Missouri State University

Oct. 10, 2011

Missouri State Bears (0-6, 0-3) at #4 North Dakota State Bison (5-0, 2-0)
Oct. 15, 2011, 6:05 p.m. Kickoff

FargoDome, Fargo, N.D. (Artificial Turf) I MSU Game Notes (PDF)

Game Information

Series:  MSU leads 2-1 (MSU is 1-0 in Fargo)
Television:  Midco Network (WATCH ON LINE)
Radio:  KTXR (101.3 FM) and MSU Bears Radio Network (LISTEN LIVE)
Live Stats:  www.GoBison.com (Live Stats)
Tickets:  www.GoBison.com/Tickets or (701) 231-6378)
GameDay Gear I MVFC Weekly Release

First and Ten

• • Quarterback Trevor Wooden (So., High Springs, Fla.) is coming off his second career 200-yard passing game with a 232-yard effort last week against Illinois State.  He was 8-for-15 with a pair of touchdown passes against the Redbirds. Wooden threw for a career-high 262 yards and accounted for 333 yards of total offense in his first career start on Sept. 10 at Eastern Kentucky. He has completed 63 percent of his passes this season, which would rank No. 3 on the MSU single-season passing accuracy list.
  • Last week, the Bears posted 102 total tackles (34 solos, 68 assists) against Illinois State, the most by Missouri State during the Terry Allen era (2006-present).  The Redbirds ran 72 offensive plays in the game.
  • Austin Witmer (So., K, Grand Island, Neb.) missed his first career extra point last week against ISU, ending a personal streak of 16 straight PAT's to start his college career.  Even though the Bears botched an exchange between the snap and the hold at Southern Illinois on Sept. 24, officially resulting in a failed two-point conversion, the last time MSU missed an extra point attempt was Nov. 1, 2008 at South Dakota State. MSU made 86 straight PAT attempts between the Matt Hottelman miss in Brookings and the Witmer miss on Oct. 8 at Plaster Field.  
  • Through six games, the Missouri State defense has not been called for a penalty, despite 24 flags thrown against the MSU offense and five dropped on its special teams.  
  • Trevor Wooden (So., QB, High Springs, Fla.) needs 97 passing yards to reach 1,000 for his young career. The NDSU game will be Wooden's sixth start for the Bears.
  • Jermaine Saffold (Sr., WR, Grandview, Mo.) is 1 pass reception shy of 100 for his career, which would make him the ninth MSU player to do so.  Saffold also needs just 177 receiving yards to catch Steve Newbold (1977-80) as the club's all-time leader in reception yardage. Likewise, his 14 career TD receptions is four shy of the MSU career record (18), held by Newbold and Jeff Hewitt (1998-2000).   
  • With 204 career punts, senior Jordan Chiles (Hillsboro, Ill.) is now tied for second on the MSU all-time list, trailing just  Warren Baker (1968-71) with 239. Chiles also ranks No. 2 all-time in punt yardage (8,027), No. 5 in punt average (39.3), and has three of the seven longest punts in school history (75-72-72).  His 2011 season punting average of 41.93 ranks No. 2 in the MVFC and is 21st in the NCAA FCS ranks.   
  • The Bears are 0-6 for the first time since 1994 when they started 0-6 under Coach Jesse Branch (finished 4-7). Likewise, no Terry Allen-coached team -- at UNI, Kansas or Missouri State -- has ever opened the season with more than two straight losses. The last time MSU lost seven straight ball games was in 2006, Allen's first year at MSU, when the Bears dropped eight in a row from Sept. 16 to Nov. 4 after a 1-1 start.
  • Since a 21-17 win over the Bison on their last trip to Fargo (Oct. 24, 2009), the Bears have lost 11 straight road games. During that span, the Bears are 6-3 at home and have lost five road games by a touchdown or less.  
  • Chris Douglas (Sr., RB, Lawrenceville, Ga.) needs just 108 all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving, returns) to reach the 2,000-yard milestone for his career. He is also 332 rushing yards shy of 2,000 for his three-year MSU career, which would make him 11th MSU player to achieve that feat, a particularly amazing one considering he has started just 2 games at MSU.