football
Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State will be on the road for the first time in 2024 when the Sycamores open the regular season this weekend on Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue. Kickoff between the Sycamores and Boilermakers is set for noon ET and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and 105.5 The Legend.
Weekly Notes
About the Matchup
Purdue leads the all-time list with the Sycamores with a 6-0 record. All six games in the series were played in West Lafayette, including the opener in the 1926 season when Purdue defeated Indiana State 38-0.
The closest the Sycamores came to breaking that winning streak was during the 2013 season, when ISU lost to Purdue 20-14 on Sept. 7. Indiana State gained more yards than the Boilermakers (295-284), including a 256-150 aerial advantage thanks to quarterback Mike Perish, but a late interception sealed the game and the win for Purdue.
Sycamores in openers
Indiana State has an overall record of 45-54-5 in its season opener since the 1898 season. The Sycamores have opened at home 42 times, including the past three seasons. The last time they opened the season on the road was in 2019, when Indiana State traveled to Kansas in an FCS-FBS matchup. The Sycamores lost that game to the Jayhawks 24-17 on Aug. 31 after taking a fourth-quarter lead on Inoke Moala’s fumble recovery in the end zone before Kansas scored a late touchdown to secure the win.
Prior to the 2019 season, the Sycamores’ away openers came in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons, when Indiana State traveled to Penn State (2011) and Indiana (2012 and 2013). Since the 1978 season, the Sycamores have played 22 away games, with 20 of those games coming against current FBS institutions. Only the 1980 opener (at Drake) and the 1997 opener (at Murray State) were against current FCS opponents, with Indiana State defeating the Bulldogs and losing to the Racers.
Road Openers since 2000
2001 – in Tulsa (N, 51-0)
2003 – at Ball State (N, 31-7)
2004 – in Miami (Ohio) (N, 49-0)
2006 – at Purdue (N, 60-35)
2007 – in Indiana (N, 55-7)
2008 – at Eastern Michigan (N, 52-0)
2011 – at Penn State (N, 41-7)* Game vacated by PSU
2012 – in Indiana (N, 24-17)
2013 – in Indiana (N, 73-35)
2019 – in Kansas (l, 24-17
Short trips
Indiana State has one of the shortest travel lists in the first five weeks of college football stadiums across the country, as the Sycamores make a short trip to Ross-Ade Stadium (Purdue) on Aug. 31 and continue the trip to O’Brien Field (Eastern Illinois) the following week. The round-trip travel for both games totals about 272 miles for the Sycamores, allowing their fans to make day trips to see Indiana State in competition.
Conference games are not as convenient for Indiana State, as the Sycamores will be making three of their longest bus trips in the conference, to Stambaugh Stadium (Youngstown State), Plaster Stadium (Missouri State) and the UNI Dome (Northern Iowa). The team is scheduled to fly to the DakotaDome for its Nov. 9 game at South Dakota.
Miles of a road trip through the state of Indiana
August 31 at Purdue – Memorial Stadium – Ross-Ade Stadium (139.9 km)
September 7th at Eastern Illinois – Memorial Stadium – O’Brien Field (78.4 km)
October 5 at Youngstown State – Memorial Stadium – Stambaugh Stadium (423.0 miles)
October 19 at Missouri State – Memorial Stadium – Plaster Stadium (385.8 miles)
November 9th in South Dakota – Memorial Stadium – DakotaDome (662.1 miles)
November 23 in Northern Iowa – Memorial Stadium – UNI Dome (420.2 miles)
On this date
Indiana State has played a total of four games since its first game against Mars Hill on August 31. ISU has played Eastern Illinois three times on that date, in the opening games of the 2000, 2018 and 2023 seasons.
• 1995 – against Mars Hill – win, 31-0
• 2000 – vs. Eastern Illinois – loss, 42-24
• 2018 – vs. Eastern Illinois – loss, 22-20
• 2019 – at Kansas – N, 24-17
• 2023 – vs. Eastern Illinois – loss, 27-0
Follow the sycamores
For the latest information on Sycamore Football, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including ÞjórsárdenFacebook, Instagram and YouTube. Fans can also get updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On app from both the App Store and Google Play Store.
