There are no cupcakes on Indiana State's homecoming schedule this weekend, unless an entry in Saturday morning's Blue and White Parade tosses those treats to the crowds on Wabash Avenue.
The Sycamores' football game is a prime example.
Coach Curt Mallory's ISU squad goes for its first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory of the season against Youngstown State — ranked eighth in this week's FCS Stats Perform Top 25 — in a 1 p.m. clash at Memorial Stadium.
The Penguins sport records of 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the MVFC, both of which are deceiving.
YSU's losses came by margins of 45-13 at Kentucky (a SEC program) and 27-20 at South Dakota State (the nation's No. 1-ranked FCS team).
And, the Penguins have Beau Brungard.
Youngstown's dual-threat quarterback ranks third in the nation and first in the MVFC in total offensive yards, averaging 327.5 per game. That includes 239.2 passing yards and 88.3 rushing yards a game.
The Sycamores, as a team, are averaging 391.7 yards a game.
Brungard, a fifth-year senior, earned the Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week after an eight-touchdown performance in a Sept. 12 romp over Duquesne. Brungard's passes and runs have generated 22 TDs so far this season for the Penguins. The Sycamores have scored 22 touchdowns as a team in six games.
ISU (2-4 overall, 0-2 MVFC) has dealt with adversity. Veteran starting quarterback Elijah Owens remains sidelined by a wrist injury, incurred in the Sycamores' last victory, a 39-16 home victory over Valparaiso. Brady Allen, a redshirt junior transfer from Louisville, stepped into the starting role and has completed 46 of 80 passes for 788 yards and six touchdowns, with five interceptions.
Turnovers were costly in ISU's last outing, a 44-14 loss at South Dakota (ranked 10th in this week's FCS poll). That includes three interceptions and two lost fumbles.
Still, Saturday's game could be quite an aerial show. Youngstown ranks first in the conference in pass offense, averaging 259.2 yards per game, and ISU ranks second at 258.
• Elsewhere in the MVFC — Saturday's ISU-YSU contest tops an otherwise light conference schedule. Only two other games are on the docket. Twenty-fifth-ranked Southern Illinois (3-3, 1-1) plays at South Dakota (4-2, 1-1), and No. 4-ranked North Dakota (5-1, 2-0) travels to Northern Iowa (2-2, 1-0).
• ISU among soccer frontrunners — Memorial Stadium gets a second dose of Homecoming athletics with Sunday's 1 p.m. women's soccer game between the Sycamores and Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake.
Coach Paul Lawrence's ISU team bumped its MVC record to 2-1 with Saturday's 1-0 victory over Evansville at Memorial Stadium, with sophomore Peyton Wetzel scoring the game-winning goal in the 37th minute. Teammates Avery Oergel and Meagyn Riffle assisted on Wetzel's goal, the first of her ISU career.
Sofie Hansen recorded the shutout in goal for the Sycamores.
As a result, ISU (7-2-3 overall) enters Sunday's Drake duel in fourth place in the MVC standings. The Bulldogs are tied for first place with Southern Illinois and Illinois State at 3-0. Drake stands 8-3-1 overall.
• More homecoming matchups — Along with the football and soccer action, Sycamore homecoming competitions include Thursday's 6 p.m. ISU women's swimming and diving dual meet against Illinois State in the Vigo County Aquatic Center, and Saturday's 6 p.m. volleyball game against Drake in the ISU Arena.
Incoming alums and fans who've not witnessed the Sycamore swimmers and divers will have a chance to see the two-time defending MVC champions compete against the Redbirds.
On the volleyball court, ISU (7-8 overall, 1-3 MVC) enters the Drake match tied for seventh place in the conference, while the Bulldogs (7-9, 2-2) are tied for fifth. The top six teams qualify for the MVC postseason tournament, starting Nov. 18.
