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Missouri State’s incredible comeback fell short Thursday Night in the Xbox Bowl 34-28, against Arkansas State, but even in defeat, the Bears deserve to play in a bowl in their first year in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and have staying power for years to come. In his final game as quarterback of the Missouri State Bears. Jacob Clark threw for 349 yards with four touchdown passes, three in the 4th quarter. Wide Receiver Dash Luke had a game-high 7 catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns for Missouri State. While running back Shomari Lawerence carry the ball 16 times for 57 yards and became the first Bears running back to rush for over 1,000 since 2010.

Down 31-7, it looked like the Arkansas State Red Wolves were going to run away with an easy win, but quarterback Jacob Clark led the Bears on a 90-yard touchdown drive that took a dozen plays by completing a 15-yard touchdown strike to Ramone Clark while converting a two-point conversion to Jaren Askren to cut the lead to 16, 31-15. Red Wolves march down the field, but the Bear Defense held them to a field goal to make it 34-15 with 13 minutes left of the game.

The Bears would score with 5:26 minutes left in the game when Clark connected to Dash Luke on a 47-yard pass to make it 34-21 after a failed two-point conversion. After the Bears’ defense forced a three-and-out, Clark again led a 4-play 80-yard touchdown drive by connecting a pass to Jmariyae Robinson from 16 yards out to cut the lead to 6, 34-28. The Bears fairytale comeback would fall short after the Arkansas State recover an onside kick as they would hang on to win the Xbox Bowl.

“It was kind of the story of our team the whole year,” interim coach Nick Petrino said. “We never give up; we’re never out of a fight.”

“We’re never out of things,” Clark said. “It’s a special group of guys, and, sadly, it’s come to an end, but I will forever remember this season with them; they’re just a bunch of brothers that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

Missouri State finished its first FBS season and Conference USA campaign with a winning record and earned bowl eligibility in year one. While the loss was a bitter pill to swallow, the 2025 Bears showed that they one day could play in the Bowl playoff game in the future with the success of this squad and will have staying power for years to come.