There’s no doubt Missouri State’s 61-38 loss to Delaware was a disaster on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Casey Woods even called the team’s offense and special teams ‘crap.’
The Bears (2-6, 1-2 in CUSA) defense allowed the most points to a conference opponent since 2017. South Dakota State hung 62 points on Missouri State that season.
Through 35 minutes, Missouri State held a 35-31 lead over Delaware. Midway through the third quarter, the wheels on the cart completely fell off, resulting in a blowout loss. Missouri State’s offense kept the team in the game before turnovers reared their ugly heads.
Isaiah Myers was the team’s big player, and what a game he had. It was the team’s only bright spot in the loss.
Delaware
Myers caught 11 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the most yards any wide receiver has secured in college football this year. The Cincinnati native’s big game featured more yards than any game this year from Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith or Miami’s Malachi Toney.
Myers was 7 yards shy of the single-game Missouri State record posted in 2003 by Steven Rush.
Myers has caught 38 passes for 796 yards this season. He’s 314 yards away from breaking Missouri State’s season receiving-yards record. Ty Scott holds the record with 1,110 yards set in 2021. He also leads Conference USA by over 200 receiving yards.
In a season that has not gone according to plan, Myers has been worth the price of admission.
“Isaiah is playing a high level of football right now,” Woods said after the Delaware loss. “I thought we had a good plan to get it to him. We were executing that through the first half and a little bit.”
Before the season, Woods shared that Myershad the best camp of any wide receiver. Fans are seeing the fruit of his offseason labor through chunk plays and touchdown catches.
Another individual bright spot has been Jared Lloyd for Missouri State’s defense. Before the rest of the college football slate begins this weekend, Lloyd leads the nation in tackles with 80 tackles. Mizzou’s Nicholas Rodriguez ranks No. 2 with 76 tackles.
It’s never been about the individual accolades for Lloyd. It’s all about getting wins, and the Bears are desperate for those right now.
“The individual stuff is cool and all,” Lloyd told the News-Leader. “But it’s not winning games for us.”
Missouri State is back at home against Sam Houston State on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
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: Isaiah Myers leads college football in single-game receiving yards
