By Todd Golden
TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State football coach Trent Miles put it in the most blunt terms possible.
When a program like ISU’s has lost 18 in a row and 42 of its last 43 games, who among the Sycamores is going to know how to handle winning time when the Sycamores have scant experience in any close games?
“We’re getting tired of the word ‘progress’, because we want to win, but we don’t know how to win yet,” Miles said.
ISU didn’t make any egregious errors during crunch time in its 24-21 last-minute loss to Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, but ISU also didn’t make enough plays to end what is currently the nation’s longest losing streak.
SEMO drove methodically down the field and held ISU without a first down on the Sycamores’ last-gasp possession. The only time the Sycamores came close was when Bryant Kent got his hands on a Hail Mary throw from Chuck Dowdell inside the SEMO 5, though he was double-covered on the play.
“There’s a lot of good we did today, it just comes back to learning how to win. It’s up to the coaches to teach them.
“Who else are they going to learn it from? Who’s in that locker room that can sit them and tell how they win player-wise? Who’s in there? It has to come from us as coaches,” Miles said.
Some of the positives for ISU were 5.1 yards per carry on the offensive side and a defense which continually made big plays to keep SEMO at bay, only to have the RedHawks drive 66 yards for their winning score with 42 seconds left.
“There’s always good things you can take out of the film. Take the good out, correct the bad, and keep a positive attitude. That’s all we can do,” said ISU linebacker Jayden Everett, who had 10 tackles in the game.
Miles was asked what the heartbreaking nature of the loss might do for the Sycamores’ confidence. Not only because it was a disappointing defeat, but because ISU has the baggage of the losing streak and a young team trying to overcome it.
“They’re hurt, but I don’t think their confidence is shaking,” Miles said. “It’s supposed to hurt. Our guys should hurt until midnight Sunday, then we move on to the next game. Our coaches have to pick them up and stay positive. We have to keep their heads up, they’ll be lively in practice and get after it because we won’t let them be any way else.”
• Dowdell goes the distance — ISU starting quarterback Chuck Dowdell played the entire game for the first time this season. He had platooned with Calvin Schmidtke in ISU’s last two games. Dowdell did some good, he rushed for 96 yards and kept drives alive with his mobility.
“That was my decision totally. We were going to ride his legs. We were going to move the ball with him. We’re not ready to drop back and chuck it every down. We need to run him and he gives us the best opportunity to run the football,” Miles said.
Dowdell also did some bad, he fumbled three times — once on his own, twice on botched hand-offs to Darrius Gates. Dowdell passed for 91 yards and a touchdown.
ISU lost only one of the fumbles, but as has been the case in recent weeks, the fumbles ISU recovered stopped possessions in their tracks.
“Chuck did a good job. He puts the ball on the ground and it drives me crazy. But we just need to work on it and keeping fixing it,” Miles said.
Miles said Schmidtke will play again this season.
• SEMO kick returns — One factor that kept SEMO in the game early when ISU had momentum was its kick return game.
The RedHawks had returns of 85 and 56 yards in the first half. ISU also had a kickoff go out of bounds, giving SEMO the ball at its own 40. SEMO averaged 49 yards per return as ISU only had success covering kicks when it had Corey Varnadore squib kickoffs.
“Whatever it is we have to get it fixed and get it fixed now. Those kind of things kill you. A score like 14-0 becomes 14-7 in a heartbeat and those plays are critical when a game comes down to end the game like it did today,” Miles said. “Eighty-five and 56 yards on two returns … that can’t happen.”
• Big crowd — The attendance was 5,283, ISU’s largest crowd since Nov. 17, 2001 when it drew 6,135 for a game against Western Illinois.
It was the fifth-largest crowd in the last 10 years and fourth-largest since 2000. There were 5,767 fans on hand for an Oct. 29, 1999 game against Western Illinois. ISU twice drew larger crowds in 2000. ISU drew 5,287 for a game against Illinois State on Oct. 14, 2000 and 5,473 for Homecoming on Oct. 21, 2000 against Northern Iowa.
