TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State football opens Missouri Valley Football Conference play at No. 8 Illinois State Saturday, Sep. 30. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
QUICK HITS
• Saturday's game will be broadcast live online on The Valley On ESPN3. On the call will be Kurt Pegler (play-by-play), Chris Highland (color) and RC McBride (sideline).
• Sycamore fans can also listen live on the radio on WIBQ 97.9 FM (1230 AM) or online at GoSycamores.com/Watch with new broadcast crew Luke Martin (play-by-play) and Brian Fritz (color).
• The Sycamores are 0-3 for the first time since the 2009 season following a heartbreaking season-opening loss vs. Eastern Illinois (22-20), a loss at No. 21/25 Tennessee (42-7) and a 42-41 loss at No. 19 Liberty during week three.
• The road does not get any easier for the Sycamores as the teams' next three opponents are ranked in the top-10. The MVFC has seven teams ranked in the top-25.
• Indiana State played in front of 99,015 fans at Neyland Stadium against Tennessee in week two, the largest crowd to ever witness a Sycamore Football game. The previous high was 96,461 at Penn State in 2011.
• The Sycamores have now played in two of the five largest college football stadiums in the past six years. Penn State's Beaver Stadium (106,572) ranks second behind Michigan's Michigan Stadium (107,601), and Tennessee's Neyland Stadium fifth behind Ohio State's Ohio Stadium (third, 104,944) and Texas A&M's Kyle Field (fourth, 102,733).
• New head coach Curt Mallory is looking for his first career victory. The last Sycamore head coach to earn his first win on the road was Tim McGuire at Southeast Missouri in 1998 (21-14).
• Indiana State and Illinois State have played 68 times in total, with the Redbirds leading the all-time series 36-30-2. Indiana State holds a 21-12-2 record over ILS in Terre Haute while the Redbirds are 24-9 in games played in Normal. The Sycamores defeated Illinois State in 2016 in Terre Haute, 34-31. The last time the Sycamores defeated Illinois State in Normal was in 1996.
• Before the season opener, ISU had not lost an FCS non-conference game since falling 38-37 at Tennessee Tech in 2013. The Sycamores would have their revenge the following season, topping TTU 49-14 in Terre Haute in 2014.
• Indiana State has recorded the second-fewest penalties in MVFC with only 15 for 147 yards or 49 yards per game. The mark is good enough for 13th nationally.
• The Sycamores finished no higher than eighth in the Valley in penalties in each of the last three seasons, finishing eighth in 2016 (55.8 YPG), 10th in 2015 (68.0 YPG) and 10th in 2014 (65.1 YPG).
• This marks the 113th season of football at Indiana State, which dates 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 384-520-23 (.415) and is competing for the 32nd consecutive season as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• All-time, the Sycamores are 61-148 in MVFC play.
• Indiana State has gone 8-10 against FCS non-conference teams in the past 10 seasons, and recently had a six-game winning streak dating back to 2013 snapped by Eastern Illinois in the season opener.
SYCAMORES IN THE NATIONAL POLLS/VS. RANKED TEAMS
• Indiana State has ranked nationally in some variation 52 times since joining the Valley in 1986.
• ISU was ranked a school-record 20 straight weeks from Sept. 19, 2014 until Nov. 2, 2015.
• Since joining the Valley, the Sycamores have reached a high ranking of No. 14 three times: 1989 (Preseason), 1995 (Nov. 6) and 2012 (Oct. 29).
• Prior to joining the MVFC, the Sycamores reached an all-time high ranking of No. 1 in the nation during the 1984 Playoff season.
• The Sycamores have faced the No. 1 team in the nation 10 times since joining the Valley, going 1-9 in such games. ISU's one victory came at No. 1 North Dakota State on Oct. 13, 2012, winning 17-14 in the Fargodome.
• The Sycamores own a 16-90 all-time record against Top-25 teams, which includes a 12-69 mark against ranked MVFC schools.
• Indiana State's last win against a ranked team came against No. 9 Illinois State in Terre Haute on Sept. 24, 2016 (34-31).
• Since joining the Valley, Indiana State is 20-25 as a ranked team.
• While ranked, Indiana State is 3-10 all-time vs. other ranked MVFC schools, all wins coming in 2014 vs. No. 10 Northern Iowa on Oct. 4 (20-19), at No. 19 Southern Illinois on Oct. 25 (41-26) and at No. 15 Youngstown State on Nov. 15 (27-24, OT).
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• New offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski has installed a brand new offensive system for the Sycamores in 2017, moving away from the spread system of years past toward a pro-style, run-oriented offense.
• Senior TE Jacquet McClendon leads ISU and ranks second in the Valley with 18 receptions for 209 yards and two touchdown's through three games.
• McClendon was the second-best returning receiver for the Sycamores from 2016, when he recorded 157 yards on 14 receptions.
• Entering the 2017 season, McClendon only had 188 career receiving yards on 16 career receptions and zero touchdowns. This season, McClendon has surpassed his career total in yards at 209.
• McClendon hauled in his first career TD reception at Tennessee in the third quarter, a 23-yard catch from redshirt freshman QB Cade Sparks -- the first career passing TD of his career as well.
• ISU ranks fifth nationally with 16.97 yards per completion. Sparks ranks 14th in the country with 9.19 yards per attempt.
• Sparks lost out in a training camp position battle with returning starter Isaac Harker, but was put in the game in the second quarter vs. Eastern Illinois and earned his first career start at Tennessee.
• Sparks completed his first career pass for 43 yards to WR Bob Pugh vs. EIU.
• Sparks more than tripled his career passing totals with a lights-out passing showcase at No. 19 Liberty on Saturday night. Sparks put up the second-best passing game in school history with 405 yards through the air, falling just short of Mike Perish's 2014 record of 407 set in the FCS Playoffs at Eastern Kentucky.
• Sparks' performance (and a 31-yard TD pass by holder Jeremy Patterson on a fake FG) helped break the ISU school record for team passing yards, totaling 436 to surpass the 2013 record of 433 set vs. Quincy. Sparks' final line on the night read 22-of-36 for 405 yards, two TD, one INT and a long of 64.
• Sparks redshirted the 2016 season after leading the state of California in passing touchdowns as a high school senior with 52 TD in 2015. His senior year final line read 184-of-308 for 3,225 yards, 52 TD, 4 INT and one rushing TD.
• Through three games, Sparks is 33-of-62 for 570 yards, three touchdowns and one interceptions.
• Harker was an Honorable Mention All-MVFC member in 2016 after becoming the first Valley QB to 2,000 yards, ending with the third-best passing season in school history at 2,559 yards.
• Redshirt senior RB LeMonte Booker missed all of 2016 due to injury but returned to the field with 154 rushing yards and 158 all-purpose yards with two total touchdowns against Eastern Illinois, accounting for 53.9 percent of ISU's offense.
• Booker followed that up with 76 yards on 15 carries at Tennessee.
• Booker's first two games of 2017 constitute the first time in his Sycamore career that he has put up consecutive games of at least 68 rushing yards or more.
• Booker's 154 rushing yards vs. EIU was a career-high (previous high was 137 vs. Butler in 2015), and the 55th game in ISU history of at least 150 rushing yards.
• Booker's rushing totals were the most since Shakir Bell tallied 201 yards at Tennessee Tech in 2013. His 31 rushes also constituted the first 30-plus rush game by a Sycamore since Bell had 33 carries at Southern Illinois in 2012.
• Booker is the first ISU runningback not named Shakir Bell to rush for 150 yards in a single game since Darrius Gates rushed for 160 vs. St. Joseph's in 2010.
• Booker eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for his career in rushing yards this year, currently sitting at 1,209 career yards. Booker also ranks just 48 yards shy of the all-time top-10 in all-purpose yards at 2,565.
• Currently, Booker ranks second in the Valley and 21st in the FCS in rushing with 325 yards.
• Booker was named a Preseason Honorable Mention All-MVFC member as a running back this fall, his second preseason honor after also earning Honorable Mention as a return specialist in 2015.
• Senior WR Bob Pugh has 335 all-purpose yards this year: 35 rushing yards including 24 at Tennessee. Pugh caught two passes against Eastern Illinois for 47 yards before exploding for 260 yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns at Liberty.
• After rewriting the Indiana State record book at No. 19 Liberty, redshirt senior wide receiver Bob Pugh was named the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week as well as the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week.
• Pugh recorded the second-best receiving game in school history (and fifth-best in the history of the Valley) with 260 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches against Liberty.
• Pugh is the top returning receiver from 2016, when he hauled in 17 passes for 276 yards and one TD. Pugh also had one pass attempt on the season, a 10-yard TD pass to QB Isaac Harker at Minnesota.
• RB Jaquan Keys had a productive sophomore season in 2016 as a compliment to starter Roland Genesy after missing the 2015 season due to injury. Last year, Keys rushing for 311 yards and one score.
• True freshman RB Titus McCoy had an extremely lucrative career at Center Grove High School, which he led to the state finals twice and a state title in 2015. There, McCoy recorded an incredible 3,828 career rushing yards, 645 career receiving yards and 54 total TD.
• Indiana State lost 73.8 percent of its receiving output from 2016 -- including 25.9 percent alone from Robert Tonyan Jr.
• Former walk-on and senior WR Curtis Lee has only played in one career game on special teams prior to 2017, but Lee caught two passes for 47 yards vs. EIU in the season opener.
• Senior TE Calvin Blank has started both games to open the 2017 season, matching his career totals entering the year (started one game apiece in 2015 and 2016).
• True freshman WR Michael Thomas hauled in his first career reception at Tennessee for seven yards.
• True freshman WR Rontrez Morgan has not caught a pass as a Sycamore yet, but he has rushed the ball three times for one yard on jet sweeps.
• Several new tight ends have seen the field in Hecklinski's new scheme, including converted QB and redshirt freshman Zach Larkin, converted offensive lineman and redshirt sophomore Nakia Grier, and converted linebacker and true freshman Tommy Richardson.
DEFENSIVE/SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• New defensive coordinator Brad Wilson has installed a change from the nickel set, 3-4 base of years past into a 4-3 defensive front that puts more emphasis on the front seven attack.
• Indiana State ranks 35th in FCS in rush defense, allowing just 119.0 YPG on the ground.
• The ISU defense has held both EIU (278) and Tennessee (395) to under 400 yards to open the year. ISU has done so now for three consecutive games when 2016's season finale at No. 4 North Dakota State is included (316).
• Indiana State held Eastern Illinois to just 278 yards of total offense, the fewest allowed by a Sycamore defense since yielding 226 to Youngstown State on Nov. 21, 2015.
• Indiana State had just one game in 2016 where the defense allowed fewer than 300 yards of total offense (291, at Youngstown State).
• The Sycamores allowed just 76 yards rushing to EIU, the fewest since holding Southern Illinois to 27 yards on Oct. 25, 2014.
• ISU has recorded 21.0 TFL for a loss of 86 yards in three games this season (7.0 each game). The Sycamores had four games with 7.0 TFL or more in 2016.
• The Sycamores have recorded 8.0 sacks for a loss of 54 yards -- including 5.0 alone vs. EIU in the season opener.
• The 5.0 sacks recorded against EIU in the season opener is the most by a Sycamore team since tallying 5.0 at Tennessee Tech on Sept. 28, 2013. ISU ranks 13th in the FCS and fourth in the MVFC with 3.0 sacks per game.
• Sophomore DE Inoke Moala ranks second in the MVFC and 24th in the nation with 5.0 TFL. Moala has earned his first three career starts at defensive end to open the 2017 season. As a true freshman, Moala recorded just five tackles. Through three games, he has 17 total tackles (nine solo), 5.0 TFL (19 yards), 1.5 sacks (nine yards) and two QB hurries.
• Senior DE Evan Gill has also earned three starts as a Sycamore to open the 2017 season. Gill was one of four to transfer in from Saint Joseph's College in Indiana, which closed following the Spring 2017 semester.
• Gill has 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season after two All-Conference seasons at Saint Joseph's. There, Gill was a two-time All-Conference performer and a Team Captain with 78 tackles, 12 sacks and 22.0 TFL.
• Redshirt sophomore LB Jonas Griffith has led the Sycamores in tackles in two games -- recording 13 vs. EIU and nine at Tennessee. Griffith ranks 13th in the FCS and second in the Valley with 31 total tackles, as well as 55th in the nation and third in the MVFC in solo tackles with 15.
• Griffith played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2016 and returns as the third-best tackler on ISU's roster with 37 total tackles last year. Griffith helped lead ISU to a near-upset at No. 14 Youngstown State in 2016, where he led the Sycamores with a career-high nine tackles and his first career interception at a crucial juncture in the game.
• Griffith and redshirt junior LB Katrell Moss both own 1.5 TFL on the season, and both recorded 13 tackles against EIU -- the most since Jameer Thurman recorded 14 against Missouri State in 2016.
• Moss is the top returning tackler for the Sycamores with 46 total tackles in 2016 (28 solo). Moss also had two pass breakups and one fumble recovery for eight yards. Moss eclipsed the 100 tackle mark for his career vs. EIU. He currently stands at 119 career stops.
• Moss was a member of the 2015 MVFC All-Newcomer Team after recording 47 total tackles -- 11 and a forced fumble coming against then-defending national champions North Dakota State.
• Junior CB Rondell Green ranks first in the Valley with 1.7 passes defended per game -- two pass breakups vs. Eastern Illinois and an interception in the endzone to stall a redzone drive at Tennessee. On his career, Green now owns 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.
• Green was one of several heroes in ISU's thrilling 27-24 win at Southeast Missouri in 2016. Green recorded a key pass breakup on third down late in the game to give the Sycamore offense the ball back with 1:33 left to drive the field and win the game.
• Safety KeAaris Ardley recorded a season best 12 tackles (7 solo) at Liberty. The senior had just 18 tackles his junior season.
• DT Rex Mosley sparked a brief rally for the Sycamores at Tennessee with a forced fumble and recovery on a sack of Tennessee QB Quinten Dormady to setup a 23-yard TD reception by Jacquet McClendon. On the season, Mosley has eight tackles (three solo) for 1.5 TFL (10 yards), 1.0 sacks (seven yards), two pass breakups (vs. EIU), one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
• Senior LB Jordan Jackson recorded a career-high seven tackles vs. EIU and a career-high 1.5 TFL at Tennessee. Jackson missed the 2014 and 2015 seasons in their entirety due to injury, but was able to play in 10 games and start in four during his redshirt junior season in 2016.
• Sophomore kicker Jerry Nunez went 2-for-3 in field goals against Liberty, the 18th and 19th of his young career. Nunez connected on two field goals from 43 yards out, before the potential 23-yard game-winning FG was blocked as time expired. It was the seventh career multi-FG game for Nunez, and his 43-yarder stood as his 10th career field goal from 40 yards or longer after going 7-of-8 from there and a perfect 4-for-4 from 30-39 as a freshman.
• Nunez led the MVFC and ranked ninth nationally in 2016 with a 15-of-18 mark in field goals last season. For his efforts, Nunez earned Second-Team All-MVFC and MVFC All-Newcomer honors in 2016, and this fall was just honored as the Preseason All-MVFC selection for kicker. In 2016, Nunez was one of nine kickers in the nation to start the season 7-for-7 in field goals. His 83.3 percentage in field goals in 2016 tied a school record set by Tanner Fritschle in 2012, who also hit 15 field goals on 18 attempts.
• Senior punter Thomas Bouldin recorded the longest punt in the Valley in 2016, registering at 70 yards at Southern Illinois.
• Bouldin currently ranks 20th in the nation in punting at 43.1 yards per attempt.
• Senior kickoff specialist Andrew Lunsford has recorded 43 total touchbacks as a Sycamore and has a career kickoff average of 60.1 yards.
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