Grid Bears Set for Season Opener at Oklahoma State

8/30/2021 | Football

First and Ten

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• Missouri State opens its 110th season of college football on Saturday (Sept. 4) when the Bears travel to No. 22-ranked Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. (ESPN+) in the season opener for both squads.
• The Bears return 17 starters, 45 lettermen and 62 players in all from 2020-21, in which MSU earned a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title and made their first NCAA Playoff appearance in 30 years.
• Bears head coach Bobby Petrino begins his second year at Missouri State after earning MVFC Coach of the Year honors and leading MSU to a 5-1 ledger in the Missouri Valley in his debut season. After inheriting a 1-10 program, Petrino had an immediate impact in Springfield, turning the Bears into conference co-champions and catapulting the team as high as No. 12 in the national polls and into the NCAA playoffs in 2020-21.
• MSU also returns 10 All-MVFC players from last season, including first-team selection Montrae Braswell (Jr., CB, Avon Park, Fla.) who shared the league lead with 3 interceptions and earned Hero Sports Sophomore All-America honors in his first campaign in Springfield.
• Missouri State’s roster includes 4 players from the state of Oklahoma, including all-conference wide receiver Damoriea Vick (Sr., Oklahoma City) and returning letterman Kaunor Ashley (So., CB, Muskogee). Offensive lineman Grant Goodson (RFr., Norman) and Trae Thompson (Jr., LB, Tulsa) are also on the 2021 MSU squad.
• Several current Bears played key roles in the last meeting between Missouri State and Oklahoma State (8/30/18). Jordan Murray (WR, Lee’s Summit, Mo.) had 3 receptions for 30 yards and a TD; Damoriea Vick (WR, Oklahoma City) had a 22-yard pass reception; Zack Sanders (CB, Lawrence, Kan.) had 7 solo tackles and an interception; Kevin Ellis (DL, Fort Worth, Texas) posted 6 tackles, 4 solos; Tyler Lovelace (LB, Lee’s Summit, Mo.) had 5 tackles with 4 solos; and Eric Johnson (DL, Plainfield, Ill.) racked up 4 total tackles with a pair of solo stops.
• Damoriea Vick ranks 9th on MSU’s career receptions list (114) and 13th in receiving yards (1,419). He has made 31 consecutive starts and last year ranked 2nd in the MVFC and 14th nationally in receiving yards (596).
• The Bears have 33 newcomers on their 2021 roster, including 12 transfers from four-year programs, 6 junior college transfers, and 15 true freshmen.
• A total of 15 Missouri State players have completed their undergraduate degrees and are currently pursuing post-graduate studies, including captains Kevin Ellis (DL, Fort Worth, Texas) and Titus Wall (S, Plano, Texas).
• Bears punter, Grant Burkett (So., Joplin, Mo.) averaged 43.0 yards per attempt last season with 14 punts inside the 20. His average ranked 13th nationally and 3rd in the MVFC to earn honorable mention All-MVFC laurels.
• Despite playing an abbreviated 10-game campaign in 2020-21, the Bears broke a team single-season record with 27 sacks. Amazingly, 18 different players contributed to the record-breaking total, including a team-high 6.0 sacks by Kevin Ellis (DL, Fort Worth, Texas). Ellis also led the squad in tackles for loss (8.0) a year ago.
• Jason Shelley (QB, Frisco, Texas) brings three seasons of FBS experience to the Bears after playing two seasons at Utah (2018-19) before spending last season at Utah State. For his career, Shelley is 155-for-278 (.558) for 1,625 yards and 8 touchdowns in 22 games. He has also rushed for 291 yards and 4 TDs in his career.
• Last year, Missouri State’s defense ranked 6th nationally in third-down efficiency (.287), while ranking 17th in red-zone defense (.719). The Bears also averaged 1.5 takeaways per game with 8 interceptions and 7 fumbles.
• Bears co-captain Titus Wall (S, Plano, Texas) is 12 tackles shy of 200 for his career (42 games), while fellow senior Tyler Lovelace (LB, Lee’s Summit, Mo.) is 2nd among active Bears with 145 tackles in 38 career games.
• Missouri State is 51-55-3 all-time in season openers, while head coach Bobby Petrino is 12-3 in season openers.
• Bears OLB coach Skyler Cassity is the older brother of Oklahoma State DL Braden Cassity.
• Missouri State is a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference which has produced eight of the last 10 national champions at the NCAA Division I FCS level. The MVFC has six teams ranked in the STATS FCS preseason Top 25, including four of the top eight (Missouri State is #24), with one additional team receiving votes.

Coach Bobby Petrino

• Bobby Petrino is in his second season as Missouri State’s head football coach after joining the Bears program on January 16, 2020. He is currently 124-61 (.670) in his 16th season as a head coach and is 5-5 at Missouri State, including a 5-2 ledger in the spring of 2021. As Bears head coach, Petrino is 3-3 on the road, and 2-2 at Robert W. Plaster Stadium. He has never coached against Oklahoma State.
• During the 2020-21 season, Petrino helped lead the Bears to a 5-1 mark in Missouri Valley Football Conference play to earn a share of the MVFC regular-season title. His efforts not only landed him the prestigious Bruce Craddock MVFC Coach of the Year Award, but also led the Bears to their first NCAA FCS playoff appearance in 30 years.
• ESPN recently named Petrino to its list of the top 100 college football coaches of the last 50 years, placing Petrino No. 77 on the list.
• Petrino previously served as head coach in two stints at Louisville as well as Arkansas and Western Kentucky. He spent 14 seasons at the FBS level and led his programs to 11 bowl appearances with seven teams ranked in the top 25 at season’s end.
• The Helena, Mont., native is in his 33rd year of collegiate coaching overall, having guided his programs to AP top-six final rankings three times (2004, 2006, 2011) and directing some of the nation’s top offensive programs along the way. His clubs have finished in the top five nationally in scoring offense three times, while his 2004 club at Louisville led the country in scoring (49.8 ppg). He has developed 34 NFL Draft selections during his illustrious career, including four in the first round, and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.
• Petrino and his wife Becky have four children: Kelsey, Nick, Bobby and Katie – and six grandchildren. Nick Petrino is Missouri State’s offensive coordinator, while sons-in-law Ryan Beard (defensive coordinator) and L.D. Scott (defensive line) are also on the MSU coaching staff this season.

Series History

• The Bears and Cowboys have played eight times previously — all in Stillwater — with Oklahoma State leading the series, 8-0.
• The series began in 1993 and includes the first-ever overtime game in major college football with OSU’s 23-20 OT victory in 1996. This will be sixth meeting between the teams since 2003 and the fourth meeting since 2008.
• In the most-recent matchup (Aug. 30, 2018), Oklahoma State built an early 31-point cushion before withstanding a valiant second-half charge from Missouri State to post a 58-17 victory at Boone Pickens Stadium. OSU recorded eight different scoring drives covering 67 yards or more and led 31-0 late in the first half before the Bears scored 17 of the next 24 points to cut their deficit to 21 points. Bears quarterback Peyton Huslig totaled 109 yards on the ground and threw for 150 yards and a pair of touchdowns — including one to Jordan Murray — to help spark the surge, before the No. 25 Cowboys pulled away by scoring the final 20 points of the game. Keyed by a pair of 100-yard rushing performances and five touchdown passes from senior quarterback Taylor Cornelius, Oklahoma State amassed 732 yards of total offense in their 24th straight win in a home opener. The Cowboys scored on each of their first four offensive possessions, outgaining the Bears by a 280-9 margin in the first-quarter. Stats