Bears Wrap Non-Conference Slate at UT Martin

NOTES 

• Fresh off a convincing victory over Lindenwood in their home opener, the Missouri State Bears return to the road this week for a Saturday showdown at UT Martin in MSU’s non-conference finale. The fourth meeting between the clubs in four seasons will kick at 6 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+.  
• QB Jacob Clark (Sr., Rockwall, Texas) is this week’s MVFC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after he broke the club single-game record for pass completion percentage (.848) against Lindenwood. Clark was 28-for-33 for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns and engineered scoring drives on MSU’s first three possessions in its home opener. It marks the second straight year Clark has earned MVFC honors after the home opener.
• Clark leads all MVFC signal callers in passing yards (817), passing yards per game (272.3) and completions per game (23.33), which all rank in the top 10 nationally (4th-6th-9th). He is also 2nd in The Valley in pass efficiency (142.1) and yards per attempt (7.86). Clark passed for 332 yards and 3 TDs last year at UT Martin.
• Jacardia Wright (Sr., Decatur, Ill.) needs 133 rushing yards to reach 2,000 for his career to go with his 399 carries and 19 rushing TDs. He is part of Missouri State’s “Thunder and Lightning” backfield along with Jayden Becks (So., Waxahachie, Texas). The tandem has combined for 315 ground yards and 5 rushing scores through Missouri State’s first three ball games.
• Safety P.J. Hall (Little Rock, Ark.) has an interception in each of the last two games (5 for his career) and ranks 2nd nationally (1st in the MVFC) in interceptions per game (0.67). The fifth-year standout has started the last 14 games in the MSU secondary. 
• Hunter Wood (Sr., Springdale, Ark.) became the 18th MSU receiver to record 10 pass receptions in a game when he snagged a career-high 10 catches for 90 yards vs. Lindenwood in week three. He now ranks 22nd nationally in receptions per game (5.7), 27th in punt return average (7.3), 49th in receiving yards (187) and 53rd in receiving yards per game (62.3). He ranks 3rd in the MVFC in receptions per game. He had 7 receptions for 74 yards against the Skyhawks last season in Martin.
• MoState’s offense ranks among the national leaders in completion percentage (11th), passing offense (12th), first downs (14th), passing efficiency (24th), red zone offense (28th), total offense (28th) and 3rd-down efficiency (31st). The Bears lead the MVFC in passing offense (272.3) and 2nd in efficiency (142.14).
• Defensively, Missouri State is emerging as a force to reckon with, ranking 8th nationally in interceptions (4), 17th in tackles for loss (7.0), 25th in takeaways (5); and 27th in turnover margin (+0.67). MSU’s 5 takeaways leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference. 
• Jacardia Wright (Sr, Decatur, Ill.) logged his third career 100-yard rushing game (143) and racked up a career-high 208 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns in MSU’s win over Lindenwood. The standout running back averaged 6.8 yards per carry and 13.5 yards (on five receptions for 65 yards). He ranks 7th nationally and 1st in the MVFC in total offense (136.0) and 29th nationally in rushing yards per game (88.3).
• WR Jmariyae Robinson (So., Cocoa, Fla.) has scored in all three games and ranks 12th nationally in touchdowns (4) and 18th nationally in points per game (8.0), both ranking 2nd in The Valley.
• MSU linebacker Tahj Chambers (Sr., Arlington, Texas) is coming off a team-high and career-high 13 tackles against Lindenwood, catapulting him to 16th nationally and 3rd in the MVFC in tackles per game (10.0), just behind teammate Todric McGee (Jr., Wichita, Kan.) who is 14th nationally and 2nd in the MVFC (10.3).
• The Bears have scored in 20 of their last 24 quarters (dating back to last season) and have notched double-figure scoring totals in 42 consecutive ball games, including 20 or more points 34 times in that span.
   

Series History

• Missouri State leads the all-time series vs. UT Martin, 7-2, including a 2-1 record in Martin. 
• The teams have played three times in recent years, including a narrow 32-31 Skyhawks win in Springfield during the 2021 NCAA FCS playoffs. The Bears avenged that loss at Plaster in 2022 (35-30) before UTM struck back last season with a 38-31 victory in Martin. MSU is averaging 39.1 points per game in the nine previous meetings. 
• Last Meeting: UTM 38, MSU 31 (9/9/23) | Box Score 

Coach Ryan Beard

• Missouri State University officially presented Ryan Beard as its new head football coach on Dec. 19, 2022. At the time of his hire, Beard was the program’s youngest coach on record and was the 22nd person to hold the football Bears’ top coaching position. 
• Beard is 5-9 overall in his second season as MSU head coach (0-1 vs. UTM).
• His elevation to head coach came on the heels of three seasons as defensive coordinator (2020-22) at Missouri State under former head coach Bobby Petrino.
• In his inaugural head coaching season, Beard guided the Bears to a 4-7 overall record and a 3-5 ledger in the MVFC. The team’s strong November surge included and a 35-16 home win over No. 18-ranked Northern Iowa.
• The 2023 Bears finished No. 5 in the nation in passing offense (300.3), No. 7 in pass efficiency (158.77), 26th in total offense (400.8) and 31st in scoring (29.8).  
  Missouri State was rewarded with seven All-MVFC selections in Beard’s first campaign as head coach, including first-teamers Grant Burkett (P) and Raylen Sharpe (WR). Sharpe finished fourth in the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year voting. Likewise, Burkett (second team) and Sharpe (third team) were named to the Associated Press FCS All-America Team, while the Bears also boasted three Phil Steele Freshman All-America honorees, including first-teamers Cash Hudson (OL) and Avery Powell (CB).
• At season’s end, Beard was named to the American Football Coaches Association’s exclusive 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. 
• During his three seasons as MSU’s defensive coordinator, Beard played a significant role in the team’s resurgence, managing a defensive unit that boasted 18 all-conference selections, four All-Americans and three professional players in his tenure at MoState.
• Before coming to Missouri State, Beard spent the 2019 season at Central Michigan as the special teams and safeties coach for head coach Jim McElwain. He joined the Central Michigan staff in February of 2019 and helped lead the Chippewas to an 8-6 campaign on a defensive secondary that created 13 interceptions.
• Beard served as an assistant at Louisville during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, starting as the defensive backs coach and in quality control before moving on to become the Cardinals’ linebackers coach and their co-special teams coordinator. As the DB coach at WKU (2016), Beard was part of a CUSA championship Boca Raton Bowl win. 
• He was a standout defensive back at Western Kentucky himself from 2007-11. He was a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and was named to the league’s All-Freshman squad and its All-Academic team. A native of Bowling Green, Ky., Beard was a four-year letterman at Bowling Green High for coach Kevin Wallace, where his efforts helped the Purples advance to the state 3A championship contest each of his last two years.
• Beard, 35, holds two degrees from Western Kentucky: a bachelor of science in Business Management (2012), and a master of science in Recreation and Sport Administration (2014).
  He is married to the former Katie Petrino. The couple have four children with son Beau and daughter Lainey, in addition to twins Jacob and Kailey born in the spring of 2022.