Setting The Stage: The Indiana State Sycamores continue year three of the "Lou West Era" on Saturday, September 22, with a home contest against Eastern Illinois. Saturday night's game is set for a 6:05 p.m. (ET) kick at Memorial Stadium (12,400). The game will be carried live on WSDM-FM (92.7). 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.crock927.com and live stats can be found at GoSycamores.com. The game will be televised live over the internet using the latest web stream technology on GoSycamores.com. Cameras high atop Memorial Stadium will send digital images directly into Sycamore fan's homes while the call of Fritz and Emmert resonate 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, 435 losses and 22 ties on the gridiron. Indiana State is competing for the 23rd consecutive season as a member of the Gateway Football Conference.
Skiding Against The Ohio Valley: With its 13-10 loss to Southeast Missouri State last week, the Indiana State Sycamores have dropped each of its last six non-conference affairs against members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The last time ISU picked up a win over the OVC was in 2004 when the Sycamores downed UT-Martin in the season's fourth game. Prior to the current six-game skid versus the OVC, the Sycamores had been victorious in the previous six meetings against the Ohio Valley.
Defensive Best: The Indiana State defense held Southeast Missouri State to just 13 points on Saturday night, which proved to be the fewest points allowed by the Sycamores since head coach Lou West took over the reigns of the program in 2006 -- a span of 25 games. In face ISU held the Redhawks to just 13 points without the benefit of a turnover and despite the fact that the Sycamore offensive turned the ball over three times in the game. In fact the 13 points surrendered by the Sycamore defense was the fewest since taking a 23-7 victory over Eastern Illinois in 2003. That game against the Panthers also marked the last time a Sycamore defensive unit had allowed less than 21 points.
The Indiana State Coach: Indiana State head coach Lou West is 1-24 with the Sycamores as a collegiate head coach. He is 0-2 against Eastern Illinois. Coach West is 0-6 against members of the Ohio Valley Conference, falling twice previously to Murray State and Eastern Illinois while also being bettered by Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri State. Tonight's game against EIU marks the third consecutive opponent for the Sycamores from the OVC. Coach West opened his collegiate head coaching career against Eastern Illinois in 2005.
The Eastern Illinois Head Coach: Eastern Illinois is led by legendary head coach Bob Spoo, who is in his 20th season at the helm of the Panther program. Spoo owns a career record of 120-100-1 after missing all of last season due to preseason surgery. Coach Spoo is 13-5 all-time against Indiana State, having faced the Sycamores every year of his career with the exception of 1998 and 1999.
The Sycamores Against The Panthers: Indiana State and Eastern Illinois meet for the 82nd time on the gridiron today. The Panthers own a slim 40-37-4 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1902. At Memorial Stadium, the series is tied with both teams owning 16 victories each and a pair of ties. The last time these two teams faced each other in Terre Haute, EIU walked away with a 24-13 victory in head coach Lou West's first game at the helm of the Sycamore football program. ISU last win over EIU came in 2004, when the Sycamores took a 33-30 victory in overtime at Charleston, Ill.
The Scouting Report: Eastern Illinois is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home contests at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill. The Panthers opened the season with a 45-24 victory over Tennessee Tech before falling at Purdue in Week Two. Last week, the Panthers fell by a narrow 24-21 margin to Gateway foe, Illinois State at home.
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.
Blocked Ball Plays: Senior Jon Goodrich broke through the Redhawk offensive front and blocked a Southeast Missouri State punt in the first quarter of Saturday night's non-conference tilt versus SEMO. Goodrich's blocked punt was the first for the Sycamores since Donye McCleskey blocked a Purdue punt in the 2006 season opener.
Special In The Fourth Quarter: Junior Ryan Patrick broke a season-best 42-yard punt return in the fourth quarter of last week's game at Southeast Missouri State which set up Reilly Murphy's 34-yard hookup with Rafael Price for a score to help inch ISU closer to the Redhawks at 13-10. Patrick finished with two punt returns for 44 yards as well as two kick-off returns for 34 yards. On defense, Patrick added seven tackles as well as a pass breakup.
Meet The Faulkner: Senior linebacker Shonda Faulkner posted 10 tackles, including seven solo stops at Southeast Missouri State in the final road non-conference game of the year last week. Faulkner posted a pair of tackles for loss in the game, including a huge stop of short yardage late in the game which gave the Sycamores a chance to win the game.
Against A Ranked Opponent: Indiana State enters today's battle against Eastern Illinois, facing the Panthers with a No. 20 national ranking by The Sports Network as well as a No. 22 national ranking by the FCS Coaches' Poll. All-time the Sycamores are 8-56 against ranked opponents, including a mark of 6-43 versus ranked Gateway opponents. ISU's best victory against a highly-ranked opponent was over No. 10 Northern Iowa in 1990. The last time ISU defeated a ranked opponent came in 1999, when the Sycamores topped No. 19 Western Illinois on October 23 by a score of 39-36.
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).
Preseason Selections: The Indiana State Sycamore football team has been picked to finish seventh this fall in the Gateway Football Conference according to a preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and a media panel. In addition, senior Shonda Faulkner was been named an honorable mention selection to the preseason all-conference squad. The preseason poll was released as part of the Gateway Football Media Day activities today (July 24).
Faulkner, a senior this fall for the Sycamores, is a linebacker. Last season, he played in nine games, posting 63 total tackles. He was credited with 27 solo stops, including six tackles for losses as well as a trio of sacks. Faulkner recorded a season-best 13 tackles at Western Illinois, while his three sacks finished the year ranked 11th-best in the Gateway. His 63 total stops were 17th-best in GFC play.
Northern Iowa garnered 11 first place votes in earning the league's preseason championship nod. Right behind the Panthers were Illinois State, Youngstown State and Southern Illinois. Rounding out the poll were Western Illinois, Missouri State and the Sycamores.
Historic Game: When Southeast Missouri State University hosted Indiana State University on September 15, 2007 for a football game at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau, Mo., history was made. The two teams, who compete at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, are each coached by African-Americans - Tony Samuel at Southeast Missouri and Lou West at Indiana State. The contest marked what is believed to be the first time in history of the FCS level that two programs led by black coaches from non-Historical Black Colleges have squared off with each other. An asterisks was attached to the game due to a one-game suspension that West served. The Sycamores used an ineligible player in the squad's 28-22 win over Missouri State in 2006, and Saturday's contest will mark West's suspension as levied by the NCAA last December. West still led his team in preparations for the game and was in attendance, but will not be on the sideline and will not have any contact with the team. His record will be credited with a win or charged with a loss depending on the outcome of the game.
Up Next: Indiana State continues its season-long three-game homestand next week when the Sycamores open Gateway Football Conference play against Southern Illinois on September 29. Kick-off is set for 12:07 p.m. (ET) in a game that will be televised on Fox College Sports Central.
