SETTING THE STAGE
Indiana State continues year three of the Trent Miles Era on Saturday, Oct. 9, with the annual Homecoming contest against Illinois State. Saturday's game is set for a 3:05 p.m. (ET) kickoff at Memorial Stadium (12,734). The game will air live locally on WFXW-TV with Jason Pensky and Brent Holl calling the action. The game will also be carried live on ESPN Radio (92.7 FM & 1300 AM), with Brian Fritz and Ernie Thompson calling the action for the Nelligan Sports Marketing Radio Network. Action can be heard live worldwide on GoSycamores.com. The game will also be televised worldwide on Sycamore Vision on a pay-per-view basis. Calling the action for Sycamore Vision will be Jason Pensky and Brent Holl. To watch the game, viewers will need to purchase a subscription on GoSycamores.com. ISU will also be running a live blog on GoSycamores.com and will be providing regular updates at facebook.com/Sycamores as well as twitter.com/IndStAthletics.

THE ILLINOIS STATE SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Indiana State by a 31-28-2 margin. At Memorial Stadium, the Sycamores enjoy a 19-10-2 margin in the series, while the 'Birds are 21-9 against the Sycamores in Normal. Illinois State has won each of the last five meetings in the all-time series, dating back to a 41-38 overtime ISU victory in 2004 at Memorial Stadium.

THE COACHES
INDIANA STATE: Trent Miles (Indiana State '87)
- Overall: 3-24 (3rd Season)
- at Indiana State: 3-24 (3rd Season)
- vs. Illinois State: 0-2
- vs. Missouri Valley Football Conference: 1-16
ILLINOIS STATE: Brock Spack (Purdue, '83)
- Overall: 9-7 (2nd Season)
- at Illinois State: 9-7 (2nd Season)
- vs. Indiana State: 1-0
- vs. MVFC: 7-4

QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is looking for its first season with three home victories since 2004 when ISU took down Murray State, UT-Martin and Illinois State at Memorial Stadium.
- The last time the Sycamores started the season with at least a 3-2 record through five contests was a 4-1 start to the 2004 campaign.

An Indiana State Win Over Illinois State Would ...
• Give Indiana State a total of three home victories for the first time since the 2004 season when the Sycamores downed Murray State, UT-Martin and Illinois State.
• Improve the Sycamores to a perfect 3-0 at home this season, giving the program multiple home wins in the same season for the first time since 2004 when ISU took down three victims at Memorial Stadium that season.
• Give ISU its best start to the season through five games since starting 4-1 in 2004.
• Improve Indiana State to 20-10-2 all-time at home against Illinois State.
• Give Trent Miles his second all-time victory against a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent.

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 in 2008 against Eastern Michigan and carries a record of 3-24 into Saturday. Miles is 0-2 against the Redbirds, and is 1-16 against members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Illinois State Head Coach
Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his second season as the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds (9-7). After starting the 2009 season with a 1-3 record, with losses at Illinois and to nationally-ranked South Dakota State, the Redbirds won five of their last seven games to finish the season with 6-5 record and the team's first winning campaign since 2006.

Scouting The Birds
Illinois State is 3-2 on the season with a 2-1 record in conference play. The 'Birds opened the season with a 55-54 victory over Central Missouri State and have downed South Dakota State and Missouri State in league action, while falling last week to Southern Illinois 38-17 at home. Illinois State is led by sophomore quarterback Matt Brown who is 101-of-151 passing for 1,148 yards and seven touchdowns.

A Little History
This marks the 106th 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 341-467-22 and is competing for the 25th consecutive season as a member of the MVFC.

What's Transpired
Indiana State won its season opener with a 57-7 decision over St. Joseph's (Ind.) on Sept. 4. The Sycamores scored the game's first 23 points against the Pumas en route to the 50 point victory. ISU was led by senior Darrius Gates who finished with 160 rushing yards while freshman Shakir Bell burst onto the scene with 133 yards on the ground in his Sycamore debut. ISU trailed just 12-7 at halftime at two-time defending BIG EAST Champion Cincinnati en route to falling 40-7. Ronnie Fouch found 11 different receivers as he finished 23-of-38 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown pass to Alex Jones. Indiana State dropped its Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at Western Illinois by the score of 40-7 on a sloppy track in Macomb, Ill. ISU was led by Brock Lough who compiled 38 muddy yards on the ground and scored the lone ISU touchdown of the contest with his 1-yard run in the third quarter. The Sycamores improved to 2-2 on the season with a convincing 56-22 victory over Quincy. Bell and Gates both eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark and Ronnie Fouch became the first Sycamore quarterback to go over the 200-yard passing mark and throw four touchdowns in a single-game since the 2006 season.

Homecoming
It's Homecoming on the Indiana State campus this week as the Sycamores host Illinois State on Saturday to cap off a week full of festivities. The contest between Illinois State and Indiana State is the 82nd Homecoming football game to be played at ISU. All-time, the Sycamores are 44-35-2 in Homecoming games, including a mark of 4-2 versus the Redbirds. The last time ILS was the Sycamores' Homecoming opponent came in 1996, when the Sycamores earned a 23-7 victory. ISU last won its Homecoming game in 2009 with a 17-14 Missouri Valley Football Conference victory over Western Illinois.

Fouch Tossing It Around
Ronnie Fouch completed 15-of-17 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in the Sycamores' 56-22 victory over the Quincy Hawks on Saturday. Fouch pitched scoring strikes of 72, 40, 11 and nine yards to three different receivers in the victory. Overall, Fouch found seven different receivers versus the Hawks. Fouch's long pass of the day was a 72-yard scoring toss to Justin Hilton just before halftime that gave ISU 42 first half points, its highest one half scoreboard tally since posting 49 against West Virginia Tech in 1994. Fouch's 231 passing yards marks the first time an Indiana State quarterback has eclipsed the 200-yard mark passing since the 2006 season and his four touchdowns passing is the first time since that same season a Sycamore signal caller has posting that many scoring strikes.

Pass Defense Has Been Key
One of the key matchups for the Sycamores and Leathernecks was the ability to stop the WIU passing game, which came into the matchup leading the Valley. The Indiana State defense was first in the league in pass defense. The Sycamores held the Leathernecks to just 19 passing yards, but it was the WIU rushing offense that led them to a 40-7 victory. Following the contest, ISU is allowing just 95.7 passing yards per game which is still tops in the league and ranks third nationally.

Lough Was A Highlight For ISU At Western Illinois
Junior running back Brock Lough scored the Sycamores' lone touchdown at Western Illinois. He finished the game with seven rushes for 38 yards and a touchdown in Macomb. Lough gave the Sycamore offense life by breaking off three consecutive rushes of over 10 yards in the third quarter to move the chains down to the one-yard line with ISU trailing 27-0. Lough barreled into the end zone on his fourth consecutive rush for the ISU touchdown. Lough also caught one pass in the contest.

Ringing The Bell
Shakir Bell paced the Sycamores with 156 rushing yards, including a long of 30 yards against Quincy. His 156 yards is a career-high and combined with Darrius Gates' 139 yards is the second time this season the duo have both reached the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game this season.

The Best Room In The Hilton
Justin Hilton paced the Sycamores with 131 receiving yards, including a pair of touchdowns. Hilton scored on pass plays of 72 and 40 yards in the effort. He is the first Sycamore to reach the 100-yard receiving mark since the 2006 season.
Borchers Is MVFC Offensive Lineman Of The Week
Evan Borchers earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman Of The Week honors for his efforts against the Quincy Hawks. He is the second Sycamore to earn this honor as FN Lutz earned it following the season opening victory over St. Joseph's. Borchers started at left tackle for the Sycamores in the 56-22 victory over Quincy. Borchers was a key blocker for a Sycamore ground attack that chewed up 562 yards of total offense, averaging 8.4 yards per play. The Sycamore ground game posted 331 yards on the ground, including a pair of rushers which topped the century mark in Shakir Bell (156 yards) and Darrius Gates (139 yards, three TDs). He also was key member of a pass protection that allowed no sacks versus the Hawks while Ronnie Fouch became the first Sycamore signal caller to top the 200-yard passing mark and throw for four touchdowns in a single-game since the 2006 season. Fouch was 15-of-17 passing for 231 yards and four scores.

Gates, Fouch, Hilton Earn National Mentions For Opening Week Performances
Darrius Gates, Ronnie Fouch and Justin Hilton took home national honors as they each were named Honorable Mention selections on the College Football Performance Awards Division I FCS Performer Of The Week list.. The CFPA provides the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. Gates sliced the Hawks defense for 139 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. It marked the second time this season that Gates found the end zone a total of three times this season, also doing it in the season opener against St. Joseph's. Fouch completed 15-of-17 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in the Sycamores' 56-22 victory over the Quincy Hawks on Saturday. Fouch pitched scoring strikes of 72, 40, 11 and nine yards to three different receivers in the victory. Overall, Fouch found seven different receivers versus the Hawks. Fouch's long pass of the day was a 72-yard scoring toss to Justin Hilton just before halftime that gave ISU 42 first half points, its highest one half scoreboard tally since posting 49 against West Virginia Tech in 1994. Fouch's 231 passing yards marks the first time an Indiana State quarterback has eclipsed the 200-yard mark passing since the 2006 season and his four touchdowns passing is the first time since that same season a Sycamore signal caller has posting that many scoring strikes. Hilton paced the Sycamores with 131 receiving yards, including a pair of touchdowns. Hilton scored on pass plays of 72 and 40 yards in the effort. He is the first Sycamore to reach the 100-yard receiving mark since the 2006 season.

Our Better Half
Indiana State scored 42 first points as part of the 56-22 victory over Quincy, which is the most for the Sycamores in one half since they posted 49 in the first half against West Virginia Tech in 1994. The Sycamores' 56 points marks the second time this season that ISU has reached the 50-point mark this season after scoring 57 against St. Joseph's (Ind.) in the season opener.

Doubling Up Again
Shakir Bell paced Indiana State with 156 yards rushing to led the Sycamores' ground attack against Quincy. He was joined over the 100-yard mark by Darrius Gates who rushed for 139 yards. It marked the second time this season that the Sycamore duo have both reached the century mark on the ground in the same game as both also did it in the season opener against St. Joseph's. Gates also scored three touchdowns versus the Hawks, marking the second time this season he has reached the end zone three times in a game (the other coming against the Pumas in the opener). Gates and Bell became the first Sycamore duo since the 2004 campaign to each reach the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game when they accomplished that feat against St. Joseph's (Ind.). Gates had 160 yards on the ground while Bell posted 133 matching the double 100-yard rushing efforts of Sidney Montfort and Jake Shields in 2004 against UT-Martin.

Looking To Do It Again Versus The 'Birds
ISU is looking for its first conference home opening victory since the 2004 season when they host Illinois State for the annual Homecoming contest next week. That 2004 victory also came versus the Redbirds when ISU posted a 41-38 double overtime victory at Memorial Stadium.

Can't Get "Pass"ed Us
Indiana State is allowing a paltry 135.5 yards passing per game, which is tops in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and also ranks eighth best in the nation. South Carolina State is tops in the country, allowing just 59 yards passing per contest.

Rushing To The Top
The Sycamore tailback duo of Darrius Gates and Shakir Bell are nearing the 100-yard rushing average per game mark as Gates is averaging 97.5 rushing yards per game which is sixth in the league and 23rd nationally while Bell averages 94.75 rushing yards per game, which is seventh in the league and 26th in the country.

Sycamores Against The Missouri Valley Football Conference
Indiana State is in its 25th 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 40-113 in MVFC contests and had lost each of their last 21 league matchups before downing Western Illinois on Homecoming last season.

Bell's Best Sycamore Debut
Freshman tailback Shakir Bell rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut against St. Joseph's (Ind.) Those 133 yards are the most ever by a Sycamore in his first game and is the third-most by a Sycamore in a season opener. Bell's 25-yard scoring run opened the fourth quarter as ISU continued to build on its advantage over the Pumas. Bell also added a 38-yard rush in the effort as he averaged over 12 yards per carry.

Rushing For Daylight
Indiana State posted a total of seven rushing touchdowns in the season opener against St. Joseph's - a new school record. ISU reached pay dirt a total of eight times, just one shy of the overall record set against West Virginia Tech in 1994. ISU got three rushing scores from Gates and one each from Bell, George Cheeseborough, Bryant Kent and Rod Hardy. Hardy starts on defense for the Sycamores and scored his second career rushing touchdown after posting his first last season against Northern Iowa.

Gates And Bell Earn National Mentions For Opening Week Performances
Darrius Gates and Shakir Bell were named to the honorable mention list for the National FCS Running Back Of The Week Award as announced by the College Football Performance Awards following the season opener against St. Joseph's. The CFPA provides the most scientifically rigorous conferments in college football. Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. Gates broke the school record for rushing yards in a season opener with 160 and three touchdowns while Bell set a new ISU collegiate debut rushing record with 133 yards on the ground versus SJC. Bell also scored a touchdown for the Sycamores. The duo of Gates and Bell became the first Sycamore pair since 2004 to each reach 100 yards rushing in the same game with their performance against St. Joseph's.

Preseason Selections
Indiana State sophomore Aaron Archie and junior Rod Hardy each garnered Preseason All-Missouri Valley Football Conference mentions as announced by the league office before the start of fall camp. The Sycamores were picked to finish ninth in the MVFC this season.

Darrius Gates Named Preseason All-American
Indiana State senior Darrius Gates has been named to the College Sporting News FCS All-American Second Team at the end of the summer. All14 FCS Conferences as well as 58 schools and 99 student-athletes nationwide were represented on one of the three squads. CSN is the largest news organization exclusively covering the FCS at CollegeSportingNews.com and ChampionshipSubdivisionNews.com.

Last season he was an All-MVFC Honorable Mention selection as a return specialist. In addition to his exploits as a running back, he tallied 514 yards on kickoff returns in 19 attempts, averaging 27.1 yards per return, including a season-best 57-yarder against Eastern Illinois. His kickoff return average led the MVFC and was ranked fifth nationally. His 82.2 all-purpose yards per game was 12th-best in the league.

The National Eye
Indiana State junior kicker Brett Sheldon, who was born with a physical handicap, was featured this summer on an episode of The Dr. Phil Show titled "Driven To Succeed." Sheldon walked on to the team in the spring and is listed on the team's depth chart out of preseason camp. During the Dr. Phil Show he was featured along with New Orleans Saints head coach -- and former Sycamore assistant -- Sean Peyton. The Dr. Phil film crew was inside Memorial Stadium during the Spring Game and footage of the Sycamores' spring scrimmage was featured on the national television program.

Sycamores In The Pros
Two former Sycamores played in NFL Preseason contests this fall. Donye McCleskey played in one preseason contest for the Indianapolis Colts where he made a trio of tackles while Jamie Petrowski played in a pair of preseason contests with the Carolina Panthers. Former Sycamore DeJuan Alfonzo plays for the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League and was named the 2010 Ironman Of The Year.

Few Seniors
Indiana State has just eight players on its roster who are seniors. Of those, Darrius Gates and Pat Burke are fifth-year seniors, while Milton Redwine, Bryant Kent, Josh Jellison and Nate Brown are in their fourth year. Jordan Scott and Larry Lacotti transferred into the Sycamore program and are in their final season as well.

In 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. ISU's last overtime victory came in the form of a 41-38 victory over Illinois State in 2004. The Sycamores have dropped each of their last two overtime contests.

Up Next
Indiana State hosts Missouri State on October 16. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. (ET) at Memorial Stadium. The game will streamed live world-wide as part of the new Missouri Valley Football Conference internet broadcast package.