Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 0-50@ Texas A&M | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-14vs Lindenwood | 4 | 9 | 2.3 | 1 | 5 | Season-high 9 yds |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 1.1 | 1 | 5 |
#40
Connor Lair
Senior running back for Missouri State. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
6′1″ · 225 lb · West Plains, MO · West Plains High
Returning to Missouri State for 2026
The numbers
9
rushing yards · 2026
1 TD · 1 per carry
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 9 rush yds, 1 TD, vs Lindenwood
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 running back for Missouri State. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- 9 rushing yards in 2025. Then 9 in 2026.
Connor Lair
Two seasons at Missouri State, two different head coaches: Nick Petrino and Casey Woods. The receipt: 9 rush yds, 1 rush TD against Lindenwood — Week 2, 2026.
9 RUSH YDS · 1 RUSH TD · 9 CARRIES
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
Missouri State
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coaches2025
Nick Petrino
Missouri State
2026era →
Casey Woods
Missouri State
Coaching transition mid-career: Nick Petrino → Casey Woods. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2025Missouri State7-6HC: Nick Petrino · Balanced
2026Missouri State1-1HC: Casey Woods · Run-heavy, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the RB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Concern: rush yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (5)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 4.5 YDS/g, 1.1 YPC, 0.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Casey Woods
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Missouri State | 9 | 9 | 1.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Missouri State | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 15 | 18 | 1.2 | 1 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Missouri State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Missouri State | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 1 | -- |
| Career | 6 | 62 | 10.3 | 1 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 48–14
vs Lindenwood
9 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 34-point win at home against Lindenwood.
With I. Myers — 24 rush yds (1 car) · 1 TD · S. Locklear — 258 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · 6 rush yds (4 car)
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Texas A&M · 4&1 · Q4 · EPA +2.06(11:00) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 2 yards gain to the MSU44 (#22 T.Givens; #16 B.Perry-Wright), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Lindenwood · 2&1 · Q1 · EPA +1.90(00:06) #40 C.Lair rush middle for 1 yard gain to the LIN00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 00:07 #25 S.McDonald kick attempt good (H: #37 J.Deal, LS: #47 A.Kallas)
- Week 1 · Texas A&M · 2&10 · Q4 · EPA -1.02(10:15) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 1 yard loss to the MSU43 (#22 T.Givens)
- Week 1 · Texas A&M · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA -0.96(13:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 3 yards loss to the MSU22 (#25 T.Watkins)
- Week 1 · Texas A&M · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -0.59(02:07) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush left for 1 yard gain to the MSU26 (#99 L.Rink; #21 R.Coney)
- Week 2 · Lindenwood · 4&2 · Q3 · EPA -0.48(01:59) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 1 yard gain to the MSU43 (#40 D.Amaliri; #24 N.O'Hara), TURNOVER ON DOWNS
- Week 2 · Lindenwood · 3&4 · Q3 · EPA -0.44(02:18) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 2 yards gain to the MSU42 (#7 E.Thomas)
- Week 1 · Texas A&M · 2&9 · Q3 · EPA -0.34(01:23) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 1 yard gain to the MSU27 (#21 R.Coney; #99 L.Rink)
- Week 2 · Lindenwood · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA +0.07(00:20) No Huddle-Shotgun #40 C.Lair rush middle for 5 yards gain to the LIN16 (#23 A.Baumgart; #53 K.Smith)
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
Missouri State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Running back · Missouri State
Returning around him
- 31% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- Transfer portal: +8 net (19 in / 11 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Missouri State · Last season: 7-6 · Talent rank #119 · 2026 recruiting class #131
Background
Honors Capital One Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award: 10/8/25 CUSA Honor Roll: 2025 MVFC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award: 2024 MVFC Honor Roll: 2022, 2024 MSU Athletic Director's Honor Roll: Fall 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026 Missouri State 2025: Played i...
The backfield · Missouri State
- #22Ramone Green Jr.278 rushing yards · 2025
- #3Iverson Young21 rushing yards · 2025
- #10King Davis13 rushing yards · 2025
- #1Jambres Dubar10 rushing yards · 2025
- #40Connor Lair9 rushing yards · 2025
3 more on the roster · Missouri State team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology