Last season, for the first time since the 1980s, the Indiana State University football team made the college football playoffs. Not only did they make the playoffs, but they also won their first game against Eastern Kentucky and went on to lose a tough game during the next round against Chattanooga. This season, the Sycamores will look to continue their 2014 success and are already starting out the season ranked 21st, but it will take a full team effort in order to get a step further than they were last year.
Going into the year, the Sycamores are returning many key players including big names like senior linebacker Connor Underwood, who has already broken many school records on the defensive side of the game. As the leader of the team, Underwood will have to be the anchor on the defensive side of the ball, and no matter how bad things may get in a game, he must keep his composure as well as calm down other players on the defensive side as well.
On the offensive side, the Sycamores are also bringing back several notable players including junior receiver Sampson Levingston and junior running back LeVonte Booker who will lead the team. The question still remains who will fill the position of quarterback for the team, and if he will be able to back up all the work that Mike Perish established last year.
Starting out the 2015 campaign, the Sycamores will have to face a difficult team. Butler University has won the last two out of three Pioneer Football League Championships, and went to their first FCS Playoff back in 2013. From there, they will go up to Purdue, which will be a tough game, but a winnable game. ISU may struggle against them knowing they are an FBS team, but it should be a winnable game for the Sycamores if they are trying to send a message early to the rest of the league that they are for real. From there, Indiana State will the open up conference play in the Missouri Valley, which is by far the toughest conference in all of FCS due to the number of teams that are ranked each year in the conference. Last year, the Missouri Valley had two teams contend for the National Championship including Illinois State, which made a run, as well as North Dakota State, which is continuously the team to beat each year. This year, the Sycamores have several key home games that will play to their favor such as hosting the defending champion North Dakota State Bison. Other home key conference games will be hosting Youngstown State, but they will need to also win key games on the road such as playing at rival and national runner-up Illinois State as well as always tough Northern Iowa.
If the Sycamores are going to make a further run into the playoffs, then they will need to have their heads in the game during every play of the game. Too many times last year, they seemed to take plays off that would cost them points and many times cost them the game. ISU also needs to improve on having better secondary play. Last year, there were several times when it just seemed as if the opposing receiver would run right past them or they would be playing too far off the ball. The final and most important thing that the Sycamores will need is to continuously have solid play that will back them up week in and week out. Too may times in the past years has ISU been one team one week and a different team the next. If they can do all of these keys and improve, then it should be another year of exciting Sycamore Football that leads to a deep run into the playoffs and a possible National Championship.
