LYNCHBURG, Va. – It was a fitting end to an absurd game, as the Sycamores fell 42-41 in a crushingly heartbreaking fashion on a last-second blocked field goal at No. 19 Liberty on Saturday.
 
Wild doesn't quite do tonight's game justice, as there were 1,043 yards of combined total offense, 83 combined points scored, four lead changes and 170 combined penalty yards as the Sycamores (0-3) and Flames (3-0) duked it out on the gridiron with gutsy performances coming from both sides.
 
"Our team battled," said ISU head coach Curt Mallory. "I'm so proud of these guys. This is a football team that cares about one another, sticks together and fights, and I'm awfully proud of them."
 
Most impressive on the night for the Sycamores was the dynamic passing duo of redshirt freshman QB Cade Sparks and senior WR Bob Pugh, who stamped their names all across the Sycamore record book on Saturday night. Sparks, who entered the day with 165 career passing yards through two games this season, recorded the second-best passing game in school history with 405 yards passing and two touchdowns – with 260 and both scores going to Pugh. He fell just two yards shy of Mike Perish's school-record 407 yards at Eastern Kentucky in the 2014 FCS Playoffs.
 
For Pugh, he also put up the second-best receiving output ever by a Sycamore, trailing only Bill Griffith's 319 yards against Evansville in 1955. Before recording the best day by an ISU receiver in 52 years, Pugh entered the day with just 323 career receiving yards. Pugh averaged 32.5 yards per catch tonight, scoring on tosses of 64 and 31.
 
Senior TE Jacquet McClendon quietly put up a 115-yard, nine reception day – marking just the second time in school history that multiple ISU receivers eclipsed the century mark (the first and last time being at Southern Illinois just last year).
 
McClendon also had one TD reception on a fake field goal pass for 31 yards from holder (and backup punter) Jeremy Patterson, the first of several insane plays in the game on Saturday night.
 
ISU outgained a potent Liberty offense 543-500, and despite the Sycamore defense yielding that many yards, the Indiana State defense came through in several key stops. KeAaris Ardley led all Sycamores with a career-high 12 total tackles, but the most important play from the defense came off a diving interception by true freshman cornerback Mekhi Ware in his first career start.
 
"They're an awfully good offense and they're an awfully good football team, they're going to win a lot of football games this year," Mallory said. "Our defense battled, gave us opportunities and never quit. There isn't a guy in that locker room that quit."
 
Ware's pick setup one of two 43-yard field goals by Jerry Nunez, and also a wild dash to the finish. ISU was able to hold Liberty to a field goal attempt from 48 yards out, which fell right on the crossbar and bounced back out. With 1:57 left to play, the Sycamores put their two-minute offense into action.
 
All seemed lost, though, on an incomplete pass on 4th-and-5. But, Liberty head coach Turner Gill had called a timeout just before the snap, giving the Sycamores a second life. ISU did not let that opportunity go to waste, hitting McClendon for a 10-yard gain for the first down, Pugh for a seven yard gain and then true freshman WR Rontrez Morgan for a 25-yard gain down to the Liberty six-yard line.
 
Sparks spiked the ball with five seconds to play to setup the fateful 23-yard try by Nunez, which was blocked as time expired to give the Flames a dramatic hold for the win.
 
The Sycamores now have a week to rest before the beginning of Valley season at Illinois State on Sept. 30.
 
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