Watch Missouri State Ryan Beard press conference before Ball State
Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard addressed the media following its Week 1 loss to Montana and previewed the team’s Week 2 visit to Ball State.
Whether Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard likes it or not, much of the 2024 season will be spent by those outside the program looking ahead to when the team joins Conference USA next season.
Trying to make sense of where the Bears may fall in Week 1 of next season will fascinate many fans more than Missouri State’s place in the FCS this season when it’s ineligible for the playoffs.
We spent most of Saturday getting our first taste of Conference USA football. Here’s what we learned.
Watching Conference USA play power conference teams felt a lot like watching Missouri Valley Football Conference teams lose to them
There didn’t seem to be too big of a difference between watching South Dakota State lose to Oklahoma State and watching Florida International lose to Indiana. Both looked like glorified practices for the power conference programs and were similar to Missouri State losses to teams like Oklahoma and Kansas in the past.
There were notable differences in the speed and size. UTEP’s athletes made plays against Nebraska and you saw its offensive line hold its own sometimes. FIU showcased breakaway speed in space against Indiana that would have been dangerous against any team.
More: ‘It has to change’: Missouri State football is the most penalized FCS team after Week 1
That doesn’t discount what the top-end teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference have. South Dakota State created big plays and quarterback Mark Gronowski looked like a capable starter in a power conference, but the Jacks couldn’t contain the OK State offense. North Dakota State’s ground-and-pound style scared Colorado and nearly pulled off a win over Deion Sanders and Co.
Get ready for Missouri State football to be in prime television windows
Games like Georgia-Clemson and Miami (Florida)-Florida had much of the weekend’s spotlight, but there are television windows Missouri State will eventually be on when it hasn’t been before.
Nebraska vs. UTEP on FOX? The country is tuning in to watch Cornhuskers freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, but it got to know what’s going on at UTEP at the same time. Alabama vs. Western Kentucky on ESPN? The four-letter network debuted new Bama head coach Kalen DeBoer with the Hilltoppers logo on the screen the entire game.
More: Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard Q&A on Conference USA, 2024 season, Biff Williams
Despite losing 63-0 to Alabama, the Google traffic for Western Kentucky football was more than double what it was for Missouri State football when both were playing at the same time, according to Google Trends. There is a lot more value in that than the typical fan thinks.
Plus, the television quality is going to be so much better. Missouri State has been blessed with Hite Media Services producing most of its television events at a higher level than most across the MVFC. That will continue, and you’ll see more ESPN family network broadcasts in addition to CBS Sports Network. It can’t be understated how much better that will be weekly instead of worrying about what a Western Illinois or Southern Illinois broadcast will look like.
Missouri State football will make a lot more money to play in these types of games
Oklahoma State paid South Dakota State $450,000 to play the Week 1 game. That’s a Big 12 team paying the top team in the FCS to play.
Missouri State is going to start making seven figures for its guarantee games. It already has a $1.125 million deal to play Cincinnati in 2027, and you’ll continue to see the Bears pull in those figures.
Here are a few of the Conference USA figures from this past weekend:
UTEP at Nebraska — Nebraska paid $1.6 million to host the Miners.Western Kentucky at Alabama — Alabama paid $1.9 million to host WKU.Tennessee Tech at Middle Tennessee — The Blue Raiders are paying $300,000 to host an FCS opponent.
More: Why Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard believes new AD Patrick Ransdell is a home run hire
Kennesaw State, the newest Conference USA program, gave UTSA a fight in its first FBS matchup
Watching how Kennesaw State performs this season might be the best way to gauge expectations for the Bears come 2025. The Owls joined Conference USA this season.
Kennesaw State played UTSA, a former CUSA team from 2013-22 that’s now in the American Athletic Conference, tough when it didn’t look like it’d be competitive early. The Owls had a late chance to drive down and take the lead after starting down 21-3 but couldn’t pull it off.
Comparing Missouri State to Kennesaw State? Fans would feel a lot more comfortable with Jacob Clark at quarterback, but there is something to be said about the size of the athletes the Owls currently have.
More: Grading Missouri State football after almost shocking FCS No. 3 Montana in 2024 opener
Delaware blew out Bryant in Week 1 in its final FCS season before joining CUSA
A 48-17 win for Delaware over Bryant wasn’t a big surprise when the Blue Hens entered as 19.5-point favorites. They will join CUSA in 2025 alongside the Bears.
Delaware’s first big test won’t come until Oct. 19 when it travels to FCS No. 13 Richmond. It follows by hosting No. 16 Albany.
Delaware has made the second round of the FCS playoffs the last two seasons.
Where would Missouri State football fit in after one week?
It’s difficult to gauge when most Conference USA opponents got blown out by the Power Conference opponents. It will also be worth monitoring how good Montana turns out to be this year when its quarterback play wasn’t very impressive.
It’s not worth overreacting and throwing Missouri State in as a middle-tier team yet. The Bears can be competitive, especially with their coaching on the offensive side of the ball. The Bears will get blown out however much to zero against an upper-echelon SEC opponent someday. They’re not above the likes of Western Kentucky and UTEP just yet.
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 22:06:00
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