Missouri State football to host angry No. 7 North Dakota State team coming off loss
Coming off its third loss of the season, Missouri State will play the program that is known for rarely losing — and that program is coming off a loss.
Missouri State (1-3, 0-1) will host FCS No. 7 North Dakota State (3-1, 0-1) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Plaster Stadium.
The Bison are coming off a shocking 24-19 home loss to South Dakota. They haven't looked like the typical unbeatable NDSU team the Missouri Valley Football Conference has come to know but it's still a program MSU has struggled with having lost 11 straight to the Bison.
The Bears haven't beaten NDSU since 2010. Since then, the Bison have won nine FCS national championships.
"This is an angry Bison team coming off a loss," Bears head coach Ryan Beard said. "It's our job to put a good product on the field and make sure we're ready to go."
More: Missouri State football likely without starting QB Jacob Clark vs. North Dakota State
The rare times the Bison have lost regular season games over their dynasty haven't boded well for teams they play the following week. Since 2013, the Bison are 10-0 against their following opponents and only one of the games has been within a touchdown. The Bears have been on the receiving end of two of those losses and the closest MSU played the Bison was within 25.
A similar fate could be headed the Bears' way if they don't sure up their run defense. North Dakota State is still known for its powerful rushing attack and it will likely be featured plenty against a Bears defense that ranks 113th out of 122 FCS teams against the run.
"We just need more consistency," Beard said. "That's a word you're going to hear me talk about for our team is consistency in every single aspect of football. They're going to be coming in, ready to go. We just to make sure we're sound and we're having a good, physical week of practice."
Missouri State will need similar consistency on offense when it might be difficult to come by this week. Aside from playing a strong defense, the Bears will likely roll with their backup quarterback because of Jacob Clark's lingering shoulder injury that kept him out of the second half in last week's loss at Southern Illinois.
Jordan Pachot appears to be the starter. He played the second half at SIU along with getting some reps against Utah Tech and UT Martin.
In his limited time against SIU and UT Martin, Pachot has been a bit turnover-prone in crucial situations. With a full week of practice to prepare as the starter, the former juco star will be up for quite the test in what will likely be his first FCS start.
"He showed he can efficiently run the offense," Beard said. "He's got to take care of the ball. I think the offense has confidence in him that he can get the job done."
No. 7 North Dakota State @ Missouri State
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Plaster Stadium
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 football to host angry North Dakota State
