No. 21/25 INDIANA STATE AT No. 8 CHATTANOOGA
Finley Stadium (20,668), Chattanooga, Tenn.
December 6, 2014, 1:04 p.m. ET

QUICK HITS

The No. 21/25 Indiana State Sycamores play the program's first ever game in the month of December in the FCS Playoffs when they travel to No. 8 Chattanooga on Saturday, December 6. Kick-off is set for 1:04 p.m. (ET) and will be televised worldwide on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. This is the 110th season of intercollegiate football at Indiana State University.
>> Indiana State has played eight of its last 10 games against nationally-ranked teams and are 5-3 against those teams. This is the first season an Indiana State team has defeated five nationally-ranked teams in the history of the program.
>> Connor Underwood owns the Indiana State school record with 28.5 career quarterback sacks after he tacked on his latest at Eastern Kentucky. Underwood has already broke Dan Brandenburg's record of 13 sacks in one season, set in 1993 with his 13.5 this season. Mike Perish now owns the Indiana State career record in touchdowns thrown with 44 as well as passing yards, completion and attempts. He also owns the school record for a single-season in passing yards, completions, attempts and total offense and is tied with Ronnie Fouch for touchdowns thrown with 20.

An Indiana State Win Over Chattanooga Would …
• Be the Sycamores' 9th win of the season — tying the school record for victories with the 1983 and 1984 teams.
• Be the Sycamores' second victory in the playoffs -- the first time a Sycamore team has won multiple games in the FCS Playoffs.
• Give the Sycamores their first-ever victory over Chattanooga in the first game played against the Mocs.
• Advance the Sycamores to the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals for the first time in the history of the program.
• Be the program's first-ever victory in the month of December.

The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Mike Sanford (Southern California, 1978) is 25-59 (.298) overall in his seventh season as a head coach and is 9-16 (.360) in his second season with Indiana State. He is 4-12 all-time in MVFC games, including an 2-6 mark at home and an 2-6 mark on the road. During his career, he is 18-24 in all home games, 7-35 on the road and 8-8 in games decided by three points or less. Sanford is 0-0 all-time against Chattanooga and is 0-0 against the Mocs on the road. With the Trees, Sanford is 1-0 in overtime games and 0-1 in shutouts. Saturday's game is Mike Sanford's 26th as the Indiana State head coach and his 86th as a collegiate head coach.

The Chattanooga Head Coach
Russ Huesman is 40-28 in his sixth season as a head coach, all of them coming at Chattanooga. He has never faced Indiana State.

Scouting The Mocs
Chattanooga enters the Indiana State game with a 9-3 overall record and finished with a 7-0 mark in the Southern Conference. Chattanooga is a No. 8 national seed and are ranked No. 8 by both The Sports Network and the FCS Coaches Poll. The Mocs enjoyed a first round bye in the FCS Playoffs and most recently earned a 45-19 road victory over Furman. Chattanooga is 0-1 on the season against nationally-ranked opponents as they dropped a close 26-23 overtime decision to No. 9 Jacksonville State in September. The Mocs have been nationally ranked all season long in both polls.

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 367-494-22 and is competing for the 29th consecutive season as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Chattanooga Series
Indiana State is facing Chattanooga for the first time on the gridiron.

Television Particulars
The Chattanooga game will be televised worldwide on ESPN3 as well as the WatchESPN app. ESPN3 is an internet based service that is free to those with a valid internet or television provider subscription. ESPN3 is also free for use on college campus and United State military bases. The game is also available on ESPN Gameplan, a pay-per-view service available on Dish Network, Directv and select cable providers.

Sycamores Earn Their First FCS Playoff Victory Since 1983 At Eastern Kentucky
The Indiana State Sycamores received an at-large berth into the 2014 NCAA FCS Playoffs. It marks their first appearance in the national tournament since 1984. The Sycamores qualified for both the 1983 & 1984 postseason playoffs. Overall, Indiana State is 2-2 in FCS Playoff action, with their last win coming last week at Eastern Kentucky. It was the program's first victory in the FCS Playoffs since a 1983 victory at home against Eastern Illinois. In 1984, the Sycamores fell 42-41 to Middle Tennessee State in the opening round. No Sycamore team has ever won more than one game in a season during the FCS Playoffs.

Sycamores Against The 2014 FCS Playoff Field
Indiana State owns a 3-3 mark against the FCS Playoff field (Won vs. Liberty, Northern Iowa, Eastern Kentucky; Lost vs. Illinois State, South Dakota State, North Dakota State). Additionally, the Sycamores have won a school-record five games against teams ranked in the nation's Top 25. Those five victories against nationally-ranked teams are the most in the nation this season.

Sycamores In The National Rankings For School Record Ninth Consecutive Week
Six Missouri Valley Football Conference programs find themselves ranked in both major national poll this week, including Indiana State. The Sycamores are No. 25 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 and are ranked for a school-record ninth consecutive week. This year's run tops the previous best of seven straight weeks in 2012. In The FCS Coaches Poll, Indiana State checks in at No. 21 and this marks their eighth straight mention in the Top 25, according to FCS Coaches. Eastern Kentucky is ranked No. 16 by The Sports Network and No. 18 according to the FCS Coaches.

Indiana State Counted Among The Most Improved In FCS Football
The Sycamores head into the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs owning the biggest turnaround in FCS football. Indiana State has improved its 1-11 record in 2013 to a 8-5 mark so far in 2014. That equates to a +6.5 differential (take difference in number of wins, add difference in number of defeats and divide by 2) which is tops in the nation. Plus six is the MVFC record, achieved twice in league history by Southern Illinois (2003) and Western Illinois (2010).

Connor Underwood Highlights Eight Sycamores Who Picked Up All-MVFC Honors
Indiana State junior linebacker Connor Underwood was a repeat selection on the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team. He finished second in the MVFC Defensive Player of the Voting. Senior quarterback Mike Perish, junior defensive back Mark Sewall, junior defensive back Travis Starks and senior offensive lineman Aaron Jelovic were named to the All-MVFC Second Team. Junior linebacker Kendall Walker, junior wide receiver Gary Owens and sophomore deep snapper Josh Appel were each named honorable mention selections. Perish finished fifth in voting for the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year while head coach Mike Sanford was a close second in the MVFC Coach Of The Year balloting.

Sycamore Trio Named To MVFC All-Newcomer; All-Academic Teams
Indiana State junior wide receiver Gary Owens, junior punter Osborn Umeh and freshman defensive back Rondell Green were all named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team. Additionally, junior defensive back Mark Sewall (3.51 Business) as well as junior linebacker Kendall Walker (3.51 Sports Management) and sophomore linebacker Jameer Thurman (3.69, Civil Engineering) placed on the MVFC All-Academic Team.

Mark Sewall And Eric Heidorn Named MVFC Player Of The Week; Sewall Also Nationally
Indiana State's Mark Sewall was honored by both The Sports Network and the College Sporting News as the National Defensive Player Of The Week following the victory over Youngstown State. He also took home his first career MVFC Defensive Player Of The Week while Eric Heidorn was named the Valley Football Special Teams Player Of The Week. Sewall provided the big play the Sycamores needed to earn the win over the Penguins. Sewall posted 12 tackles, two fumble recoveries, two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry but it was his overtime interception which propelled the team to victory. Tied at 24, on Youngstown State's first offensive play in overtime, Sewall came off the edge and tipped the Penguins' pass attempt then leapt several yards in the air to haul in the interception. With YSU in the red zone on their first offensive possession of the game, Sewall picked up a fumble to stop that drive. He also recovered a fumble early in the second quarter to set Indiana State up at the YSU 31. His overtime interception set the stage for Eric Heidorn's game-winning 28-yard field goal in overtime for the 27-24 victory. Heidorn also made a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as part of the victory.

Winning The Turnover Battle And Ranked Third Nationally Doing It
Indiana State enters the second round of the FCS Playoffs sixth in the nation with a +12 turnover margin. They are one just eight teams nationally that has a double digit positive turnover margin in 2014. For the season, Indiana State has made those turnovers count as they hold a 126-58 advantage in points off turnovers. Mike Perish has thrown 20 touchdown passes against just 10 interceptions.

Sycamores With Eight Wins For The First Time Since Joining MVFC
The Indiana State Sycamores currently stand at 8-5 with a 4-4 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The Sycamores have earned eight victories in a season for the first time in 29 seasons of MVFC play. With one more victory -- the Sycamores' ninth -- the 2014 team will tie the 1983 & 1984 teams for most victories in a season in the history of the program.

Connor Underwood Sets New School Record For Career Sacks
Indiana State junior linebacker Connor Underwood recorded 1.5 quarterback sacks in the 36-16 victory over Eastern Kentucky and owns the school record in that category with 28.5. Underwood is third in the league in quarterback sacks per game with a 1.19 average, a mark which ranks tied for 11th nationally. He has 13.5 total sacks for a loss of 60 yards. He also has 24.0 tackles for a loss this year which is second in the MVFC and ranks tied for sixth in FCS football. Underwood has 51.5 tackles for a loss in his career and needs only 3.0 more to tie Kyle Mitchell's school record of 54.5. Additionally, Underwood's 13.5 quarterback sacks has set a new single-season school record of 13 set by Dan Brandenburg in 1993 and his 24.0 tackles for a loss also a new standard for the football program in a season.

Sycamores Have Earned Four Victories This Year In Ranked vs. Ranked Games
Indiana State is in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 for the ninth consecutive week and have played eight opponents in the last 10 games 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, No. 19 Southern Illinois, No. 22 South Dakota State, No. 15 Youngstown State and No. 16/18 Eastern Kentucky. The Sycamores are 5-3 on the season against nationally-ranked opponents and played their seventh game of the season which features two ranked teams against the Colonels. Prior to the 2014 campaign, the Sycamores had played in just seven ranked vs. ranked contests and the EKU game was their seventh of this season. Indiana State entered the season with no victories against a ranked team while ranked themselves. The Indiana State wins against UNI, SIU, YSU and EKU this season are their first in the MVFC era in a battle of two ranked FCS teams.

Mike Perish Now Tops The Sycamore Record Books As Senior Quarterback
Mike Perish enters the second round of the FCS Playoffs ranked first all-time in career passing yards with 6,545. For his career he is 608-of-1,024 for 6,545 yards and 44 touchdowns (all school records). Perish recently broke Jeff Miller's (1982-85) mark for career touchdowns thrown, completions, attempts and passing yards. Perish's 3,364 passing yards in 2014 ranks as a new Indiana State single-season record. Additionally, his 20 touchdowns this season is tied with Ronnie Fouch's school record set in 2010 and his 3,184 yards of total offense is also a new school standard. He also owns the school record for completions and attempts in a season.

Indiana State's Trio Among Top Valley Pass Defenders
Indiana State's Travis Starks, Mark Sewall and DeJuan Lang are among the Missouri Valley Football Conference's top pass defenders as Starks leads the league with 20 passes defended while Sewall has 17 to rank second and Lang owns 11 for eighth. Starks is also tied for the league lead with four interceptions with Sewall. Lang is right behind them with three interceptions.

Jameer Thurman Named To Capital One Academic All-District Team
Indiana State sophomore linebacker Jameer Thurman has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team as selected by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Thurman maintains a 3.71 grade point average in Civil Engineering. He has 65 total tackles on the year, including 6.5 for a loss and two quarterback sacks. He also owns a team-best three fumbles forced as well as a fumble recovery. Thurman's 6.5 tackles for per game ranks 25th in the MVFC while his 6.5 tackles for a loss are ranked tied for 18th. He is tied for the league lead in fumbles forced.

Hidden Ball Trick Leads To Lead And National Honors; Goes Viral On Internet
Trailing 18-17 to Missouri State, the Indiana State Sycamores needed a big play on special teams and they received it when the team used a hidden ball, rugby-type huddle play which netted a key 32-yard kickoff return by Aaron Killebrew to put the Sycamores on the edge of field goal range. Following four plays from scrimmage, junior kicker Eric Heidorn hit a 38-yard field goal with six seconds remaining for a 20-18 lead and the eventual victory. Killebrew and Heidorn combined to share the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Special Team Player Of The Week award while Heidorn was also named a College Sporting News National All-Star. Additionally, the play was named ESPN SportsCenter's No. 3 Top Play and was rated as ESPN.com's Top College Football Trick Play this week. The play was also featured on the front of both Yahoo! Sports and SB Nation. A clip of the play posted on Youtube garnered over 1.1 million views this week as well.

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.

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 56-126 in MVFC contests all-time.

In Overtime
The Sycamores have played in 13 overtime contests since the rule was established for regular season games in the NCAA FCS Subdivision in 1996. The Sycamores are 8-5 in games that have used an extra period. ISU's last overtime contest came in the form of a 27-24 road victory over Youngstown State in 11th game of the 2014 campaign.

Up Next
The winner of this weekend's Indiana State at Chattanooga FCS Playoff Game will play the winner of the No. 1 New Hampshire/Fordham matchup on either December 12 or 13 in the FCS Playoff Quarterfinals.