Catch up on all the action

• 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 HistoryIllinois 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.