Story by
MSU emerges 'from the depths of football hell' to play in a bowl game
- Story by
- MSU emerges 'from the depths of football hell' to play in a bowl game
Art Hains watched intensely when Missouri State tried to get a stop against Liberty late in the fourth quarter.
Months removed from retiring as the longtime "Voice of the Bears ," Hains saw Liberty quarterback Ethan Vasko mishandle the snap, and the ball get kicked around until Bears edge rusher DJ Wesolak picked up the ball and sprinted toward the endzone.
Advertisement
It looked like a thrilling go-ahead score, only for Vasko to sprint down the field, punch the ball out before Wesolak crossed the goal-line and for the ball to be fumbled through the endzone for a touchback. Liberty took over at its 20 with 1:49 left, and the Bears were destined to be heartbroken.
It was reminiscent of many Bears losses Hains had called before, back when many had called for the dissolution of the football program and instead use that money on basketball and academics.
It only made the Bears' ensuing defensive stop and Jacob Clark's game-winning 13-yard touchdown pass to Tristian Gardner with 27 seconds left that much sweeter.
"It's exactly how things have changed," Hains said.
Advertisement
Missouri State will play in its first-ever bowl game as an FBS program when it takes the field at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas . In its first FBS season, as a member of Conference USA, the Bears will play Arkansas State at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, in the Xbox Bowl.
The appearance comes amid arguably Missouri State's greatest football season ever, one that featured seven one-score games, the program's first six wins over FBS programs since 1990, excellent play from one of the program's all-time greats at quarterback and even a win from a true freshman backup starting behind center.
It's the culmination of the Bears' six-year rise from decades of irrelevance.
"This program has come a long way," Bears coach Ryan Beard said on Nov. 29. "From the depths of football hell when we got her six years ago, to people taking pride in this organization."
Advertisement
Missouri State's 2025 season has been a thrill
The Bears have come a long way since their 60-point loss to USC to start the season.
A week after returning home from Los Angeles, the Bears took off to Huntington, West Virginia, where Clark threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jeron Askren with 2:12 left for ultimately the game-winning score against Marshall. The one-point win was when many started to believe that a special season was possible, and they weren't wrong.
The Bears held an early 10-0 lead over SMU, which they hosted at Plaster Stadium, only to give up 28 unanswered. The Bears dominated the next week, beating UT Martin 42-10, a team they had lost to in the FCS Playoffs just four years earlier.
Advertisement
On Sept. 27, the Bears hung with Western Kentucky, but Clark exited the game injured in the first half. Freshman Deuce Bailey stepped in and started the Bears' Oct. 8 game at Middle Tennessee. He led the fourth-quarter drive that resulted in Yousef Obeid's 29-yard field goal with 4:19 left, leading to the Bears' 22-20 win.
Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark (12) looks to pass during the homecoming football game against UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
Clark returned two weeks later and led the Bears to four more wins. The first of which came in overtime at New Mexico State when he threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Ronnel Johnson. Another was in the Bears' victory over UTEP on Nov. 15, when he threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns after the Miners rallied in the third to tie the game.
Finishing the season with a 7-5 overall record, Missouri State's most significant win might have been when it officially became eligible to play in a bowl when not enough teams across the FBS won the required six games.
Advertisement
"Early in the season, you thought they might win four games," Hains said. "A bowl game in the first year? That's just unbelievable."
Missouri State is turning into a football school
Historically a basketball school, the excitement around the football program has turned it into one that could be known for football moving forward.
Missouri State announced that more fans walked through Plaster Stadium than in any other season since 1999. The university recently announced it received three seven-figure anonymous gifts to support football enhancements.
Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard enters the field before the homecoming football game against UTEP on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
Additional large fundraising gifts are in the works, as Missouri State hopes to upgrade its football facilities, retain coaches and more. At the same time, Mo State has seen a rise in its national exposure through TV appearances and in its national relevance in the bowl eligibility conversation.
Advertisement
"It's shocking, I mean, it really is," Hains said. "The support of the community, not just the everyday fans, but now I think the corporate community is buying into this. They're seeing what this is doing at a national level, and they want to be a part of it."
Ryan Beard was the perfect leader for Missouri State
At the head of it all was Beard, in his third season as head coach, a charismatic, ultra-positive leader whose team has bought into what he's preached. He was brought to Springfield in 2020 to serve as the program's defensive coordinator under Bobby Petrino, and since his promotion to head coach before the 2023 season, he has taken the program to new heights.
Beard knew wins would be challenging to come by at the FBS level, but the Bears have found a way to win seven. Because of his quick success, Beard became a hot name on the coaching carousel, which ultimately led to him accepting the Coastal Carolina head coaching position on Dec. 11.
Advertisement
"Ryan has taken this thing into warp speed," Hains said. "He's just relentlessly positive and relentlessly energetic and passionate. He brings it all the time. In a 12-game season, you'd think it'd be hard to be at the top of your game, but he does the best job of that than anyone I've known. They buy into what he says. It's just a great personality that he has, it's real, and the players feel that."
Missouri State will now head into a historic bowl game with Nick Petrino serving as its interim coach, hoping it can add one more win to its unprecedented season.
No matter the result, Missouri State showed it belonged at the FBS level. After climbing out of the "depths of football hell," the Bears will get their first little slice of football heaven.
"We've come a long way," Hains said. "If there were something physically greater than doing a 180, it would be this."
Advertisement
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_ , contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State football's historic season culminates in Xbox Bowl
