Missouri State University

Missouri State Game Notes
Louisville Game Notes

Missouri State Bears (0-1) at No. 23 Louisville Cardinals (1-0)
Dates: Saturday, September 8, 2012
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. (Central)
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Site: Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (55,000)
Live Video: WHAS TV
Radio: KTXR 101.3 FM (Art Hains, Ned Reynolds)
Live Stats: UofLSports.com

First and Ten
♦ Ashton Glaser (Jr., QB, Springdale, Ark.) completed 22-of-44 passes for 257 yards after drawing the start in his MSU debut last week at Kansas State. Glaser's 267 yards of total offense was good enough to place him 22nd in the nation entering week two.

♦ Punter Chris Sullens (Fr., Camdenton, Mo.) enjoyed a strong MSU debut at K-State as well. The Camdenton, Mo., product turned in three punts of 50 yards or more and ranks fifth in NCAA FCS in punting average (47.2). MSU kicker Austin Witmer (Jr., Grand Island, Neb.) currently shares the national lead in field goals after matching a career high with conversions in all three of his attempts to account for all of the Bears' scoring against the Wildcats.

♦ Since moving to Division I status in 1982, Missouri State is 1-27 all-time against FBS programs, including a 51-9 setback last weekend at Kansas State in its 2012 debut. The Bears' sole FBS win came at UNLV (31-24) in 1990.

♦ On the strength of their 323 yards passing against Kansas State, the Bears lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference and rank eighth nationally in passing offense. They rank 10th, however, in scoring offense (9.0 ppg.).

♦ MSU will earn a $500,000 guarantee from Saturday's game.

♦ Cadarrius Dotson (Sr., WR, Memphis, Tenn.) has caught at least one pass in 30 of his first 34 career games as a Bear and became the 17th MSU player to top the 1,000 receiving yardage mark for his career last Saturday at Kansas State. Additionally, Dotson needs just six more receptions to reach 100 career receptions.

♦ Matt Thayer (Sr., TE, Bellevue, Neb.) brings a string of 13 consecutive starts at tight end into Saturday's game. Five additional Bears have started 12 straight games, including Mike Crutcher (So., S, Wentzville, Mo.) on the defensive side of the ball, and Zack Cooley (So., OL, Lee's Summit, Mo.), Kurt Kutter (Jr., OL, O'Fallon, Mo.), Harrison Menke (Sr., OL, Joplin, Mo.) and Randy Richards (Sr., OL, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) on the offensive side.

♦ The last Missouri State player to rush for 100 yards against an FBS opponent was Maurice Daniels at Arkansas State on 9/19/98. His 162 yards in that game is the highest total of any of the Bears' seven 100-yard efforts against FBS clubs.

♦ The Bears and Cardinals have never met on the football field; Saturday's meeting will also be the first for Missouri State against a Big East foe.

♦ Missouri State shares the NCAA FCS national lead in sacks allowed after holding K-State without a sack last Saturday.

LAST TIME AROUND
The Bears matched 22nd-ranked Kansas State blow for blow for nearly three quarters last Saturday before the Wildcats reeled off 42 unanswered points to run away with a 51-9 victory before a sellout crowd of 50,007 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kansas State rushed for 324 yards-including 222 in the second half--on 40 total carries, and Collin Klein passed for 169 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns to lead the Wildcat attack.

The Wildcat defense and special teams fueled the second-half rally as well. KSU got a lift from a pair of big punt returns that led to touchdowns, while its defensive unit held MSU scoreless after a game-tying field goal at the end of the Bears' opening drive of the second half.

The Bears' offense did enjoy success moving the football, as Ashton Glaser (Jr., QB, Springdale, Ark.) paced the Missouri State offense, throwing for 257 yards on 22-of-44 passing. Dorian Buford (Jr., WR, Florissant, Mo.) turned in a career game of 114 yards on seven catches to lead the receiving corps, and Cadarrius Dotson (Sr., WR, Memphis, Tenn.) grabbed six receptions for 82 yards to top the 1,000 career receiving yardage mark, moving to 15th on the Bears' all-time list.

CENTURY MARK FOR BUFORD
MSU junior receiver Dorian Buford (Jr., WR, Florissant, Mo.) had game highs of seven catches for 114 yards at Kansas State, both career bests. In his fourth career start with the Bears, Burod pulled in a 56-yard pass from Kierra Harris in the second quarter and became only the fourth different MSU player since 2007 to reach the century mark in receiving yards (since 2007 - Clay Harbor 5, Jermaine Saffold 9, Cadarrius Dotson 1). It was also the most receiving yards by a Bear against an FBS opponent since 1997.

SNAP TO 1,000
Cadarrius Dotson (Sr., Memphis, Tenn.) eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in the season opener at K-State. His six receptions for 82 yards against the No. 22 Wildcats made him the 17th Bear to reach the yardage milestone. His efforts also put him just six catches away from 100 for his career, which would make him the 10th MSU player to reach the century mark in pass receptions. He now has 94 career snags for 1,035 yards, including receptions in 30 of his 34 career ball games.

A FINE HOW DO YOU DO
Ashton Glaser (Jr., Springdale, Ark.), the Bears' quarterback transfer from Missouri, was 22-for-44 for 257 yards in his Missouri State debut and was not sacked in MSU's 51-9 loss to Kansas State. He finished with 267 yards of total offense and became just the fifth MSU signal caller of the Division I era -- and first since 2007 -- to rack up 200 or more yards in the season opener.

HEAD COACH Terry Allen
Missouri State head coach Terry Allen (Northern Iowa, 1979) is 120-100 (.545) in his 20th year as a head coach and 25-41 (.479) in his seventh year at Missouri State. Allen is 1-7 all-time against Kansas State, 40-66 in road games (9-25 at MSU), 54-36 in non-conference games (9-9 at MSU) and 13-35 against teams from the Big 12 (0-4 at MSU). Allen is a five-time MVFC Coach of the Year and has previous head coaching stints at Northern Iowa (1989-96) and Kansas (1997-2001).

THE VALLEY AGAINST FBS TEAMS
Since 1985, members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference have defeated 30 Division I FBS programs in football, including a 31-24 win at UNLV by the 1990 Bears under head coach Jesse Branch.

Since 2000, the MVFC has notched 10 victories, including wins over BCS league members Iowa State (UNI), Kansas (NDSU), Minnesota (NDSU) and Indiana (SIU). Last year, North Dakota State defeated Minnesota (37-24) before ultimately claiming the FCS national title, and Indiana State knocked off former league foe Western Kentucky by a decisive 44-16 score in Bowling Green. MVFC schools have won games against FBS opponents in back-to-back seasons on seven different occasions, including each of the last two years.

Missouri State is 1-26 all-time against FBS programs, coming up winless in each of its last 25 such contests. This year marks the second straight year in which MSU will play more than one FBS team in the same season. The Bears dropped games against nationally-ranked Arkansas and Oregon squads last fall, and split contests at Tulsa and UNLV in 1990.

BEAR CAPTAINS
The Missouri State players have elected five senior co-captains to represent them throughout the 2012 season. Seniors Nate Davis (OLB, Liberal, Kan.), Cadarrius Dotson (WR, Memphis, Tenn.), Tevan Ferguson (NT, Nashville, Tenn.), Randy Richards (OT, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) and Matt Thayer (TE, Bellevue, Neb.) will be calling the coin toss and leading the pregame handshakes for the Bears this fall.