Liberty is back on the field this week when Missouri State comes to town for a CUSA contest on Saturday, November 8 in a meeting between a pair of 3-1 CUSA teams and a pair of teams currently riding three-game win streaks. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN+ from Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Ryan Beard is in his third season as head coach of the Bears, posting a 4-7 mark in his first season in 2023 before going 8-4 last year while competing at the FCS level in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. It is the first head coaching job for Beard who played his college ball as a defensive back at Western Kentucky from 2007-11. He came to Missouri State in 2020 as defensive coordinator and safeties coach under the previous Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino, whom Beard succeeded as head coach. Beard is married to Katie, the daughter of Petrino. (Of note, Petrino is currently the interim head coach at Arkansas).

This season, Beard and Missouri State is 5-3 on the season and 3-1 in conference play, the program’s first competing at the FBS level and in Conference USA. After opening the season with a 73-13 loss at USC, the Bears picked up their first ever win as an FBS program over Marshall, 21-20. After losing in their home opener to SMU, 28-10, Missouri State has won four of their last five including a current three-game win streak. Their lone loss during this span was a 27-22 setback at home against Western Kentucky on Sept. 27.

In their last contest, Missouri State never trailed to pick up a win at home over FIU, 28-21, on Wednesday night, October 29. It was Missouri State’s first home victory over an FBS program and helped secure an unbeaten October (3-0) for the second straight season.

The Bears are led by seventh-year quarterback Jacob Clark who has completed 132 of 206 passes (64.1%) for 1,641 yards (234.4 per game), 13 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. He’s not too much of a rushing threat, having ran the ball 52 times for 41 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season.

After spending his first three seasons at Minnesota where he appeared in one game, Clark transferred to Missouri State. In 2022, he was number two on the depth chart, appearing in just one game. In 2023, Clark started the first four games of the season before suffering a season-ending injury. Last year, he was first-team All-MVFC quarterback and third in the league’s offensive player of the year voting after passing for 3,604 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.

Clark likes to spready the ball around. He has four different receivers with 20+ catches and nine with nine or more. Eight different receivers have at least one receiving touchdown, including six with two or more. Dash Luke leads the team with 25 catches for 339 yards and 2 scores while Ronnel Johnson has 24 receptions for 329 yards and 2 scores.

As a team, Missouri State is averaging 22.8 points per game and rank 5th in CUSA with 372.9 yards of offense per game. Their rushing attack is 8th best in CUSA, averaging 118.8 yards on the ground and 9th with 3.64 yards per carry. Behind Clark at quarterback, the Bears have the third best passing offense in the league, averaging 254.1 yards per game; however, they do rank 10th on 3rd downs, converting only 32.71% of the time. Missouri State is also worst in the league in allowing sacks, giving up 3.75 per game.

The Bears are 5th in the league in total defense, allowing 375.5 yards per game. They also rank 8th in CUSA by allowing 27 points per game, though they haven’t allowed an opponent to score more than 28 points in each of the past seven games dating back to their season opener at USC. The Bears have the 2nd best rushing defense, giving up 138 yards per game on the ground, and 7th best passing defense in the conference, allowing 237.5 yards per game through the air.

Previous Meeting

  • Southwest Missouri State defeated Liberty, 27-19, on Oct. 15, 1994 in Springfield, Missouri. The Flames picked up the win in the first meeting between the two schools, 31-20, on Nov. 18, 1989 in Lynchburg.
  • Series: Tied 1-1

Key Players to Watch

  • Jacob Clark (QB)
  • Shomari Lawrence (RB)
  • Mitchell Toney (DL)
  • Jalen Brooks (LB)
  • Thomas Anderson (CB)

Missouri State Recent/Upcoming Schedule & Results

  • October 8: Missouri State 22, Middle Tennessee 20
  • October 22: Missouri State 24, New Mexico State 17 (OT)
  • October 29: Missouri State 28, FIU 21
  • November 8: at Liberty
  • November 15: vs UTEP