MO State Defense to get tested

Injuries have the Bears defense a little thin this weekend for SEMO. MLB Darryl Johnson is out, meaning freshman Dan Graham will patrol the middle for the Bears. Two-thirds of the starting corps is now out, with Michael Evans still sidelined by a broken arm. Another freshman - Luke Harper - is second on the depth chart at one of the defensive tackle spots. They will be challenged by a Redhawk receiver group that includes a couple of big targets - TE Joe Tuineau (6-8, 280) and WR T.J. Milcic (6-5, 200). Tuienau has nine grabs for 107 yards while Milcic's got eight for 154 and a 71-yard TD strike.

It's up to Sid Rone (13) and the boys up front to get some heat on QB Mike Haley. He was busy last week, throwing 61 times in a loss to Kent state. He completed 34. He's 53-for-96 on the year for 498 yards, but has two TD's against five picks. The ground game doesn't look intimidating on paper, with JuCo transfer John Radney's 13 carries for 60 yards leading the way. True freshman Tim Holloman has 38 yards on the season.

The MO State offense, however, will face a SEMO 'D' that has surrendered 69 points in two outings and is without DT Bernard Quinn, who suffered an elbow injury in the Kent State game. Still, the Redhawks can bring the noise. DE Edgar Jones had 2.5 sacks for -10 yards at Kent State and leads the OVC in sacks and tackles for loss (3.5, -11 yards). He also has two QB hurries. D'Eldrick Taylor has 13 tackles to lead the time - including nine solos - while redshirt frosh Monroe Hicks has two interceptions, one returned for 47 yards and a TD. Look for them to bring heat from all angles and - from the sounds of Bears coach Randy Ball's radio show - try and make the Bears lose their cool with some rough/aggressive/maybe dirty play.

But Ball said you might be able to sneak a couple of cheap ones by them and, with Scottie Reddix still sidelined, Steve Rush has a chance for another big game.

Love special teams? You're in luck. MO State K/P Jon Scifres is an All-American, as is SEMO punter David Simonhoff.

Bottom Line: SEMO seems like a worthy foe, but the Bears will wear them down and pick up the W.