • Missouri State is averaging 30.4 points per game, which ranks 28th nationally. Since 2000, the Bears have finished the season with 30+ points per game just three times -- 2007 (36.3), 2021 (34.3) and 2010 (30.4).
  • MoState's defense has racked up 20.0 tackles for loss the past two weeks, which has launched the Bears to 24th nationally in TFL's per game (6.6), which is 3rd in the MVFC. Likewise, the Bears' 8 interceptions on the season ranks 14th nationally and surpasses last season's team total (6). 
  • Wide receiver Terique Owens (Sr., Pleasanton, Calif.) ranks 16th nationally in yards per reception (19.27), which is just behind NDSU's Eli Green (19.47) for the top position in the Missouri Valley. 
  • Behind All-America punter Grant Burkett (Jr., Joplin, Mo.), the Bears rank 8th nationally in net punting (41.70), which leads the MVFC. Burkett is the FCS active career leader in punting average (44.0). He is just shy of the minimum number of attempts, but his 43.64 average this season would rank 13th nationally. In last week's win over Murray State, Burkett averaged 48.4 yards on 5 punts, the 6th-best single-game average in school history. 
  • Owen Rozanc (Sr., Sheffield Lake, Ohio) ranks 33rd among all NCAA players in career field goals (41), converting 71% of his career three-point attempts (41-58) with an active streak of 5 consecutive makes He ranks 23rd nationally and 2nd in the MVFC in field goals per game (1.14) and has converted 41 consecutive PATs. 
  • The Bears rank 4th nationally and 2nd in the MVFC in 4th-down efficiency (.769), converting 10-for-13 attempts.
  • Making a strong push for All-America honors, Raylen Sharpe (Jr., Allen, Texas) ranks 10th nationally with a Valley-best 6.5 receptions per game. He also ranks 12th nationally in receiving yards per game with 100+ receiving yards in 3 of 6 games this fall.
  • Bears safety Todric McGee (So., Wichita Kan.) ranks 34th nationally in tackles per contest (8.9), which is 3rd in The Valley. He had 5 tackles in last week's win over Murray State with a sack and a pass break-up.
  • MoState is one of the least-penalized teams in FCS, collecting just 4.86 flags per game, which ranks 20th.
       
Coach Ryan Beard
  • Missouri State University officially presented Ryan Beard as its new head football coach on Dec. 19, 2022 during a news conference in Great Southern Bank Arena on the Springfield campus.
  • At 34, Beard is the program's youngest head coach on record and is the 22nd person to hold the football Bears' top coaching position. His elevation to head coach came on the heels of three seasons as MSU's defensive coordinator (2020-22) under former head coach Bobby Petrino.
  • Beard has played a significant role in Missouri State's resurgence on the gridiron, managing a defensive unit that has boasted 18 all-conference selections, four All-Americans and three professional players in his tenure at MoState.
  • In his first campaign in Springfield in 2020-21, Beard and his defensive unit broke the program record for sacks with 27, created 15 turnovers, and held every Missouri Valley Football Conference foe under 30 points for the first time since 1989. His inaugural season at MSU culminated in five all-conference selections, while the Bears captured a share of the MVFC championship and earned an NCAA playoff berth.
  • As an encore effort in 2021, Beard's second year with the program saw the Bears top the club sack record again (30) while racking up 25 takeaways and securing 15 interceptions. In addition to making a second straight NCAA playoff appearance in 2021, MSU finished in sole possession of second place in the rugged Missouri Valley Football Conference, ranked ninth nationally in turnovers gained and finished 14th in interceptions per game. The 2021 Bears also boasted five all-conference players on the defensive side of the ball while Bears' defensive lineman Eric Johnson was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
  • The 2022 Bears defense gave up just 15.8 points per game over their last four games with defensive end Kevin Ellis leading the nation in fumble recoveries, and four MSU defenders earning all-conference laurels. Five-time All-MVFC pick Montrae Braswell signed a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks.
  • Before coming to Missouri State, Beard spent the 2019 season at Central Michigan as the special teams and safeties coach for head coach Jim McElwain. He joined the Central Michigan staff in February of 2019 and helped lead the Chippewas to an 8-6 campaign on a defensive secondary that created 13 interceptions.
  • Beard served as an assistant at Louisville during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, starting as the defensive backs coach and in quality control before moving on to become the Cardinals' linebackers coach and their co-special teams coordinator. As the defensive backs coach at Western Kentucky in 2016, Beard helped lead the Hilltoppers to the Conference USA championship and a win in the Boca Raton Bowl.
  • Beard was a standout defensive back at Western Kentucky himself from 2007-11. He was a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and was named to the league's All-Freshman squad and its All-Academic team. In 2011, he earned the Western Kentucky Iron Man Award.
  • A native of Bowling Green, Ky., Beard was a four-year letterwinner at Bowling Green High for coach Kevin Wallace, where his efforts helped the Purples advance to the state 3A championship contest each of his last two years.
  • Beard holds two degrees from Western Kentucky: a bachelor of science in Business Management (2012), and a master of science in Recreation and Sport Administration (2014).
  • He is married to the former Katie Petrino. The couple have four children with son Beau and daughter Lainey, in addition to twins Jacob and Kailey born in the spring of 2022.

Series History
  • Youngstown State leads the all-time series, 16-7, in a league rivalry that dates back to 1996 when the Penguins first joined the MVFC. The Bears are 2-9 at Youngstown and 5-7 at home against YSU. 
  • In the last meeting between the clubs in Youngstown (10/9/21), the Penguins rushed for 182 yards in the fourth quarter and broke open a tie game in the final four minutes as part of its 41-33 upset of No. 15 Missouri State. The Bears rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to knot the score, 20-20, with just 4:38 remaining and seemed to have momentum on their side down the stretch. But YSU used the big play to capture its only league win of the season, capitalizing on a long kickoff return, a 60-yard TD run (Jaleel McLaughlin) and a 73-yard touchdown run (Demeatric Crenshaw) in the deciding moments to steal the win. MSU's Jason Shelley manufactured points in four of the Bears' five second-half possessions, outscoring YSU 23-21 in the final period. He passed for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns and tallied 443 yards of total offense -- the second-most ever by a Bear. 
  • Last season in Springfield (11/12/22), Missouri State struck last in a game that featured seven lead changes to secure a 25-22 win. The Bears drove 92 yards for the game-winning score when Jason Shelley hit Ty Scott with a 9-yard TD pass with 8:23 remaining. The drive included four third-down conversions, including a third-and-18, 23-yard completion to Raylen Sharpe and a 22-yard pass to Terique Owens on third-and-10 to get the ball into YSU territory. Celdon Manning then broke off a 28-yard run from scrimmage to the 12. Three plays later, the two All-Americans – Shelley and Scott – connected for their 13th touchdown play together as Bears. Shelley's two-point conversion pass gave the Bears the decisive three-point cushion. From there, MSU's defense took charge, holding YSU to a three-and-out on its next possession, stuffing McLaughlin on third down after two short gains.  FINAL STATS
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