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Missouri State

Senior Day 2023

Senior Day Skirmish with UNI on Deck for Football Bears

November 07, 2023

Missouri State Bears (3-6, 2-4 MVFC) vs. #15 Northern Iowa Panthers (6-3, 5-1 MVFC)
Date and Time Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023 | 2:02 p.m. (Central)
Location Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) | Springfield, Mo.
Promotions Senior Day | Hosting Heroes Day
Free admission for veterans, first responders and active military personnel 
Tickets MissouriStateBears.com/tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Stadium Box Office Opens at 10 a.m  
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Corey Riggs) | Bears Radio Network | Varsity App
Television MC-22 / ESPN+ (Don West, Tom Mast) | Watch
Tailgating / Pregame Tailgating & BearFest Village (Opens at 11:00 a.m.) 
Game Information Shop BearWear | Weather | FCS Top 25 Polls
Program Digital Program
Series UNI leads 36-7  | Last Meeting: UNI 41, MSU 20 (10/22/22)  | FInal Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Northern Iowa | MVFC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |
Ryan Beard Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #BearsUnite | #OutHitOut Hustle | @MoStateFootball

First and Ten
  • Missouri State concludes its 2023 home slate this week when the Bears host Northern Iowa at Robert W. Plaster Stadium (2 p.m., ESPN+) on Senior Day and Hosting Heroes Day. The Bears have won two of the last three meetings against UNI overall, including the last meeting in Springfield in 2021.
  • Missouri State is 2-2 at Plaster this season and can secure a winning record at home for the third straight season with a victory over UNI. The Bears have scored two or more touchdowns in 16 of their last 17 home contests, dating to March 13, 2021. MoState is 12-5 at home in that span.
  • The Bears racked up 3 rushing touchdowns last week against Illinois State (2 by Jacardia Wright and 1 by Celdon Manning), the most in any game this season, and first time since Nov. 19, 2022 at Indiana State.
  • MSU leads the MVFC and ranks 7th nationally in passing offense, racking up 301.8 yards per game through the air. MSU also ranks 12th in pass efficiency (156.83) and 17th in the FCS in yards per completion (13.65).
  • Standout wide receiver, Raylen Sharpe (Jr., Allen, Texas) eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in last week's game against Illinois State. in his MSU career. His 70 catches for 1,052 yards (15.03 ypc) has taken just 19 games to reach. He is the 26th MSU receiver to reach the milestone -- first since Ty Scott (2021) -- and now ranks 21st on MSU's career list -- 144 yards behind Jordan Murray (2018-21) for top 20. 
  • Sharpe ranks 6th nationally and best in the MVFC in receiving yards per game (93.1) with 100+ receiving yards in 5 of 8 games played this fall. He is also 9th nationally with 6.8 receptions per game. One more 100-yard receiving game will match Ty Scott's 2021 team record (6). 
  • Missouri State has outscored its opponents by a 73-33 margin in the third quarter, while converting 56 percent of its third-down opportunities in the third-quarter (14-of-25). Likewise, coming out of the half, the Bears have scored on their first possession of the second half in 4 of their last 5 games.
  • Bears safety Todric McGee (So., Wichita Kan.) ranks 13th nationally in solo tackles per contest (5.4), which is 2nd in The Valley, while his 9.8 total tackles per game ranks 19th nationally and 2nd in the MVFC. He matched a career-high 15 tackles in last week's game vs. Illinois State, his 5th game this season with 10 or more tackles. He is just 12 tackles shy of 100 for the season, which would make him the first Bear since Tylar Wiltz (2021) to do so.
  • Owen Rozanc (Sr., Sheffield Lake, Ohio) has converted 50 consecutive PATs, dating back to his days at West Liberty (36-for-36 this season). He also ranks 20th nationally in FG accuracy (.800), making 8-of-10 this season.
  • Missouri State is averaging 30.7 points per game, which ranks 31st nationally. Since 2000, the Bears have averaged 30+ points per game just three times -- 2007 (36.3), 2021 (34.3) and 2010 (30.4). MSU has scored 28 or more in 6-of-8 contests this season.
  • The Bears have scored on their game-opening drive two weeks in a row and in 3 of their last 4 contests.
  • MSU quarterback Jordan Pachot (Jr., Highland, Calif.) ranks 12th nationally in passing yards per attempt (8.45), 16th in completion percentage (.662), 17th in pass efficiency (150.5) and 30th in yards per completion (12.77). In his 5 starts (2-3), Pachot is averaging 280.8 passing yards per game. 
  • Wide receiver Terique Owens (Sr., Pleasanton, Calif.) leads the MVFC and ranks 10th nationally in yards per reception (19.26). He has 27 receptions for 520 yards and 4 touchdowns this season. 
  • Behind All-America punter Grant Burkett (Jr., Joplin, Mo.), the Bears rank 7th nationally in net punting (41.53), which is 1st in the MVFC. Burkett is the FCS active career leader in punting average (44.1). He is just shy of the minimum number of attempts, but his 44.18 average this season would rank 4th nationally. He has 191 career punts for 8,423 yards with 50 punts of 50+ yards and 47 downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line. 
  • Jacardia Wright (Jr., Decatur, Ill.) needs 82 rushing yards to become the first MSU running back since Cody Pratt (2003-04) to eclipse 700 rushing yards in consecutive seasons. He has 15 rushing TDs in 19 games.
       
Coach Ryan Beard
  • Missouri State officially presented Ryan Beard as its new head football coach on Dec. 19, 2022 during a news conference at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.
  • At 34, Beard is the program's youngest-ever head coach and the 22nd person to hold the football Bears' top coaching position. His promotion came on the heels of three seasons as MSU's defensive coordinator (2020-22) under previous 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 MVFC foe under 30 points for the first time since 1989. The campaign 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. 
  • 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 DB coach at WKU (2016), Beard was part of a CUSA championship Boca Raton Bowl win. 
  • 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. A native of Bowling Green, Ky., Beard was a four-year letterman 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
  • In a series that began in 1980, UNI has dominated with a 36-7 lead. Missouri State has won two of the last three meetings. The Bears are 4-17 all-time at home against the Panthers and 3-19 all-time in Cedar Falls.
  • In the spring of 2021 (3/20/21), the Bears used a 13-play, 91-yard scoring drive on their opening possession to score the game's only TD with Matt Struck's 3-yard TD pass to Carson Buddemeyer in a 13-6 MSU victory in Cedar Falls. It was the Bears' first win at the UNI-Dome since 1998 and snapped a 14-game UNI win streak in the series.
  • In the last meeting in Springfield (11/13/21), a 55-yard pass from Jason Shelley to Naveon Mitchell with 58 seconds left in the game sealed a 34-27 Missouri State win. The No. 14-ranked Bears led 27-13 after an 8-yard Shelley touchdown run two minutes into the final quarter. But UNI clawed back over a key 11-minute stretch in the fourth and ultimately tied things up, 27-27, with 2:14 to play. That's when Shelley and the Bears found another gear and put UNI away. On a key third-and-six play, Shelley connected with Ty Scott for a first-down pass to the MSU 45. With 80 seconds remaining, Shelley hit Mitchell in stride before he weaved through traffic and into the endzone.
  • Last year in Cedar Falls (10/22/22), UNI's Dom Williams scored four touchdowns and amassed 101 rushing yards on 17 carries to help lead Northern Iowa past visiting Missouri State, 41-20. The Bears tried to overcome a slow start and managed to cut into an early 17-point deficit on two occasions. But, Williams and UNI quarterback Theo Day managed to frustrate MSU most of the afternoon, converting 8-of-13 third-down opportunities and converting big gains when they needed them most. Jason Shelley finished 16-of-22 for 151 yards and a touchdown, while Jacardia Wright carried 15 times for 61 yards. Day finished 22-of-37 for 291 yards for UNI, while the Panthers amassed 522 yards of total offense and 31 first downs. | FInal Stats
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