Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
RICHMOND, Ky. -- Indiana State earned its first NCAA FCS Playoff victory since 1983 with a 36-16 come-from-behind victory over No. 16/18 Eastern Kentucky on a windy afternoon at Roy Kidd Stadium. The Sycamores roared back from a 16-point deficit -- the third largest comeback by a MVFC team in the playoffs -- to score the final 36 points in the contest.
The Sycamores improved to 8-5 becoming the first Indiana State team to record eight victories in a season during the program's Missouri Valley Football Conference era. EKU saw their season end with a 9-4 mark.
Mike Perish led the way with a 41-of-57 passing performance for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Those 41 pass completions are a new school record and are the most by a MVFC quarterback ever in a NCAA Playoff game. Perish also now has 6,545 passing yards for his career -- a new Indiana State record and his 20 touchdowns thrown this season ties Ronnie Fouch's school record set in 2010. Perish now also owns the school single season record for passing yards and total offense.
His top target on the day was A.J. Johnson who has seven receptions for 71 yards. Gary Owens, Kyani Harris and Robert Tonyan all had touchdown grabs in the victory.
Connor Underwood now has 13.5 quarterback sacks -- a new Indiana State school record. Underwood broke the mark set by Dan Brandenburg in 1993 of 13.
Additionally, the Sycamores earned their first NCAA FCS Playoff victory since 1983 and their first ever on the road. It was Indiana State's first victory over Eastern Kentucky since 1926.
Eastern Kentucky went into the Sycamore red zone on each of their first two drives but the defense limited the Colonels to a pair of field goals (21 and 31 yards) as they took a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.
A short punt into the wind set EKU up with a short field late in the first quarter and they needed just two plays to tally a 17-yard touchdown rush by Dy'Shawn Mobley with 51 seconds left in the opening stanza for the 13-0 lead. EKU also had a short field following a Perish interception and converted that into a 20-yard field goal by Andrew Lloyd with 11:56 left before the half and the Colonels led 16-0.
The Sycamores had two drives with good field position as the Colonels struggled to move the ball offensively heading into the Northerly wind. Just before the half, Sewall set Indiana State up near midfield with a 15-yard yard punt return. From there, the Sycamores converted three third downs and a fourth-and-two on a six yard rush from Buck Logan. With two seconds left before the half, Perish found Robert Tonyan on a four-yard touchdown pass to draw the Sycamores within 16-7.
Indiana State's defense opened the second half with a three-and-out and a short punt gave the Sycamores the ball at the EKU 47. The Sycamores moved the ball with a pair of first down pass receptions by Gary Owens and LeMonte Booker. An offensive pass interference penalty moved the Sycamores back on second down and they could not recover with another first down. Instead, Eric Heidorn made it a one possession game with a 48-yard field goal to get the Sycamores within 16-10 with 10:34 left in the third quarter.
Eastern Kentucky obtained a pair of first downs, but the Sycamore defense eventually forced a punt and took over at their own 15. From there, the Sycamores picked up a pair of first downs and then Perish found Kyani Harris open deep for a 57-yard touchdown pass over the middle as Indiana State made it 17 unanswered points to take a 17-16 lead with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
The Sycamores then continued their defensive dominance with a three-and-out which netted minus six yards for the EKU offense. Indiana State moved 65 yards in eight plays to take a 24-16 lead with 2:25 left in third quarter on a third down pass play of 38 yards from Perish to Gary Owens. Mark Sewall's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown just before the end of the third quarter put the Sycamores ahead 31-16.
On EKU's first drive of the fourth quarter, the Colonels faced a fourth-and-eight where the ball fell incomplete to turn possession back over to the Sycamores. The Sycamores drove deep into Eastern Kentucky territory looking to salt away the game, but Perish threw his second interception of the game to stop the drive. EKU moved near midfield but Jameer Thurman's interception ended that threat and gave the Sycamores the ball at their own 49.
The two teams played a scoreless fourth quarter until Antonio Broadrus recorded a quarterback sack in the end zone for a safety and the 33-16 advantage with 3:42 to play. Eric Heidorn connected on a 30-yard field goal with 1:44 remaining for the 36-16 lead.
On the game's final play, Connor Underwood recorded a quarterback sack to give him 13.5 for the season and break Dan Brandenburg's single-season record of 13 set in 1993.
Indiana State returns to action on Saturday, December 6 when they travel to No. 8 Chattanooga as one of the final 16 teams in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m. (ET) and will be televised live on ESPN3.
