The Missouri State Bears get the bowl experience in their first season as a FBS Member.

The release below is from Missouri State Sports Information:

Missouri State rallied for 21 fourth-quarter points to cut into a 24-point deficit but couldn't come up with an on-side kick late in a 34-28 loss in the first-ever Xbox Bowl here Thursday.

In his final collegiate game, Bears' quarterback Jacob Clark passed for 349 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the final quarter.

Dash Luke collected game-highs and career-highs with 7 pass receptions for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns for MoState (7-6) with Shomari Lawrence carrying 16 times for 57 yards to end the season with 1,021 ground yards and become MSU's first 1,000-yard rusher since Chris Douglas in 2010.

"I was really proud of the team in how they came out in the second half," said interim head coach Nick Petrino. "It's kind of been the story of this team all year. We never give up and are never out of a fight."

A 25-yard touchdown rush by Arkansas State's Devin Spencer with 10:22 left in the third quarter opened up a 31-7 lead for the Red Wolves (7-6) who seemed to have command of the outcome.

However, the cardiac Bears had something left to prove on both sides of the ball. Taking over at their own 10 yard line late in the third quarter, Clark led the Bears on a season-long 90-yard touchdown march that took a dozen plays to complete. A 15-yard touchdown strike to Ramone Green Jr. gave the Bears new life, while the two-point conversion pass from Clark to Jaren Askren made it a 31-15 contest with 14:52 to go.

On their next drive, the Red Wolves capitalized on a 38-yard completion from Jaylen Raynor to the game's offensive MVP Corey Rucker to the MSU 26, and a subsequent pass interference penalty against the Bears moved the ball to the 13. But the MSU defense held up, forcing the Sun Belt Conference squad into a 32-yard field goal, which Clune Van Andel converted to make it 34-15 with just over 13 minutes left.

Clark and company then coughed it up on their next possession as he was sacked for the eighth time in the game and fumbled. A-State jumped on the ball at their own 34 with nine minutes to go, but MSU's defense held up again, forcing a three-and-out punt.

The Bears then took over near midfield and covered 52 yards in just three plays with a 47-yard Clark TD strike to Dash Luke. MSU's two-point try failed, despite a valiant effort by Askren at the goal line, to make it 34-21.

Another three-and-out possession by the Red Wolves looked to give the ball back to Missouri State with less than four minutes on the clock, but the A-State punt was muffed by the Bears at their own 22. MSU's defense picked up the slack and held Arkansas State to a 34-yard field goal try, which missed.

The Bears then took over at their own 20 with 3:20 remaining. Clark knew exactly what to do, hitting Luke for 59-yard pass to the Arkansas State 6 before connecting with Jmariyae Robinson for a 16-yard touchdown - the 16th of his career -- with 1:54 on the clock. Yousef Obeid's extra point made it a 34-28 game.

The Bears' hands team came on for the ensuing on-side kickoff, but Arkansas State recovered the short boot at the MSU 26. With the Bears out of timeouts, the Red Wolves took a knee three times to run out the clock and preserve the narrow victory.

Raynor finished 17-of-31 for 288 yards and 3 TDs for Arkansas State, while Rucker caught 6 passes for 166 yards and a score. Defensive MVP honors went to Kyle Taylor who logged a game-high 10 total tackles.

The Bears outgained Arkansas State 183-58 in the fourth quarter and 233-133 in the second half. Missouri State finished with 23 first downs, 396 total yards and 39 minutes of possession time.

Clark, who completed 25-of-35 passes, finished his MSU career 585-of-865 for 7,936 yards and 63 touchdowns. He also logged a school-record 22 games (in 28 starts) with 200 or more passing yards and a dozen games with 300 or more passing yards.

In the first half, Arkansas State outgained the Bears by a 226-163 margin, thanks in large part to the Red Wolves' first two drives of the game. A-State's opening drive included three straight first-down plays before a seven-yard TD pass from Raynor to Jaylen Bonelli completed the 55-yard march just 4 minutes in.

MSU's second drive of the night stalled at the Red Wolves' 48 after a holding penalty and sack pushed the CUSA representatives out of field goal range, ultimately resulting in a punt. Four plays later, Raynor hit Rucker in stride for a 71-yard touchdown pass after the previous ASU play appeared to be a sack-fumble by MSU defender Dezmond Barnes. The play was ultimately ruled an incomplete pass by the officials, giving the Red Wolves and Raynor another play, which they cashed in to make it 14-0.

The Bears got on the board for the first time with a 40-yard Clark pass to Luke with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. The club's first-ever major bowl game scoring play was set up after four straight rushes moved the ball from the MoState 25 to A-State 40, and made it a 14-7 game at the time.

Missouri State's three drives of the second quarter all resulted in punts, while Arkansas State added a 54-yard field goal by VanAndel and Raynor's third TD pass of the half, making it 24-7 at the intermission.

The Bears wrapped their first FBS season and Conference USA campaign with a winning record and earned bowl eligibility in year one, making the 2025 campaign one that will not be soon forgotten by Missouri State's faithful fan base, which helped fill the Ford Center with more 7,782 fans at the inaugural Xbox Bowl.