Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com

INDIANA STATE at BALL STATE
Scheumann Stadium (22,500), Muncie, Ind.
September 13, 2014, 3:04 p.m. ET

QUICK HITS
>> The Indiana State Sycamores continue the 2014 season with a road game against one of Indiana State's oldest opponents in Ball State on Saturday, September 13. Kick-off is set for 3:04 p.m. (ET) and will be televised worldwide by ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app. This is the 110th season of intercollegiate football at Indiana State University.
>> Indiana State and Ball State are renewing one of the oldest rivalries in the state of Indiana on Saturday. The two teams first met in 1924, but have not faced each other since 2003. The two teams played several neutral site games in the 1980's at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. The Indiana State vs. Ball State game is played each time for the Victory Bell, which was inaugurated in 1940 when the Blue Key chapters at both schools arranged to donate a bell to the winner of the game.
>> Indiana State junior wide receiver Gary Owens was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer Of The Week for his six-catch, 199-yard performance against Tennessee Tech on September 6.

An Indiana State Win Over Ball State Would …
• Return the Victory Bell to Terre Haute for the first time since 1987, and end a steak of six consecutive loses to Ball State.
• Be the Sycamores' first victory over Ball State in Muncie since 1982 and its first over a team from the Mid-American Conference since a 2001 victory at Eastern Michigan.
• Be the Sycamores' first victory over an FBS opponent since a 2011 win at Western Kentucky.

The Indiana State Head Coach
Indiana State head coach Mike Sanford (Southern California, 1978) is 18-55 (.247) overall in his seventh season as a head coach and is 2-12 (.143) in his second season with Indiana State. He is 0-8 all-time in MVFC games, including an 0-4 mark at home and an 0-4 mark on the road. During his career, he is 15-22 in all home games, 3-33 on the road and 5-7 in games decided by three points or less. Sanford is 0-0 all-time against Ball State and is 0-0 against the Cardinals on the road. With the Trees, Sanford is 0-0 in overtime games and 0-1 in shutouts. Saturday's game is Mike Sanford's 15th as Indiana State head coach and his 74th as a collegiate head coach.

The Ball State Head Coach
Ball State is led by fourth-year head coach Pete Lembo, who is also in his 14th season as a collegiate head coach. Lembo is 25-14 at Ball State and 105-50 overall as a head coach. His previous stops included five years at both Elon and Lehigh. Lembo has never faced Indiana State as a head coach.

Scouting The Cardinals
Ball State is 1-1 on the season as they opened with a 30-10 victory at home against Colgate and then battled Iowa down to the wire, dropping a 17-13 decision on the road last week. Jahwan Edwards leads the Cardinals' rushing attack with 190 yards on 43 carries and a touchdown while quarterback Ozzie Mann is 35-of-62 passing for 332 yards and two touchdowns. His top receiving target is KeVonn Mabon who has hauled in 14 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. Ben Ingle is the Cardinals' top defender with 20 total tackles, including one for a loss.

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 360-490-22 and is competing for the 29th consecutive season as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Ball State Series
Ball State holds a 39-24-1 edge in the all-time series which dates back to 1924. The Sycamores are 7-21-1 in games played in Muncie, and hold a 15-14 edge in games at Memorial Stadium. The series also saw six neutral site games played in Indianapolis at the old Hoosier Dome and Ball State holds a 4-2 record in those contests. The two teams last played for the Victory Bell in 2003 — a 31-7 Cardinals victory. Ball State has won each of the last six meetings in the series, dating back to a 24-23 Sycamore victory in 1987 at the Hoosier Dome. The Sycamores have dropped three in a row in Muncie, dating back to a 17-0 Sycamore victory in 1982.

Television Particulars
The Ball State game will be seen live world-wide on ESPN3. The game will also be available on the WATCH ESPN app. Fans must have a valid internet or television subscription to access the broadcast. All ESPN3/Watch ESPN broadcasts are available free of charge on college campuses and at United States Military Bases.

Gary Owens Spectacular Against Tennessee Tech, Named MVFC Newcomer Of The Week
Indiana State junior wide receiver Gary Owens, a transfer from Trinity Valley JC, was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer Of The Week following the 49-14 victory over Tennessee Tech on September 6. Owens caught a team-best six passes for 199 yards and one touchdown for the Sycamores. He recorded long catches of 79 & 63 yards in the contest. His 79-yarder set up the Sycamores' first fourth quarter touchdown while his 63-yarder helped erase a 1st-and-55 situation and set up Indiana State's first touchdown. His 199 receiving yards are the third-most single-game total in the history of the program and the most by a Sycamore since 1986. Owens caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Perish to answer 14 consecutive points by Tennessee Tech and restore a 35-14 advantage.

Mike Perish Records Fourth-Best Passing Game In History Of Sycamore Program
Indiana State senior quarterback Mike Perish completed 26-of-34 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns and added another rushing as the Sycamores broke an 11-game losing skid to the Ohio Valley Conference with a 49-14 victory over Tennessee Tech. Perish's 383 yards tied for the fourth-most ever passing yards in a single-game in program history and was just nine yards of his career-high set last season against Youngstown State. Perish camped off a six-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Sycamores a 14-0 lead. He tossed a six-yard touchdown to Jamar Brown to give ISU a 21-0 lead heading into the half. Perish added a 31-yard scoring strike to Gary Owens in the third quarter to answer consecutive touchdowns from Tennessee Tech for a 35-14 lead and tacked on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brown in the fourth quarter en route to victory. Additionally he added a 79-yard strike to Perish to set up a fourth quarter touchdown and also had a 63-yard connection with Owens in the first quarter which erased an earlier 1st-and-55 situation resulting from penalties.

Connor Underwood Makes All His Tackles Behind Line Versus Tennessee Tech
Indiana State junior Connor Underwood made the most of his opportunities in a 49-14 victory over Tennessee Tech. He recorded a first half quarterback sack for a loss of seven yards and had 2.5 tackles for a loss of nine yards as the Sycamores did not allow a single point to the Golden Eagle offense. Underwood added a pass breakup and two quarterback hurries in the contest.

Home Opener Win Streak Now At Five While Drought Against OVC Ends
Indiana State defeated Tennessee Tech by the score of 49-14 to extend their streak of wins in home openers to five. The Sycamores have now won each home opener at Memorial Stadium since 2010 and are 35-13 in home opening games. Additionally, the win over the Golden Eagles snapped an 11-game skid against members of the Ohio Valley Conference, dating back to a 2004 victory over UT-Martin.

Indiana State Against The Mid American Conference
Indiana State is a combined 38-73-1 against the current membership of the Mid-American Conference (Akron 5-6; Buffalo 1-0; Miami 0-1; Central Michigan 0-9; Northern Illinois 5-5; Ball State 24-39-1; Eastern Michigan 3-10; Toledo 0-1; Western Michigan 0-2). The Sycamores have not faced a MAC program since a 48-3 loss at Northern Illinois in 2008. Indiana State is looking to snap a seven-game losing skid to members of the MAC, dating back to a 21-14 victory at Eastern Michigan in 2001. All seven games during the current streak have come on the road. Additionally, Indiana State has dropped four in a row against members of the FBS, dating back to a 44-16 victory at Western Kentucky in 2011.

Turnovers Key To Sycamore Success Early In Season
The Sycamores have intercepted two passes and recovered four fumbles on defense through the first two games of the 2014 campaign. That puts Indiana State atop the Missouri Valley Conference leaderboard with a +6 turnover margin. Additionally, the Sycamores currently enjoy a 34-0 edge against their opponents in points off turnovers. Indiana State has scored 59 points through two weeks of action, with nearly 58 percent of their scoring coming after the defense or special teams has forced a turnover. Junior Travis Starks leads the league with two interceptions so far in 2014.

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.

LeMonte Booker Reaches End Zone Three Times Against Tennessee Tech
Indiana State sophomore LeMonte Booker paced the Sycamores with 77 rushing yards in the home opener against Tennessee Tech. Booker scored three times in the game, with rushes of one, 37 and 20 yards. He became the first Sycamore to record three rushing touchdowns in a game since Shakir Bell had four (all in one half) against Youngstown State in 2011.

Mike Perish Climbing The Sycamore Record Books As Senior Quarterback
Mike Perish enters week three of his senior season, and his third season as the Sycamore starting quarterback, ranked fifth all-time in career passing yards with 3,724. For his career he is 437-589 for 3,724 yards and 27 touchdowns. He needs 592 more yards to top Ronnie Fouch's total of 4,316 yards from 2010-11 for fourth on the Sycamores all-time list.

Osborn Umeh Makes Spectacular Debut For Sycamores
Indiana State junior transfer Osborn Umeh punted eight times at Indiana for a total of 352 yards, averaging 44 yards per kick on a stormy day in Bloomington. Umeh pinned the Hoosiers inside their own 20-yard line a total of three times. He booted a long punt of 58 yards before halftime to flip the field and forced Indiana to just run out the clock instead of trying to run the two-minute drill and score. His first punt was fumbled by the Hoosiers and recovered to set the Sycamores at the IU 41-yard line. Six plays later, the Sycamores scored to draw within 7-3 in the first quarter. All told he had two of his eight punts travel at least 50 yards.

Sycamore Defensive Stops Nearly Produce Second Half Clean Sheet
The Indiana State defense was solid in the second half against Indiana as they held a clean sheet until the final three minutes of the contest. As part of that effort was a pair of defensive stops against the Hoosiers on fourth-and short situations, as well as a missed Indiana field goal attempt. Also part of the near second half shutout was a 60-yard interception return by Travis Starks which set the Sycamores up with a short field against the Hoosiers. ISU needed just two plays to score their first offensive touchdown of 2014 when Buck Logan raced around left end for a five-yard rushing touchdown which drew the Sycamores within 21-10 late in the third quarter.

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.

Sampson I Am
Indiana State sophomore Sampson Levingston had one of the more interesting statistical lines in the history of Indiana State football with only two pass receptions but three receiving touchdowns against nationally-ranked Youngstown State during the 2013 Homecoming contest. Levingston had two receptions for 56 yards, including a long of 27. He had a 27-yard TD reception in the second quarter and also had a 21-yard TD reception late in the game. The other eight yards on his receiving total came in the fourth quarter after Kyani Harris had a 68-yard pass reception and lateraled the ball to Chris O'Leary who then pitched the ball to Levingston who went the final eight yards for his third touchdown reception of the game. Levingston is the first Sycamore to record three pass receptions for a touchdown since James Braden did it in 2001 at Missouri State (Braden also scored touchdowns on all of his pass receptions in that game). Additionally, Levingston's touchdown on the double lateral was featured on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Levingston had six touchdown receptions as a freshman in 2013, which was just two shy of the school record of eight held by Steve Schmid in 1986.

Indiana Sets New Passing Record Against Quincy
The Sycamore offense set several records in the 70-7 victory over Quincy. Indiana State's 433 passing yards is a school record for a single-game, topping a 396-yard effort through the air in 2006 at Missouri State. The Sycamores amassed 671 yards of total offense versus Quincy, which was just four yards short of the school record of 675 yards against Dayton set in 1975. For the season, Indiana State's offense is averaging 424 yards per game which is fourth-best in the MVFC and they are one of six different MVFC schools to average more than 400 yards of total offense per game.

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 51-123 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 will enjoy an open date on September 20 before returning to Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 27 when they host Liberty. Kick-off is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on ESPN3.