SETTING THE STAGE

THE ST. JOSEPH'S SERIES
Indiana State leads the all-time series by a 15-12 record. At home, the Sycamores own an 11-5 record against the Pumas while St. Joseph's leads the series by a 7-4 mark on the road. The two teams last faced each other on Sept. 24, 1998 when ISU walked away with a 38-7 victory at Memorial Stadium. The Sycamores have won each of the last five meetings in the series. St. Joseph's last downed the Sycamores in 1965 -- a 14-6 home victory.

THE COACHES
INDIANA STATE: Trent Miles (Indiana State '87)
- Overall: 1-22 (3rd Season)
- at Indiana State: 1-22 (3rd Season)
- vs. St. Joseph's: First Meeting
- vs. GLVC: First Meeting
ST. JOSEPH'S: A.J. Ricker (Missouri '03)
- Overall: 0-1 (First Season)
- at St. Joseph's: 0-1 (First Season)
- vs. Indiana State: First Meeting
- vs. MVFC: First Meeting

QUICK HITS
- Indiana State is 40-50-7 in season openers and are looking for their first win in a lidlifter since opening the 1996 campaign with a 48-0 victory over Mars Hill. ISU's 6-5 record in 1996 also is the Sycamores' last season with a winning record.
- Indiana State is looking for its first home opening win since a 28-21 victory over Murray State in 2004.

An Indiana State Win Over St. Joseph's Would ...
• Give the Sycamores its first season opening victory since the 1996 season when ISU downed Mars Hill by a score of 48-0 at Memorial Stadium.
• Give Trent Miles his first career non-conference head coaching victory and his second overall.
• Snap a three-game losing skid.
• Give Indiana State its first victory in a home opener since the 2004 season when ISU opened the home slate with a 28-21 victory over Murray State.
• Improve ISU's winning streak of St. Joseph's to six games, tying its longest such streak in the all-time series (also won six in a row versus the Pumas fron 1959 to 1964).

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 debutin 2008 against Eastern Michigan and carries a record of 1-22 into Saturday. Miles has never faced the Pumas, nor a member of the GLVC Football Conference.

The St. Joseph's Head Coach
St. Joseph's is led by first-year head coach A.J. Ricker, who is 0-1 with the Pumas. SJC lost to Truman State at home by the score of 23-13 last Saturday. Ricker has never faced Indiana State nor has he faced a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Scouting The Pumas
St. Joseph's is a member of NCAA Divsion II and competes in the GLVC Football Conference. The Pumas are 0-1 on the young season after dropping a 23-13 decision against Truman State in their season opener last Saturday. SJC is led by Mike Hladik who was 21-of-39 for 238 yards and a 31-yard touchdown scoring strike to Mack Ogletree against Truman State. Defensively, Cameron Ellsberry led the Pumas with 11 tackles, while Kenth Lee had 1.5 tackles for loss.

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 339-465-22 and is competing for the 25th consecutive season as a member of the MVFC.

For Openers
Heading into 2010, the Sycamores are 42-47-7 in season openers with a .477 winning percentage. This week the Sycamores open at home and are an impressive 52-36-4 in home opening contests. ISU last won a home opener in 2004 with a 28-21 victory over Murray State. The Sycamores last won a home opener, which was also the season opener, in 1996 against Mars Hill.

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 as announced two weeks ago. 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
The Indiana State Sycamores received 12 votes in the preseason edition of the Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 Poll, one of two nationally-recognized FCS Top 25 Polls as announced by The Sports Network on Monday.
ISU was one of eight Missouri Valley Football Conference schools recognized in the first preseason poll to be released this fall and is their No. 58 position in the poll is the program's highest start since beginning the 2004 campaign in Top 40.

The National Eye Part II
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.

We Were Mostly Young
In research conducted nationally, it was determined that Indiana State played 13 true freshmen last season, which was the second most in the nation behind Northwestern State. Included in that number is a nation-leading nine true freshmen who started at least one contest during the 2009 season.

Sycamores In The Pros
Two former Sycamores have 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 has 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.

Opening Day Highlights
Indiana State has had 13 100-yard rushing performances in season opening contests over the history of the program, highlighted by 142 from Tori Vactor vs. Salem in 1988. The most recent was 102 by Darrius Gates last season in the lidlifter against Quincy. ISU has had a total of six 200-yard passing performances in season openers with the record being 266 by Jeff Miller vs. St. Cloud State in 1985. The most recent was Reilly Murphy's 235 yards in the air versus Purdue in 2006. The Sycamores have had seven 100-yard receiving performances in the history of the program on opening day, led by 139 from Kirk Wilson against Drake in 1980. The most recent 100-yard receiving performance in an opener was Brian Jackson's 104 yards versus Purdue in 2006.

Top Season Opening Performances
100-Yard Rushing Games In Season Openers
1. 142 by Tori Vactor vs. Salem (1988)
2. 132 by David Wright vs. Mars Hill (1995)
3. 127 by Jake Shields vs. Ball State (2003)
4. 126 by Jim Brumfield vs. Eastern Illinois (1969)
5. 125 by Tony West, vs. Purdue (2006)
6. 121 by Derrick Franklin vs. Kansas State (1991)
7. 120 by Mike Sotak vs. Arkansas State (1976)
8. 119 by Willie Lee vs. Cincinnati (1972)
9. 110 by Scott Bartel vs. Drake (1980)
10. 110 by Vincent Allen vs. Eastern Illinois (1974)
11. 109 by Vincent Allen vs. Eastern Michigan (1975)
12. 102 by Darrius Gates vs. Quincy (2009)
13. 101 by Shawn Young vs. Central Missouri State (1989)

200-Yard Passing Games In Season Openers
1. 266 by Jeff Miller vs. St. Cloud State (1985)
2. 260 by Blayne Baggett vs. Eastern Illinois (2005)
3. 241 by John Stites vs. Central Missouri State (1990)
4. 235 by Reilly Murphy vs. Purdue (2006)
5. 206 by John Sahm vs. Salem (1987)
6. 205 by John Sahm vs. Central Missouri State (1989)

100-Yard Receiving Games In Season Openers
1. 139 by Kirk Wilson vs. Drake (1980)
2. 111 by Rodney Porter vs. Central Missouri State (1989)
3. 111 by Glenn Damato vs. Northern Illinois (1973)
4. 109 by Rodney Porter vs. Salem (1987)
5. 108 by Charles Swann vs. Kansas State (1991)
6. 104 by Brian Jackson vs. Purdue (2006)
7. 101 by Jerry Surdy vs. Eastern Illinois (1969)

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, including a 33-30 overtime win over Eastern Illinois in 2004.

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 40-112 in MVFC contests and had lost each of their last 21 league matchups before downing Western Illinois earlier this season.

Up Next
The Indiana State Sycamores play at Cincinnati on Saturday, September 11. Kick-off is set for Noon. The game will be televised on FSN Ohio. After an open week, Indiana State returns to action once again on the road, at Western Illinois on Sept. 25. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. (ET).

"GAMETIME"
Produced, filmed and edited by Jack Lavey and Megan McKenna. Game footage by Jack Lavey. Special thanks to our gaffer Danny O'Brien, and the players who stayed after practice to help out.