Know Your Opponent: Week 3 Indiana State Sycamores

Head Coach: Curt Mallory, 8^th season

Overall: 26-55

Bowl Appearances/FCS Playoff Appearances at Indiana State: 0

2024 Record: 4-8

Mascot: Sycamore Sam

Colors: Royal Blue and White

Outfitter: Under Armour

National Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 1 (1964)

Heisman Winners: 0

Last Week: 38-14 over Eastern Illinois

Betting Information

There is no released line on this game (as of 9/9/2025)

Statistical Leaders

Passing: Elijah Owens – 28/37 for 317 yards with three TDs

Rushing: Plez Lawrence – 31 carries for 143 yards (4.6 ypc) with 3 TDs

Receiving: Plez Lawrence – 5 catches for 111 yards with 2 TDs

Tackles: Kimal Clark – 24 tackles/Logan Wilson with 5.5 TFLs

Stat of the Week

Indiana State appears to have improved after a rough 2024 season. They turned a 27-20 defeat at Eastern Illinois last season into a 38-14 victory over the Panthers on Saturday in Terre Haute. Their most recent performances against Power Conference teams is not promising though. The Sycamores not been competitive against FBS foes since a 2019 close defeat to Kansas.

Sycamores’ Talking Points

1. Build Your Depth

This is a game that Indiana should be expecting to win by however many points they would like to win by. Call it a “set the score” night. For reference, Tom Allen’s last IU team beat ISU 41-7 and Purdue handled them 49-0 last season. There are three primary goals for the Indiana Hoosiers: win the game to move to 3-0, leave the game healthy and get lots of snaps for backups. That should mean carries for players like Khobie Martin and Sean Cuono at running back, snaps for young offensive linemen and targets for guys like Lebron Bond, Charlie Becker and Davion Chandler. On defense, you’d hope to be able to rotate at linebacker and get potentially very valuable snaps for different options at safety.

2. Injury at Quarterback

According to Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory, starting quarterback and second-leading rusher Elijah Owens suffered a collarbone injury late in the win over Eastern Illinois and he will miss this contest. The Sycamore are expected to turn to Keegan Patterson. He played well against the Panthers, throwing for 111 yards with two touchdowns and running for another 78. Patterson is a redshirt junior that joined the program after spending a season at the University of Southern California (2022) and then playing nine games for Northwest Mississippi Community College in 2023 and appearing in two games last season for Indiana State. Indiana should be able to overwhelm the ISU offensive line.

3. Indiana’s Rushing Attack

The Indiana Hoosiers have run the ball extremely well through two games. They ran for more than 300 yards against both Old Dominion and Kennesaw State and are averaging 6.48 yards per carry. That includes a 75-yard scamper from wide receiver Omar Cooper but the running backs are each over 5.4 yards per carry: Roman Hemby with 5.47, Kaelon Black with 5.52 and Lee Beebe impressing with 7.41 yards per rush. Indiana State has been rock solid against the run thus far. Giving up just two yards per carry against Eastern Illinois and only 3.5 yards per rush in their opener against a school called McKendree. In total, opponents have gained only 2.7 yards per carry. Despite ISU’s improvement against the run, it would be very surprising to see them be able to resist the Hoosiers’ rushing attack for a sustained period of time on Friday night.