Howdy from the Ozarks! Clementine Bilyeu here, drying off a paddle on the bank of the James River. I guide float trips for a living, so I take a practical view of football. Read the current. Respect the rocks. Keep everybody in the canoe. And when the river gives you a nice long stretch of smooth water at the end, you paddle like crazy.
Last Wednesday night, the Bears paddled like crazy.
Part 1: A Smooth Finish at Plaster Stadium
Missouri State beat Kennesaw State 24-21 last Wednesday at Plaster Stadium. We're 2-4 and 1-1 in Conference USA. And AP says it was the Bears' first win over an FBS team under coach Casey Woods. That's a milestone you carve into the canoe.
It started slow, like the top of any good float. Yousef Obeid kicked two field goals in the second quarter, and we led 6-0 until Kennesaw State scored on the last play of the half. Then Henry Belin IV found Isaiah Myers for a 14-yard touchdown, and Connor Lair ran in the two-point try. Kennesaw tied it. Belin found Myers again, from 12 yards, for a 21-14 lead with 9:20 left. Kennesaw tied it again with 6:06 to go.
Then the Bears got the ball, and the river went smooth. We marched down the field and ran out the clock, and Obeid kicked a field goal as time expired. Three for three on the night. Calm, cool and dry.
Belin went 28 of 39 for 300 yards, which AP calls a career high, with two touchdowns and one interception. Eight different receivers caught passes, per AP. Myers had seven catches for 135 yards and both touchdowns. Jmariyae Robinson caught eight passes for 77 yards and returned two punts for 34 more. Lair ran 14 times for 65 yards. Jared Lloyd made 10 tackles. We outgained the Owls 421 to 337, per ESPN's box score.
Now the honest part, because a good guide tells you about the rapids. We were flagged nine times for 84 yards. We let a 6-0 lead slip right before halftime. And this season's had some white water: a 50-0 loss at Texas A&M to open the year, a 30-24 loss at home to Marshall, a 34-24 loss at SMU and a 34-13 loss at Western Kentucky. But we beat Lindenwood 48-14, and now we've got our first FBS win. The current is turning.
Part 2: The Bears Float East to Newark
Tuesday, 7 p.m. Eastern, ESPNU, Missouri State at Delaware.
First, my respects to the Blue Hens. Delaware can throw it. AP ranks its passing offense 29th in FBS, at 271.0 yards a game. Sean Wilson has 25 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Bell threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns at Middle Tennessee last week, and he even caught a touchdown pass. Blake Matthews has 4.5 sacks. That's a real crew. I'd let them in my canoe.
But I'd make them sit in the middle and not touch the paddles. Let's read the current from AP's preview.
Delaware's run game ranks 135th in FBS, at 94.0 yards a game. At Middle Tennessee, it ran 30 times for 70 yards, per ESPN. That's not a river. That's a puddle on a gravel bank after a dry August. Paddle all you want, friends. You're not going anywhere.
Delaware's pass defense ranks 125th, allowing 259.2 yards a game. And Myers has 554 receiving yards and five touchdowns. I've seen that kind of matchup before, out on the water. It's called a downstream current, and you just point the canoe and enjoy the ride.
And the Blue Hens have had some leaks in the hull. They lost 42-3 at Virginia. They were flagged 13 times for 101 yards at Middle Tennessee, per ESPN, and they lost by three. They're 0-2 in Conference USA. AP ranks Delaware 112th in FBS in time of possession.
I'll be honest about my own boat. Our defense ranks 127th in FBS in yards allowed, and opponents convert 44.4% of third downs on us. Our red zone offense ranks 106th. Those are rocks, and I see them. But we just learned how to finish, and that's the hardest stroke to teach.
And this one's a brand-new river. CollegeFootballData.com lists no previous meeting between these two programs. First float. Let's make it a good story.
Tales From Two Towns
Springfield. Springfield is the third-most-populous city in Missouri, with 169,176 people, and the largest city in the Ozarks, per Wikipedia. Its nicknames include "Queen City of the Ozarks," since 1878, and "The Birthplace of Route 66." Since 2010, we've thrown the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival downtown, with a parade of vintage cars down the old highway. We're the headquarters of Bass Pro Shops and the Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium. O'Reilly Auto Parts started here in 1957 as a family business with 13 employees. We have our own local style of cashew chicken, and we're within reach of the James River, Table Rock Lake and the Buffalo National River. That's a float guide's paradise. Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, site of an 1861 Civil War battle, is a few miles southwest of town. History, rivers and good food, all in one place.
And our ballpark has history. Wikipedia says Plaster Stadium was built in 1941, as SMS Stadium, as a Works Progress Administration project costing $60,000. Missouri State's first team took the field in 1909. The school was Southwest Missouri State until 2005. In 1990 the Bears were ranked second in the country for three weeks, the highest ranking in school history. And they've won 10 conference titles. In 1970 the stadium was renamed for Arthur Briggs, the school's all-time winningest coach, and in 1991 it took the Plaster name after a donation paid for an upper deck and luxury suites. Now the Bears are in their first season as full FBS members, after joining Conference USA in 2025. This is a young river, friends, and we're running it for the first time together.
Newark. Newark, Delaware, is a lovely college town of 30,601, per Wikipedia. Springfield's metro area could hold about 16 of it. Newark sits less than a mile from a spot called The Wedge, where Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania meet, so it's a town that's always one short walk from being in a different state. Wikipedia says that on a typical home game day, Delaware Stadium becomes the fourth-largest city in the state. In Missouri, we'd call that a busy Saturday at Bass Pro.
Then there's the mascot. Wikipedia says the Blue Hen is not a recognized chicken breed. I'd just like to point out, gently, that our mascot is a bear. Bears don't need a breed registry. Bears also eat chicken. Especially in Springfield, where we put cashews on it.
Clementine's Float Plan for Tuesday
1. Paddle to Myers. A 125th-ranked pass defense is a downstream current. 2. Stack the box. Make the Blue Hens prove they can run. 3. Stop the flags. Nine penalties is too many rocks in one stretch. 4. Finish drives. Field goals got it done last week, but touchdowns float better.
Pack a snack and a dry bag, Bears fans. It's going to be a fun float.
My call: Delaware Blue Hens 29, Missouri State Bears 24.