Indiana State LB on Indiana Football Matchup: ‘We Plan on Going to IU to Win'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana State football is 2-0 for the first time since 1986. The Sycamores, who ESPN gives a 1% chance of victory entering Friday night’s game against Indiana, aren’t expected to be undefeated much longer.

But don’t try telling them.

“There’s a lot of talk outside like, ‘Man, you guys went 2-0, but (it) stinks you’re playing an FBS team.’ That’s not the mindset in the room,” linebacker Braxton Sampson said Monday. “We plan on going to IU to win. That’s just how it is.”

History is not in Sampson’s favor. The Hoosiers and Sycamores have met six times previously, and Indiana owns a 6-0 record. The two programs hadn’t played until Sept. 13, 2003, making Friday night’s matchup the seventh in a 22-year timespan.

Indiana took a 41-7 victory over Indiana State on Sept. 8, 2023, the last contest between the two sides. The Hoosiers finished the season 3-9, while the Sycamores trudged to a 1-10 record.

But much has changed.

Indiana fired coach Tom Allen at the end of 2023, replaced him with Curt Cignetti and made the College Football Playoff in 2024. The Hoosiers enter Friday night ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

The Sycamores, meanwhile, are still led by ninth-year coach Curt Mallory, the son of former Indiana coach Bill Mallory, who walked the Hoosiers' sideline from 1984-96. The elder Mallory won Big Ten Coach of the Year from 1986-87, and his 68 career wins remain the most in Indiana football history.

Curt Mallory attended Bloomington High School South from 1984-88, and after playing collegiately at Michigan, he spent 1993-94 as a graduate assistant at Indiana. He later returned as the defensive backs coach from 2002-04.

The Hoosiers will be honoring some of Bill Mallory’s teams during the game, and Curt Mallory said he’s excited to see lots of familiar faces, be it past players or family members.

But Mallory is more focused on other things. He’s trying to build on a 4-8 record from last season — and his Bloomington past won’t affect his Sycamore future.

“It’s not about that. It really isn’t,” Mallory said Monday. “It’s about the Sycamores, about Indiana State playing Indiana. At the end of the day, it’s about two teams playing.”

The Sycamores haven’t finished above .500 since going 7-4 in 2018, but they’re carrying momentum into Bloomington. Indiana State won its season opener 41-24 over McKendree College, a Division II foe, and followed with a 38-14 victory against fellow FCS opponent Eastern Illinois University.

Now, the competition stiffens. Indiana State is no stranger to playing Big Ten opponents, as it’s faced one team from the conference each of the past three years. The Sycamores lost 24-6 to Northwestern in 2021, 56-0 to Purdue in 2022, 41-7 to Indiana in 2023 and 49-0 to Purdue last season, which marked the Boilermakers’ lone win in 2024.

Mallory expects the Hoosier faithful to pack Memorial Stadium, and he believes it’ll be a valuable 60-minute affair for his team.

“It’s a great experience, great environment,” Mallory said. “We played in a sold out crowd against Purdue, and I’m sure it’ll be a sell-out down in Bloomington. Just the experience — I think the guys are excited. We’ve got a great contingency of guys from the state of Indiana.

“Being able to play the Purdue’s and Indiana’s, I think, means a lot. It doesn’t mean you have to be from Indiana — you can be from wherever — but to play against a ranked FBS opponent, what a great opportunity.”

Mallory said Indiana does “a great job in all three phases of the game,” as the Hoosiers are “very good” on offense, defense and special teams. Indiana defeated Old Dominion 27-14 in Week 1 before taking a 56-9 victory over Kennesaw State in Week 2.

Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has completed 64.3% of his passes for 438 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions through his first two games in Bloomington. He tossed three scores to senior receiver Elijah Sarratt against Kennesaw State.

The Hoosiers’ rushing attacks ranks No. 3 nationally with 311 yards per game, and all three of their primary ball-carriers — Roman Hemby, Lee Beebe Jr. and Kaelon Black — are inside the top 75 nationally in rushing yards.

Mallory admitted the Sycamores’ defense will have its hands full with Indiana’s offense.

“Well, they’re going to have their plays, there’s no doubt about it,” Mallory said, chuckling. “They’re a very, very explosive football team. They’ve got a lot of weapons at running back, wide receiver. Quarterback’s phenomenal. They’re physical up front.

“I don’t know if anyone’s going to slow them down. We’ve got to be able to not let them have the home runs.”

That’s the base level of Mallory’s plan. He understands the odds are stacked against him and his team. But Indiana State isn’t worried about outside noise, Sampson said. Instead, the Sycamores want to seize the moment.

And for an Indiana State roster with 49 players — nearly 45% of its team — hailing from Indiana, there’s no shortage of motivation.

“This is the dream,” Sampson said. “You go to college and you want to play in these games and big arenas, and that’s exactly what we get to do. I’m excited.”

The Hoosiers host the Sycamores at 6:30 p.m. Friday on Merchants Bank Field inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.