Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard reviews offseason
Missouri State head footblal coach Ryan Beard talked about his team’s performance following its final scrimmage of fall camp.
Missouri State football begins its season this week and will try to surpass its 4-7 finish from a season ago, the first year under head coach Ryan Beard.
There is reason to be optimistic that the Bears can improve thanks to what appears to be an improved and more experienced defense. They will still have to go through the gauntlet of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play at least three teams that are considered national championship contenders going into the year.
After giving you an offseason full of previews for the season ahead, we’ve finally sat down to provide our game-by-game predictions heading into Missouri State’s final season in the MVFC before moving to Conference USA next season.
Missouri State starts its season with a trip to the defending FCS national runners-up. The Grizzlies might’ve had the best defense in the nation last season, ranking No. 15 against the run, No. 5 in defensive passing efficiency and No. 5 in scoring defense.
That’s a lot for Missouri State’s offense to overcome when there are questions about its defense, offensive line and revamped receivers group entering the year.
Montana beats Missouri State by two scores — 0-1
Missouri State has nearly knocked off FBS opponents like Arkansas and Oklahoma State in years past. Ball State isn’t quite up to the level of the teams that typically pay to beat the Bears but will still present a challenge for a program that hasn’t beaten an FBS opponent since 1990.
Ball State has continuity on its offensive line and defense heading into the year. Quarterback was a question for much of last year but shouldn’t be entering 2024. This will be the Cardinals’ home opener and it seems more likely the Bears will go into FBS next year still seeking a win they’ve been waiting on.
Ball State holds off Missouri State late — 0-2
If Missouri State loses this one, never mind going up to FBS, send the Bears down to Division II.
Lindenwood is a newer FCS program trying to find its footing. This should be a good opportunity for the Bears’ backups to see action.
Missouri State blows out Lindenwood in home opener — 1-2
Missouri State goes to UT Martin for the second year in a row. The Bears allowed way too many big plays last year against the Skyhawks and probably should have won the game.
The Bears should be better in 2024 while there are some unknowns about the favorite to win the Ohio Valley Conference heading into the year. MSU needs this one when UTM is set to visit Springfield next year when the Bears are an FBS program.
Missouri State scores late to push it past UT Martin — 2-2
We’ll ask ourselves how good the Bears’ run defense is by this game. Youngstown State had one of the better ball-control offenses in FCS last year while ranking first in time of possession and fourth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing offense. At the same time, the Penguins were great defensively on third downs.
Missouri State’s defensive line appears to be much deeper heading into this year and it’s to be determined how well a younger linebacker group will perform. Jacob Clark can dissect this defense, which allowed over 240 yards per game through the air last season.
Missouri State’s passing game leads it past Youngstown State in a close game — 3-2 (1-0)
Week 6 – Bye
The end of Missouri State’s one-point loss to Illinois State last year was somewhat controversial. Both teams should be improved this year with the Redbirds looking like a team ready to explode.
Illinois State tends to have a solid defense and rush offense. It then comes down to how the quarterback plays and it expects to play two this year with Tommy Rittenhouse and Kansas State transfer Jake Rubley.
Illinois State takes one-score win over Missouri State — 3-3 (1-1)
Missouri State can’t lose this game. Indiana State is coming off a 1-10 season with its lone win being against Western Illinois which barely counts. The Bears could match their win total from last year by Week 8 but the final four games won’t be easy.
Missouri State blows out Indiana State — 4-3 (2-1)
The Bears have won three of their last four against the Panthers when they lost their previous 14 games against UNI entering the 2021 spring season. The Bears took last year’s matchup against UNI 35-16.
Northern Iowa will have a lot of changes this year with a new quarterback, a new offensive scheme, changes in the secondary and a handful of graduations along the defensive line. The offensive line is typically among the league’s best and UNI usually figures it out defensively, especially by this time of the year.
This can be a toss-up depending on UNI’s growth throughout the year with a new-look team.
Missouri State hangs on to win at Northern Iowa — 5-3 (3-1)
Southern Illinois enters this season as a top-10 team despite losing longtime starting quarterback Nic Baker and a few key players to power conference programs. Head coach Nick Hill always does a good job in the transfer portal, adding an Ohio State running back, Wisconsin wide receiver and others to fill the voids.
Quarterback will be a question that’s solved by this point with the Salukis having a junior on the roster in Hunter Simmons and former Murray State starting quarterback D.J. Williams now on the team. Offense is never a question at SIU as it will return four starters on the offensive line. The secondary and defensive line always seem to be solid. SIU ranked fourth in the FCS last season in points allowed.
This is a chance for Missouri State to knock off a rival likely playing for playoff positioning at this time of the year. Depending on how the Bears’ season has shaken out, we’ll see how motivated they are with no playoff aspirations.
Southern Illinois holds off Missouri State in one score game — 5-4 (3-2)
Missouri State’s last two games will be great ways to see how far it has to go to be competitive in Conference USA. North Dakota State and South Dakota State usually boast teams that could go to CUSA and compete for championships.
NDSU has beaten Missouri State 12-straight times with MSU’s last win coming in 2010 at Plaster Stadium. The Bears have lost those games by around an average of 27 points.
NDSU returns one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS but it graduated its top ball carrier from the No. 4 FCS rushing offense. That’s never been a problem for the Bison before and they’ll continue to pump out an elite offensive line and take shots down the field when needed. Defensively, NDSU has nine returning starters.
North Dakota State holds off late Missouri State push — 5-5 (3-3)
The defending FCS national champ and the favorite to repeat will send Missouri State out of the FCS in November.
South Dakota State is as good as it gets. The Jackrabbits return the Walter Payton Award-winner, which goes to the national player of the year, at quarterback, All-American-caliber offensive linemen and potential breakouts at wide receiver. Defensively? SDSU returns eight of their top 13 tacklers from last season’s defense that allowed 9.3 points per game.
SDSU might need this win late in the year to secure the No. 1 seed in the FCS Playoffs.
South Dakota State beats Missouri State by multiple scores — 5-6 (3-4)
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Publish date : 2024-08-25 21:00:00
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