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MISSOURI STATE AT No. 19/21 INDIANA STATE
Memorial Stadium (12,734), Terre Haute, Ind.
November 1, 2014, 1:05 p.m. ET
QUICK HITS
>> The No. 19/21 Indiana State Sycamores continue the 2014 season when they return home to face Missouri State on Saturday, November 1. Kick-off is set for 1:05 p.m. (ET) and will be televised online via Sycamore Vision on GoSycamores.com. This is the 110th season of intercollegiate football at Indiana State University.
>> Indiana State has wrapped a streak of playing against five nationally-ranked teams, including all of its first four games in MVFC play. The Sycamores completed the streak with a 3-2 record. This is the first season an Indiana State team has defeated three nationally-ranked teams since joining the league 29 seasons ago.
>> Indiana State junior quarterback Mike Perish threw four touchdown passes in the 41-26 victory at Southern Illinois. It marked the second time in his career (2013 vs. Quincy the other) that he has done so. It also gave Perish 38 career touchdown passes and he needs just two more to tie Jeff Miller (1982-85) for the school record of 40.
An Indiana State Win Over Missouri State Would …
• Give the Sycamores a total of four victories in their last five meetings against Missouri State -- which would be the program's best ever five-year run against the Bears.
• Give the Sycamores three wins in a row over the Bears inside Memorial Stadium.
• Be the Sycamores' first two-game winning streak in MVFC play since 2012.
The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Mike Sanford (Southern California, 1978) is 22-57 (.278) overall in his seventh season as a head coach and is 6-14 (.300) in his second season with Indiana State. He is 2-10 all-time in MVFC games, including an 1-5 mark at home and an 1-5 mark on the road. During his career, he is 17-23 in all home games, 5-34 on the road and 6-8 in games decided by three points or less. Sanford is 0-1 all-time against Missouri State and is 0-0 against the Bears at home. With the Trees, Sanford is 0-0 in overtime games and 0-1 in shutouts. Saturday's game is Mike Sanford's 21st as the Indiana State head coach and his 80th as a collegiate head coach.
The Missouri State Head Coach
Terry Allen, the dean of the Missouri Valley Football Conference coaching ranks, enters Saturday's game with a 132-119 record in his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach. Allen is 37-60 in his ninth season at Missouri State and he is 11-5 against Indiana State at both MSU and Northern Iowa. Allen is 5-4 against the Sycamores all-time inside Memorial Stadium.
Scouting The Bears
Missouri State has spent time among the nation's top 25 in 2014 and enter Saturday's game with a 4-4 record as well as a 1-3 mark in MVFC play. The Bears opened with a 34-27 victory at Northwestern State before falling to Oklahoma State. They won their home opener over North Dakota 38-0 and rounded out non-conference play with a 33-31 win at Central Arkansas. They dropped their MVFC opener 14-7 against Youngstown State before falling at South Dakota State 32-28. The Bears rebounded with a 31-12 victory over South Dakota last week at home. Keirra Harris leads the Bears offense with 1,223 passing yards for 14 touchdowns and 377 more yards on the ground. His top target is Julian Burton who has 30 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, Calan Crowder has 454 yards and three touchdowns.
A Little History
This marks the 110th 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 364-492-22 and is competing for the 29th consecutive season as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Missouri State Series
Missouri State holds a 17-11 edge in the all-time series against Indiana State, but the Sycamores are 8-6 against the Bears on their home turf. Indiana State had a three-game winning streak over the Bears broken last year in Springfield. The Sycamores are looking to win four out of five games against the Bears for the first time ever on Saturday.
Television Particulars
The Missouri State game will be televised online by Sycamore Vision, which is a pay-per-view web stream service provided by GoSycamores.com. Fans should point their web browsers to GoSycamores.com for login and subscription information.
Sycamores In The National Rankings For Fifth Consecutive Week
Seven Missouri Valley Football Conference programs find themselves ranked in a major national poll this week, including Indiana State. The Sycamores are No. 19 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 and are ranked for the fifth consecutive week. In The FCS Coaches Poll, Indiana State checks in at No. 21 and this marks their fourth straight mention in the Top 25, according to FCS Coaches. Saturday's opponent Missouri State is receiving votes in both polls.
Indiana State Counted Among The Most Improved In FCS Football
The Sycamores are second to Albany for the biggest turnaround in FCS football this season. Indiana State has improved its 1-11 record in 2013 to a 5-3 mark so far in 2014. That equates to a +6.0 differential (take difference in number of wins, add difference in number of defeats and divide by 2) which is second nationally to Albany's current mark of +7. Plus six is the MVFC record, achieved twice in league history by Southern Illinois (2003) and Western Illinois (2010).
Winning The Turnover Battle And Leading The Nation Doing It
It's no coincidence that Albany and Indiana State are the top two teams in the country for best turnaround in 2014. Each team is tied for the national lead in turnover margin at plus 14, while Saturday's opponent, Missouri State, is third at plus 10. For the season, Indiana State has made those turnovers count as they hold a 91-10 advantage in points off turnovers. Mike Perish has thrown 14 touchdown passes against just one interception. The Indiana State single-season school record for fewest interceptions thrown by a starting quarterback is four from Jeff Miller in 1982.
Connor Underwood One Away From School Record For Career Sacks
Indiana State junior linebacker Connor Underwood took home Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player Of The Week honors for his efforts against Liberty and has been added to the 2014 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List, which is given annually to the nation's top defensive player in FCS football. Underwood recorded at least one quarterback sack in each of the first six weeks of the season and seven of the first eight. Underwood is averaging 7.1 tackles per game to rank 14th in the league. Underwood is first in the league in quarterback sacks per game with a 1.06 average, a mark which ranks eighth nationally. He has nine total sacks for a loss of 43 yards. He now owns 24.5 for his career and is only one away from Kyle Mitchell's current school record of 25.5. He also has 17.0 tackles for a loss this year which is tops in the MVFC and ranks fifth in FCS football. Underwood has 44.5 tackles for a loss in his career and needs only 10 more to tie Kyle Mitchell's school record of 54.5.
Sycamores Earn Two Victories This Season In Ranked vs. Ranked Games
Indiana State is in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for the fifth consecutive week and recently wrapped a streak of playing five teams that also appear in the nation's Top 25. The run began against No. 22/23 Liberty and continued versus No. 10 Northern Iowa, No. 15 Illinois State, No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 19 Southern Illinois. The Sycamores are 3-2 on the season against nationally-ranked opponents and played their fourth game of the season which features two ranked teams on Saturday in Carbondale. Prior to the 2014 campaign, the Sycamores had played in just seven ranked vs. ranked contests and Saturday was their fourth of the season. Indiana State entered the season with no victories against a ranked team while ranked themselves. The Indiana State wins against UNI and SIU this season are their first in the MVFC era in a battle of two ranked FCS teams.
Sycamore Passing Game Leads The MVFC As Conference Play Rolls Along
Indiana State leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in passing yards per game with a 270.1 average, a number which ranks 17th nationally. Mike Perish is 171-of-265 passing for 1,922 yards and 14 touchdowns against one interception to lead the Sycamores through the air as he also leads the league in passing average per game and is ranked 17th nationally. Perish also leads the MVFC with a 256.6 yards of total offense average per game. He has 1,796 yards of total offense through eight games (total offense combines passing and rushing yards).
Mike Perish Climbing The Sycamore Record Books As Senior Quarterback
Mike Perish enters week nine of his senior season, and his third season as the Sycamore starting quarterback, ranked third all-time in career passing yards with 5,123. For his career he is 565-of-788 for 5,123 yards and 38 touchdowns. He needs only 16 more yards to top John Sahm's total of 5,139 yards from 1986-89 for second on the Sycamores all-time list. Perish needs just two more touchdown passes to tie Jeff Miller (1982-85) for career touchdowns thrown at 40 and will need 1,325 more through the remainder of his senior season to top Miller's current mark of 6,448 passing yards.
Indiana State's Travis Starks and DeJuan Lang Among Top Valley Defenders
Indiana State's Travis Starks and DeJuan Lang are among the Missouri Valley Football Conference's top pass defenders as Starks leads the league with 13 passes defended while Lang has eight and is tied for fifth. Lang and Starks are tied for second in the MVFC with three interceptions.
Sycamores Grab Victory Bell With First Win Over Ball State Since 1987
The Indiana State celebrated the 28th anniversary of their first Missouri Valley Football Conference contest and victory over Missouri State in 1986 by taking the Blue Key Victory Bell from in state rival Ball State for the first time since 1987. The Sycamores' 27-20 road victory in front of a near sell-out crowd in Muncie renewed a series that dates back to 1924 for the first time since 2003. The win was ISU's first over Ball State since 1987 and its first in Muncie since 1982. Additionally, the Sycamores picked up their second win over an FBS opponent in the last four seasons and its first over a Mid-American Conference team since a 2001 win at Eastern Michigan.
Sycamores Face 1st-and-55 Situation And Still Convert Touchdown
The Sycamore offense pulled off an extremely rare feat in their final drive of the first quarter against Tennessee Tech. The Sycamores took over at their own 17-yard line and drove all the way to the Tennessee Tech 33 in 11 plays. On 1st-and-10 from the TTU 33-yard line, the Sycamores were called for an illegal block and two dead ball personal foul penalties which accounted for 45 lost yards on the play. That resulted in the ball being moved all the way back to the Indiana State 22-yard line, which is just five yards ahead of where the drive began. ISU completed back-to-back seven-yard passes to make it 3rd-and-41 before Mike Perish found Gary Owens for a 63-yard pass which moved the ball down to the Tennessee Tech 1-yard line. Not only did ISU face a 1st-and-55 and had over 40 yards to gain on third down, they also overcame the tough down and distance to not only pick up the first down but scored as time ran out in the period on a one-yard touchdown run from LeMonte Booker.
Connor Underwood Named To All-MVFC Preseason Team
Indiana State junior linebacker Connor Underwood was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Team as announced late in the summer by the league office. The MVFC Preseason selections were made via a poll of the league's head coaches, sports information directors as well as a media panel. Last season Underwood earned a place on the All-MVFC First Team and was the team's fourth-leading tackler with 76 total tackles, including a team-best 18 for a loss and nine quarterback sacks. He added a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown in the season opener at Indiana and was credited with five pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries as well as one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. Underwood owned three double digit tackle performances on the year, including a season-best 13 against Western Illinois and recorded six tackles for a loss at Tennessee Tech, with four quarterback sacks which tied a school record. He ranked tied for 17th in total tackles in the league and was tied for third in quarterback sacks as well as tied for second in tackles for a loss. Additionally, Underwood was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2012 and garnered a third place finish in the league's newcomer of the year award. He was an All-MVFC Honorable Mention selection as a redshirt freshman.
Sycamores Against The Missouri Valley Football Conference
Indiana State is in its 29th 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 54-125 in MVFC contests all-time.
In Overtime
The Sycamores have played in 12 overtime contests since the rule was established for regular season games in the NCAA FCS Subdivision in 1996. The Sycamores are 7-5 in games that have used an extra period. ISU's last overtime contest came in the form of a 38-35 victory against Missouri State in the sixth game of the 2010 season.
Up Next
Indiana State concludes the home portion of the regular season schedule when they host nationally-ranked South Dakota State on Saturday, November 8 inside Memorial Stadium. Kick-off is set for 1:05 p.m. (ET).
