TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State football makes the trek to Youngstown State Saturday, Oct. 27 to faceoff with the Penguins. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET from Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown. The game will air live on ESPN+ with Jim Campbell handling the play-by-play duties while Drae Smith will serve as the color commentator. Sycamore fans can listen live on the radio on WIBQ 97.9 FM (1230 AM) locally or online at GoSycamores.com/Watch free-of-charge with
Luke Martin (play-by-play) and
Brian Fritz (color).
TOUGH NEWS FOR THE TREES
Head coach
Curt Mallory announced Tuesday that senior running back
Ja'Quan Keys will hang up his cleats with a season and career ending injury suffered in last weekend's 24-21 victory over Southern Illinois. Keys, a native of Hammond, La., who's family relocated to Indianapolis following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, threw the final punches during his senior campaign, accounting for 948 yards on 158 carries while etching his name in the Sycamore record book with 13 touchdowns -- the third most in a single season in program history.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State holds a 22-5 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1988. The Sycamores are 3-10 all-time in Youngstown, with the last road win over YSU coming in 2014. The Penguins have won the last two meetings in the series, first a 13-10 victory in 2016 in Youngstown before winning big in Terre Haute a year ago, 66-24.
RED ZONE SUCCESS
One of the keys this season for the Sycamores has been their success when entering the red zone. ISU ranks 19th nationally and has scored in the red zone 27-of-30 times for a 90 percent average. Last season, ISU entered the red zone just 19 times over 11 games with only nine touchdowns. This season, the Sycamores have 20 touchdowns and seven made field goals through seven games.
A CHANGE ON THIRD DOWN
This season, Indiana State ranks 54th in FCS with a 38.1 percent conversion rate (37-of-97) on third downs, an improvement from a year ago. The team is also moving the ball at a much higher rating, with 147 first downs in seven games.
RUSHING ATTACK STRONG FOR THE TREES
The offense for the Sycamores is night and day when compared to last year's squad. The rushing attack is ranked 10th in the nation with 267.6 yards on the ground per game. Much of that total comes from
Ja'Quan Keys who is third in the country with 135.4 rushing yards per game. In total, Keys has 948 yards on the ground through seven games and has scored 13 touchdowns. In 11 games in 2017, ISU totaled 1,185 yards and this season in seven games, the Sycamores have racked up 1,873 yards.
THE STREAK COMES TO AN END
Indiana State football snapped a 14-game MVFC losing streak dating back to 2016 Saturday afternoon after the Sycamores defeated Southern Illinois, 24-21 to spoil the Saluki Homecoming. The win marked the first MVFC win for head coach
Curt Mallory and the fourth straight against SIU in Carbondale. The Sycamores moved to 4-1 inside Saluki Stadium with the lone loss coming during its inaugural year of 2010.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
