2011 REVIEW Down 14-7 early in the second quarter, the Bears were driving toward a potential game-tying touchdown when Douglas was stopped short on fourth-and-one at the Oregon 7-yard line to thwart the Bears’ threat and turn the momentum for good. From there, the afternoon quickly took a turn for the worse. LaMichael James paced the Ducks’ offense with 204 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns as Oregon compiled 681 total yards, including 416 on the ground, in a 56-7 decision. The Bears collected 17 first downs and did not commit any turnovers. MSU also surrendered just two sacks, giving Wooden time to compile a team-high 158 yards of total offense. The four-game road swing concluded with MSU’s first trip to Salukis Stadium in Carbondale for the MVFC opener for both squads on Sept. 24. The Bears kept pace with the No. 13 Southern Illinois club
2012 Football Guide throughout and overcame a 14-12 halftime deficit late in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Douglas. With 6 seconds to play in the third, Douglas capped a 51-yard drive to put MSU ahead 18-17. The Bears built on that momentum early in the fourth quarter by forcing an SIU fumble at the Saluki 43 with 13:05 left in the game. The Bears would manufacture a drive all the way to the Carbondale 27 before Wooden was picked off in the endzone to halt the threat. Later in the final quarter, MSU forced the home club into a punt with 6:47 to go. The Bears, however could not take advantage of the good field position and dwindling clock and punted the ball back three plays later. Finally, with less than a minute to play, SIU broke through with an 11-play, 62-yard drive to the MSU 10-yard line before settling for a game-winning field goal by Springfield native Jackson MacLachlan. MSU returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 39, but a sack and an interception in the deciding moments sealed the Bears’ fate in a 20-18 defeat. Douglas carried 14 times for a season-high 85 yards, while Saffold accumulated 122 yards on five receptions. Howard Scarborough and Andrew Beisel each had 11 tackles to lead the Bears’ defense which also accumulated three sacks.
Homeward Bound
Jermaine Saffold, who would later sign a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Browns, had touchdown catches of 82 and 91 yards against Illinois State on Oct. 8 and finished with 207 yards on five receptions against the Redbirds, the fourth-highest single-game yardage total in MSU history. (MSU Photo Services)
Bears
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The Bears put a six-game home winning streak on the line on Oct. 1, when they hosted No. 2 Northern Iowa in their latest home opener since 1942. As it did frequently throughout the campaign, Missouri State held its ground early and was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter when Wooden scored from five yards out to knot the game. Just before the half, Wooden engineered another masterful drive to the UNI 4. But with time running out, Wooden was sacked at the 8, and then called for illegal procedure as he tried to spike the ball to stop the clock. By rule, the clock was run out to put the Bears behind 21-7 at the intermission. The 13th-largest crowd (14,827) in Plaster Field history saw MSU compile just 89 total yards in the second half. However, the Panthers tacked on 21 more points to secure a 42-7 win. Saffold was held to 3 receptions for 10 yards, and Wooden was an efficient 18-for-21 for 134 yards. The loss was the Bears’ sixth straight in the series with UNI and 12th in 13 tries against the Panthers. As Illinois State rolled into town the following week, the season’s midway point saw the MSU jump all over the visiting Redbirds in the early going. Wooden connected with Saffold for an 82-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game to put MSU up 6-0. Later in the first quarter, the tandem hooked up again for a 91-yard catch-and-run TD, the third-longest pass play in Bears’ history to help MSU to a 13-3 halftime lead. The teams both stalled in the third quarter with ISU drawing within 13-10 midway through the period. However, the home club held strong and entered the final quarter with a three-point advantage. But the final period belonged exclusively to the visitors. Illinois State outscored the Bears 28-0 over the final 14:53, taking just 11 plays to roll up four unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter. The Bears were held to just 37 rushing yards on 28 attempts, but Saffold finished with 207 yards on five receptions for the fourth-highest single-game receiving yards total in program history. Wooden was 8-for-15 for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the losing effort, while linebacker David Ingram and defensive back Caleb Schaffitzel tallied 14 and 12 tackles, respectively. The two-game home stand fell far short of team expectations as the Bears allowed 896 yards and 80 points in two games on their home turf to fall to 0-6 on the season.
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