Missouri State football finishes 2023 season with trip to No. 1 South Dakota State
When Missouri State's season comes to an end Saturday evening, the Bears will have an idea of how far they have to go to become a power in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Missouri State (4-6, 3-4) will play in its season finale at No. 1 South Dakota State (10-0, 7-0) in Brookings, South Dakota, at 2 p.m.
The Jackrabbits are the overwhelming favorites to win the FCS National Championship for the second year in a row. Not many have come particularly close to knocking SDSU from its top spot and it will be heavily favored to knock off the Bears before a first-round bye heading into the FCS Playoffs.
"There's nothing like being able to play against the best team in college football at our level," MSU head coach Ryan Beard said. "Hands down, in my opinion. Elite offensive line, elite skill players, an elite quarterback and a really, really talented defense. They do a tremendous job. Everything they do, they do it well."
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The same hasn't been said about Missouri State for much of the 2023 season but it is coming off its best performance of the season.
The Bears defeated previously-No. 15 Northern Iowa 35-16 in their home finale this past week. On both sides of the ball, MSU played its best game and left fans with hope for the future and wondering why that team hasn't appeared each week all season.
"It's incredible the amount of growth that we've shown," Beard said. "It's been fun to watch."
Missouri State will miss the postseason for the second consecutive year. Sunday will mark the beginning of an offseason that will have several questions going into it — as to who the Bears will be able to retain, both on the roster and coaching staff, along with what kind of players they will target when recruiting.
Saturday will also be the final opportunity of the season for the likes of Jordan Pachot and Raylen Sharpe to improve where they stand in MSU's single-season record books. Sharpe is likely to break Ty Scott's receptions record with just two more grabs. A touchdown would tie him for the single-season record while he sits 205 yards behind Scott for the yardage record. He will have played two fewer games than Scott did in that season.
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Pachot is having the third-most efficient quarterbacked season in MSU history and another passing touchdown would tie him with Brodie Lambert and Jason Shelley for the fourth-most touchdown passes in a single season. Two would tie him for third at 19 touchdowns with Kierra Harris.
They will try and etch their names in the record books while their young team goes up against one of the older ones in the country.
"You can't ask for more than that as the head football coach for young guys to come in and compete," Beard said. "Don't get me wrong, it's been painful. You guys have watched some of the tape that I've watched, too. There's been some painful moments of growth but there is growth. You've seen them just make leaps and bounds week in and week out in regards to their game. I think that's going to continue to grow."
Growth is why Beard responded with a blatant "yes" when asked if he looks at the 2023 season as a success. It was the head coach's first year and there weren't high expectations placed upon him.
Growth is also what the Bears need over the offseason if they want to be a legitimate challenger in the postseason once they start next season at Montana.
Still, what Beard saw from opening week to now has him confident in what he sees going forward. Against the top FCS team in the nation on Saturday, we'll get a look at just how far the Bears have to go.
"We had some injuries and we had some crazy things happen all year long that could have been distractions," Beard said. "But we took them in stride, handled them the right way and grew extremely together off the field. On the field, with UNI, we knocked them off as a possible bubble team."
Missouri State @ No. 1 South Dakota State
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Brookings, South Dakota
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: KWTO 101.3 FM
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State vs. South Dakota State: Preview, how to watch
