Springfield Standard

Missouri State University Bears football team will begin its 114th season and its first as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program on Saturday, August 30, 2025. The Bears are set to face the USC Trojans at United Airlines Field at LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Central Time.

This game marks the first meeting between Missouri State and USC. It also represents Missouri State’s only previous matchup against a Big Ten Conference opponent since a loss to Iowa in 2013. The Bears have played in California just once before, with their last appearance resulting in a loss to Pacific in 1992.

Missouri State enters the contest with an all-time record of 52-58-3 in season openers and has opened the season on the road for nine consecutive years. The team holds a 5-7 record all-time in games played during August.

The Trojans finished last season with a 7-6 record, including a victory over Texas A&M in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl.

Several players from Missouri State have ties to California, including wide receiver Makai Cope (Los Angeles), offensive linemen Justin Curtis (Santa Clarita) and Mark Hutchinson (Hayward), running back Josh Joyner (Oxnard), and linebacker Kanye Young (Menifee). Wide receiver Corey Simms of USC attended St. Louis CBC High School, where he was teammates with Missouri State freshman Brycen Dorsey.

Quarterback Jacob Clark was recently named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List after finishing last season ranked second nationally among FCS quarterbacks in yards per pass attempt and fourth in both pass efficiency and passing yards per game. Clark needs 267 passing yards to reach 5,000 for his career.

Wide receiver Ronnel Johnson, who transferred from Stetson University, requires 119 receiving yards to surpass 1,000 career receiving yards. Jmariyae Robinson needs 16 receptions to become the seventeenth Bear with at least 100 career catches.

Ryan Beard is entering his third year as head coach of Missouri State and is currently the fifth-youngest head coach at the FBS level at age thirty-six. Beard led the Bears to an eight-win season last year—their final campaign at the FCS level—earning them a No. 23 national ranking and producing twelve all-conference selections along with three All-Americans.

Beard’s teams have been recognized for their offensive production; last year’s squad ranked fifth nationally in passing offense, seventeenth in total offense, and thirteenth in scoring among FCS programs.

Beard previously served as defensive coordinator for three seasons under Bobby Petrino before being promoted to head coach on December 19, 2022. His coaching background includes stops at Central Michigan, Louisville, Western Kentucky University (WKU), and playing experience as a defensive back at WKU.

He holds two degrees from Western Kentucky University—a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s degree in Recreation and Sport Administration—and resides with his wife Katie Petrino Beard and their four children.

The game will be broadcast on B1G Network with radio coverage available through KWTO (101.3 FM) as part of the Bears Radio Network.