Opponent Insight: Indiana State

Last season will be a year to remember for third year coach Curt Mallory and his Sycamores of Indiana State. The former Michigan Wolverine linebacker led his team to the largest turnaround in all of Division I football in 2018.

After going winless in 2017, the Sycamores came back last season to finish 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which saw them finish with a top-25 ranking by the end of the regular season. Mallory also took home FCS Coach of the Year honors, which was the second time an Indiana State coach has received the award.

Picked to finish fourth in the MVFC, the Sycamores are currently tied for fourth in the conference standings with a 1-1 league mark and 3-3 overall after posting their first conference win in their last outing, Oct. 12 against Western Illinois.

OFFENSE
Though the Sycamores lead the conference in time of possession (33:14 average per game) they score only 17.8 points per game. In fact, the most they have scored all season was 35 points in their home opener against Dayton (Sept.7), a game which they lost, 42-35. In this game, their time of possession was below their average at only 27:34.

Indiana State is a team that doesn't hesitate to spread the ball around. In their last outing, 11 different Sycamores accumulated at least one reception in the win against Western Illinois.

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Dante Hendrix had a breakout season last year and is trying to have a repeat this season. He is currently second in the MVFC in receptions per game with 4.3.

Junior running back Peterson Kerlegrand has been productive all season. The Sycamores take pride in having an effective run game and the former cornerback is at the head of the attack. He has had two games this season out of the five he's suited up in which he has eclipsed 100 rushing yards. The best of the two came against Dayton, in which he carried the ball 17 times for a career-high 194 yards and scored two touchdowns. The Indiana native is currently fourth in the MVFC at 90 rushing yards per game.

Redshirt senior quarterback Ryan Boyle suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the win against Eastern Illinois on Sept. 12. The reigning MVFC Newcomer of the Year was the second-leading rusher for the Sycamores, off the back of a stellar 2018 campaign where he amassed 1,627 yards passing and 12 touchdowns on his way to earning second-team all-MVFC honors. With Boyle's absence, the Sycamores have viable backups to fill the void.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Kurtis Wilderman seems to be Boyle's heir. Wilderman was Mallory's choice to replace the former Iowa Hawkeye quarterback when he suffered his injury. The Indiana native finished that game completing 14-of-22 passes for 186 yards, and throwing a touchdown and an interception.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gunnar See is also an option, as he has started the last two games for the Sycamores. Though being replaced at halftime during the team's last game against Western Illinois, the 6-foot-6 Missouri native did throw for 239 yards against the University of South Dakota in their Oct. 5 matchup. This was the most passing yards thrown for by any Indiana State quarterback this season.

Senior kicker Jerry Nunez is looking to extend his program record of 47 field goals made, a record he broke earlier this season.

DEFENSE
The Sycamores feature a smothering defense that doesn't allow too many points. Their average of 21.2 points allowed per game places them fourth in MVFC. Their 163.8 passing yards allowed per game gives them the No. 1 passing defense in the conference. Overall, quarterbacks only complete 57.9 percent of their passes a game and, for the season, the Sycamores have only allowed six passing touchdowns. The Sycamores are also the only team in the Missouri Valley that hasn't conceded 1,000 passing yards on the season thus far.

Senior linebacker Clayton Glasco has had a phenomenal season . The Ohio native is second in the MVFC in tackles (59, but first in the conference in tackles for loss (12.5). Glasco also is first on his team in sacks with three.

Redshirt senior linebacker Jonas Griffith was named to the preseason all-Missouri Valley Football Conference team and has backed that with his play. The Louisville, Kentucky, native recorded 11 total tackles against Dayton (Sept.14) and then followed that up with 16 total tackles against Eastern Kentucky (Sept.14). Griffith is second on his team in tackles, but fourth in the conference (54).

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Inoke Moala is a threat to strip the ball carrier. The Indiana native has two forced fumbles this season and has recovered them both, which ties him for first in both categories in the MVFC.

The Sycmore defense also has amassed six total interceptions. The six interceptions have come from six different athletes.

THE SERIES
The Sycamores have only played the Jackrabbits once in Mallory's tenure, which was an overtime thriller last season that the Jackrabbits won, 54-51. Indiana State was down 42-24 late in the third quarter to a then-third-ranked SDSU squad, but eventually climbed back to tie the game at 48 as time expired in regulation.

The last time the Sycamores beat the Jackrabbits dates back to the 2011 Beef Bowl, when Indiana State was ranked No. 23. The final score of that contest was 38-28. At the time, that win moved the Sycamores' record to 4-1 overall (2-0 in the Missouri Valley), their best overall start since 2004.

SDSU leads the all-time series, 7-2, and has won five consecutive matchups.

-GoJacks.com-

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Opponent Insight: Indiana State

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