2023 Indiana State Sycamores football team

2023 Indiana State Sycamores football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	1–10 (1–7 MVFC)
Head coach	Curt Mallory (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Bath (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brad Wilson (6th season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 South Dakota State $^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. 4 South Dakota ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 3 North Dakota State ^		5	–	3					11	–	4
No. 19 Youngstown State ^		5	–	3					8	–	5
No. 16 North Dakota ^		5	–	3					7	–	5
Northern Iowa		5	–	3					6	–	5
No. 12 Southern Illinois ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Missouri State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Murray State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Indiana State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Western Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Curt Mallory, the Sycamores compiled an overall record of 1–10 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, tying for tenth place in the MVFC. Indiana State played home games at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 0–27	4,355
September 8	7:00 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 7–41	18,759
September 16	2:00 p.m.	at Ball State*	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN (Blue Key Victory Bell)	ESPN+	L 7–45	15,054
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at Murray State	Roy Stewart Stadium Murray, KY	ESPN+	L 28–30	13,213
October 7	7:00 p.m.	Northern Iowa	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 20–27	3,228
October 14	3:00 p.m.	at Illinois State	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN+	L 7–44	9,135
October 21	1:00 p.m.	No. 6 South Dakota	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 3–17	4,908
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at No. 15 North Dakota	Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	L 33–36 OT	11,125
November 4	1:00 p.m.	No. 22 Youngstown State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	L 7–19	4,798
November 11	1:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN+	W 27–6	3,151
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Southern Illinois	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN+	L 9–38	4,812
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

at Indiana

See also: 2023 Indiana Hoosiers football team

Indiana State Sycamores (0-2) vs Indiana Hoosiers (1-1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	0	7	0	0	7
Hoosiers	21	3	7	10	41

at Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana

• Date: September 8th
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NW at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy
• Game attendance: 42,775
• TV announcers (BTN): Pat Boylan (play-by-play), Brock Vereen (analyst), Meghan McKeown (sideline)

Game information

First quarter 12:04 IND - Jaylin Lucas 25-yard run (Chris Freeman kick) - Indiana 7-0, Drive: 4 plays, 73 yards, 1:18 8:52 IND - Jaylin Lucas 25-yard run (Chris Freeman kick) - Indiana 14-0, Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:17 2:04 IND - Tayven Jackson 10-yard run (Chris Freeman kick) - Indiana 21-0, Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 4:38 Second quarter 2:00 ISU - Maddix Blackwell 75-yard fumble return (Stephen Ruiz kick) - Indiana 21-7, Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 4:05 0:17 IND - Chris Freeman 28-yard field goal - Indiana 24-7, Drive: 10 plays, 42 yards, 1:39 Third quarter 1:39 IND - Christian Turner 1-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) - Indiana 31-7, Drive: 13 plays, 93 yards, 6:03 Fourth quarter 10:50 IND - Josh Henderson 3-yard run (Nicolas Radicic kick) - Indiana 38-7, Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 4:03 2:43 IND - Nicolas Radicic 21-yard field goal - Indiana 41-3, Drive: 15 plays, 74 yards, 7:07

Statistics	Indiana State	Indiana
First downs	8	33
Plays–yards	43–93	79–558
Rushes–yards	32–72	42–214
Passing yards	21	344
Passing: comp–att–int	3–11–1	27–37–0
Time of possession	23:11	36:49

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing	Evan Olaes	3/9, 21 yards
	Rushing	Korbin Allen	5 carries, 24 yards
	Receiving	Harry Van Dyne	1 reception, 15 yards
Indiana	Passing	Tayven Jackson	18/21, 236 yards
	Rushing	Jaylin Lucas	10 carries, 88 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Omar Cooper Jr.	7 receptions, 101 yards

at Ball State

See also: 2023 Ball State Cardinals football team and Blue Key Victory Bell

Game Three – Indiana State Sycamores (0–2) at Ball State Cardinals (0–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana State	0	0	7	0	7
Ball State	0	10	7	28	45

at Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN

• Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: -
• Game attendance: 15,054
• TV: ESPN+

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter (12:13) BALL – Rico Barfield 16-yard pass from Kadin Semonza (Jackson Courville kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 5:20; Ball State 7–0) (1:34) BALL – Jackson Courville 23-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 4:24; Ball State 10–0) Third quarter (6:45) BALL – Rico Barfield 24-yard run (Jackson Courville kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 55 yards, 1:24; Ball State 17–0) (5:48) ISU – Dakota Caton 49-yard pass from Elijah Owens (Stephen Ruiz kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 61 yards, 0:50: Ball State 17–7) Fourth quarter (13:12) BALL – Marquez Cooper 11-yard run (Jackson Courville kick) (Drive:13 plays, 75 yards, 7:29; Ball State 24–7) (11:32) BALL – Tanner Koziol 8-yard pass from Kadin Semonza (Jackson Courville kick) (Drive: 2 plays, 23 yards, 0:54: Ball State 31–7) (9:20) BALL – Keionte Newson 66-yard fumble return (Jackson Courville kick) (Ball State 38–7) (3:13) BALL – Charlie Spegal 1-yard run (Jackson Courville kick) (Drive: 5 plays, 35 yards, 2:49; Ball State 45–7)

Statistics	ISU	BALL
First downs	12	26
Total yards	53–261	66–425
Rushing yards	32–104	42–288
Passing yards	157	137
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	9–21–1	18–24–0
Time of possession	26:59	33:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing	Elijah Owens	9/21, 157 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Tee Hodge	9 carries, 46 yards
	Receiving	Harry Van Dyne	3 receptions, 80 yards
Ball State	Passing	Kadin Semonza	17/22, 137 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Marquez Cooper	22 carries, 177 yards, TD
	Receiving	Tanner Koziol	7 receptions, 60 yards, TD