Missouri State University went 30 years without making Division I-AA.FCS play off. After hiring Bobby Petrino, the Bears are going 2-2 in his postseason appearances for the 2021 spring and fall seasons. That, coupled with a talented roster, resulted in high preseason hype.
But Missouri State is 0-2 in their last two playoff games.Ranked 5th Stats Perform Preseason Top 25 Media Pollcan the Bears live up to expectations and compete at the national level?
2022 FCS Pre-Season Preview Central
last season
The Bears finished 8-4 overall (losing 23-16 to FBS No. 22 Oklahoma State and 27-20 to eventual FCS National Champions North Dakota) and trailing 6-4 in the MVFC. I got a score of 2. They lost 32-31 at home to UT Martin in the first round of the playoffs.
Mo State ranked 12th in FCS scoring offense (34.2 PPG) and 57th in scoring defense (26.2 PPG).
2022 roster
The change in talent under Petrino was remarkable. Mo State quickly went from being a valley-bottom inhabitant to a competitor.
The Bears are not afraid to reach the transfer portal and have done well so far. Looking down at the “Previous Schools” section of the 2022 roster, the Bears have over 45 transfers, whether they came in this year or the year before. His 21 of those players are from his FBS.
Some of them are currently top players on the team. Jason Shelley (Utah) is HERO Sports’ No. 1 returning FCS QB. Tyrone Scott (Central Michigan) is his fourth returning player in FCS WR. Monterey Braswell (Central Michigan) is his third returning player in FCS CB. And Kyriq McDonald (Cincinnati) is his 7th in returning FCS safety.
Overall, Mo State has returned 17 starters and has a conference-leading eight All-MVFC returners: DB Kyriq McDonald (HM), DB Montrae Braswell (1st Team) and DL Kevin Ellis. (1st Team), K Jose Pizano (2nd Team), OL Landon Beebe (2nd Team), P Grant Burkett (1st Team), QB Jason Shelley (1st Team), WR Tyrone Scott (1st Team) .
The Bears also added roughly 12 out of 10 transfers from FBS.
2022 schedule
- @ Central Arkansas
- vs No.18 UT Martin
- @ FBS Arkansas
- vs. No. 2 South Dakota
- @ North Dakota
- vs. No. 9 Southern Illinois
- @ No.21 Northern Iowa
- vs Western Illinois
- @ South Dakota
- vs. Youngstown State
- @ Indiana
This is a demanding schedule for Mo State to position itself for playoff success. The Bears will go to his UCA decent his FCS his team (with top 25 votes) and UT he will face P5’s Arkansas after having a postseason rematch with Martin. They avoid his NDSU, but since last fall he has faced four of his MVFC playoff teams (SDSU, SIU, UNI, USD), plus he has a tough trip to UND.
outlook for the season
As a team with four losses last year and 0-2 in the playoffs the last two seasons, many people hold Mo State in high regard. And I’m with them, ranking the Bears #5 in my poll.
In my opinion, Shelly is the best returning QB in FCS and Scott is a top-notch WR. Last season, Shelley finished 215 of his 362 passes for 3,088 yards, 30 TDs, 398 yards rushing and he recorded his six interceptions, including 10 points. Scott recorded 66 catches for 1,110 yards and eight touchdowns. The Bears are expected to be a little more balanced offensively, as RB Jacardia Wright looks to make the difference as he moves to Kansas State. This could make him one of the most explosive attacks in FCS.
But the Bears are not without questions. And if they don’t answer these questions, the deep playoff run won’t happen.
First, we need to improve our offensive line. Shelley has his legs as electric as his arms, but the O-line hasn’t done him much favors.Mo State allowed a game last season with 3.92 sacks and ranked 119th. I was. Second, having a 57th scoring defense doesn’t make it happen. At some point in the playoffs, defenses need to get important stops in the second half. As EWU learned many times in his 2010s, if you can’t do that, you’ll be painfully short in the big games.
Even with the OL and defensive questions, the overall talent of this roster cannot be ignored. And it’s easy to believe that this team can make a national stir: Mo State last year roped both Oklahoma State and he NDSU, losing by a score difference. Big Most of his name is coming back better than he has been in a year, plus he has a double-digit transfer fee.
The Bears need to prioritize defeating two quality FCS opponents (UCA and UT Martin) to strengthen their playoff restart. They avoid his NDSU. And they have top 10 opponents at home (SDSU and SIU).
The team is unabashedly saying they have hopes of a national title this season. It’s unclear if they’re up to the level of beating Dynasty Bison in the playoffs.
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