The Standard

Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Moore

In a perfect scenario, the Missouri State football team would start every game like the way it did against Tennessee-Martin - by finding the endzone on its first two possessions en route to a win.

But the opponent this Saturday definitely isn't Tennessee-Martin, or any other Football Championship Subdiv-ision (formerly Division I-AA) team for that matter.

As part of their annual match-up with a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) school, Missouri State faces Kansas State tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in Manhattan, Kan.

"They're a typical Big 12 football team," Bears head coach Terry Allen said. "They have a whole lot of big, fast athletes who can do a lot of things and make plays out there."

The Wildcats (1-1) are coming off a 34-14 drubbing of San Jose State in their home opener. Led by 6-foot-6, 250 lb. sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman, Kansas State has averaged 370 yards worth of offense per game this season.

Bears sophomore quarterback Matt Krapfl said another good first quarter for Missouri State would go a long way in silencing the nearly 50,000 Kansas State fans that will fill Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday night.

"We really want to come out and start as well as we can," Krapfl said. "We don't need their fans to get going and that stadium to be loud. It would put us in a real tough situation."

While Appalachian State beating Michigan is still fresh on player's minds, the Bears are also hoping some of the recent Gateway Conference magic against FBS teams comes their way.

Last weekend, Northern Iowa dominated and won at Iowa State (Big 12) 24-13 in the largest crowd ever (56,795) at Jack Trice Stadium.

Also, Southern Illinois outscored Northern Illinois (Mid-American Conference) 20-0 in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns in the final minute, to steal a 34-31 win on the road.

Junior cornerback Chris Farrar said seeing Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois win not only gave the Bears some extra motivation, but also proved that the gap between FBS teams and FCS teams isn't that wide.

"It just gets us even more pumped up and excited," Farrar said. "It shows that we have some good teams and good players (in the FCS)."



Senior running back James Johnson leads the Wildcats with 128 yards rushing. Senior wide receiver Jordy Nelson and junior wide receiver Deon Murphy have already combined for 26 catches and 283 yards.

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