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The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
On two-game losing skid, UNI to host Sycamores on Saturday
- Story byThe Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
- On two-game losing skid, UNI to host Sycamores on Saturday
Indiana State looks to clean up its offense in hopes of getting its first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory of the season Saturday at Northern Iowa.
Action will go down at the UNI Dome, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT, with this being the second dome the Sycamores have played in this season. ISU will look to hand the Panthers their third consecutive loss after UNI fell to Youngstown State and Southern Illinois.
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ISU coach Curt Mallory said his team will do its best to simulate crowd noise at practice.
"It's a very loud environment," Mallory said.
He said the team will get there a little bit early to walk around before noting how the Sycamores have already done that with South Dakota.
The Sycamores are coming off a 17-10 loss at Illinois State last Saturday.
Quarterback Brady Allen threw for 279 yards with 25 completions on 45 attempts including a touchdown and an interception, which went for a pick six. He also suffered a strip sack. However, Allen threw for more passing yards than Redbird quarterback Beckham Pellant who went for 174 yards. Unfortunately for ISU, the Sycamores still couldn't get the win.
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"I think there are opportunities out there we left on the field," Mallory said. "We went for it on fourth-and-1 because I believe in the offense. I knew they'd get it. I went for it on fourth-and-6 before I believed in the offense that they would get it."
Mallory said the Sycamores are a little loose, noting Max McCool's ball-carrying despite having three or four guys on him.
"He has to keep that ball high and tight and [Illinois State] did a great job," Mallory said. "They popped the ball out and they did a good job with their coverage."
Through the air, there were some passes by Allen that missed the mark with his receiver as the ball would sail over the head of whoever the ball was intended for. Allen said there are definitely some throws from this past week he'd want back.
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"I think part of it was me kind of rushing a little bit feeling pressure too much," Allen said. "There were times I felt I stood in there, took a shot and made a good throw and there were times I felt I could've rushed."
Allen said he needs to find a consistent balance of throwing it away and hang in there for an extra second. But there were quite a few times when the Illinois State defense would blitz him and he'd have to get the throw off to avoid a sack.
He said Illinois State defense's prepares him more for Northern Iowa with getting the ball out quick to the receivers. Allen said when the defense is bringing pressure like the Redbird defense did, he expects a lot of man coverage in the back end.
"I think we're going to be able to get a lot of that this week and I think it definitely prepares you for that coming up," Allen said.
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He said he needs to not rush the throw too much to make sure he can get the ball in his receivers' hands.
Mallory said he had the confidence the defense would get off the field. Despite the defense's struggles in giving up 111 rushing yards including a touchdown, Mallory said he liked the way the Sycamores ran to the ball.
Defensive back Xavian Andrews said he felt like he and his teammates took full advantage of the bye week and carried that preparation into Saturday's game at Illinois State.
By playing in the MVFC and watching film, Andrews said he feels like they're already prepared.
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"I feel like just going out there and playing our ball, that's what's going to really be the keys to the game," Andrews said.
He said if he and his teammates fly around like they did last Saturday, that will help them a lot against Northern Iowa.
On Sept. 26, the Panthers beat Illinois State 28-21 and the week after that, they beat North Dakota 24-17. Mallory said they are a very good football team, but that the focus will be on how the Sycamores continue to improve offensively, defensively and on special teams.
