SPRINGFIELD — Casey Woods has consistently spoken about breaking Missouri State’s season into three parts. He’s marked the non-conference schedule, October games, and meaningful November games as the team’s barometer.
Now, non-conference play is over. Missouri State (1-3) enters its open week before playing Western Kentucky on the road on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Here’s how we grade Missouri State football before Conference USA action begins.
Offense: C+
Missouri State’s offense played great against Lindenwood and Marshall. Quarterback Skyler Locklear looked comfortable and fired the ball well in both games. He threw for 258 yards against Lindenwood and 309 yards versus Marshall. In those two games, he combined for three touchdowns.
The offensive struggles were apparent
against Power Four foes Texas A&M and SMU. The offense accumulated 68 yards against the Aggies and finished with 239 yards versus SMU. Against the Mustangs, Missouri State had just 121 yards of offense through the first three quarters. The offense picked up in the fourth quarter, finishing with 239 total yards.
The Bears are tied for eighth in the CUSA in third-down conversions, while they rank last in red-zone offense, going 10-for-13. Wide receiver Isiah Myers and running back Breezy Dubar have been fantastic weapons for the team, too.
Defense: B-
The defense met the challenge against SMU and Lindenwood. They played great through the first three quarters versus Texas A&M, but this position group failed to get off the field against Marshall consistently. The defense does rank seventh-worst in the nation in yards per game, but they are bending and not breaking.
Linebacker Bird Lloyd continues to be a boss. He has the second-most tackles in college football, with 46. The Bears also rank 35th best in turnovers forced with six, including Joel Boamah’s pick-six against SMU last week.
Special teams: B-
There’s been some ups and downs on special teams. Jmariyae Robinson’s muffed punt against Texas A&M, which led to a safety, injury concerns to kicker Yousef Obeid and the missed on-side kick to start the second half against Marshall were downsides.
Punter Stewart McDonald has excelled and long snapper Andrew Kallas have continually made plays. Against SMU, Obeid connected on a 35-yard field goal.
Coaching: C+
The team has certainly improved since its Week 1 loss to Texas A&M, but the big issue for Missouri State has been penalties through the first four games.
Missouri State has been penalized the 10th most times in the nation. The Bears are averaging nine penalties per contest. The low grade is simply down to penalties, but team development has been apparent so far.
Overall grade: B-
It was always going to be a tough task to defeat Texas A&M and SMU on the road. But the Bears competed and contended in both games. The win over Lindenwood was expected, but the home loss to Marshall was disappointing.
Missouri State would’ve loved to be 2-2 at this juncture. The overall grade shows room for improvement, but the opening slate of games shows that the Bears can compete in CUSA.
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Missouri State athletics for The Springfield News-Leader. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: As conference play nears, here are our grades for Missouri State football after 4 games
