A 22-yard touchdown pass from Jaden Johnson to Isaac Smith with 6:39 to play gave visiting Missouri State the lead for good and sealed a 30-24 comeback victory for the Bears over Western Illinois in Macomb on Saturday in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams. The victory is the first for head-coach Bobby Petrino after the Bears lost the first three games in the fall.
Missouri State returns to Robert W. Plaster Stadium next Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff against No. 1-ranked North Dakota State.
#21 Southeast Missouri (1-1) opened its Ohio Valley Conference spring campaign with a bang, blowing out Eastern Illinois (0-1), 47-7, Sunday at O’Brien Field. SEMO, which last played an OVC game 463 days ago, stormed out to 34 first-half points and never let up. SEMO plays host to Murray State in its home-opener on Mar. 7. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., CT at Houck Field.