Arkansas State unlocked a significant achievement Thursday night in Frisco, TX.
The Red Wolves emerged victorious in the inaugural Xbox Bowl, taking down first-year FBS program Missouri State 34-28 in the first college football game played at the Ford Center inside The Star — the practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys.
Immediately after Master Chief from Halo handled the coin toss, Arkansas State wasted no time in completing a successful mission, pouncing on its competition to manufacture a lead as great
as 31-7. Missouri State stared down the red ring of death but didn’t disconnect its controller. The Bears’ instead fought to the finish but failed to recover a late onside kick, watching a successful inaugural season conclude in heartbreaking fashion.
Arkansas State relied on the arm of veteran quarterback Jaylen Raynor, whose passing attributes looked maxed out at 99 overall for much of Thursday night. The junior finished 17-of-31 with 288 yards, delivering three touchdowns to three different targets. On the Red Wolves’ opening series, he delivered a strike to a 7-yard touchdown Jaylen Bonelli. He continued his rampage with a 71-yard sideline deep shot to sixth-year senior receiver Corey Rucker — a longtime Arkansas State standout playing his final collegiate game. Then to manufacture a 24-7 halftime lead, the quarterback played pitch and catch with Chauncy Cobb, who caught a 4-yard touchdown set up by one of Raynor’s several successful deep balls.
Rucker, who exceeded 100 yards in Arkansas State’s 2024 bowl victory, concluded his college career on a spectacular note. He posted 166 yards and a touchdown on six catches, exceeding 160 for the fifth time in Red Wolves colors. Rucker already held designation as the program’s career leader in receiving yards, but on his lone touchdown, he moved into sole possession of first place on Arkansas State’s all-time receiving touchdowns list, breaking a tie with Omar Bayless.
Missouri State’s seventh-year quarterback Jacob Clark also saw a noble sendoff despite a losing effort, firing for 349 yards and four touchdowns against the Sun Belt opponent. However, the quarterback — who had been sacked more than any other QB in the FBS this year — was upended in the backfield all game long by an Arkansas State defense which generated nine sacks. Missouri State’s offensive line looked like it accidentally set the difficulty to Heisman mode, as Arkansas State defensive linemen Ethan Hassler, Demarcus Hendricks, and Cody Silger all frequented the hit stick to register multiple sacks in a pure domination.
With that immense pressure, Missouri State’s offense severely lagged, punting on seven of its first eight possessions. Because its lone touchdown over that 8-drive span was a 39-yard completion to Dash Luke, the Bears never snapped the ball inside the Arkansas State 35-yard line until roughly one minute remained in the third quarter. With Luke thriving in the second half behind a 7-reception, 169-yard, 2-touchdown performance, Missouri State’s offense surged late, but the Bears were in too deep of a hole with too time to fully climb out.
Missouri State (7-6, 5-3 CUSA) still finished its first FBS season above .500 — a remarkable accomplishment for the program. Now that the Bears checked off their first box of playing in a bowl game, in 2026 they’ll look to move one step further by managing a bowl victory. Leading the charge will be SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods, who is slated to accept the Missouri State head coaching position later in the week, as the team transitions to year two.
Arkansas State (7-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) wins its second-straight bowl game under head coach Butch Jones. The Red Wolves never won a single bowl until 2012, but now six bowl trophies will reside in their facilities when they return to Jonesboro. With the win, Arkansas State clinched back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since its fruitful 2011-19 stretch, concluding the 2025 season with a new achievement in the inaugural Xbox Bowl.
