TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State forced three second-half turnovers and scored 20 unanswered points as the Sycamores rallied back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to take the 20-17 Homecoming win over visiting Southern Illinois.
 
Geoffrey Brown started the scoring for Indiana State (3-5, 2-2) as the senior linebacker stepped in front of SIU (2-6, 0-4) quarterback Jake Curry's pass in the left flat and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown with 10:39 remaining in the third quarter to pull the Sycamores back to 17-7 early in the second half.
 
The Salukis nearly added to their lead on the ensuing possession as quarterback Michael Lindauer broke up the middle after taking the snap from the SIU 46. Indiana State cornerback Tony Roberts had the angle on the SIU quarterback and came up from behind to strip the ball away at the Indiana State 2 with Ahmond Glass falling on the loose ball to swing the momentum back to the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State was methodical on their next drive as the Sycamores utilized 14 plays to move the 98 yards down the field highlighted by an Elijah Owens 11-yard run to move the ball out of the shadow of their end zone, while Owens added a 14-yard completion to Rashad Rochelle to put the ball across midfield. A Southern Illinois targeting penalty also added a first-down late, before Owens found Lance Rees in the end zone for a two-yard touchdown pass with 14:20 remaining in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit down to 17-14.
 
The Salukis mounted another drive as SIU moved the ball from their own 25 to midfield taking advantage of an Indiana State targeting penalty along the way. Lucas McAllister ended the Southern Illinois drive forcing a fumble on Willtrell Hartson's carry up the middle and Roberts was there to fall on the ball setting up the Sycamore possession at the Indiana State 44.
 
Indiana State utilized seven rushing plays on the go-ahead scoring drive with Plez Lawrence, Owens, Rees, and Shen Butler-Lawson all carrying the ball on the drive as the Sycamores moved the ball down to the SIU 28. Owens took it the rest of the way as the redshirt freshman quarterback broke loose going 28 yards up the middle and away from the defense to make it a 20-17 game with 7:45 remaining.
 
Southern Illinois had two final drives in the game in attempting to come back. The first drive stalled at the Indiana State thanks to Joey Shew's sack near midfield. An errant snap on the punt attempt led to SIU punter Paul Geelen attempting to run the ball for a first down on 4th-and-18, but the Sycamore defense was there with DJ Griffith and Kaleal Davis making the stop for the turnover on downs.
 
The second drive started with 1:54 remaining on the clock as the Salukis took over at their own 15 following a 42-yard Harry Traum punt. SIU moved the ball up to their 35 thanks to a roughing the passer penalty, before the Indiana State defense took over again. Gianini Belizaire and Shew combined for a sack forcing a 3rd-and-13, while Roberts again came in clutch in a key situation with a knockdown on a ball thrown to Keontez Lewis at the first-down marker to set up fourth down.
 
The heave downfield was incomplete allowing Indiana State to run out the clock with Owens' 13-yard carry on 4th-and-6 securing the Sycamores' win and .500 record in Missouri Valley Football play.
 
SIU took the 17-0 lead into halftime thanks to Keontez Lewis' one-yard touchdown reception from Lindauer, while Curry added a 24-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. Geelan capped the scoring with a 37-yard field goal after the SIU defense recorded an interception near midfield just before the halftime horn.
 
Owens finished 13-of-17 through the air for 78 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but the Jacksonville, Ill. native did most of his damage on the ground. He finished with 15 carries for a game-high 119 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Sycamores ran for 219 yards in the win. Rochelle was his leading target hauling in eight catches for 56 yards, while Lawrence finished with 17 carries for 42 yards overall in support.
 
Micah Hauser posted his second double-digit tackling effort of the season finishing with 14 stops on the day Brown added 11 tackles and 1.0 tackles-for-loss to go with his third-quarter pick-six. Joey Shew added 2.5 sacks and a career-high 3.0 tackles-for-loss in the win.
 
Curry finished 18-for-28 for 171 yards and an interception in leading Southern Illinois' passing efforts in the game, while Lindauer went 2-for-2 for 10 yards and a touchdown pass to Keontez Lewis. Lewis was the primary target through the air hauling in five passes for 39 yards. Lindauer was the leading rusher with three carries for 60 yards.
 
Ubayd Steed led SIU's tackling efforts with 15 stops in the game, while Shug Walker added a double-digit contest with 10 tackles. Devin Love recorded SIU's lone sack and added a forced fumble. Ben Bogle recovered the fumble and added an interception to go with nine tackles in the game.
 
How They Scored

• Southern Illinois took the 7-0 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter as Keontez Lewis hauled in the one-yard touchdown pass from Michael Lindauer to cap a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took 7:13 off the clock.
• The Salukis added to their lead before the break as Southern Illinois executed their two-minute offense capped by Jake Curry's 24-yard touchdown run as SIU went 80 yards on five plays spanning 58 seconds to take the 14-0 lead with 54 seconds left in the first half.
• An Indiana State interception near midfield set up Paul Geelan's 37-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter giving Southern Illinois the 17-0 lead at the halftime break.
• Geoffrey Brown put the Sycamores on the board with 10:39 remaining in the third quarter as the senior linebacker stepped in front of Curry's pass in the left flat and took it back 21 yards for a pick-six to cut the deficit down to 17-7.
• Elijah Owens connected on a two-yard jump pass to Lance Rees with 14:20 remaining in the fourth quarter to cap a 14-play, 98-yard drive in cutting the deficit down to 17-14. The drive was started by Tony Roberts' hustling back to force a fumble on Michael Lindauer's 52-yard drive with the ball recovered by Ahmond Glass at the Indiana State 2-yard line.
• Owens capped the Sycamore comeback with the go-ahead 28-yard touchdown run off as Indiana State capitalized on a second Southern Illinois fumble near midfield to take the lead with 7:45 remaining. The extra-point went wide left to keep it a 20-17 margin.

 
News & Notables

• Elijah Owens recorded his second 100-yard rushing effort of the 2024 season as the redshirt freshman quarterback recorded 119 yards on 15 carries on Saturday afternoon. He previously topped 100 yards on Oct. 5 against Youngstown State (27 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD).
• Rashad Rochelle recorded his second eight-catch game of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon posting an eight-catch, 56-yard statistical line. He last recorded eight catches for 53 yards two weeks ago against Murray State (Oct. 12, 2024).
• Indiana State recorded its second win of the 2024 season while throwing for under 100 yards this year as the Sycamores picked up 78 passing yards. Previously, Indiana State recorded 12 passing yards in their 24-13 win over Dayton back on September 14.
• It marked the third game in 2024 Indiana State did not crack the 100-yard passing mark after recording 50 passing yards against Purdue in the season opener.
• The Sycamores eclipsed 200 rushing yards for the second time in 2024 and posted at least one rushing touchdown in the sixth consecutive game dating back to September 14 against Dayton. Indiana State's 219 rushing yards trails the 264 rushing yards they recorded earlier this year against Houston Christian back on September 28.
• Micah Hauser (14) and Geoffrey Brown (11) both hit double-digit tackles on Saturday afternoon marking the fourth time this season a pair of Indiana State defensive players hit 10-plus tackles in the same game.
• Hauser's 14 tackles marked a career-high for the safety, while Brown's 11 tackles marked his second double-digit tackling effort of the 2024 season.
• Brown's 11 tackles give him 286 career tackles leaving him 14 shy of becoming the 19th Indiana State player to record 300 career tackles with the Sycamores and first since Jonas Griffith achieved the feat back in 2019.
• Joey Shew's 2.5-sack game marked just the fourth time a Sycamore player has posted at least 2.5 sacks in a game in the Curt Mallory coaching era and first since Garret Ollendieck went for 3.0 sacks back against Western Illinois on Nov. 11, 2023.
• Shew's 3.0 tackles-for-loss on Saturday tied for the fifth-most by a player in a single game in the Mallory era.

Team Green Law Postgame Press Conference 


Up Next
Indiana State continues Missouri Valley Football play at home next weekend as the Sycamores host North Dakota. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Fighting Hawks is set for 1 p.m. ET with the Valley Game of the Week scheduled to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Football, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.