At First Glance: Week 3 Indiana State Sycamores

Aug 31, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Indiana State Sycamores quarterback Elijah Owens (2) hands the ball off to running back Plez Lawrence (1) during the first quarter of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports Subscriber Content Week Three: Indiana State Sycamores Date & Time: Friday, September 12th at 6:30PM Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN TV: BTN Sycamores at a Glance Head Coach: Curt Mallory Entering his Ninth Season as a Head Coach Record at Indiana St.: 24-55 (16-40 in Missouri Valley) Overall Record: 24-55 Last Season: 4-8 (3-5 in Missouri Valley) Last Postseason Appearance: 2014 Sycamores Returning Leaders Passing: Elijah Owens– 181-of-263 (68.8%), 1,717 Yards 12 Touchdowns 5 Interceptions Rushing: Elijah Owens –645 Yards on 166 Carries 8 Touchdowns Receiving: Rashad Rochelle – 58 Catches for 527 Yards 4 Touchdowns Tackles:– Lucas McCallister (LB) 34 Tackles (11 solo), 1.5 Tackles for Loss, 0.5 Sacks Sycamore Names to Know: Elijah Owens, Quarterback Rashad Rochelle, Wide Receiver Sycamore Preseason Predictions Athlon: N/A Lindy’s: 9th in the Missouri Valley Phil Steele: N/A SP+: N/A Impact Newcomers for the Sycamores Larry Stephens III, Wide Receiver (Transfer from Toledo) Deion Brown, Running Back (Transfer from Eastern Michigan) Drew Covington, Linebacker (Transfer from Louisville) Biggest Questions Facing the Sycamores Is 2025 the year they can make a jump to .500 or better? Do they have enough on defense to win in the MVC? Can Elijah Owens take the next step to being an FCS star? Program Preview Curt Mallory is entering his ninth season at the helm of the Sycamores. He has just 24 wins in that time and has not had a winning season since 2018. Indiana State has not made the FCS playoffs since 2014. There has to be questions about what exactly the future of Indiana State football looks like. That goes for most FCS schools these days as well. The 2025 edition of the Sycamores may be their best chance to end the drought for winning seasons. They have a rising star in Elijah Owens who took his lumps as a redshirt freshman, but led the Sycamores to their best season since 2021. Rashad Rochelle is a P4 transfer who can make plays. The offense should be able to hold their own against an FCS schedule. Indiana State did knock off #15 North Dakota last year before dropping their final four games. The issue with Indiana State will be on the defensive side of the ball where they lose a ton of production. FCS teams will, and have, face a number of battles in their journey to winning seasons. Productive and talented players will get plucked to go up a level or two leaving teams like the Sycamores in a constant youth movement unless they can get some veterans eager to play in the portal. Offensive Preview Indiana State redshirt sophomore quarterback Elijah Owens took his lumps last year and proved he could win games and make plays in the FCS. He led the Sycamores in both passing and rushing yards. He threw more touchdowns than interceptions (12-5). At 6’2” and 225 pounds he has good size and can take a hit. Owens could take the jump in his development and be the playmaker ISU needs to get back to the postseason. Keegan Patterson is a redshirt junior and will back up Owens. He originally went to USC before transferring to Northwest Mississippi Community College. The running back room is headlined by Plez Lawrence who played in 11 games last year and ran for 410 yards and three touchdowns. He was not the most efficient runner at just 3.8 yards per carry, but he has 912 career rushing yards and six touchdowns. Eastern Michigan transfer Deion Brown comes in after playing 11 games for the Eagles in 2024. He ran for 114 yards on 25 carries. He had a terrific high school career at Kirkwood in St. Louis and added talent and speed to the backfield. Both backs are smaller at 5’9” and 200 pounds or less. Rashad Rochelle is the Sycamore’s top playmaker at wide receiver. He played two seasons at Rutgers before transferring to Indiana State. He played running back and returned kicks for the Scarlet Knights. Last season at ISU Rochelle moved to receiver and led the Sycamores in receiving yards. At 5’11” and 180 pounds he is a smaller receiver, but has the moves to shake loose in space. Larry Stephens III has 40 games of FBS experience with Toledo. He has 25 career catches and is looking for a bigger role with the Sycamores in his final season of college football. Stephens III is another smaller receiver, but he is not your typical FCS player. Indiana State does have some bigger receivers in Connecticut transfer Zach Dwady Jr. (6’3”) and Jaden Wayt (6’3”). However, behind the top three players this unit is extremely young. Iowa transfer Cael Vanderbush was a big time recruit and tapped as a P4 starter by 247Sports. His career has not panned out that way, but at 6’5” and 240 pounds, he can be a force at the FCS level at tight end. On the offensive line the Sycamore has no seniors, but have tried to plug holes with transfers. Redshirt juniors Drew Page, Tyson Miller and Ezekiel Pacheco all have playing experience at other schools. Kai Holec is a giant at 6’8” and 325 pounds. He comes in as a redshirt freshman after a year at San Diego State. Defensive Preview What could hold the Sycamores back is the defense. After allowing 31.6 points per game and 379 yards per game in 2024, the unit may be worse in 2025. Indiana State loses their top six tacklers as well. Indiana State will look to FBS cast offs to rebuild the defense. At linebacker Drew Covington comes in from Louisville after playing in 12 games with the Cardinals. Defensive lineman Jayden Childers has 25 games under his belt from his time at Western Michigan. Elijah Coker and CJ Davis return in the secondary, but the rest of the unit is depending on transfers to come in and make an impact. Some names to watch there are Devin Johnson (Miami OH), JT Anderson (FIU) and Will Gavin (Kansas). Special Teams Preview The Sycamores were not very good in the kicking game last year either. As a team they went 5-of-8 on field goals as they tried three players at that spot. Sebastian Lopez returns there, but he missed his only field goal attempt last year and was just 2-of-3 on extra points. Lopez did handle kickoff duties last year. Harry Tranum returns to punt for the Sycamores. He punted 73 times for an average of 40.2 yards per punt. Rochelle will handle the return duties on both kickoffs and punts. He averaged 23.7 yards per kick return and over 10 yards per punt. 2025 FIRST GLANCE PREVIEWS Week One: Old Dominion Week Two: Kennesaw State Subscribe to get access Read more of this content when you subscribe today. Log in

At First Glance: Week 3 Indiana State Sycamores

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