NORMAL, Ill. ? The Illinois State Redbirds scored touchdowns on each of their first ten drives and did not look back as they downed the Sycamores by a count of 69-17 on Homecoming at Hancock Stadium on Saturday (Oct. 13) afternoon.

Indiana State falls to 0-7, 0-3 Gateway Football Conference, while Illinois State improves to 3-4, 1-2 GFC.

The Sycamores gained their first lead of the season at 3-0 following their first drive of the game on a 20-yard field goal by freshman kicker Corey Varndadore.

Indiana State added a 7-yard touchdown run by Bryan McCulley as well as a 29-yard touchdown pass from Charles Dowdell to Jeramie Gray in the second quarter as they trailed 35-17 at the intermission.

ISU was paced by Dowdell on the ground with 12 rushes for 68 yards while Tony West returned to the field to rush eight times for 61 yards.

Gray led the Sycamores with a pair of catches for 34 yards. Dowdell was 3-for-9 passing for 48 yards and a touchdown. Reilly Murphy completed 1-of-3 passes for three yards.

The Redbirds were a picture of perfection on the day amassing 580 total yards. Rafael Rice, Geno Blow and Cortes Rice all went over the 100-yard rushing mark as Rice amassed 182 yards on the ground compared to Blow's 122. Cortes Rice added 104 in the second half to complete the trifecta.

Indiana State returns to action next Saturday, October 20 for the annual Homecoming contest against Western Kentucky. Kick-off is set for 2:05 p.m. (EDT). The Hilltoppers' visit to ISU will be the first time the Sycamores have hosted a FBS level team since the 1991 season when ISU fell to Ball State, 14-10.