TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- No. 24 Indiana State will look to add to its four-game winning streak Saturday afternoon when the Sycamores travel to Western Illinois with a postseason bid on the line. Kickoff with the Leathernecks is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET from Hanson Field.
The game will air live on ESPN 3. Sycamore fans can also 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).
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE LEATHERNECKS
Western Illinois leads the all-time series with the Sycamores, 26-15 and has taken the last five meetings between the programs. ISU leads the all-time series with the Leathernecks 11-10 in Terre Haute, but is 4-16 in Macomb. Indiana State's last win against Western in Macomb came in 2012 with a 23-7 victory at Hanson Field.
TURNING THE CORNER
Coming off an 0-11 season a year ago, the Sycamores were picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with just one vote not assuming the worst. The Sycamores are now 6-4, clinching a winning season, and have won four-straight games for the first time since 2014. The streak also marks the first time since 2012 that Indiana State has won four-straight MVFC games.
SYCAMORES CRACK THE TOP 25
Indiana State is the 8th different MVFC team to earn a Top 25 ranking this year as ISU clocks in at No. 24 in the AFCA coaches poll this week, the first time the Sycamores have been ranked since 2016. In the league's 34-year history, there have been four winless teams, including Indiana State in 2017. ISU's the first to be ranked in the year following a winless season. Notably, six MVFC teams received mention this week. Among conferences, the MVFC is the top-rated league in the FCS (Sagarin Rankings), and also ranks ahead of a two FBS leagues, including Conference USA (both the East and West divisions), and the Sun Belt (West Division).
SCORING TURNAROUND FOR THE AGES
What the difference one year can make. The Sycamores have won four of their last five games as they head into the final week of the regular season with a road contest at Western Illinois. In 2017, the Sycamores lost all five games during this stretch of current success by a combined 163 points. Flash forward to 2018 and ISU owns a 34-point advantage over the same five teams – Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Youngstown State, South Dakota and nationally-ranked Illinois State. Combined that is +197 margin from this year until last year for the Sycamores against those three programs. So not only have the Sycamores upped their win total by at least six games from last year to this – the have improved their scoring margin in those games by nearly 200 points. Through the last five weeks, the Sycamores have averaged a nearly 40-point scoring margin improvement – per game – against those same programs in 2017.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
The offense for the Sycamores is night and day when compared to last year's squad. The rushing attack is ranked 11th in the nation with 251.1 yards on the ground per game. In 11 games in 2017, ISU totaled 1,185 while the Sycamores have racked up 2,511 yards on the ground in 2018.
RED ZONE SUCCESS
One of the keys this season for the Sycamores has been their success when entering the red zone. ISU ranks 10th nationally and has scored in the red zone 38-of-42 times for a 91 percent average. Last season, ISU entered the red zone just 19 times over 11 games with only nine touchdowns. This season, the Sycamores have 29 touchdowns and nine made field goals in 10 games in 2018.
PROTECTING THE BALL
Indiana State has turned the ball over just five times (2 INT, 3 FUM) this season, tied for the fewest turnovers in FCS with Princeton. Last season, ISU turned the ball over 29 times.
A CHANGE ON THIRD DOWN FROM A YEAR AGO
Indiana State ranks 57th in FCS with a 38 percent conversion rate (51-of-135) on third down, an improvement from a year ago when the Sycamores finished 122nd after converting just 21 percent of their third down opportunities. The team is also moving the ball at a much higher rate with 211 first downs, fifth-best in the MVFC.
THE DYNAMIC DUO AT LINEBACKER
Katrell Moss and
Jonas Griffith have each tallied over 100 tackles this season for the Sycamores and are the lone duo to reach the feat in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, sitting at No. 1 and 2 respectively in the conference rankings. The duo also recorded 100+ tackles in 2017, making them the first Sycamores to record 100+ tackles in consecutive seasons since 2011-12 when Aaron Archie and Jacolby Washington did so.
JONAS GRIFFITH A PROBLEM FOR OPPOSING OFFENSES
Griffith is a force to be reckoned with on the Sycamore defense. In 10 games this season, Griffith has 123 tackles (73 solo) to lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He has recorded 18 tackles in consecutive games in weeks seven and eight and has had eight or more tackles in all but one game this season. His 12.3 tackles per game rank fourth nationally while his 7.3 solo tackles per game ranks tops in the country. Griffith sits just 33 tackles away from 300-career tackles with a year of eligibility remaining. Griffith is currently 14th in program history in single season tackles (123), needing just five more to enter the top-10.
OFFENSES MUST BE AWARE OF KATRELL MOSS
Moss is second on the team and third in Valley play with 113 tackles this season, tied for the 22nd most in a single season. Moss, an Indianapolis native, has 58 solo stops. Moss has five games with 10 or more tackles and has not recorded fewer than seven tackles in any game this season.
MOSS JOINS 300-TACKLE CLUB
Moss joined 16 other Sycamore defenders Saturday against Illinois State as he joined the 300-Tackle Club with 13 tackles in the game. Linebacker Jameer Thurman (2013-16) was the last player to hit the mark.
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
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