Missouri State will go bowling; Benedictine reaches NAIA football quarterfinals

There was plenty at stake in KC-area and regional college football action Saturday with NAIA and NCAA Division-II playoff games. Also, Missouri State had its final game of the regular season ... before receiving some good news.

Here is how it went down:

Louisiana Tech 42, Missouri State 30: Missouri State trailed the whole game at home in Springfield, and the Bears (7-5 overall, 5-3 CUSA) finished their first regular season in NCAA Division I. Bears quarterback Jacob Clark passed for 294 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Clark was sacked four times. One of those TDs was to Jeron Askren on a 75-yard score that closed Missouri State’s deficit to 28-23 in the fourth quarter.

Shomari Lawrence rushed for a 56-yard TD for the Bears in the third quarter. Louisiana Tech (7-5, 5-3) finished with 388 yards rushing on 51 attempts (7.6 yards per carry).

The bigger news for Missouri State came later Saturday night, when the program was slotted for a bowl game.

Bowl Season, which coordinates the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision’s 82 postseason teams, selected Missouri State and fellow Conference USA newcomer Delaware for bowl bids — filling the final two spots in the 2025 field. Missouri State would not have been eligible in its first year in FBS, by NCAA rules, if not for the two empty spots.

Bowl pairings will be announced at a later date.

Benedictine 21, Campbellsville (Kentucky) 17: The Ravens are alive and well in the NAIA playoffs, thanks to a second-half comeback at home in Atchison, Kansas. Benedictine trailed 17-7 at the half, but was the only team to score in the second half.

With the victory, No. 5 seed Benedictine advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA tournament. The biggest play in the second half came when the Ravens’ Ben Gilliland blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown that cut the Tigers’ lead to 17-14 in the third quarter. After the Ravens took the lead on a TD, Isaac Lopez intercepted a pass for Benedictine to preserve the lead.

The Ravens rushed for 246 yards overall: Xavier Ugorji gained 123 of those yards on 23 carries, while Dalton Witherspoon ran for 110 yards on 14 attempts, two for touchdowns. Witherspoon’s 17-yard TD run was the score that put the Ravens up 21-17 in the fourth quarter.

Harding 37, Pittsburg State 21: In this NCAA Division-II playoff battle, it was the Bison who came out the victor against the Gorillas in Searcy, Arkansas. The Pitt State Gorillas could not stop Harding’s rushing attack and fell behind 27-0. With the victory, Harding (13-0 and ranked No. 2 in Division II) moves on to the tournament quarterfinals.

Pitt State, which came in ranked No. 6, concluded its season with a record of 10-3. Harding rushed for 430 yards in the game. Gorillas quarterback Jackson Berry threw two touchdowns.

Friends 53, William Penn (Iowa) 36: Friends pushed its record to 12-0 and advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals with the home victory in Wichita. Friends (the No. 4 seed) scored 42 points in the first half. Friends rushed for 340 yards in the game.

E’derian Sykes gained 119 yards on 12 carries, while Friends quarterback K’Vonte Baker rushed for three touchdowns and also passed for one.

This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 6:19 PM.