SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State continues year two of the Trent Miles Era on Saturday, Oct. 31, as the Sycamores host nationally-ranked Southern Illinois. Saturday's game is set for a 12:05 p.m. (ET) kickoff at Memorial Stadium (12,704). The game will also be carried live on ESPN Radio (1130 and 1300 AM), with Brian Fritz and Dave Sabaini calling the action for the Nelligan Sports Marketing Radio Network. Action can be heard live worldwide on ESPNSportsRadio.com, and live stats are available at GoSycamores.com. The game is also available on a pay-per-view basis on GoSycamores.com, for the cost of $6.95.

THE INDIANA STATE HEAD COACH
Indiana State is led by head coach Trent Miles, a 1987 ISU graduate and Terre Haute native. Miles made his head coaching debut last season against Eastern Michigan and carries a record of 1-19 into Saturday's game. Miles previously spent three seasons (2005-07) as the running backs coach at Washington and three years at Notre Dame (2002-04) as the wide receivers coach. Miles is 0-1 against the Salukis, and is 1-12 against members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference after last week's 17-14 victory over Western Illinois.

THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH
The Southern Illinois head coach is Dale Lennon, who is in his second season with the Salukis program. Lennon is 15-4 at the helm of the program and is 117-37 in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He is 1-0 against Indiana State.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois is a member of the NCAA FCS Subdivision and competes in the MVFC. The Salukis are 6-1 on the season, including a perfect mark of 5-0 in the MVFC. The Salukis are ranked No. 3 in the nation this week by The Sports Network. SIU is led by tailback Deki Karim, who has already eclipsed the 1000-yard rushing mark for the season and leads the country with a 146.4 rushing yards per game average.

A LITTLE HISTORY
This marks the 105th season of football at Indiana State, dating back to 1896. The University did not field teams from 1899 to 1900, 1908 or from 1910 to 1919. ISU owns an all-time record of 339-462-22 and is competing for the 24th consecutive season as a member of the MVFC.

WHAT'S TRANSPIRED
Indiana State opened the season with a 26-20 overtime loss against Quincy at Memorial Stadium. The game drew regional attention, as 7,216 fans were in attendance. The Sycamores bounced out to a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter against the Hawks - ISU's largest lead over an opponent since 2004 -- but Quincy came back to knot the score at 20 with 43 seconds left in regulation. Darrius Gates paced the Sycamores with 102 yards on the ground and also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass as the offense showed spark early in the game.

ISU enjoyed its closest game against a member of the NCAA Division I FBS Subdivision since 2003 with a 30-10 loss at Louisville. Santino Davis recorded a pair of interceptions in falling to the BIG EAST opponent.

The Sycamores were shut out in their third contest of the season against Eastern Illinois by a 31-0 count. It marked the first time ISU was shut out by the Panthers since 1962 and their 95 yards of total offense was the Sycamores' lowest total since the 2003 campaign.

Indiana State battled tough at No. 18 South Dakota State in the first half, but it wasn't enough, as the Jackrabbits took it to the Sycamores late in the second quarter en route to a 41-0 win over ISU. ISU trailed just 3-0 in the waning moments of the first half, but a blocked punt and a touchdown with less than a minute remaining helped SDSU to the game's momentum and the eventual victory. Senior Donye McCleskey recorded a season-best 15 tackles in defeat, plus his first interception of the season. ISU was shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1999 season.

The Sycamores were shutout for the third consecutive game, falling 28-0 to Youngstown State. The Penguins owned just a 7-0 lead in the fourth quarter as the Sycamores held YSU without a score for nine consecutive possessions and did not allow a first down to Youngstown in third stanza. Indiana State went over the 100-yard mark in total offense, but were not able to reach pay dirt, falling to 0-2 in league play.

Indiana State defensive tackle turned fullback Rod Hardy got the Sycamores on the board in the third quarter of the Northern Iowa contest to break a 17-quarter streak without scoring a touchdown. The Sycamores fell to No. 3 nationally-ranked Panthers on Oct. 3 by the score of 62-7.

ISU put on its best offensive performance of the season on the road against Illinois State as they scored a season-high 21 points versus the Redbirds, but the Sycamores fell 38-21. Ryan Roberts found the end zone twice for Indiana State and the Sycamores rolled up 354 yards of total offense, including a 37-yard scoring pass from Roberts to Bryant Kent in the final two minutes of the game. Antoine Brown recorded 102 yards on the ground to become just the Sycamores' second rusher to top the century mark this season.

The Indiana State Sycamores ended the nation's longest losing streak with a 17-14 victory over Western Illinois. ISU had dropped each of its previous 33 games prior to its Homecoming victory against the Fighting Leathernecks. The Sycamores last victory prior to Saturday's was in a Homecoming contest against Missouri State in 2006. ISU improved to a perfect 6-0 all-time against Western Illinois when playing them on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium.

RYAN ROBERTS NAMED MVFC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Indiana State sophomore quarterback Ryan Roberts has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Offensive Lineman Of The Week following his superb showing in last week's victory over Western Illinois. Roberts rushed for 160 yards on the day, the fourth-most in the history of the program for a quarterback and recorded a school-record 91-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Additionally, Roberts scored in the final five minutes of the victory from four yards out to secure the win. He was the first Sycamore since the 2004 season (Jake Shields) to score multiple touchdowns in consecutive weeks as he also had a pair of rushing touchdowns at Illinois State on October 17. Below is a list of the top five single-game rushing totals by a quarterback.

207, Julian Reese, INS vs. Illinois St., 11/03/01
170, Sheaton Fox, INS vs. Murray State, 11/21/98
162, Sheraton Fox, INS vs. Missouri State, 11/20/99
160, Ryan Roberts, INS vs. Western Illinois, 10/24/09
140, Sheraton Fox, INS vs. Southern Illinois, 10/24/98

ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER
Indiana State QB Ryan Roberts had a 160 yards and two TDs against Western Illinois. The 160 rushing yards are the fourth most in the history of the program for an ISU QB. Julian Reese holds the record (207 in 2001). The 160-yard game is the third-best in the past 10 seasons for an MVFC QB (13 have rushed for 100+ yards since 2000). Here are the eight rushing performances by a league QB since the 2000 campaign.

245, Donte Pimpleton, WKU vs. Illinois St., 11/3/01
207, Julian Reese, INS vs. Illinois State, 11/10/01
160, Ryan Roberts, INS vs. W. Illinois, 10/24/09
152, Matt Rycraft, YSU vs. W. Illinois, 10/11/03
150, Jason Johnson, WKU vs. W. Illinois, 8/30/01
129, Joel Sambursky, SIU vs. E. Michigan, 9/28/02
125, Jeff Ryan, YSU vs. Hofstra, 11/4/000
115, Julian Reese, INS vs. Eastern Illinois, 9/21/02

TREY INTERCEPTIONS
The Sycamores recorded three interceptions on Saturday against Western Illinois, including the first in the young career of Andrew Blackmon and CJ Cook. Senior Donye McCleskey also added in a pick as well as the Sycamore defense stood tall in the 17-14 victory over Western Illinois. Indiana State had just four interceptions on the season prior to Saturday's three picks against the Fighting Leathernecks, including the game clincher by Blackmon as time expired.

They Don't Call It A Streak ... Now
The Indiana State Sycamores ended the nation's longest losing streak with a 17-14 victory over Western Illinois. ISU had dropped each of its previous 33 games prior to its Homecoming victory against the Fighting Leathernecks. The Sycamores last victory prior to Saturday's was in a Homecoming contest against Missouri State in 2006. ISU improved to a perfect 6-0 all-time against Western Illinois when playing them on Homecoming at Memorial Stadium. The 33-game skid was the fourth-longest in the history of college football behind Prarie View (80 games), Columbia (54 games) and Northwestern (34 games). It was the third all-time in FCS football.

We Are Mostly...Young
Of the 84 players on the current Indiana State roster, a total of 65 student-athletes are underclassmen -- or just over 76 percent. There are 38 true or redshirt freshmen on the roster currently. A total of 19 student-athletes have seen their first collegiate action this season, including 18 true or redshirt freshmen.

We Are Mostly...Young (PART 2)
In research conducted nationally this week, it was determined that Indiana State has played 13 true freshmen this season, which is the second most in the nation, only behind Northwestern State. Included in that number is a nation-leading nine true freshmen who have started at least one contest during the 2009 campaign.

FACIN' THE NATION'S BEST
The Sycamores face top five nationally-ranked Southern Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 31. ISU looks to down its first opponent in the Top 25 since downing No. 19 Western Illinois on Oct. 23, 1999. The Sycamores are 8-68 all-time against FCS nationally-ranked opponents, including a mark of 6-49 against league members that are nationally ranked.

SYCAMORES AGAINST THE MVFC
Indiana State is in its 24th season as a member of the MVFC. ISU's first season as a league member came in 1986 when it went 1-5 through a six-game league schedule. The Sycamores are 40-110 in MVFC contests and had lost each of their last 21 league matchups before downing Western Illinois last week.

Sycamores Have Three Of Top Six Tacklers In The League
Indiana State redshirt freshman linebacker Aaron Archie ranks second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 10.3 tackles per game average, which leads the Sycamores and is ranked 21st nationally. He heads up a group of three Sycamore defensive starters, which rank in the top six league-wide for tackles per game and are in the top 55 nationally. Behind Archie is Donye McCleskey, who is averaging 9.3 stops per contest and is fourth in the league, 37th in the country. Sophomore Alex Sewall is sixth with an 8.6 tackles per game average, which is tied for 53rd in all of FCS football.

Return To Sender
Indiana State has been solid in special teams, as the punt return squad ranks 32nd nationally with an 9.9 yards-per-return average. That mark is good enough for fourth in the MVFC. Individually, Darrius Gates is averaging 28.23 yards per kickoff return which is tops in the league and fifth-best nationally. As a team, the Sycamores average 21.07 yards per kick return, which is 45th nationally and in a league which boasts some of the best special teams in all of the FCS Subdivision, is fourth in the MVFC.

BARRELLING IN
Indiana State debuted a new jumbo package against No. 3 Northern Iowa in the Sycamores' last game before the open week and the benefactor was Rod Hardy, who has started all six games this season at defensive tackle. Hardy, who recovered a UNI fumble to give the Sycamores a short field offensively, plunged into the end zone to give ISU its first offensive points since the second game of the season at Louisville. Hardy was the first ISU player since 2005 to score an offensive touchdown despite starting the game on defense. Josh Jones scored on a pass reception that season against Western Kentucky in a game in which he also started at linebacker.

Few Seniors
Indiana State has just 10 players on its roster who are seniors. Of those, Mike Woods and Elliott Thomas are fifth-year seniors, while Donye McCleskey, Jeramie Gray, Jerry Calvert, Dan Millington, Pat Burke, and Bill McGrath are in their fourth year. Antoine Brown and Gabe Mullane transferred into the Sycamore program and are in their final season as well. Indiana State has the fourth fewest seniors on a 2009 roster nationally.

Working Overtime
The Sycamores have played in 11 overtime contests since the rule was established for regular season games in the NCAA FCS Subdivision in 1996. The Sycamores are 6-5 in games that have used an extra period, including a 33-30 overtime win over Eastern Illinois in 2004.

UP NEXT
Indiana State takes its final road trip of the season when they travel to Missouri State on Saturday, November 7. Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. (ET).

The Last Time Against Southern Illinois ... October 11, 2008

CARBONDALE, Ill. - After playing two straight home games at Memorial Stadium, Indiana State returned to the road on Saturday to face off against #15 ranked Southern Illinois. The Salukis (3-2, 2-1 MVFC) scored on their first play from scrimmage and never looked back as they defeated the Sycamores (0-6, 0-2 MVFC) on Homecoming at McAndrew Stadium.

Indiana State kicked off to the Salukis to begin the game, however the squib kick by Braulio Martinez dribbled out of bounds to give SIU the ball at the 40 yard line. From there, the Salukis did not waste any time as quarterback Chris Dieker hooked up with wide receiver Damian Sherman on a 60-yard touchdown reception on the first play from scrimmage to put SIU up 7-0 just seven seconds into the game.

Following and Indiana State four-and-out on its first possession of the game, Southern Illinois drove deep into ISU territory before freshman Alex Sewall knocked the ball loose from SIU running back Larry Warner and Larry Carter recovered the fumble at the team's 19 yard line to give the Sycamores the ball back to end the scoring threat.

Southern Illinois got back on the scoreboard on a Warner 10-yard touchdown run that capped off a nine-play, 81-yard drive with 3:16left in the first quarter to extend the lead to 14-0 over the Sycamores. The score would stay that way until early in the second quarter, when the Salukis pulled a trick play out of the playbook to score their third touchdown of the game. Dieker threw a swing pass to wide receiver Matt Guinn who then proceeded to throw back across the field to hook up with Dieker for a 36-yard touchdown to bring the score to 21-0 with 14:26 left in the half.

On the ensuing drive for the Sycamores, punter Gabe Mullane had his punt attempt blocked by SIU's Lance Caldwell who then picked up the ball and ran it back three yards for a quick touchdown to make the score 28-0 with 12:42 left.

The two teams then traded possessions before the Salukis scored on a costly ISU turnover. Quarterback Matt Seliger was sacked deep in ISU territory by James Cloud and fumbled, which allowed linebacker Kyle Walker to scoop the ball up and run eight yards for the touchdown. On the point after attempt, holder Scott Ravanesi bobbled the snap, kicker Kyle Dougherty recovered and then proceeded to throw the ball into the endzone to find Jason Seaman for the two-point conversion to make the score 36-0 with 6:29 remaining in the half.

SIU got the ball back and worked with a short field after a punt from Mullane that went off the side of his foot. The Salukis needed two plays to find the endzone as running back Lucien Walker walked in from a yard out to extend the lead to 43-0 with 3:52 left to play until halftime. The Salukis then recovered a fumble on ISU's first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive to get the ball back at the 14 yard line. From there, Richard White rumbled 14 yards on the first play of the drive to widen the score to 50-0 with 3:40 remaining, which is where it stayed as both teams headed into the locker room at halftime.

As the teams started the second half, ISU forced a Saluki punt however kick returner Koby Kraemer bobbled the fair catch attempt and SIU's Travis Bloomfield recovered to give the Salukis the ball at the ISU nine yard line. From there, the Sycamore defense stiffened and forced a 25-yard field goal by Dougherty that brought the score to 53-0 with 7:07 remaining in the third quarter.

Following the defensive stop, the Sycamores put together an impressive drive to score their first points of the game. Quarterback Calvin Schmidtke capped off a 10-play, 72-yard drive that took 5:25 off the clock by connecting with senior wide receiver Ryan Patrick on a 48-yard touchdown pass to make the score 53-7 with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter.

The touchdown pass was the first of Schmidtke's career at ISU and the second TD reception of the season for Patrick. The play was also the longest from scrimmage for ISU through six games played and marked the team's first road touchdown of the season.

The score stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when SIU's Jonate Govan scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to put the Salukis up 60-7 after the Dougherty extra point with 9:12 remaining in the game. The score stayed that way for the rest of the quarter and the Salukis came away with the victory, their third of the season and second in Missouri Valley Conference play.

Schmidtke finished the game with 160 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-24 passing, with that touchdown being hauled in by Patrick who led the way with seven catches for 92 yards. Sewall led the way on defense with seven total tackles, all solos, and forced two fumbles while Donye McCleskey added six tackles on the afternoon.