MURRAY, Ky. – Missouri State accumulated a season-high 579 yards of total offense, averaged 9.2 yards per play, and got a career-high 431 passing yards from Jacob Clark to roll past Murray State, 59-31, on a wet track here Saturday afternoon.
The No. 15-ranked Bears (8-2, 6-0 MVFC) picked up their eighth straight win for the first time since 1988-89 and hit a program milestone with the team’s 500th all-time victory.
Clark completed 25-of-32 passes and threw for four touchdowns, while standout running back Jacardia Wright scored three times, including two receiving touchdowns from Clark. He also rushed for 74 yards and accumulating 92 receiving yards.
Also standing out for Missouri State were receivers Hunter Wood and Jmariyae Robinson. Wood caught 10 passes for a career-high 108 yards for the Bears who clicked off their sixth straight conference win for the first time since 1978. Robinson also eclipsed 100 receiving yards on the day, snagging six receptions for 123 yards.
After leading 38-17 at the half, the Bears saw their early advantage cut to four points early in the second half when Murray State (1-9, 0-7 MVFC) scored on its opening drive of the third quarter with a six-yard touchdown run from quarterback Jayden Johannsen.
Clark and the Bears responded with a three-play, 77-yard scoring march that saw Jayden Becks break through with a 59-yard sprint to paydirt to restore order.
Later in the quarter, Becks broke loose on another long run with a 95-yard kickoff return, the team’s longest since Montrae Braswell’s 97-yard return in 2022, to make it a 42-31 game, and the Racers would never threaten again.
Wright would extend Missouri State’s lead with a 60-yard touchdown reception later in the quarter and then tacked on a 13-yard rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that made it a 56-31 contest.
Yousef Obeid added a 45-yard field goal for the Bears in MoState’s final score of the game, a short scoring drive created by a Murray State fumble moments earlier. Brock Bagozzi spelled Clark at quarterback for that series, giving him his first scoring drive as a Bear.
Johannsen finished 21-of-34 for 249 yards and a touchdown for the Racers, who finished with 401 yards of total offense.
J.J. O’Neal paced the Missouri State defense with six official tackles, while Dallas Winner-Johnson collected 2.5 tackles for loss, Darion Smith recovered a fumble, and Dylan Dixson snagged his first career interception.
In the first half, Missouri State scored touchdowns on four of its five possessions and built a 28-17 advantage at the game’s midway point. Clark completed 16-of-20 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes with Wood hauling in nine catches for 105 yards, and Wright adding 78 all-purpose yards, including 47 on the ground.
Clark’s 44-yard touchdown pass to Robinson with 3:48 left in the opening quarter gave the Bears a lead they would never relinquish. MSU continued its assault with 21 points in the second quarter that included a 13-yard rush by Becks, a 32-yard scoring strike to Wright and a 31-yard pass to Dash Luke on a fourth-and-two play in the final minute.
Murray State got three first-half field goals from James London from 50, 43 and 52 yards to keep the Racers in the hunt. Murray also put together a 73-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter that was extended by three consecutive Missouri State defensive penalties late in the possession that advanced the ball 25 yards before a three-yard pass from Jayden Johannsen to Kade Neely.
Missouri State’s 8-2 start marks the club’s best since 1990, while its eight-game win streak matches the squad’s longest since a split-season surge from Oct. 28, 1988 to Oct. 7, 1989. It also marked MSU’s first four-game game road winning streak since 1996-97.
The Bears will travel to top-ranked North Dakota State next Saturday (Nov. 16) at 1:30 p.m., with the winner clinching at least a share of the MVFC regular-season title.
Missouri State returns home on Nov. 23 to take on defending national champion South Dakota State in the season finale at 2 p.m. on Senior Day at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
