Bears Walk-Off Kennesaw State in CUSA Home Opener

Wednesday, October 14

Springfield

6:30 p.m.

Missouri State University

2-4 , 1-1

Kennesaw State

1-5 , 0-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Kennesaw St.	0	7	7	7	21
Missouri St.	0	6	8	10	24

Game Notes Highlights

Bears Walk-Off Kennesaw State in CUSA Home Opener

October 14, 2026 | Football

Box Score Final Stats (PDF)Highlights

By: MSU Athletics Communications

SPRINGFIELD – Yousef Obeid's 22-yard field goal as time expired lifted Missouri State to a 24-21 victory over visiting Kennesaw State in the Conference USA home opener for the Bears.

Obeid's third field goal of the evening capped a masterful, season-long, 13-play scoring drive that consumed the game's final six-minutes and six seconds. Missouri State finished with 26 first downs and 421 net yards to help defeat the defending CUSA champions. It was Obeid's fourth career game with three field goals.

Missouri State quarterback Henry Belin IV engineered five scoring drives in his first start for the Bears – including three in the second half -- completing 28-of-39 passes for 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile, Isaiah Myers also stood out for the home squad, racking up 7 pass receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns – both go-ahead scores.

The Bears (2-4, 1-1 CUSA) were also paced by fifth-year running back Connor Lair who logged a career-high 65 ground yards on 17 carries to go with 19 receiving yards to help the home club accumulate 421 yards for the game. He had five touches on the game-winning drive.

Mo State's top target was Jmariyae Robinson who collected 8 passes for 77 yards on a night in which he eclipsed the team's career receptions record. Now with 155 career catches, he passed All-America tight end Clay Harbor (2006-09) for the top spot while collecting a reception in his 40th consecutive game, also a club record.

After trailing 7-6 at the intermission, the Bears turned a key fourth-down defensive stop at midfield into eight points moments later on their first possession of the third quarter. Belin's 14-yard pass to Myers capped the five-play TD drive while Lair added a two-point conversion to put Mo State back on top 14-7.

The Owls (1-5, 0-2) bounced back with a 75-yard scoring drive of their own to knot the score, 14-14. The nine-play march included three Mo State penalties before QB Rickie Collins found paydirt with a nine-yard TD run.

Early in the fourth quarter, Missouri State's defense stood out again with a key stop on third-and-eight at the MSU 24. Daniel Kinney's 42-yard field goal try sailed just wide to preserve the tie and open the door for the Bears.

It took Belin and company just seven plays to break the deadlock, hitting Myers for a 32-yard pass completion on third-and-six before finding him again three plays later for a 12-yard TD. The go-ahead pass with 9:20 left in the game made it 21-14.

KSU used another penalty-aided march to square things up again with 6:06 to go. Boogie Woods III pushed into the end zone from one yard out to complete a six-play, 75-yard scoring march and make it 21-21.

Then it was Belin's turn to shine, using a calculated approach to the winning drive that started on the Mo State 25 and resulted in the Owls burning their final three timeouts along the way to slow the Bears down. Lair's 5-yard reception on third-and-four near midfield sustained the threat before a 32-yard strike to Myers got the Bears into the red zone for the third and final time. Lair racked up 11 ground yards from there to set up a first-and-goal at the three. The Bears called timeout with two seconds left to bring on Obeid for the game-winning 22-yarder.

The nation's top tackler, Jared Lloyd, brought down a team-high 10 ball carriers for his seventh double-figure tackle game over the last nine.

Kennesaw State was led by 285 yards of total offense by Collins who finished 25-of-34 through the air. Woods carried 13 times for 47 yards, while Gary caught 10 passes for 135 yards and a TD for the visitors.

In the first half, Kennesaw State scored a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead into the intermission. The 74-yard scoring march squelched a dominant first half by the Bears who had held the Owls to just three first downs and 77 yards prior to the final drive.

Mo State got a pair of field goals from Obeid to carry a 6-0 lead most of the second quarter. The Bears were stuffed on a fourth-and-goal at the two on their opening drive of the game, and then came up just short on their final play of the second quarter when KSU came up with a fourth-and-one stop at the Owls 26.

Kennesaw State then capitalized on the late momentum and needed just 6 plays and 40 seconds with no timeouts to cover the distance, finishing it off with a 10-yard strike from Collins to Gary as time expired.

The Bears return to the road next week for a Tuesday showdown at Delaware on ESPNU. Mo State is back at Plaster Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 27 for a nationally-televised showdown on ESPN2 against Sam Houston at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets for the Sam Houston game are available now at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.

#GoBears.