SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Missouri State will host a watch party for Saturday’s NCAA FCS playoff game, the school announced Wednesday.

Doors at JQH Arena will open at 2:30 ahead of the 3:00 kickoff between the Bears and North Dakota.

The watch party will be free and open to the public, but fans are expected to wear masks and socially distance.

Meanwhile, Missouri State football took to Plaster Field for practice with just a few days left until their first playoff appearance in 31 years against the Fighting Hawks.

The Bears are ranked 12th in the country and are on a four-game winning streak.

MSU Head Coach Bobby Petrino says he’s had to shift gears with practice leading up to Saturday.

“I think the one thing we try to do is not leave anything on the practice field,” Petrino said. “We don’t overwork them, but yet we want to get better and work on our skills. Last week we went out a couple of days and worked mostly on individual, on our kicking game, went back to some drills that we thought would help us. Now we get a normal week of preparation. We basically just worry about ourselves and how we prepare for it.”