Missouri State football flat in high-stakes loss to No. 2 South Dakota State

In one of the biggest games in Missouri State football history, the Bears weren't ready to make themselves known among the elite.

Missouri State (2-2, 0-1) fell to No. 2 South Dakota State in a 28-14 loss to the second-ranked Jackrabbits on Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium.

The Bears trailed 14-0 at the end of the first half but rallied to tie the game in the third quarter. A South Dakota State team that has played in plenty of big games before stepped up when it needed to the most.

MSU, ranked as high as No. 4 in the most previous FCS Coaches Poll, will need to regroup before traveling to North Dakota next week for a noon matchup on Oct. 1.

A disappointing first half for the Bears ended with them being outgained 251-36 but somehow only trailing just 7-0 at the break.

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The Jackrabbits struck first thanks to big plays after getting pinned deep in their own territory. Starting at the SDSU 8 and after taking a false start, SDSU converted on a third-and-14 when former Joplin running back Isaiah Davis ran for 16. Passes of 21 and 24 put the Jacks deep in MSU territory before SDSU quarterback Mark Grownoski completed a three-yard touchdown pass to Jadon Janke.

South Dakota State missed three field goals in the half from 50, 35 and a 44-yarder right before the break.

Each Missouri State drive ended with the Bears punting the ball away. No drive went for more than 22 yards and starting quarterback Jason Shelley rarely had time to scan the field. Shelley was sacked three times and was 6-of-12 for 32 yards. The Bears had four total rushing yards and three total first downs.

To start the second half, Missouri State appeared to be in a position to put up points but the drive ended in disaster.

D'Vontae Key returned the opening kick of the second half 55 yards to the Jackrabbits' 45. A Jacardia Wright rush for 13 followed by a Shelley pass to Jordan Jones for 11-yards on fourth-and-short put MSU at the SDSU 12. Two plays later, Shelley had open players on a play-action boot but he threw the ball to SDSU's Colby Huerter who returned the ball 70 yards to the MSU 24.

Three plays later, Gronowski hit Jaxon Janke for a 13-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the third.

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Missouri State responded by actually completing its next drive with a touchdown.

The Bears were aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Jacks which was followed by a Shelley 17-yard completion to Kevon Latulas. Jacardia Wright had two consecutive runs of 15 yards with the second ending in a touchdown run to cut the Jacks' lead in half with 6:34 left in the third.

After the Bears forced a punt in four plays on SDSU's following drive, their first offensive play turned into a 67-yard connection between Shelley and a wide-open Raylen Sharpe to tie the game at 14.

That's all the Bears would score.

An exchange of empty possessions followed with SDSU retaking a lead it wouldn't give back on a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The Jackrabbits chipped away on the ground throughout the drive and it ended with Gronowski pulling in a run-pass-option and throwing to a wide-open Zach Heins for a 21-yard touchdown down the middle of the field for a 21-14 lead with 7:59 left. Heins finished with seven catches for 127 yards and a score.

Needing to string out a drive, the Bears went nowhere and were forced to punt after a three-and-out. The Bears started with the ball at their own 37 but Shelley took a blindside sack on third-down and had to give the Jacks the ball back with 5:41 remaining. It was the fourth and final time Shelley was sacked on Saturday.

Needing a stop to get the ball back, the Bears couldn't get it. Instead, the Jackrabbits caught MSU's defense napping and put the nail in the coffin.

SDSU picked up two first downs on the drive before Gronowski hit Jadon Janke on a swing pass at the line of scrimmage. Jadon Janke made a man miss and outran the Bears' defense en route to a 40-yard touchdown and a 14-point lead.

On a desperate final drive of the game, Shelley threw his second interception of the game on a throw to the endzone from the SDSU 38.

SDSU outgained MSU 475-258. Gronowski passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns. The Jacks had 156 total yards on the ground with Davis leading the way at 83. Wright rushed 13 times for 63 yards and a score.

Sharpe was the Bears' leading receiver with his one 67-yard touchdown catch. The Jacks were all over Tyrone Scot by holding him to two catches for negative-one yards. The Jacks had two 100-yard receivers with Jadon Janke finishing with eight catches for 102 yards and two scores.

Scoring summary

• 1Q 2:25 — Gronowski three-yard TD pass to Jadon Janke. SDSU 7-0.

• 3Q 10:00 — Gronowski 13-yard TD pass to Jaxon Janke. SDSU 14-0.

• 3Q 6:34 — Wright 13-yard TD run. SDSU 14-7.

• 3Q 2:55 — Shelley 67-yard TD pass to Sharpe. 14-14.

• 4Q 7:59 — Gronowski 21-yard TD pass to Heins. SDSU 21-14.

• 4Q 2:30 — Gronowski 40-yard TD pass to Jadon Janke. SDSU 28-14.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: South Dakota State football takes care of Missouri State