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    • Missouri State football gets blown out by South Dakota State
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    Missouri State football gets blown out by South Dakota State

    Vaseline Posted on

    Missouri State football’s time in the FCS is over, and in successive weeks it became apparent that it would not have been championship-worthy if it had qualified for the postseason.

    The Bears (8-4, 6-2 MVFC) were no match for South Dakota State (10-2, 7-1 MVFC) in a 45-9 season finale at Plaster Stadium. It was Missouri State’s last game as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference before joining Conference USA and the FBS ranks in 2025.

    A win would have given the Bears a share of the MVFC because North Dakota State lost to South Dakota, but that wasn’t the intention.

    The Bears will now restructure and look to strengthen their roster before starting the 2025 season in Southern California on August 30.

    Missouri State football couldn’t keep up with South Dakota State

    After trailing 24-9 at halftime, South Dakota State kept its foot on the gas pedal and shut down the Bears in the second half.

    The Jackrabbits finished the game by scoring 28 unanswered points after the Bears cut their lead to eight with 2:13 left in the first half.

    Jackets quarterback Mark Gronowski had an impressive performance, completing 14 of 25 passes for 258 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

    Missouri State Football missed a big opportunity in the first half

    After cutting SDSU’s lead to 11 late in the first half after Yousef Obeid made his second field goal, the Bears quickly found themselves back in scoring position.

    South Dakota State fumed while trying to catch the ensuing kickoff and MSU linebacker Dallas Winner-Johnson recovered the ball at the SDSU 2.

    However, Missouri State was unable to get the two yards it needed. Jacardia Wright was tackled for a loss of three before Clark threw consecutive incompletions. The Bears settled for an Obeid field goal with 1:43 left in the half.

    To make matters worse, SDSU marched 61 yards and Kirby Vorhees punched in a two-yard touchdown with four seconds left before halftime, giving the Jackrabbits a 24-9 halftime lead.

    Missouri State Football still has a lot of work to do before it is a competitive Conference USA team

    A week after the loss to North Dakota State, the Bears showed similar struggles against the Jackrabbits.

    The Bears struggled up front on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Bears allowed five sacks and only rushed for 35 yards. Defensively, Missouri State was a little better than it was a week ago, but it felt like the Jackrabbits were able to get what they wanted.

    SDSU finished 7 for 13 on third-down conversions.

    The Bears’ loss to the Jacks marked the first time quarterback Jacob Clark struggled but was under duress the entire game. He was 14 for 31 for 186 yards and no touchdowns.

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