Watch: Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard previews Lindenwood
Missouri State head football coach previews the Bears’ home opener against Lindenwood.
By the looks on the faces of those within the Missouri State football program, they are frustrated.
A week after being the most penalized team in the FCS, largely preventing the Bears from knocking off a top 5 opponent, it followed by challenging Ball State until a handful of self-destructive plays prevented them from capturing the program’s first win over an FBS team since 1990.
Two winnable games in which the Bears, at times, looked like the better team on the field, only to hurt themselves. Instead of two statement wins that could create excitement heading into a new era, the Bears are 0-2.
“That’s the hardest thing about these losses,” tight end Lance Mason said. “We still feel like we were the better football team.”
Missouri State (0-2) heads into its Saturday 6 p.m. home opener against Lindenwood (0-2) hoping to put its demons behind it. There still appears to be a learning curve the Bears have to overcome.
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Saturday’s avalanche started when Missouri State returned a second interception for a touchdown, only to be called back due to a defensive holding call. Four plays later, Ball State tied the game on a fourth-and-3 call that went for a 41-yard touchdown after the Bears missed a trio of tackles.
On the ensuing kickoff, D’Vontae Key fumbled upon getting hit, turning into Ball State’s ball at the MSU 27. The Cardinals scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to take their first lead.
To make matters worse, starting quarterback Jacob Clark was intercepted on the Bears’ third play of their next drive, resulting in another Cardinals touchdown six plays later, picking up the score with a 16-yard touchdown pass on third-and-13. The two-touchdown lead was too big for the Bears to overcome.
“We’ve got to be able to face adversity,” second-year head coach Ryan Beard said. “Even when you’re winning games, even when there’s moments that you can put teams away, they’re going to fight back. It’s not just going to be clear throughout the whole game and guys aren’t going to just lay down and let you blow them out with an easy win. We have to be able to overcome that adversity.”
Beard said the Bears’ executive board of captains and other team leaders spoke to the Bears about overcoming adversity during a Sunday meeting; the same leaders spoke up last week when MSU was the most penalized team in the FCS after Week 1. The Bears improved with four penalties for 35 yards.
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Missouri State is “still learning how to win,” Beard said in a phrase that has been used often with the program since he first came to the school as defensive coordinator under Bobby Petrino in 2020. Notably, the Bears collapsed in their fall 2020 games against Central Arkansas when they had chances to win, only to turn it around in the spring season with a playoff appearance and then rallying in multiple games in fall 2021, earning the “Cardiac Bears” nickname en route to another postseason.
But the “learning how to win” phrase remains. Even new MSU athletic director Patrick Ransdell posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Saturday’s loss that “winning is learned.” Despite the carryover from a year ago, Beard said it’s a lesson the Bears are still trying to get through their heads.
“Each team is different,” Beard said. “With the transfer portal, bringing in new guys and the different pieces that you have here and there, you’re still trying to figure it out with each individual team. We’re still learning who this team is, trying to figure out ways to win with this football team.”
Beard is also well aware there will come a day when the Bears can’t afford to “learn how to win” on the fly during the season. In Missouri State football’s wildest dreams of a future College Football Playoff appearance, an early-season loss could end those hopes when one Group of 5 conference champion earns an automatic bid.
More: Why Missouri State football coach Ryan Beard believes new AD Patrick Ransdell is a home run hire
It’s apparent those dreams have a long way to go and much improvement is needed if the Bears will be competitive in their future conference in the coming years.
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Publish date : 2024-09-09 13:00:00
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