MSU played its best game of season in 22-0 loss: Thoughts after loss to North Dakota State

Missouri State football entered Saturday as the biggest underdog in all of college football according to multiple Vegas oddsmakers but the Bears came away with perhaps their best performance of the season. 

That's right; the Bears looked better in a 22-0 loss to the top team in the FCS than they did in a triple-overtime win against one of the worst teams in the country.

The Bears' defense rose to the occasion and played a complete game for the first time this season while the offense remained problematic.

If you were to give away moral victories, this would be the first one to give the Bears this season. However, moral victories aren't really a thing come the fifth year of a coaching regime. 

Here are some thoughts after the Bears fell to 1-5 on Saturday:

The Missouri State Bears took on the University of South Dakota Coyotes at Plaster Field on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.

1. It never felt like the Bears were a threat

Despite Missouri State looking its best all season, the Bears never felt like a threat to win the game. 

The offense was abysmal and North Dakota State seemed as if it could turn on another gear if it needed to. Play-calling seemed basic and simple for the Bison all afternoon with almost the feel as if they were treating the Bears like a glorified practice opponent. 

The Bears are no closer to competing with a team like North Dakota State than they were before the season or dating back to last year. The depth, size and skill the Bison have at every position is far superior to the Bears'. 

That is to be expected when playing a team that has won seven of the last eight national championships. 

Despite all of this, there were things to like out of Missouri State. There were also things that continued to be problematic for the Bears.

2. The defense played its best game

For the first time all season, the defense played a complete game while looking the best it has all season — and maybe the best it has ever played under head coach Dave Steckel.

The Bears were quick to the ball and limited a far-superior opponent. They made third-down stops and killed a few promising Bison drives while limiting them to the least amount of points they've scored since a 17-7 win over Youngstown State last season.

Unfortunately for the defense, the offense couldn't get anything going and this effort was for naught. 

The defense was on the field for 34:52 because the offense finished with only 12 first downs. 

Big plays have haunted the Bears during the Steckel era and there were a few in this game. North Dakota State's tailback popped off a 58-yard run as a part of three rushes to go for 21 yards or more. On every other run, the Bison averaged less than three yards per carry.

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Missouri State swarmed to the ball on every carry and it finished with nine tackles for a loss. Senior linebacker McNeece Egbim stood out with 14 total tackles including seven solo and 3.5 for a loss. 

Through the air, the Bears held quarterback Trey Lance in check. The quarterback — who Steckel talked highly of earlier in the week while comparing him to NFL quarterbacks and former Bison Carson Wentz and Easton Stick — was 21-of-31 for 225 yards and no touchdowns. 

Lance missed some open throws and also took a few chances deep down the field. The Bears didn't have much of a pass rush as they opted to spy the mobile quarterback while the Bison sport a top-tier offensive line. 

No pass went for over 30 yards which is a big improvement from weeks past. The Bison averaged 10.7 yards per completion. In MSU's opening week matchup with Northern Arizona, it allowed 17.6 yards per completion while it allowed 13.6 yards per completion in the Bears' previous loss to South Dakota.

Allowing 447 yards of offense doesn't look too good on paper but the Bears didn't have much help on the other side of the ball. This was a complete game for the Bears defense as opposed to when the unit has had lapses in the past. 

We'll see Saturday if this is something that is here to stay.

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The Missouri State Bears took on the University of South Dakota Coyotes at Plaster Field on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.

3. The offense couldn't help the defense

For as good as the defense played, the offense played poorly on the other side. 

It was to be expected. After all, the Bison have the most dominant defense in college football and the Bears have had their struggles offensively against far inferior defenses. 

Missouri State only gained 185 total yards for their second-worst offensive output of the season. The Bears gained only 182 yards in a loss to FBS-Tulane earlier in the season. The last time MSU gained fewer yards against an FCS opponent was last season when it gained 183 in a 59-7 loss to South Dakota State.

Starting quarterback Peyton Huslig ended the game 20-of-37 for 164 yards. That was good enough for 8.2 yards per completion. A lot of the passing game was controlled short passes. Huslig didn't take too many chances but got an explosive play from Damoriea Vick on a crossing route in the second quarter for 30 yards along with a quick screen pass to Lorenzo Thomas for a 21-yard gain. 

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Short passes made up for a non-existent run game. The Bears ran the ball 20 times for a total of 21 yards. Missouri State now has the fourth-worst rushing attack in the FCS averaging 64.8 yards per game. 

Missouri State punted on its first 10 drives of the game while turning the ball over on downs on its 11th and final drive of the game. The Bears went three-and-out six times and no drive ended inside the North Dakota State 44-yard line. 

The Bears' best chance at scoring in the game came midway through the second quarter. Huslig hit tight end Armand Baker for an eight-yard pass but an illegal chop block negated the play and backed the Bears up 15 yards instead of having first-down at the Bison 23. Instead, the Bears had the ball at the 46 and third-and-23 and Huslig was sacked before punting it away.

There were no turnovers but there wasn't anything aggressive enough to put the ball in harm's way. The offense was safe against a fast, high-level defense. 

It won't get any easier for the Bears as they go up against Northern Iowa this upcoming week. The Bears have scored a combined 17 total points in four games against the Panthers during Steckel's career as head coach.

4. Adam Cofield would have been nice to see in a Bears uniform

The one player who perhaps gave the Bears the most trouble on Saturday was junior tailback Adam Cofield who finished with 93 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Strangely enough, Cofield was once verbally committed to play for Missouri State but he switched his commitment to North Dakota State right before signing day. 

Cofield has come on strong in the last two games with over 100 scrimmage yards in each game. He had 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Bison's win over Northern Iowa. 

The tailback, on his own, has more rushing yards than Missouri State has this season (402 to 389). 

It's hard to blame a kid for flipping his commitment from Missouri State to North Dakota State football but Cofield would have been a level above any tailback the Bears have had under Steckel. 

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5. National rankings on Missouri State

  • Missouri State's offense has the worst third-down percentage in all of the FCS. The Bears have converted on 26.9% of third downs. 
  • MSU ranks 101st (out of 124) in first downs gained this year with 101 total. Houston Baptist ranks first with 228.
  • Yards per completion ranks 107th in the FCS while the Bears average just 10.47 yards. That number has dropped in recent weeks as the Bears continue to not throw the ball down the field. 
  • The Bears rank 113th in scoring offense while averaging 16.7 points per game. That's the Bears' worst average under Steckel since his debut season when the Bears scored 9.8 points per game. 

6. MSU's 2020 class is off to a good start

Away from the field, Missouri State added a three-star quarterback on Sunday afternoon.

Dual-threat quarterback Hunter Loyd became the latest three-star to recruit in what is turning into perhaps Steckel's best recruiting class since arriving in Springfield.

Loyd joins St. Louis Post Dispatch Super 30 recruits Jake Seidel and Armon Wallace as 2020 commitments. 

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Wallace is the best of the bunch. He is a three-star defensive tackle from DeSmet High in St. Louis. he held offers from Kentucky, Memphis, Syracuse and Western Michigan before ultimately choosing the Bears. 

Seidel, an offensive tackle, also picked the Bears over FBS schools making the trio one to possibly get excited about. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with these three due to some uncertainty around the future of the Bears' coaching staff. This class shouldn't be used as an excuse to keep them long term, however. It should take these guys a few years to develop. 

7. What a recruit's dad said about MSU

Barry Seidel — the father of MSU football commit Jake Seidel — responded to me on Twitter after I said Steckel and his staff were putting together their best recruiting class since arriving in Springfield. 

"My son had FBS visits and offers," he said. "Mo State was the only FCS school we visited. They have more to offer than many FBS schools."

According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive tackle from Imperial had offers from Ball State, Austin Peay and UT Martin. 

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8. On next year's quarterbacks...

Right now, the Bears have five quarterbacks scheduled to be on the roster come 2020.

The roster would include Dalton Hill, Ty Baker, Parker Powell, Darrias Pearsall and Loyd. Hill is the only one to attempt a pass in a collegiate game.

That doesn't mean Hill will get the starting nod come next September. The hope should be that Hill and Baker get some time in the final weeks of the regular season so we have a better understanding of what's to come. 

Loyd seems to be the quarterback with the most promise. He turned down FBS programs to come to Springfield and has good touch on deep throws. He has the size and athleticism to be a decent quarterback. 

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Pearsall is the best athlete out of the group. There's not much on tape that suggests he's played in an offense that requires reading a defense. 

Baker was a winner in high school and is a good athlete. He's had time to learn behind the scenes as the Bears have stuck with Huslig so far this season. 

Hill is a decent athlete but arm-strength looks like a concern. Baker and certainly Loyd might have him beat there but Hill is this season's backup quarterback for a reason in the coach's eyes. 

Powell threw for 2,395 yards on a 10-2 Lindbergh High team in St. Louis. He has good size and ran a pro-style offense in high school. 

Your guess is as good as mine for who is behind center come 2020.

9. College GameDay is going to South Dakota State

Perhaps North Dakota State didn't play too well because it was looking forward to this week's rivalry game against No. 3 South Dakota State.

To raise the stakes even higher, the game will now be featured Saturday morning on the ultra-popular College GameDay show on ESPN. 

It's fun to imagine what College GameDay would be like if Missouri State were ever to get to that level. BearFest Village would be "lit" as the kids say and would bring nothing but good attention to the university. 

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Others in the conference are hosting it while the Bears sit at 1-5. When MSU alum and former MSU football player John Goodman was a guest on the show this season, he chose to wear a Louisiana State jersey instead. 

Meanwhile, Missouri State is scheduling and promoting events that will take place during the Bears' homecoming football game. 

10. On Northern Iowa...

Northern Iowa is the No. 11 team in the country according to the FCS STATS Poll and the Panthers have been nothing but dominant against the Bears in recent years. 

In Steckel's first four years as head coach, the Bears are 0-4 against the Panthers and have been outscored 164-17. The closest game was a 25-10 loss in Springfield in 2017. 

The Panthers just bounced back from a 46-14 loss to North Dakota State with a 42-27 win over South Dakota — a team that beat the Bears. 

Northern Iowa ran for 254 yards against South Dakota's top-ranked rush defense last week while Will McElvain passed for 213 yards, three touchdowns and an interception during the victory. The Panthers caused three interceptions throughout the afternoon.

Expect the Bears to be heavy underdogs yet again.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or join the conversation on Twitter where his handle is @WyattWheeler_NL