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Missouri State

FB WEEK 6

Football Back in Action Saturday for Clash at Illinois State

October 07, 2024

Game 6 - #25 Missouri State Bears (3-2, 1-0 MVFC) at #16 Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC)
Date and Time Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 | 12:02 p.m. (Central)
Location Hancock Stadium (13,391) | Normal, Illinois
Tickets GoRedbirds.com | (309) 438-8000
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Corey Riggs, Bill Donegan) | Bears Radio Network | Listen Live |  The Varsity Network App/Listen Live
Television ESPN+ (Kurt Pegler, Clay Harbor) | Watch
Series Illinois State leads 23-18-1 | Last Meeting: ILST 36, MSU 35 (11/4/23) | Box Score 
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | Illinois State | MVFC | Valley Two-Minute Drill | MSU Media Guide
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |
Coach Beard Weekly Presser | #MSUBears | #GoBears | #OutHitOut Hustle | @MoStateFootball

NOTES 
  • After an idle week, No. 25 Missouri State returns to action this Saturday when the Bears travel to No. 16-ranked Illinois State for a Noon kickoff at Hancock Stadium. The Bears have won three straight and are looking to win their second straight matchup against the Redbirds in Normal.
  • Missouri State's three-game win streak matches the 13th-longest active streak in the FCS ranks headed into this week's competition. The Bears last won four straight contests under coach Bobby Petrino in the team's memorable 8-4 playoff season of 2021 (Oct. 30 to Nov. 20).
  • Quarterback Jacob Clark (Sr., Rockwall, Texas) is coming off his second MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season after completing 21-of-29 passes for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns against Youngstown State (Sept. 28). He carried 7 times for 63 yards, giving him 388 yards of total offense in the win. He completed his first 10 passes of the game and was 10-of-11 in the first half. His 5-yard TD pass to Lance Mason with 8 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner as Clark marched the Bears 53 yards on 5 plays in the game's final minute. It marked Clark's third 300-yard passing game of the season.
  • The Bears have three defenders in the top 7 in The Valley in tackles per game with Tahj Chambers (9.0) 3rd, Todric McGee (8.4) 5th and Dallas Winner-Johnson (7.4) 8th. Chambers (Sr., Arlington, Texas) ranks 19th among all FCS players in tackles per game. 
  • MoState's high-octane offense continues to rank among the national leaders in several categories, including: 3rd in passing yards (306.0), 9th in completion percentage (.696), 12th in pass efficiency (163.40), 15th in fewest interceptions (2), 16th in fewest turnovers (4), 22nd in total offense (403.8), 22nd in third-down efficiency (.446), 26th in scoring offense (31.0), 27th in yards per completion (13.08) and 28th in red zone offense (.889). Missouri State passing yards per game leads the MVFC, while the Bears are 2nd in The Valley in completion percentage, pass efficiency, fewest interceptions and yards per completion.
  • Missouri State's 2.6 sacks per game currently leads the MVFC and ranks 22nd nationally among all FCS defensive units. Jalen Williams (Sr., Overland Park, Kan.) has 4.0 sacks this season and ranks 2nd in the MVFC in tackles for loss per game (1.1) and 3rd in sacks per game (0.80). The Bears also rank 10th nationally in turnover margin (+1.0), 27th in fumble recoveries (4), 31st in interceptions (5) and 37th in tackles for loss (6.0), all of which rank 2nd in the MVFC.  
  • MSU's receivers continue to rank among the league leaders in receptions per game and yardage per game with Hunter Wood (Sr., Springdale, Ark.) ranking 1st in receptions per game (5.4) and 7th in receiving yards (60.2) and Jmariyae Robinson (So., Cocoa, Fla.) ranking 3rd in the MVFC in receiving yards (69.2) and 7th in receptions per game (4.4). Meanwhile TE Lance Mason (Jr., Rockwall, Texas) ranks 15th nationally (1st among tight ends) in yards per receptions (20.46) which leads the MVFC.
  • The All-America tandem of punter Grant Burkett (Sr., Joplin, Mo.) and long snapper Caden Bolz (Sr., Overland Park, Kan.) will both be appearing in their 50th consecutive game this week. 
  • Jacardia Wright (Sr., Decatur, Ill.) needs 60 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for his career. He also has 424 carries and 21 rushing TDs in 42 career contests at K-State and MoState. Wright is part of Missouri State's "Thunder and Lightning" backfield along with Jayden Becks (So., Waxahachie, Texas) which has combined for 405 ground yards, 301 receiving yards and 8 total TDs through MSU's first five ball games. 
  • MoState officially cracked the FCS Top 25 this week for the first time since Oct. 3, 2022. The Bears are No. 25 in the AFCA poll this week. The Bears are 4-6 in "ranked vs. ranked" games since coach Ryan Beard joined the Missouri State staff in 2020. MSU's last road win vs. a Top 25 club was 11/6/21 at No. 7 SIU.
Series History
  • Illinois State leads the all-time series, 23-18-1.
  • The Bears are 9-12 in games played in Normal and 9-11-1 all-time at home against the Redbirds.
  • The teams have split the last four meetings, including a 41-20 Bears win on their last trip to Hancock Stadium in 2021.
  • In the most-recent meeting between the clubs in Normal, (10/2/21), Tobias Little racked up a career-high 90 rushing yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns to lead No. 16 Missouri State to a 41-20 road win. The Bears amassed 513 total yards and pitched a shutout in the second half. QB Jason Shelley passed  for 319 yards and a pair of scores on 19-of-27 attempts. The win marked MSU's first win at Hancock since 2012 and the Bears' first 2-0 start in league play since 1997. Midway through the third, a blocked punt by Von Young set the visitors up at the Redbirds 40. Five plays later, Little carried it into the endzone from five yards out to make it a 27-20 game and MSU never looked back.
  • Last season in Springfield (11/4/23), MSU fell 36-35 on a final drive filled with the emotional extremes. A 28-yard touchdown run by Missouri State's Celdon Manning with 3:03 left in the game put the Bears ahead 35-28.  On the ensuing ISU drive, two video replays overturned potential game-ending stops by the Bears defense. Specifically, a fourth-and-five at the ISU 41 was marked short of the line to gain, turning the ball over on downs to MSU at the Illinois State 46. The spot was overturned on replay, which awarded the Redbirds a first down. Seven plays later, ISU scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds left with its failed two-point try also overturned on a replay. Jacardia Wright carried 19 times for 77 yards and two TDs for the Bears, while Raylen Sharpe caught 7 passes for 115 yards.
Coach Ryan Beard
  • Missouri State University officially presented Ryan Beard as its new head football coach on Dec. 19, 2022. At the time of his hire, Beard was the program's youngest coach on record and was the 22nd person to hold the football Bears' top coaching position. 
  • Beard is 7-9 overall in his second season as MSU head coach (0-1 vs. ISU)
  • His elevation to head coach came on the heels of three seasons as defensive coordinator (2020-22) at Missouri State under former head coach Bobby Petrino.
  • In his inaugural head coaching season, Beard guided the Bears to a 4-7 overall record and a 3-5 ledger in the MVFC. The team's strong November surge included and a 35-16 home win over No. 18-ranked Northern Iowa.
  • The 2023 Bears finished No. 5 in the nation in passing offense (300.3), No. 7 in pass efficiency (158.77), 26th in total offense (400.8) and 31st in scoring (29.8).  
    Missouri State was rewarded with seven All-MVFC selections in Beard's first campaign as head coach, including first-teamers Grant Burkett (P) and Raylen Sharpe (WR). Sharpe finished fourth in the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year voting. Likewise, Burkett (second team) and Sharpe (third team) were named to the Associated Press FCS All-America Team, while the Bears also boasted three Phil Steele Freshman All-America honorees, including first-teamers Cash Hudson (OL) and Avery Powell (CB).
  • At season's end, Beard was named to the American Football Coaches Association's exclusive 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. 
  • During his three seasons as MSU's defensive coordinator, Beard played a significant role in the team's resurgence, managing a defensive unit that boasted 18 all-conference selections, four All-Americans and three professional players in his tenure at MoState.
  • 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. 
  • He 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, 35, 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.
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