TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana State’s 17-14 victory over then-No. 1 North Dakota State last Saturday was unquestionably a crowning achievement for the Sycamores’ football program.
It’s also unquestionably over.
Though the victory over the Bison is the defining moment of the season so far, ISU does not want that to be the case by season’s end.
The Sycamores still have a Missouri Valley Football Conference championship to potentially chase down as well as a Football Championship Subdivision playoff spot. To get too caught in the victory over the Bison is to put those aspirations in jeopardy.
“Our focus is on bigger things. It’s good we beat the No. 1 team, but our eyes are on bigger goals,” ISU linebacker Jacolby Washington said.
As ISU prepares to travel to struggling Western Illinois this Saturday, the time-worn concept of the “trap game” — and how to avoid it — was bantered about at Wednesday’s practice. The Sycamores didn’t need much to remind them of the concept.
Its even been suggested that NDSU got caught in the “trap” when ISU beat the Bison one week after NDSU hammered Youngstown State 48-7 on Oct. 6.
ISU coach Trent Miles won’t acknowledge that Saturday’s matchup with the Leathernecks even qualifies as a “trap game” despite WIU’s 3-3 overall and 1-2 MVFC record.
History is Miles’ guide. ISU hasn’t won in Macomb, Ill. since 1996 and the Sycamores were humbled 40-7 in their last visit there in 2010.
“To me a trap game is where you’re supposed to show up and win and you’re still emotionally high off the last victory,” Miles said. “To me, we’re playing an excellent team, that plays good defense and can move the ball with a really good receiver. We haven’t won there since 1996. That’s not a trap game, that’s a game where you play your best to have a chance in the fourth quarter.”
Washington stressed ISU’s losing streak at Western Illinois. It is similar to ISU’s long losing streak against Southern Illinois that ended with a victory on Sept. 29. ISU hopes to follow the same script.
“We want to check it off our bucket list. Our goal is to win there. Each week is a bigger game and this one is no different,” Washington said.
Miles has been happy with the Sycamores’ practice demeanor this week, but of course, he nor anyone else will know if ISU won’t passed the test of handling success until Saturday’s game commences.
“I think we’ve had a good week of practice. We’re executing well, we’re riding the momentum. At the same time, these are still young guys. You don’t know what’s going on in their brain. We’ll know Saturday. They know how important this game is,” Miles said.
n Get a leg up — For the last four Wednesdays, ISU has ended practice with an unusual competition between offensive and defensive units.
Players lie down on their backs on the Memorial Stadium turf, feet-to-feet. Players must keep their feet six inches off the ground without bending their knees. A unit loses when one of its players’ feet touches the ground first … and the punishment for losing is too terrible to ponder.
The offensive line competes against the defensive line, linebackers go toe-to-toe (literally) against the running backs, while wide receivers battle the defensive backs.
Miles started doing the exercise in the week prior to the Southern Illinois game. The Sycamores haven’t lost since.
“It’s just a team competition deal to compete against each other, but also show unity. We don’t want anyone to be the weak link and let their teammates down without running their legs off,” Miles explained.
On Wednesday, ISU’s linebackers, offensive line and defensive backs came out on the losing end. As a result, they had to do linked push-ups in which five-a-side did push-ups while linked to their teammates’ feet and shoulders.
All for a boisterous audience comprised of the units that won.
“What it does is that it brings toughness to us. We have to be physically and mentally tough. You have to overcome all the pain and think about not letting your teammates down,” Washington said.
n Spencer out 6-8 weeks — X-rays provided bad news for ISU starting wide receiver Donald Spencer after he was injured against the Bison. His right foot is broken, and according to Miles, Spencer will miss 6-to-8 weeks.
By that time table, the earliest Spencer could return would be the first weekend of December. The second round of the FCS playoffs take place that weekend.
Tanner Riley will likely take Spencer’s spot in the starting lineup.
ISU’s remaining schedule
• Saturday — at Western Illinois (3-3, 1-2), 7 p.m.
• Oct. 27 — South Dakota (1-5, 0-3), 2 p.m.
• Nov. 3 — Illinois State (6-1, 3-1), 2 p.m.
• Nov. 17 — at Youngstown State (4-2, 1-2), 2 p.m.
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Related Photos
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ISU's O'Leary
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Watching: Indiana State University head football coach Trent Miles watches over practice Wednesday evening as the Sycamores prepare for Western Illinois.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Looking for daylight: Shakir Bell runs through an opening during Indiana State University football practice Wednesday evening.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Good hands: Indiana State University running back Taje High, a junior from Avon, snares a pass during practice Wednesday evening.
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SPT101712ISUFBperish.jpg
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Eyes have it: Indiana State wide receiver Tanner Riley eyes a ball during practice Wednesday as the Sycamores prepare to travel to Western Illinois.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis On the spot: Indiana State University senior Johnny Towalid was in the right place, twice, in the Sycamores win at North Dakota State last Saturday.
Discussion
Indiana State football team tries to avoid the trap game
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
But this is the 2013 Sycamores, after all, and after a season in which seemingly little has gone right, it appears its stars will remain crossed at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. -
ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
On the heels of their thrilling double victory at the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships both the Indiana State men and women moved up in the national rankings which were released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
Robby Ort celebrated his Indiana State baseball Senior Day on Saturday by becoming the Sycamores’ all-time leader in RBIs as ISU ended its regular season with a 16-7 win over Bradley at Bob Warn Field.
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
Momentum was the only thing riding on Indiana State’s baseball game against Bradley on Friday. With a five-game winning streak going, ISU wanted to keep the good vibes going into next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
ISU couldn’t do it. -
Behind 16 hits and Manaea's pitching, ISU beats Bradley
Indiana State’s baseball team rode a wild ride of emotion on Thursday.
First came the public announcement that Bob Warn Field would host the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Later, Sean Manaea’s availability to pitch ISU’s series opener against Bradley was in doubt. -
Indiana State women add five transfers, including experienced D-I point guard
Indiana State coach Teri Moren believes the addition of five more newcomers to the program — in addition to the five who had already joined the program earlier this calendar year — will provide her coaching staff the athleticism and depth it needs to play a successful, up-tempo brand of basketball next season.
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Metro roundup: Woods softball takes seventh in national tournament
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Metro Roundup: Indiana State’s Shakir Bell on Performance Awards watch list
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ISU baseball team builds on success with 14-2 rout
Indiana State’s baseball victory over Alcorn State on Friday would take on more meaning Saturday if the Sycamores could build momentum and pick up on the good work they did in Friday’s ninth-inning rally.
Mission accomplished.
The Sycamores were aggressive from the opening inning at the plate and starting pitcher Devin Moore gave them eight valuable and effective innings on the mound as ISU defeated Alcorn State 14-2 at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a really good experience for everybody. It felt great to finally come out here and put some things together. It’s also really nice when your offense puts a lot of runs on the board,” Moore said.
Moore’s eight innings of work were as valuable as gold to an ISU team that is short on quality arms due to injury and ineffectiveness. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and one of the two runs he conceded was unearned. -
Johnson, Lyke win MVC titles for ISU
Indiana State’s Felisha Johnson and Maurice Lyke were both crowned Missouri Valley Conference champions on Saturday during the MVC Track and Field Championships at Drake University.
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ISU earns badly-needed win
Alcorn State’s baseball team might be ranked in the bottom 10 in RPI and Indiana State might have never lost to a Southwestern Athletic Conference team. So it wouldn’t appear that a quality win was in the offing when Alcorn State visited Bob Warn Field on Friday.
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Metro roundup: RHIT’s Evans sets Div. III record in high jump
For the third time this season, Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans topped the NCAA Division III all-time national record in the outdoor high jump Friday night.
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ISU’s Mascari and Hope win MVC track & field titles
Indiana State produced two champions during the opening day of action in the Missouri Valley Conference track and field championships Friday at Drake. Freshman John Mascari, a Terre Haute native, won the men’s 10,000-meter race and Nicole Hope won the women’s pole vault for the second time in three seasons.
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ISU pole vault tradition continues with help from its author
Pole vault is track and field for the adrenaline junkie, Indiana State senior Nicole Hope proclaimed during a recent practice at Marks Field.
To catapult oneself about 14 feet into the air with a large $500 fiberglass pole on a daily basis is a risky endeavor.
“We have to be fearless. You can’t be afraid at all,” said Hope, who has also catapulted herself into the NCAA’s elite in the event, ranking 15th in the NCAA with her leap of 13-feet, 9 1/4. -
Sycamores searching for answers after seventh loss in eight games
These are the bad times for the Indiana State baseball team.
The will is there for the Sycamores to pull out of their worst slump of the season, but the results are not. The suffering continued on Wednesday at Bob Warn Field as Eastern Illinois defeated ISU 5-3. -
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU men's track picked first in MVC Championships, women second
The Indiana State men’s track team has won the last two Missouri Valley Conference outdoor championships, but the women have not stood on the top podium since 1999.
That may change this year, but the Sycamores will face some stiff competition in their quest for the championships. -
North grad Welker helps Whitson earn first NCAA bid as coach
Eastern Kentucky girls golf coach Mike Whitson, an alumnus of his employer, enjoyed his stay in Terre Haute as coach of Indiana State, where he started the women’s golf program.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman wins HCAC all-sports trophy
Rose-Hulman has won the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s all-sports trophy for the fifth time in the past six year, the league announced Monday.
Rose tallied 66.5 points for its finishes in 11 men’s sports, just ahead of Franklin with 66. Hanover was third with 53 points. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman tennis falls in HCAC semifinal
Rose-Hulman’s hot streak in men’s tennis came to an end Saturday in the semifinal round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament at the West Indy Racquet Club.
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Manaea fights off bad hip, wet weather to toss four innings
Mother Nature has been the bane of the Indiana State baseball team’s existence all season. Eight games wiped due to weather are a testament to that. So it was no surprise, though no less disappointing, when she didn’t deal Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea the greatest hand on Saturday as he tries to recover from a hip injury.
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ISU track enjoys big night at IU's Billy Hayes Invitational
The Indiana State Sycamores either won or finished as the top collegian in 12 events, led by the record-breaking performance of senior Brandon Pounds at the 2013 Billy Hayes Invitational Friday at Indiana University.
Pounds broke his own school record to win the men’s hammer throw. -
Lansing looking for more home games for next fall
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team is looking for a few good games.
Home games that is.
The Sycamores have filled in most of the blanks in their nonconference schedule, but as ever, ISU coach Greg Lansing would like to visit the friendly confines of Hulman Center a bit more often. -
Secret weapon: Kelsey Rosselli finishing Woods career with a bang
At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, reporting game results to the Tribune-Star after a win or a loss is not always a high priority.
So when one of its athletes enjoys an outstanding season, like senior Kelsey Rosselli is doing for the Pomeroys’ softball team in 2013, media publicity doesn’t always follow.
In fact, her efforts almost seem like a government secret.
Rosselli’s name might sound familiar to longtime Terre Haute softball followers because she was a standout for North High School, from where she graduated in 2009.
Since then, she’s helped The Woods finish runner-up in three straight U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournaments in 2010, 2011 and 2012. -
ISU baseball gets back into rhythm with victory
Baseball is a rhythm game. With contests every day or five times a week in the case of many college programs, you have the chance to build on success or wallow in a slump.
Mother Nature took that rhythm away from Indiana State’s team last week. After a 7-1 loss to Indiana on April 24, ISU was supposed to play a three-game series at Tennessee-Martin, but it was wiped out by rain.
So the rhythm was disturbed, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.
ISU was in a five-game losing streak before its unintended vacation and the Sycamores made a move in the right direction Wednesday with a 7-0 win over DePauw at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a disappointing weekend. We went all the way down to Tennessee and didn’t get to play. We sat around in the hotel room. We came here and it was still raining. It was nice to get out and see some live pitching,” ISU center fielder Landon Curry said. -
Metro roundup: ISU hands out spring awards
The Indiana State University athletic community, along with family, friends and fans, paused Tuesday night to honor the spring sports teams at the Terre Haute Savings Bank Spring Sports Banquet.
Most of the ISU teams are still in competition with the baseball team having 13 games left of its regular-season schedule before beginning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament May 21, the softball team with just three games left of the docket this coming weekend against Southern Illinois and the track and field program with just one more meet before beginning its postseason events.
The ISU women’s golf team is the team that has ended at this time, with the group recording a sixth-place finish at the MVC championships one week ago. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
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ISU relay teams enjoy strong day at Drake Relays
It was a day for the relay teams to shine at the 104th Drake Relays Saturday as four of the five Indiana State relay teams that competed ran times that put the team among the top five in school history for their respective events.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.
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Metro roundup; Five Wabash Valley players on Terre Haute Rex team
The Terre Haute Rex will look to three-peat as Prospect League Western Division champions with a roster that includes a quartet of Wabash Valley players. Indiana State University standouts Tyler Wampler and Josh Dove will reunite with former Little League and high school rivals Cody Gardner (Wright State), Tim Johnson (Vincennes) and Bryan Nacke (Vincennes) for the summer season.
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