A final Summer scorcher on Saturday night in Springfield set the stage as the Missouri State Bears faced the Marshall Thundering Herd in a packed house, the 4th-largest attendance in Missouri State school history. Both teams are coming off home wins, as the Bears look to move to 22-9 over their last 30 home games, dating back to 2021.
This was 2025 rematch, in which Missouri State came out victorious after scoring three unanswered touchdowns to secure its first win at the FBS level.
On the opening play, Missouri State QB Skyler Locklear found RB Connor Lair for a 21-yard dump-off. Locklear followed it up with a 2-yard QB keeper, and after back-to-back rushes from RB Ramone Green Jr. failed to yield a 1st down, the Bears were forced to punt.
Marshall came out strong on their opening drive, with RB Joshon Barbie marching down the field, as the offensive started with 3 straight rushes for 31 yards before the Bears defense recorded a tackle for loss, forcing the Herd to go for it on 4th down and completing a 39-yard TD to RB TJ Lester.
The Bears responded right back on their second offensive drive with a 36-yard pass to WR Isaiah Myers, who had a breakout Week 2 against Lindenwood, recording 5-catches for 155 yards. After three straight rushes, the Bears got bailed out by a facemask penalty that set up the offense in the red zone, but they were held to a field goal after Marshall sniffed out the run game.
The following drive, Marshall marched down the field, effectively kicking things off with a 24-yard catch to Xavier Turner-Bradshaw, setting up a second Turner-Bradshaw catch that would’ve been a wide-open touchdown, but he ended up tripping on his own feet, a lucky stop for the Bears. However, following two defensive penalties, Marshall found paydirt on a goal-line rush and took a 14-3 lead.
MSU’s third offensive drive heavily featured star Green Jr. for four straight runs, followed by a Locklear strike to a wide-open Witt Edwards for the 38-yard TD. This was the Bears most efficient drive of the day, taking only 5 plays and slightly over 2 minutes to find the end zone.
At the end of the 1st quarter, Marshall led the Bears 14-10 as both teams fought for the edge in the trenches, with 21 total rushes to 11 pass attempts.
To kick off the second quarter, Marshall opened the passing game with QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson to quickly march into red zone range, but it flamed out just as fast, settling for a 28-yard field goal after a delay-of-game penalty backed the Herd up.
After a formidable drive for Missouri State’s first touchdown of the night, a chop block killed all momentum, and Locklear tossed up an ugly interception on what the offensive thought was a free play, which was not the case. A thundering crowd made its disappointment known, raining boos on what could’ve been a massive turning point, but the defense stayed persistent.
Missouri State continued to lean on ole’ reliable Ramone Green Jr., helping open up a passing lane on what was a deep 30-yard dot to WR Jmariyae Robinson, extending his school-record streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 38 games. However, the Bears stalled in the red zone, and it only got worse after Marshall blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt, keeping the score within 7 with one minute left in the half.
To start the second half, the Bears changed up their conservative look with an onside kick that didn’t go their way. The Herd followed it up with a massive Joshon Barbie run that drew a penalty, and Rio-Wilson took the QB keeper in for a touchdown on just 4 plays and 1:20 off the clock.
During the Bears second-half opening drive, Locklear took a bruising hit and went down for two plays, with Henry Belin IV coming in as backup. The Bears offensive bright spot was WR Isaiah Myers, who continued where he left off in Week 2, catching a 28-yard pass to set up a Jambres Dubar rushing touchdown, capping an 8-play drive as the Bears tried to close the gap.
Special teams continued to be a mishap for Missouri State as Marshall’s return man Chris Culliver took a 36-yard return, setting up the Herd near midfield to start their next drive. As misfortune continued, the Bears kept up the penalty mishaps after S Christian Ford was ejected on a targeting call, setting Marshall up for a field goal to extend the lead to 10 points.
Bears QB Skyler Locklear generated some life, climbing up the pocket to hit Green Jr. for a 21-yard gain. Once again, flags continued to plague Missouri State anytime they gained momentum. Still, despite the flags, Locklear kept finding his go-to target, Isaiah Myers, who was wide open this time, as he continued playing Superman and kept the Bears alive in the second half. Several plays later, Skyler shows off pocket presence to connect with TE Jeron Askren, who takes it the distance for the score. Despite all the errors, the Bears were only 3 points down entering the 4th quarter.
Marshall took over to start the final quarter as the Herd looked to maintain its slipping grip. That proved to be no issue for TJ Lester as he broke off a 17-yard rip, and the Herd stomped toward the end zone in just a couple of plays. Now, whether it was the Bears fans rocking the stadium or the defense tightening up, Marshall was forced to settle for a field goal, which kept it a one-score game. Despite how the drive started, Missouri State head coach Casey Woods must’ve been pleased with how it ended.
Unfortunately, injuries started piling up when Missouri State RB Jambres Dubar went down in pain with an apparent lower-leg/ankle injury. To make matters worse, he couldn’t put any weight on either leg, as teammates physically lifted him off the field. As for the Bears, the drive was bleak, and the offense once again had to rely on a defensive stand to get another opportunity.
Like the first half, this came down to who won in the trenches, as Marshall continued to pick up big rushing gains, with Joshon Barbie and Judah Price exchanging runs and draining the clock. However, Marshall made the one mistake they couldn’t afford: Carlos Del Rio-Wilson fumbled on the goal line. Missouri State recovered and looked to take the lead after looking dead to rights moments prior. It actually felt like a storybook ending was coming to fruition, as moments later, Isaiah Myers did it again, making a massive 29-yard pickup on a dime from Locklear to put them on the cusp of a game-leading touchdown.
It all came down to a 4th-down attempt, where two flags came into play and offset, giving Missouri State one final try. On the last offensive Bears snap, the ball was deflected at the line, a potential game-ending turnover on downs. However, with two minutes and three timeouts remaining, Missouri State’s defense took the field hoping to force a 3-and-out, but a jet sweep on 3rd and long from Marshall sealed the game, leaving Springfield with the win.
Despite the loss, Missouri State QB Skyler Locklear had a fantastic outing, completing 19 of 28 passes for 309 yards and 2 TDs, while adding another 53 yards on the ground. Ramone Green Jr. led the Bears backfield, rushing for 77 yards. For a second straight week, Isaiah Myers led Missouri State in receiving yards, posting back-to-back 140+ yard games, including Saturday’s 141-yard performance against Marshall on 7 catches for 11 targets. LB Jared Lloyd led the Bears with 13 total tackles.
On the other side, Marshall dominated in the trenches, with star RB Joshon Barbie recording 81 rushing yards and 1 TD on a 6.8 yards-per-carry average. QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was effective in the air and on the ground, throwing for 176 yards and rushing for 73 yards, with 2 total TDs. CB Caleb Clark-Glover led the Thundering Herd with 7 tackles.
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