2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team
The 2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Mallory and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 7–4, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for third place. Despite being ranked in the top 25 at the end of the regular season, they were not selected to participate in the FCS Playoffs.
| 2018 Indiana State Sycamores football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Missouri Valley Football Conference |
| Ranking | |
| FCS Coaches | No. 25 |
| Record | 7–4 (5–3 MVFC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Jeff Hecklinski (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Brad Wilson (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 12,764) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 North Dakota State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 15 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 South Dakota State ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Northern Iowa ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri State | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
Preseason MVFC poll
The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Sycamores predicted to finish in last place.[1]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota State | 390 (39) |
| 2 | South Dakota State | 270 |
| 3 | Northern Iowa | 258 |
| 4 | Youngstown State | 248 |
| 5 | Illinois State | 248 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 206 |
| 7 | Western Illinois | 163 |
| 8 | Southern Illinois | 139 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 90 |
| 10 | Indiana State | 41 |
Preseason All-MVFC Teams
The Sycamores placed six players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[2]
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Offense 2nd team Jerry Nunez – K |
Defense 2nd team Inoke Moala – DL Derrek Tuszka – DL Jonas Griffith – LB Katrell Moss – LB Rondell Green – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | Quincy* | ESPN3 | W 49–0 | 6,243 | |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | at Louisville* | ACCN Extra | L 7–31 | 44,520 | |
| September 15 | 7:00 p.m. | at Eastern Illinois* | ESPN+ | W 55–41 | 6,420 | |
| September 27 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 23 Northern Iowa |
| ESPN3 | L 0–33 | 5,487 |
| October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 3 South Dakota State | ESPN+ | L 51–54 OT | 10,318 | |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Missouri State |
| ESPN+ | L 26–29 | 6,721 |
| October 20 | 3:00 p.m. | at Southern Illinois | ESPN+ | W 24–21 | 6,435 | |
| October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | at Youngstown State | ESPN+ | W 43–17 | 10,870 | |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | South Dakota |
| ESPN+ | W 51–48 3OT | 5,816 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 23 Illinois State |
| ESPN3 | W 28–23 | 4,016 |
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at Western Illinois | ESPN3 | W 15–13 | 1,813 | |
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- Source: 2018 Schedule
Game summaries
Quincy
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sycamores | 14 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
At Louisville
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 31 |
At Eastern Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 17 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 55 |
| Panthers | 20 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 41 |
Northern Iowa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Panthers | 3 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 33 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
At South Dakota State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 48 |
| No. 3 Jackrabbits | 7 | 14 | 21 | 6 | 48 |
Missouri State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 29 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 26 |
At Southern Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Salukis | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
At Youngstown State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 3 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 43 |
| Penguins | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
South Dakota
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coyotes | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 48 |
| Sycamores | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 51 |
Illinois State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Redbirds | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
At Western Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamores | 3 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Leathernecks | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
Ranking movements
| Week | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 25 | RV |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 24 | 22 | 25 |
