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Missouri State

FB - Week 4

Bears Entertain UT Martin in Family Weekend Showdown

September 16, 2025

By: MSU Athletics Communications
GAME 4 - Missouri State Bears (1-2)  vs. UT Martin Skyhawks (0-3)
Date and Time Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 | 6:02 p.m. (Central)
Stadium Info Robert W. Plaster Stadium (17,500) | Springfield, Mo.
Traffic Flow / Parking Map | Clear Bag Policy | Tailgating Info | Game Guide / Changes This Season
Tickets MissouriStateBears.com/tickets | (417) 836-7678 | Stadium Box Office Opens at 1 p.m
Promotions Family Weekend | Extra Yards for Teachers | Postgame Light Show | 2025 Promo Calendar
Tailgating / Pregame Tailgating & BearFest Village (Opens at 3:00 p.m.)
Radio KWTO (101.3 FM) (Corey Riggs, Sam Block, Tom Ladd) | Bears Radio Network | Varsity Network App
Television ESPN+ (Don West, Tom Mast, Cierra Clark) | Watch
Fan Information Shop BearWear | Digital Program | Weather | Top 25 Polls
Coverage Ryan Beard Weekly Presser | MoState Update / Audio Clips 
Series Missouri State leads 8-2 | Last Meeting: MSU 31, UTM 24 - 9/21/24 | Final Stats
Live Stats Live Stats
Game Notes Missouri State | UT Martin | CUSA Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Bears Mobile App App Store (Apple Devices) | Google Play Store (Android Devices)
Follow Athletics Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Football Facebook | Football Twitter | Instagram |
#WeAreMoState | #OutHitOut Hustle | @MoStateFootball

First and Ten Notes
  • Missouri State wraps the non-conference portion of its schedule this Saturday when the Bears host regional rival UT Martin (6 p.m., ESPN+) on Family Weekend. Including last week's game vs. SMU, the Bears are now 2-1 under coach Ryan Beard in non-conference home games. 
  • The Bears have scored first and taken the early lead in all three games this season. The Bears have scored on their opening drive twice in three tries.
  • Under coach Ryan Beard, the Bears are 11-2 when they rack up 400 or more yards in total offense.
  • Massey Ratings lists Missouri State's strength of schedule as No. 8 among 136 FBS programs and tops in Conference USA. The Bears are ranked No. 108 overall in this week's Massey FBS power ratings (4th in CUSA). Likewise, NatStat ranks MoState No. 96 on its Team Context Ratings (out of 225 FBS & FCS clubs).
  • The UT Martin game is the 3rd of 6 night games on the 2025 slate for the Bears, the team's most since 2003 (7).
  • In the last meeting between the Bears and Skyhawks at Plaster Stadium (9/8/22), QB Jason Shelley and WR Ty Scott connected on fourth-quarter TD passes of 7 and 22 yards to erase a 24-21 UT Martin lead. The Bears pushed ahead 35-24 with 4:37 left in the game and held on to win 35-30, racking up 437 yards with Shelley passing for 297 yards (19/24) and Jacardia Wright rushing for 120 yards.
  • LB Jared "Bird" Lloyd is closing in on 100 career tackles. The fourth-year squadman needs 11 total tackles to reach the century mark (21 career games). 
  • WR Jmariyae Robinson needs 7 pass receptions to become the 17th Bear to eclipse 100 career catches. His 1,256 career receiving yards currently ranks 19th on MSU's career list. He also has at least one pass reception in 26 consecutive games, dating back to 9/1/23.
  • The home attendance total of 15,037 for last Saturday's home opener against SMU was the 13th-largest home crowd in Bears football history and the club's 7th-best drawing ever for a home opener. It was also the largest home attendance total for any game during the Ryan Beard era.
  • According to CFBstats, Missouri State ranks 29th among all FBS programs in average time of possession per game (32:51), which also ranks 2nd in CUSA.
  • In two previous starts against UT Martin, Jacob Clark is 49-of-75 (.653) for 720 yards, 6 TDs and 0 interceptions with 747 yards of total offense. 
  • Missouri State's current three-game home stand is its longest since 2018.
  • MoState is 17-7 in its last 24 home games, dating back to March 13, 2021. In that span, the Bears have scored two or more touchdowns 21 times and scored 30 or more points 17 times. MSU has reeled off 4 straight winning home seasons.

Series History
  • Missouri State leads the all-time series, 8-2
    • at Home    5-1
    • at Martin    3-1
  • First Meeting    MSU 39, UTM 7 (9/21/96)
  • Last Meeting    MSU 31, UTM 24 (9/21/24)  | Final Stats
     
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. 
  • At 36 years old, coach Beard enters the 2025 season as the fifth-youngest head coach in the FBS ranks.
  • Head coach Ryan Beard was named the CUSA Coach of the Week by @CBSSports pundit Matt Zenitz on Sept. 8, 2025 after MSU's first FBS win at Marshall.
  • Last season (2024), the Bears' final campaign at the FCS level, Beard guided MoState to an 8-4 overall record and No. 23 national ranking with 12 all-conference standouts and three All-Americans in his camp. Quarterback Jacob Clark finished 14th in the Walter Payton FCS Player of the Year voting, while running back Jacardia Wright signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Seahawks after the season. The Bears reeled off eight straight wins from Sept. 14 to Nov. 9, the squad's longest since a stretch from 1988-89.
  • The 2024 Bears finished 6-2 in Valley play to tie for fourth place (one game behind tri-champions NDSU, SDSU and USD) and match the team record for conference victories (1978, 2021), including MSU's first 6-0 start in conference play since 1978. Likewise, the Bears started 8-2 overall for the first time since 1990 and reached eight overall wins for the ninth time in program history -- first since the 2021 NCAA playoff team. Likewise, MSU's four-game road win streak was its first since a split-season stretch from 1996-97.  
  • Beard's 2024 squad boasted one of the nation's most efficient offensive attacks, racking up 306.2 yards per game through the air (5th), 424.8 total yards per game (17th) and 34.8 points per outing (13th), all of which ranked in the top 20 nationally.
  • In his inaugural head coaching season (2023), 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-team picks 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 the end of the 2023 campaign, 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 (2020-22), Beard played a significant role in the team's resurgence under coach Bobby Petrino, 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 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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