TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State football travels to regional rival Eastern Illinois Saturday, Sept. 15 for the 86th meeting between the two programs. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET from O'Brian Field in Charleston.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus. Mike Bradd will handle the play-by-play duties while Jack Ashmore 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).
QUICK HITS
• Saturday will mark the 86th meeting between the two programs. In a series dating back to 1901, the Panthers lead the all-time series 43-38-4 and have won six straight dating back to 2005. EIU won last season's meeting 22-20 with a last-second touchdown in Terre Haute. Indiana State's last victory came in 2004 with a 33-30 overtime win in Charleston.
• The Sycamores' season opening win against Quincy snapped a 14-game losing streak for the Sycamore football program dating back to the 2016 season (1 year, 10 months, eight days). ISU's last victory before the opener was a 22-14 win at Southern Illinois. The victory also marked the first win for head coach
Curt Mallory and his staff since taking over the program in January of 2017.
• Indiana State returns 13 starters from a year ago, including six on the offensive side of the ball and seven on defense. The Sycamores' top returners include RB
Ja'Quan Keys (208 yards rushing, two touchdowns); LB
Jonas Griffith (107 tackles, 5.5 sacks); LB
Katrell Moss (101 tackles, nine tackles for loss); DB
Rondell Green (66 tackles, two interceptions). ISU also brings back five offensive linemen with game experience.
• Full position previews from fall camp can be found at
sycamor.es/YouTube
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Since
Curt Mallory has taken over at Indiana State, he has put a focus on the ground game. Through two games this season, the Sycamores have outgained its opponents 513 to 280 and rank 12th nationally with 256.5 rushing yards per game. Indiana State put up 339 yards in week one and 174 yards during a week two trip at Louisville. Leading the way is senior
Ja'Quan Keys with 182 yards while sophomore
Titus McCoy has 119 yards. Dual threat quarterback
Jalil Kilpatrick has also shown the ability to scramble with 89 yards.
• Indiana State converted just 25 third downs and had the worst conversion rate in all of college football in 2017. Through two games this season, ISU has converted 11 third downs as well as one fourth down conversion against Louisville.
• The Sycamores' top rusher from a year ago returns in redshirt senior
Ja'Quan Keys who ran for 208 yards on 68 attempts. He scored two touchdowns on the ground and caught six passes for 54 yards. The Hammond, Louisiana native recorded his longest run of the season (15 yards) against Western Illinois.
• Keys was one of four Sycamores to rush for a touchdown during Indiana State's season opening win over Quincy. Keys reached the end zone twice in the game, rushing for 80 yards on 13 attempts for a 6.2 yards per carry average. He broke off a run of 31 yards in the third quarter. Keys put the Sycamores on top in the first quarter with a three-yard touchdown before adding his second score in the third quarter.
• Keys currently ranks 23rd nationally and fifth in the MVFC with 91 rushing yards per game.
• Entering 2018, Keys had rushed for 519 yards in two seasons. In two games this season, the senior has 182 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 91 yards per game. He surpassed the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career with 102 yards rushing at Louisville in week two.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• The Sycamores defense has been stout two games into 2018. In total, ISU has allowed just 261 yards per game to rank 16th nationally and just 15.5 points per game to rank 17th in the country.
• Indiana State recorded its first shutout victory since the 2015 during its opener against Quincy, The Sycamore defense was stout throughout, allowing just 159 yards of total offense. Following 60-minutes of action, the defense allowed just 2.8 yards per play, 81 rushing yards and 78 yards through the air. ISU also came away with a turnover while forcing two forced fumbles and a pair of sacks.
• Redshirt junior
Jonas Griffith returned to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky in week two to face the Cardinals. Griffith led the way on the defensive side of the ball with 11 tackles, including five solo stops as well as his first career interception. Griffith returned the interception 20-yards into Louisville territory to setup the Sycamores' first touchdown.
• LB
Katrell Moss is one of three Sycamores with double-digit tackles fowling week two. Moss, an Indianapolis native, has 16 tackles with nine solo stops. Moss finished with seven tackles (five solo) against Louisville.
• DB
Kaelub Newman is one of three Sycamores with 10 or more tackles this season. The cornerback has seven solo stops from his cornerback position, including a career high seven tackles against Louisville. Newman also forced a fumble at Louisville in the third quarter. The junior recorded 32 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass breakups and a sack in 2017 at the College of Dupage.
•
Inoke Moala leads the Sycamores with two sacks for seven yards through two games. The total ranks Moala 21st nationally and tops in the MVFC.
For complete game notes, click
HERE.
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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