Missouri State built an 11-point first-half lead behind three Breck Ruddick touchdown passes, then used a stingy second-half defensive effort to hold off Murray State for a 28-22 victory Saturday evening at Roy Stewart Stadium.
Ruddick turned in career highs of 21 completions and 295 total passing yards and connected with three different receivers for touchdowns in the opening half, while MSU’s stout defensive effort in the red zone helped stake the Bears to a 21-10 lead. After the Racers turned up their own defensive pressure in the second half and used a KD Humphries TD toss to pull to within two points, the Bears turned the lights out on their first road win in nearly two years with a pair of takeaways, as well as a 16-yard Calan Crowder scoring run that sealed the deal with just over six minutes to play.
MSU shut down the Racers rushing attack throughout the night, holding Murray State to 72 yards on 30 carries – including only 29 yards on 12 carries in the second half – to offset a 356-yard passing night by Humphries. Senior All-America linebacker Dylan Cole registered a game-high 14 tackles and forced two of the Racers’ four turnovers, stripping Humphries in the red zone for a key second-half fumble, then intercepting a pass in the third period.
The victory handed head coach Dave Steckel his first road win as the Bears’ sideline boss, and gave MSU its first 2-0 start to a season since 2007.
Ruddick completed 11-of-17 passes for 172 yards in the opening half, while the MSU defense limited the Racers to a pair of field goals in their three trips inside the 20-yard line during an explosive half that saw the two clubs combine for nearly 500 yards of offense.
For the second week in a row, the Bears converted their initial offensive possession into a touchdown to seize an early lead. Ruddick, who both of his pass attempts 2-of-2 for 50 of MSU’s 55 yards on the opening drive, found a wide-open Zac Hoover behind the Murray State defense for a 39-yard scoring pass, just 3:02 into the contest.
MSU’s defense flexed its collective muscle in the early stages of the game, forcing a pair of punts before the Racers would register a first down midway through the opening quarter. E.J. Sutton sacked Murray State quarterback Humphries for an eight yard loss on the game’s first play, then teamed up with Tony Jones for a four-yard stop for a loss to thwart the Racers’ second drive of the night.
Humphries, who would complete 10-of-13 passes for 77 yards in the opening period, recovered to engineer the first scoring drive of the season by a Missouri State opponent. The preseason All-America candidate connected with Jordon Gandy on a 31-yard pass play to set up a 31-yard Connor Mitchell field goal that made it a 7-3 game at the 1:50 mark.
The Bears (2-0) responded in the second period, thanks to a defense that forced a pair of turnovers to swing the momentum in their favor for good. Cole tallied 10 tackles in the first half alone, one of which resulted in a Humphries fumble at the Bears’ 15 yard-line, which freshman safety Cameron Price fell on at the 20 to extinguish a Racer scoring threat.
Moments after Price picked off a Humphries pass at the MSU 46 on Murray State’s next possession, the Bears cashed in to extend their lead to double digits. A 12-yard rush by LeMarcus Stewart and a 15-yard completion to Malik Earl moved the ball to Racers 25, and Ruddick hit a streaking Jason Randall out of the backfield for his second TD pass of the game.
Murray State (0-2) pulled to within a field goal just 52 seconds later, when Humphries tossed a third-down strike to Gandy, who beat the MSU coverage for a 55-yard scoring play.
MSU answered with its longest scoring march of the half, using a seven-play, 75-yard drive to claim a 21-10 advantage. Ruddick found Nick Masoner for a 14-yard connection, then scrambled to hook up with Earl for 25 yards on third-and-five from the MSU 45. A 22-yard run by Crowder moved the chains, before Adam St. Peter hauled in a Ruddick pass at the 10 and out-raced the Murray State defense to the end zone. Jared Beshore then converted a two-point conversion to hand the Bears their biggest lead of the game.
After the Racers closed the first-half scoring with a 36-yard Mitchell field goal, it would be the home team’s turn to lock down the goal line in the third period. MSU put together a 16-play drive that ate up the first 6:32 of the second half and matched the longest offensive series of the Steckel era. But Murray State stiffened to halt the drive at the 19, and Zach Drake’s 36-yard field goal attempt was wide right.
Cole delivered another big play on the Racers’ first play, pulling in a diving interception at the Murray State 17 to hand the Bears’ another red-zone opportunity. A pair of critical 15-yard penalties on the same play derailed the drive, however, pushing the Bears back to the Racers 46.
Murray State would generate a scoring chance of its own by forcing a Brendan Withrow fumble on a fake punt attempt, and Humphries would toss his second scoring pass of the night to Gandy from one yard out. The Bears would preserve a two-point lead by stopping the Racers’ two-point attempt, however.
Crowder finished his night with a game-high 97 rushing yards on 19 attempts, while Holliman led the Bears with a career-best five catches for 66 yards.
Freshman McNeece Egbim complemented Cole’s big night with 12 stops of his own, while Price logged six tackles to go along with his two takeaways.
After observing their lone bye week of the season, the Bears will return to action Sept. 24 with a 6 p.m. non-conference contest against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.
Postgame Notes: Zac Hoover’s first-quarter TD reception was his fourth as a Bear, giving him the career lead among all active MSU receivers … Murray State’s 31-yard field goal with 1:50 to play in the first quarter snapped the Bears’ defensive scoreless streak at 73 minutes and 10 seconds spanning the first 19 opponent drives of the new season … Breck Ruddick’s three touchdown passes represented a career high for the sophomore, who became the first MSU quarterback since Kierra Harris on Sept. 20, 2014 to throw for three TD’s in a game … Cameron Price recorded his first fumble recovery and interception as a Bear in the second quarter … Deion Holliman’s five receptions and 66 receiving yards both represented career highs for the junior … MSU snapped a 10-game road losing streak that dated back to Oct. 11, 2014; the Bears’ last win away from home came on Sept. 20 of the same year at Central Arkansas … The Bears’ 2-0 start is their first since 2007, when they won their first two games over Missouri S&T and Tennessee-Martin under another second-year head coach, Terry Allen; MSU finished that season 6-5 … MSU’s 2-0 start is its eighth as a Division I program and its 28th overall.
