Setting The Stage: The Indiana State Sycamores conclude the 2007 schedule on Saturday, November 10, against the nation's No. 1 ranked team - Northern Iowa. Saturday's game is set for a 6:05 p.m. (ET) kick at the UNI-Dome (16,324). Leading Indiana State is interim head coach Dennis Raetz, who is at the helm of the Sycamores for the remainder of the 2007 season. No stranger to ISU football, Raetz spent the 1980-1997 seasons as the head coach of the Sycamores. Saturday's game will be carried live on ESPN Radio (1130 & 1300 AM). Brian Fritz and Pete Emmert will call the action once again for the WTWO NewsChannel 2 Radio Network. The game can be heard live world-wide on www.espnsportsradio.com and live statistics can be found at GoSycamores.com. In addition, the game will be televised live over the internet using the latest web stream technology on GoSycamores.com. Cameras high atop the UNI-Dome will send digital images directly into Sycamore fans' homes while the call of the UNI radio team resonates in the background. The cost of this pay-per-view event is $6.95 and can be purchased directly on GoSycamores.com.
A Little History: This is the 103rd season of college football at Indiana State University, dating back to 1896. The university did not field teams from 1899-1900; 1908 or from 1910-1919. ISU owns an all-time record of 338 wins, 442 losses and 22 ties on the gridiron. Indiana State is competing for the 23rd consecutive season as a member of the Gateway Football Conference.
Collins Hits The Mark: Freshman RB Justin Collins is making the most of his opportunity, getting a career-best all-purpose yardage total in each of the past two weeks. Against Missouri State two weeks ago, he had career highs with 18 carries and 82 yards and a total of 159 all-purpose yards. On Nov. 3 vs. Youngstown State he set a new standard with 174 all-purpose yards, rushing 11 times for 77 yards. In the seven games in which he played prior to MSU, he had amassed 117 total yards.
The Indiana State Coach: Indiana State is led by interim head coach Dennis Raetz, who has returned to the sidelines for the remainder of the 2007 season. Raetz compiled a career record of 94-105-1 in his 18 seasons at the helm of the program (1980-1997). Raetz last faced Northern Iowa in 1997, when he dropped a tough 29-21 decision in triple overtime at the UNI Dome in the regular season finale. Overall, Raetz was 3-11 against the Panthers.
The Northern Iowa Head Coach: Leading the way for Northern Iowa is seventh-year head coach Mark Farley. Farley has compiled a career record of 60-24, all of which have come at the Cedar Falls, Iowa school. Farley is a 5-1 against Indiana State.
The Sycamores Against The Panthers: Indiana State and Northern Iowa meet today for the 23rd time on the gridiron with UNI holding an 19-4 margin in the all-time series. At Northern Iowa, ISU is 1-11 against the Panthers while UNI holds a 9-3 lead in games played at Memorial Stadium. ISU has lost each of its last four meetings against UNI, dating back to a 21-19 Homecoming victory over the Panthers in 2002.
The Scouting Report: Northern Iowa is a member of the Gateway Football Conference. The Penguins play their home contests at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI is undefeated on the season, owning a perfect 9-0 record. Northern Iowa is 5-0 in league play, and can clinch the outright conference championship with a win today. By virtue of their earlier 30-24 victory over Southern Illinois, UNI has already secured the Gateway's automatic berth into the FCS Playoffs. UNI is the No. 1 nationally-ranked team in the nation according to The Sports Network.
What's Transpired: Indiana State opened its season at Indiana and fell by the score of 55-7. ISU's lone touchdown in the game came late in the first quarter when Alex Thomas recovered a loose fumble near the goal line and rolled untouched into the end zone to cut the Hoosier advantage down to 14-7 with just over four minutes remaining. In week two, the Sycamores dropped a hard-fought 32-17 decision to Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference. Last week, the Sycamores nearly erased a 13-3 fourth quarter deficit thanks to a 42-yard punt return by Ryan Patrick and a 34-yard scoring toss from Reilly Murphy to Rafael Price. The Sycamore defense held, and the offense had the ball with a chance to tie for win at Southeast Missouri State, but it was not meant to be as SEMO walked away with a narrow 13-10 non-conference victory. In week four, Eastern Illinois waltzed out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter against the Sycamores, but a pair of touchdowns engineered by the play of redshirt freshman quarterback Charles Dowdell as well as a defensive score by Mike Woods helped Indiana State crawl back to within a 27-20 margin. EIU finished the game by scoring 27 unanswered points in leaving Memorial Stadium with a 54-20 victory. Under interim head coach Dennis Raetz, the Sycamores dropped a 72-10 decision against Southern Illinois. The Sycamore defense came out strong in its second game of the year under Raetz, but fell 19-7 to No. 22 nationally-ranked Western Illinois. ISU allowed just a pair of field goals in the first half and scored their touchdown on a three-yard pass from Reilly Murphy to Brian Jackson in the game's fourth quarter. The Sycamores took their first lead of the season, 3-0, following their first drive at Illinois State, but the Redbirds came back roaring to secure a 69-17 victory over the Sycamores. ISU dropped its annual Homecoming game against Western Kentucky by a score of 56-7. Senior Bryan McCulley scored a 36-yard touchdown on a pass reception as he reached pay dirt for the second consecutive week. Quarterback Charles Dowdell recorded his first career rushing touchdown against Missouri State on a 5-yard scamper, but it was not enough as the Bears took a 63-7 decision in Springfield, Mo. ISU returned home to face Youngstown State, but fell to the Penguins 40-7, after trailing just 13-0 at halftime.
Meet The Faulkner: For the second-straight year, an Indiana State defender has eclipsed 100 tackles for the season. This year, Shonda Faulkner has 101 stops, including 44 solos, to lead the Sycamores, second only to Illinois State's Kye Stewart (121). Last year, Indiana State's Scooter Archie topped ISU with 107.
What Streak?: Indiana State trails the all-time series to UNI, 19-4, and has lost eight-straight games in the UNI-Dome and four-straight to UNI since winning in Terre Haute, 21-19, in 2002. Overall, ISU has lost 13-straight, dating back to last year, and has lost 17-straight road games, since beating Eastern Illinois on Sept. 11, 2004. ISU's last conference road win was Nov. 9, 2002 -- a 21-14, victory at SIU. The current string is 15-straight GFC road losses. Since joining the Gateway in 1986, Indiana State is 0-5 against No. 1-ranked teams.
Indiana State enters this week's battle against Northern Iowa, facing the Panthers with a No. 1 national ranking. All-time the Sycamores are 8-59 against ranked opponents, including a mark of 6-45 versus ranked Gateway opponents. ISU's best victory against a highly-ranked opponent was over No. 10 Northern Iowa in 1990. Dennis Raetz was the head coach for the Sycamores in that victory. The last time ISU defeated a ranked opponent came in 1999, when the Sycamores topped Saturday's opponent, No. 19 Western Illinois, on October 23 by a score of 39-36.
Raetz Back In Charge: Indiana State interim head coach Dennis Raetz returned to the sidelines for the first time since the 1997 season this past week when he led the Sycamores against the No. 6 nationally-ranked Southern Illinois Salukis. Raetz took over the program on an interim basis early this past week, and will lead the program throughout the remainder of the season. Ironically, Raetz's final game in 1997 was at the UNI Dome, a contest which the Sycamores lost in three overtimes, and his final game as interim head coach will once again come at the UNI Dome on November 10.
Working Hard On The Field And In The Classroom: Indiana State has captured the Gateway Football Conference All-Academic Award, as announced by the league office at Media Day on Tuesday, July 24.
The All-Academic Award was established in 2004 to help bring attention to institutional academic excellence. It is based on the average student-athlete grade-point average for the academic year. The GPA calculations are calculated for all student-athletes in the Gateway who compete, practice or receive athletic aid during the academic year. The award for Indiana State is based on accomplishments during the 2006-07 academic year. Southern Illinois and Western Illinois shared the initial award (for the 2004-05 academic season), while SIU earned the honor for the 2005-06 season.
Indiana State placed a league-high five student-athletes on the Gateway Football Conference's Academic All-Conference Team. Among the five honorees for Indiana State was first-team member Kyle Hooper, who makes his second consecutive appearance on the league's top academic squad. Representing the Sycamores on the second team were wide receiver Carl Berman; defensive back Bryan Jackson, quarterback/wide receiver Ben Schmidt and offensive lineman Fred Staugh. In addition, Jackson earned First Team Academic All-District Honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
