The Missouri State football team will host UT Martin in the first round of the FCS playoffs at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27.
“We are fired up to have a home game,” Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino said on the FCS selection show. “We thought maybe we would get in the Top 8 but it didn’t happen. We are just excited to be here.”
UT Martin (9-2) was the Ohio Valley Conference Champion.
“We have to do what we have been doing all year long. We play a great schedule. We have to have a great week of preparation. Defensively it is important for us to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. Offensively we really like our quarterback and the way he runs our team (with) the ability to run the ball and throw it,” Petrino said.
Petrino and the Bears are excited to bring a home playoff game to Springfield.
“We’ve had great crowds at home. We’ve had great support. Players enjoy the home field advantage,” Petrino said. “I think one of the things we do a great job of at home is playing to our defense and our defense putting pressure on the quarterback. Our crowd always helps that.”
The Bears were hopeful for a national seed and a bye, but the committee did not give MSU one of the top eight seeds. That will only add more fuel to the fire.
“We have had a chip on our shoulder all season long. We are new into this. Missouri State hasn’t been in the talk very often. We feel like we’ve been underrated all year long. We are going to come out and play like we always have with a big chip on our shoulder,” Petrino said.
The winner of the game will travel to face No. 8 seed Montana State on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3 pm.
North Dakota State was the only Missouri Valley Football Conference team to receive a national seed at No. 2. South Dakota State, South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa gave the MVFC six teams in the playoffs.
