OPINION|
Even though North Dakota State came to Plaster Stadium on Saturday off a rare loss, the Bison remain the gold standard of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision.
Since Missouri State’s last win over the Bison — 3-0 at Plaster on the final day of the 2010 season — North Dakota State has won nine national championships. Want to measure up? You better be good, and near-perfect.
The Bears were neither on Saturday as the No. 7-ranked Bison posted a 38-10 victory in front of 8,727 fans on a glorious fall afternoon. Missouri State fell to 1-4 in Ryan Beard’s debut season as head coach in what’s been a rough ride against a rugged schedule.
Four turnovers did the Bears in. They would have struggled to beat Nobody U giving the ball away like tax deductions, let alone a North Dakota State team — with a 165-16 record since 2011 — that played turnover free.
“A tough day for the Bears, all around, in every facet of the game,” Beard said. “A team loss. When you give up those kinds of yards (534) it’s tough sledding. You put your offense in some hard situations. It’s simply doing what you’re supposed to be doing at the right times.
“Offensively, we talked about it all week, protecting the football. We did the opposite. We put some drives together and we turned over the football. A good team like that is going to turn that into points. North Dakota State is a hell of a football team.”
QB Jacob Clark done for 2023
Compounding the problems associated with falling to 1-4, Beard announced afterward that starting quarterback Jacob Clark will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury suffered a week ago at Southern Illinois.
Jordan Pachot put up decent numbers in his first start for Missouri State, throwing for 269 yards on 25-of-44. He showed zip with his throws, but threw three interceptions.
The Bears quickly fell behind 14-0, but they should have been a lot closer than the 28-7 halftime deficit thanks to a pair of interceptions, including one just before the half when the Bears had two receivers open in the end zone.
Another bugaboo that’s been a problem all season continued as Missouri State was unable to establish a running game. And defensively, again too many big plays were surrendered.
“They moved the lines of scrimmage on both sides and pretty much had it any way they wanted on both ends,” Beard said of the more-physical Bison. “Their defense line is one of the best in the country. Our defensive front was decent at times but we have to be more gap sound to make the plays when we need them.”
The autumn wind is a Bison, pillaging just for fun
After cutting the margin to 14-7 on Pachot’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Raylen Sharpe in the second quarter, the Bears had some momentum. Big Mo was gone, though, after Missouri State was stopped on 4th-and-1 from North Dakota State’s 44-yard line.
The Bison needed only four plays to go 53 yards to find the end zone. The lead was back to 14 and the Bears’ chances were blowing away with the north-blowing autumn wind.
A few minutes later, the Missouri State defense stopped the Bison on 4th-and-1 at the Bears’ 24. Missouri State couldn’t do anything with the ball, though, going three-and-out.
North Dakota State delivered a cruncher right before the half, getting a 33-yard touchdown pass just 39 seconds before the break. The key play came earlier, when the Bison converted on 3rd-and-13 from their own 19 - after Missouri State burned a time out, hoping to get the ball back with time to work.
Instead, the sequence left the home team trailing 28-7 headed to the locker room - punctuated by Pachot’s second interception of the half at the Bison goal line with five seconds to go.
“That was a big swing in about a two-minute period,” Beard said.
No joy found in strength of schedule arguments
The teams traded third-quarter field goals when the Bears were on the move at the North Dakota State 32. Pachot threw his third interception, stunting the drive and a chance to cut the margin to two touchdowns.
Asked about remaining upbeat and patient with the 1-4 record, Beard said the fact his team has played the fourth-toughest-ranked schedule in the FCS, according to the Massey Ratings, is no consolation. Neither is the fact that the Bears are young, with 25 freshmen and sophomores listed on the two-deep lineup.
By contrast, North Dakota State has 30 seniors on its two-deep. That’s what running the same system, with the same coaching tree for 15 years, will do.
If fans are down on Beard, just five games into his first season as the boss at Missouri State, they need to take a breath. The youngest head coach in program history has the energy and passion to get it going, but he’s also not one to hide behind excuses.
“We have some growing pains right now,” Beard said. “But I believe in where this football team is going and in the direction of our program. I believe that we have good players in our locker room that need to continue to grow up and mature in multiple ways - mentally, physically, in every aspect.
“Yeah, the schedule is tough. We’ve played ranked team after ranked team after ranked team. But like I told the guys, ‘no one's gonna bail you out. No one's gonna show up magically and save you.’ We have to save ourselves and play hard for each other and continue to get better each week.
Long night’s journey into dawn
“It’s always darkest before the light. The players are down, the staff is down but not out. We have a long season. We can’t just quit on our process. We believe in our process and it works. We all have championships to our name. We just have to keep fighting and find a way.”
The Bears’ schedule lightens up with a trip to Western Illinois next week and a homecoming game against Murray State on Oct. 21. Then three of the final four games will be against ranked teams (at Youngstown State, Northern Iowa at home and at defending national champ South Dakota State).
Five wins would look right now. It’s not the stuff dreams are made of — or acceptable a couple of years from now — but all things considered that would be a base for the future.
Sharpe knifes through Bison defense
Overshadowed in the lopsided result on Saturday was the play of Sharpe. The 5-foot-9 junior had 13 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown. He was just one catch shy of matching the Missouri State single-game record.
Sharpe took a ferocious hit in the third quarter, at first called targeting but the penalty was removed after a video review. Sharpe came back into the game on the next drive, feeling it was important to show the way as a team captain.
Sharpe’s eye-black stickers were still in place as he came to the post-game news conference. They carried a slogan — it won’t rain forever. That seems appropriate.
“It’s plain and simple. I’m tired of losing and he’s tired of losing,” Sharpe said, nodding toward teammate Todric McGee in the post-game news conference. “It’s time to make a change. I know something good’s coming.
“We just have to come together as a team and play football. We understand at the college level that it’s a business, but we love the game of football. Everyone loves winning. I’d love to start winning, now.”
