The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens will host the Missouri State Bears on Tuesday, pitting two desperate 2-4 teams against each other in the thick of Conference USA action. But while the Blue Hens are riding a three-game losing streak, the Bears just got back in the win column against Kennesaw State.
Delaware is a 3-point home favorite on Tuesday with -142 Moneyline odds, while Missouri State has +120 Moneyline odds. The game total for the conference showdown is set at 52.5 points. Here is a preview of the Week 8 showdown featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens vs. Missouri State Bears Preview
Missouri State
After getting blown out at Texas A&M and demolishing an FCS opponent in Lindenwood to start the season, the Bears have mostly played pretty competitive games. They lost by six to Marshall after failing to score in the fourth quarter and trailed SMU by three in the fourth quarter before ultimately losing by 10. Against Western Kentucky, an eight-point deficit late in the third quarter grew into a 21-point loss. Missouri State finally came out on top against Kennesaw State thanks to Yousef Obeid’s game-winning field goal as time expired.
Former Duke backup Henry Belin IV has stepped in as the Bears’ starting quarterback, taking over for Skyler Locklear midway through the Western Kentucky game. Locklear was completing 65.7% of his attempts with a 135.5 passer rating, while Belin owns a 64.4% completion percentage and a 140.3 passer rating. Excluding his reps from the SMU game, though, Belin is completing 69.0% of passes with a 152.2 passer rating. He also rushed for a touchdown in Week 2 and accumulated 24 yards on the ground in Week 7.
Regardless of who has been under center, Western Kentucky transfer wideout Isaiah Myers has been at the center of the Bears’ passing game. He leads CUSA in receiving yards and touchdowns, totaling 584 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage on 27 catches and two carries. Missouri State’s second-leading receiver, Jmariyae Robinson, doesn’t even have half as many yards, and no one else on the roster has multiple touchdown receptions. On the ground, running back Jambres Dubar missed last week’s contest due to injury. Ramone Green Jr. didn’t do much in Dubar’s absence, ceding lead back duties to Connor Lair. While Dubar and Green are the only Bears with over 200 rushing yards this season, Lair racked up 65 to Green’s 18 versus Kennesaw State.
Defensively, Missouri State ranks No. 108 in yards allowed per play, No. 118 in points allowed per game, and No. 126 in yards allowed per game. They are also one of just 12 teams to be allowing their opponents to convert at least 50% of their third downs into firsts. The Bears boast the No. 96 total offense and No. 108 scoring offense, with their 5.6 yards per play ranking No. 94 nationally. Looking at the opponent-adjusted SP+ efficiency rankings, Missouri State ranks No. 115 on offense, No. 124 on defense, No. 123 on special teams, and No. 126 overall – a four-spot improvement from their placement a week ago.
Delaware
Like the Bears, the Blue Hens are in their second season at the FBS level. They beat an FCS team in Merrimack to open the year, then proceeded to lose by nine at Vanderbilt and score a 22-14 win over Coastal Carolina. In the month since, however, Delaware lost 42-3 at Virginia, 30-14 at home to Liberty and 33-30 at Middle Tennessee State.
Delaware lost starting quarterback Nick Minicucci to a knee injury in the Virginia loss, leading to a three-man rotation at the position against Liberty. EJ Archield Jr., Tyler Bell, and Braden Streeter all got some run in that game, but Bell took over against Middle Tennessee. He went 22-for-36 with 306 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and a 145.3 passer rating, plus 18 rushing yards and 15 yards and a touchdown as a receiver. As for Minicucci, he is only completing 57.3% of his passes with a 135.8 passer rating this season. He did, however, lead Conference USA in completions, attempts, passing yards, and passing yards per game in 2025.
The Blue Hens’ top three running backs of Jo Silver, Kaderris Roberts, and Viron Ellison Jr. rushed for just 47 yards on 14 attempts in Week 5, then 52 yards on 13 carries in Week 7. On the year, Silver leads the way with 38.3 rushing yards per game but Roberts’ receiving work has him sitting at 47.7 scrimmage yards per game. Sean Wilson is Delaware’s top target in the passing game for the second year in a row, and now he has company in Oklahoma State transfer Da’Wain Lofton. They are both over 300 yards through six games, with Wilson finding the end zone three times already.
Midway through the season, the Blue Hens’ offense ranks No. 88 in yards per game, No. 92 in yards per play, and No. 103 in points per game, on top of boasting the 13th-lowest third-down conversion rate. On defense, they rank No. 81 in yards per play, No. 98 in points per game, and No. 109 in yards allowed per game. When it comes to SP+, Delaware slots in at No. 120 overall. It has the No. 103 offense, No. 121 defense, and No. 114 special teams, per that model.
Delaware vs. Missouri State Pick, Best Bet
The Bears have lost their three road games by 50, 10, and 21 points this season. Even taking the ranked nonconference opponents out of the sample, losing by three touchdowns to a WKU team that is now No. 115 in SP+ is a tough look. Then again, turning things over to Belin seems to have worked out so far, so he could bring this new juice to Missouri State’s offense at Delaware.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Bill Connelly’s SP+ model has the projected score sitting at 30-24. If that plays out, the Blue Hens would cover. At this point, either having a veteran gunslinger in Nick Minicucci or a surging freshman in Tyler Bell could result in a good amount of points for the Delaware offense – especially against a pretty dreadful Missouri State defense. The Blue Hens already beat Coastal Carolina by eight at home earlier this season, and the Chanticleers boast a far superior advanced resume to the Bears.
