2008 Missouri State Football

I am actually excited about Missouri State football this year. Two years ago, they hired Terry Allen from Iowa State to make a last ditch effort to save the football program. In the past 30 years, only the Jesse Branch clubs in '90 and '91 were able to make it to the playoffs. There was a bunch of former players who were the favorites to get the job; but, a guy I know on the hiring committee said that Terry Allen just impressed the hell out of them. He brought a copy of the Des Moines Register with the front page headline "Northern Iowa in Championship Game" (he coached UNI to a national championship game in the '90s), and told them that his goal was to have "Missouri State in Championship Game" as the headline in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Kansas City Star. Now most people who are familiar with Missouri State and the politics in Missouri know that it is more likely to be a page three story in the sports sections of those papers if that actually happens. However, you gotta to like the ambition.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference is one tough mother. For the Bears to actually win it or even get into the playoffs are low. North Dakota State, a new member of the conference, was picked to win first this year by the media. South Dakota State, the other new member, was picked sixth, ahead of the Bears. However, Coach Allen showed more improvement last year over his first year. He is getting some top FCS prospects and it is showing. The QB, Cody Kirby, is picked preseason all conference, pretty good for the best conference in the nation.

I would be lying if I knew all the statistics and was a hardcore Bears Football fan. But, I try to check the box score and hope for the best. Even though they are in the toughest conference, I hope they end up 7-4 this year (6-5 last year) and end up at least sixth of ninth in the conference. You may be thinking just like Juno "Dream Big!" but this program has been in the hole so long, baby steps are good.