I’m Chris Drew for KSMU News. I'm joined by Paul Bohlen, senior sports reporter for the Missouri State University Standard.
The Bears are two games into the season, one defeat, which I think was probably pretty well expected against USC, one well-earned victory against more comparable Marshall University. What did those games tell you about the bears and their weaknesses and strengths as we start the season?
W. Paul Bohlen: Well, to tell you the truth, the USC game really didn't tell us a whole lot of anything. I think you saw some of what Coach Beard talked about with the team really striving when it faces adversity. They've struggled a lot and that's made them harder. That's made them better.
You saw that pretty well in what was probably the best play of the game against USC. You saw them trailing 21 and three. And then they're trying to just move it down the field and Jacob Clark gets intercepted. Doesn't happen to him a whole lot. And they get the pick-six and now it's 28 and three. But next drive the Bears rally, they’re fourth and five. They got 33 yards all the way to Tristan Gardner, and he scores the first touchdown of the FBS era. I think that really shows this is a team that is going to strive when it has somebody to beat back against them and say, prove it. Prove that you've got the mettle.
And then against Marshall, you see them just get called for penalty after penalty. And I mean, it was a little bit relentless where they've got several opportunities to score, several times that they did score, that then get nullified because of penalties. And they were really coming at kind of thoughtless and really unnecessary points. But eventually they get it together, kind of calmed down a bit, and they get in the groove and they end up winning 21 to 20.
So, I think you've definitely got a lot of really good players. They just need to show that. They just need that little bit of push to say, okay, do it, do it. And then they've also definitely got a really great defense, I think against Marshall, you saw what was probably one of the best defenses that they've had in years. That was something that we harped on them all last year about was their D-line. And it wasn't strong. They couldn't quite get the stops that they needed. And against Marshall, they did. They hit really well. They got as many stops as they needed, and they made Marshall fight for every single point that they scored.
What do you think about the home opener this week against Southern Methodist University? What's that match up look like?
Bohlen: Well, the game against SMU is symbolic for many reasons. For one, you turn the tables on this whole idea of scheduling, and you bring this massive FBS school that's got one of the most storied histories in college football. A name that is so synonymous with college football, like SMU. And you take them, and you bring them to Springfield. You're not their cupcake opponent where you're there to get beaten for a lot of money. You're taking them home. You know, it just shows this ambitiousness that this program has really developed under Ryan Beard. And then the new administration, new AD Patrick Ransdell. They're not ready to just play it safe and schedule a bunch of D2 and low FCS schools. They're going all the way. They want the hardest schedule that they can get. And then having SMU at home also marks, of course, the departure of legendary and beloved broadcaster Art Haynes. That was his alma mater and who he spent a couple of years working with and then came to Springfield and worked since. So, it's a very meaningful game and it's a very good game, I think in, in my opinion, to have for their home opener.
And I assume that we're going to have a very lively crowd here. Um, do you think that's going to help give him that little inspiration, that little push they might need?
Bohlen: I think they're going to need all the help that they can get. Truth be told. SMU is a team that has been, you know, through a lot. And they're really trying to keep up. They were nationally ranked for the first two weeks. And then they fell completely off of the rankings after their loss last weekend to Baylor in double overtime. And they're going to have something to prove. They're going to be saying this is everything. This is pride. This is validation. This is proof we didn't deserve to lose that ranking. So, they're going to be coming in ready to fight, just like I think USC was. USC was unranked at that time and felt that they were much better, much more deserving of a ranking. And so, they were fighting a lot harder against the Bears to show what they had and what they could put up. And I think you're going to see a pretty similar thing with SMU. I don't expect you'll see Jacob Clark playing the whole game, because the worst thing that happens, more than a loss, more than a blowout, you don't want him hurt because you've still got nine weeks of football to play. And if you lose QB1, QB1 by a long shot, your season's over at that point.
And kind of stepping a little bit outside of football, just in general, what's the vibe on campus or among MSU sports fans about Conference USA?
Bohlen: I think that there is a lot of excitement, a lot of excitement that you've seen Patrick Ransdell bring in. I think he has really led the charge in bringing up to date a lot of Missouri State athletics. You look at even things that aren't directly sports related, like their clear bag policy or new concession stands, things reworking the tailgate. These are all just things that Missouri State was kind of behind on. They were probably one of the only stadiums that didn't have a clear bag policy at this point. And, you know, people can debate about what's the real value of doing that? But when everyone else is already doing it and this is an industry practice in the business of athletics, you kind of need to follow the trends. Missouri State hadn't been following the trends for a long time, and he really seems to be improving the game day aspect. And he's really seemed to improve the campus outreach part of it. I see more opportunities for people to speak with athletes, to get to know their student athletes, where, you know, in the past they might not know who's on the football team because they don't have any classes with them. They don't sit down next to them. They don't see them on campus hardly at all. And I think he's really kind of helped bring students and student athletes back together.
And I know there's a lot of hesitation around Conference USA because there's a lot of (sentiment) on campus of: ‘oh, well, the athletics don't do well. It's a big waste of money.’ But, you know, it's a long-term investment. And when you have a really successful conference like we had with the MVC, but that's at the lower level. You're not going to see a big revenue spike. Once you take the risk and start moving up, even if it starts at Conference USA, because Conference USA is, to a lot of people's eyes, a stepping stone conference. Whether that's true or not, it's one that a lot of teams will come to to join bigger conferences later on. And that may very well be what you're seeing with Missouri State. It opens the door to much bigger opportunities. And just by being in Conference USA alone, that opens so much advertising, much better television slots, and it gives them more opportunities to travel and also to recruit. And recruiting is going to be one of the biggest things because they have a whole new plate of athletes that they can open up to and show them. See, we're at this much higher level, which makes them much more appealing. And it's not something that you'll see a great return on immediately. But in the long run, I think it's going to be a great turn.
So this is the first season among many, and we're just starting to see that.
Bohlen: Yeah. And you're definitely going to see a lot of losing as well. I don't think anyone has any misconceptions about that. There's going to be a lot of losing. But they just have to fight through that losing and eventually, if not immediately, eventually, it's going to get better.
Well, thank you very much for chatting with me today. How can our listeners / readers keep up with your reporting?
Bohlen: I cover football and basketball this year with The Standard. Most of our sports coverage is posted online. We also have monthly print editions that we put out on newsstands around campus. And, then we also have a podcast with our sports editor, Maddux Radosevic. It's called The Growl. You can find that on Spotify under The Standard and just kind of break down what's going on in athletics.
Editor’s note: this transcription was edited for clarity.
Learn more about Missouri State football online, here.