Know Your Opponent: Indiana State Sycamores
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Image: Indiana State Atletics
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Head Coach: Curt Mallory
Overall: 19-38
Bowl/FCS Playoff Appearances at Indiana State: Zero
2022 Record: 2-9 (1-7)
Mascot: Sycamore Sam
Colors: Royal Blue and White
Outfitter: Under Armour
National Titles: Zero
Conference Titles: 1 (1964, Indiana Collegiate)
Heisman Winners: Zero
Last Week: 27-0 loss to Eastern Illinois
Statistical Leaders
Passing: Gavin Screws – 13-24 for 116 yards
Rushing: Evan Oales – 9 rushes for 60 yards (6.6 ypc)
Receiving: Dakota Caton – 6 receptions for 70 yards
Tackles: Maddix Blackwell – 11 tackles and one interception
Stat of the Week: Indiana State had six turnovers in its season opening defeat to Eastern Illinois. Two of those turnovers were interceptions that were returned for touchdowns to allow the Panthers to pull away from the Sycamores.
Sycamores Talking Points
1. Can Hoosiers Create Havoc?
Indiana’s defense has worked very hard to create more disruption and takeaways. Tom Allen and his coaching staff brought in a lot of new faces through the transfer portal and hired new defensive coordinator Matt Guerreri to call the defensive plays. The season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes was a very difficult test but the results for the defense were incredibly encouraging. Indiana had several tackles for loss and created one turnover (an interception by Phillip Dunnam). They’ll be looking for much more on Friday night against an Indiana State offense that coughed the ball up six times to Eastern Illinois. The Sycamores were shut out by the Panthers and were also shut out by the Purdue Boilermakers when they played in 2022. This game could be a chance for Indiana’s new look defense to rack up some good numbers and build confidence.
2. A Mallory in Memorial Stadium
The Mallory name is synonymous with Indiana University football. Bill Mallory is widely considered the best coach to stalk the sidelines in Bloomington. He is the school’s winningest coach and led Indiana to some special seasons between 1984 and 1996. Two of Bill’s sons: Doug (defensive analyst at Michigan) and Mike (a special teams coach for the Denver Broncos) with the third son, Curt Mallory, becoming the head coach at Indiana State. Mallory went 0-11 in 2017 but became the FCS Coach of the Year as the Sycamores went 7-4 in 2018. The family connections, as well as all of the in-state players on the Indiana State roster, will make for an emotional contest on Friday night.
3. Misleading Defense
The scoreboard says Indiana State gave up 27 points to Eastern Illinois in the season opener. However, that number does not reflect the performance of the Sycamores defense. Maddix Blackwell had 11 tackles as well as an interception with a 35-yard return. They allowed only 3.1 yards per carry to Eastern Illinois and only gave up two scoring drives in the contest. Indiana’s offense struggled mightily against the Ohio State defense. The Hoosiers will be looking for a good performance against the Sycamores to gain confidence and clarity before clashing with Louisville in week three.