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The Battle of the Bears!

This is going to be an interesting game for sure. MO State gave Oklahoma State all they could handle this past weekend. We are definitely going to have to bring our A game to get the W in Springfield.

Go PURPLE Bears!

to get a W the Bears need to play better. And better play selection.

Pokes were down six starters including their very efficient experienced QB.....lost two of Big 12 most productive offensive players from last season and trying to get offense put together...still, Maroon Bears really stuffed the run game.....any guesses what they will plan to do vs Purple Bears...at least UCA has the better deep WRs than OSU and a very experienced QB....we need to do much better at keeping defensive off balance...

Thanks for sharing info about the Pokes. Your right about our wr and qb. The O-line must improve, and some trick plays would be nice. I don't know if I will be able to attend because transportation is the problem right now. Does anyone have a score prediction? Go Bears Papa

Need to do some more research before I can come up with a score prediction. However, Mo State's roster shows transfers from the following D1 teams:

Louisville
Western Kentucky
Vanderbilt
Utah State
Central Michigan
Cincinnati
New Mexico State
Southern Miss
Houston
Alabama State
Florida Atlantic
Boise State
Kansas State
Coastal Carolina
Northern Arizona
Mississippi State

Not sure how many of those are new or were with them last season...at least some have to be new and be contributors....they also get players from some of the well known foot ball high schools in the region.....Tulsa Jenks, Liberty North, Lees Summit North, Springdale Har-ber, Harrison, Plano West, Blue Springs, Webb City, Tulsa Union, Olathe East, Norman (OK), Blue Valley, DeSmet,...plus lots of Texas....

They rushed for 150 vs OSU.....half of that was QB Jason Shelley (Utah State)......he was also 23/44 for 235 yds passing (long of 25) with 2 TDs and no INTs and 105 passer rating....RB Kevon Latulas (Nederland, TX) carried 6/45 with long of 30...Xavier Lane (W. Kentucky) led receivers with 8/78 with a long of 22.....note that 70 yds of the 235 came on three receptions...Grant Burkett punted 6/49 avg (long 53) with 3 inside 20....Kicker Jose Pizano was 3/4 FGs (made 3 between 30-49 yds) and the miss was from 50+....Safety Kyriq McDonald (Cincy) led defense with 10 tackles with one TFL....3 others had 6 and 3 others had 5....no sacks.....but 6 TFLs for 23 yds....

As I recall, Latulas was very tough to bring down last year....he had 70 yds rushing in the first game, 80+ yds receiving and a 16 yd blocked punt returned for a TD....in the 2nd game he rushed for 77 with a 63 yd TD run....

Last year's QB Jaden Jordan (Southern Miss) is still on the roster....he went 25/44/249 in game 1 but was sacked 9x...rushed for 50....only 5/16 with 2 INTs in game 2 and 27 yds rush......

Glad we have Hayden Ray kicking....

So, as game day gets closer a couple views of the teams based solely on last game....

Mo State played pretty well against a P5 team that had pieces out of place and having to scramble....OSU defense was pretty solid which speaks well for MO State being able to score 16 and nearly another score late....on the other hand, Mo State defense was solid against a suspect OSU offense...

UCA meanwhile played very good defense for three quarters against a solid G5 program and even while offense was not in full gear, did some good things on offense at times....the 4th quarter was the difference and that all started with an INT that led directly and quickly to a TD for ASU...

An argument can be made that Mo State played better against a P5 team than UCA did against a G5 team....but I am not sure that OSU's offense was in better form than ASU's last week....actually I would like to see ASU play OSU now as the RWs may well win that one....

Not sure of status of Mo State's 2nd QB but if healthy that is troubling as UCA seems to struggle against teams with two experienced QBs (remember EKU last season but many other examples from SLC days)....it only takes 1-2 possessions with a different QB to turn a close game into trouble....

I will give credit to Petrino for being the more experienced head coach so pretty sure they will have good game plan and unlikely to make serious in-game coaching mistakes...

Hopefully our defense can keep Kevon Latulas in check running, offense can avoid costly turnovers, try to keep the ball a little longer on each possession tp play keep away and defense can keep same intensity as they showed at Jonesboro...may Hayden Ray and Parker-Hughes have very good games....

Great thoughts!

Here's my take if we want to beat the upper echelon FCS and lower level FBS teams- Get our offense started EARLIER.

For years now we have relied on our defense to sustain us enough to give us a chance to pull ahead or come back. That formula doesn't sustain as we get closer to the playoffs toward the end of the season our defense is wore out and we lose to teams like UNH etc.

Run game- seriously people. WHERE IS IT??? We can scream all day how the run game can open up the pass game or vice versa but if the run game doesn't exist or is nonproductive...who cares about strategy? We need the run game to not only get first downs but to shorten the game to give our defense rest and to keep the other teams offense off the field. Establish a decent run game and this team goes FAR in the playoffs!

Making the trip up north for the game....win or lose...been a fan too long to not...

Could not agree more.....have a good trip to SF......nice city......I'll pick UCA in another close game with MSU by 31-27....Go Bears!!

Run game.....look at that....

And run game did not have Myers....much better play selection ....very unfortunate penalty on the MSU go ahead TD drive....not able to keep Latulas in check.....or slow down X Lane.....good college game between ranked opponents.....

After feeling good last week, I feel the opposite this week. We looked unprepared. We looked flat. We did not look like a team that has a chance at a national title run.

Here are my main takeaways:

Positives:

It was good to see some resemblance of a run game.
Even with two INT’s, Breylin played well. Winningham was a beast, and it was nice to see Hudson come alive late.

Negatives:

Secondary. It is not good.
We have no run defense. I could not tell if it was scheme, execution, or both.
Penalties at crucial times hurt us.
Miscommunication on routes showed up a lot last year. One of Breylin’s INT’s was the same issue. Need to make sure everyone knows the signals and where the ball is going to go. Unfortunately for #3, there just happened to be a DB there.

Hats off to Petrino and Missouri State though. They played an excellent game.

I’ll be surprised if this team finishes with a .500 record, something’s gotta shake and I mean very soon.