Southeast Missouri (1-1) at #23/25 Indiana State (1-1)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015
Kickoff: 2:05 p.m., CT 
Location: Terre Haute, Ind.
Stadium: Memorial Stadium (12,464)
Surface: FieldTurf
Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 78 degrees
Series: Southeast leads, 4-3
Last Meeting: Southeast 24, Indiana State 21 | Sept. 27, 2008 | Terre Haute, Ind.
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (7-8 overall; 6-8 at Southeast; 3-5 OVC). Mike Sanford (25-61 overall; 9-18 at ISU).

Media Information  
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean) | Listen Live
Video: UStream
Live Stats: GoSycamores.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOFootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | OVC Weekly Report
PaulMcRoberts.com

Redhawks Head to #23/25 Indiana State
Southeast Missouri (1-1) faces its second ranked opponent when it visits #23/25 Indiana State (1-1) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m., CT, at Memorial Stadium.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean calling the action from Memorial Stadium. Video is available online at UStream.tv. Live stats can be accessed online at GoSycamores.com. Live twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Against the MVFC
Nationally-ranked Indiana State is the second-straight Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent Southeast squares off against this year. The Redhawks came back to beat regional rival and MVFC member Southern Illinois, 27-24, on Sept. 12. Southeast is 77-92-8 all-time against MVFC schools, having faced SIU (40-35-8), Illinois State (3-7), Indiana State (4-3), Missouri State (28-46), Northern Iowa (1-1) and Western Illinois (1-0). Saturday will be the Redhawks 178th meeting with a MVFC school.

Let's Get Another
Southeast goes for its second win in a row when it travels to Indiana State this weekend. It was right around this time last year when the Redhawks began their previous winning streak. Southeast won three-straight -- with two victories over ranked opponents -- from Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2014. The Redhawks went 4-2 in their first six games of the 2014 campaign, Tom Matukewicz's first year as a head coach.

Series History
The Redhawks and Indiana State renew a home-and-home series this season with the Sycamores returning the trip to Cape Girardeau in 2016. Saturday marks the eighth meeting between the teams. Southeast currently holds a 4-3 edge in the series. That record includes a 3-1 mark in Cape Girardeau and a 1-2 mark in Terre Haute. The Redhawks have a two-game winning streak in the series after beating the Sycamores during their last home-and-home set in 2007 (13-10, in Cape Girardeau on Sept. 15) and 2008 (24-21, in Terre Haute on Sept. 27).

Redhawks Receive Votes
Southeast received nine votes in the latest STATS Football Championship Subdivision Media Poll. The Redhawks currently rank 39th.  Fellow Ohio Valley Conference member Jacksonville State moved to No. 1 in the media poll this week. FCS Top-25 Polls (as of Sept. 14)

What a Game!
Regional rivals Southeast and Southern Illinois hooked up in a slugfest during the Redhawks home-opener at Houck Stadium on Sept. 12. Southeast trailed, 24-17, until late in the third quarter when Tay Bender threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Paul McRoberts to tie the game. Preseason All-American and All-Ohio Valley Conference kicker Ryan McCrum then came on and kicked a 42-yard field goal to win the game with five seconds left. McCrum had missed three-straight field goals from distances of 42, 38 and 39 yards before winning the game. McCrum missed just three field goals all of last season. It was the Redhawks first win over SIU since 2010 and only the second in their last 10 meetings with the Salukis.

Big Crowd
The Southeast vs. Southern Illinois game drew a crowd of 8,015 for the Redhawks home-opener on Sept. 12. It was the second-largest single-game home attendance in the Tom Matukewicz era. Southeast's biggest crowd of 8,089 during Homecoming weekend against then-#20 Tennessee State on Oct. 4, 2014. The Redhawks saw a jump of 1,024 in attendance at Houck Stadium a year ago.

Takeaway Turnaround
After finishing its 2014 season last in the Ohio Valley Conference in turnover margin (-9), Southeast enters this week ranked first in the league and second in the Football Championship Subdivision in that category at +7. The Redhawks had a season-high seven takeaways (4 fumbles, 3 interceptions) in a mammoth defensive effort against Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). It was Southeast's most takeaways in a game since getting six vs. Mars Hill College on Sept. 8, 2012. The Redhawks have a total of eight takeaways already this year and forced a turnover in seven-straight contests dating back to the Eastern Illinois game of last season (Oct. 18, 2014).

Big Time Defense
Not only did Southeast's defense force seven turnovers against Southern Illinois (Sept. 12), but it also had three interceptions, scored two touchdowns and did not allow a point in the fourth quarter. Mike Ford returned his first career interception 21 yards for a touchdown to give the Redhawks a 10-0 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first quarter. Ford got another pick on a leaping grab near the sideline to keep the game tied at 24-24 late in the third quarter. Eriq Moore forced a fumble, scooped up the ball and dashed 42 yards for the other touchdown. Ryan Moore, like Ford, posted his first career interception.  

Ford Wins First OVC Defensive Player of the Week Honor
In his first year starting at cornerback, sophomore Mike Ford was awarded the first Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week award of his career on Sept. 13. Ford shared the honor with Jacksonville State linebacker Dawson Wells. A native of Alton, Illinois, Ford had eight tackles and two interceptions -- including one that he returned 21 yards for a touchdown -- against Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). He picked off quarterback Mark Iannotti and rumbled 21 yards to give Southeast a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Late in the third quarter with the score tied 24-24 and the Salukis marching downfield, Ford picked off his second pass on a leaping grab near the sideline at Southeast's 24-yard line. Jacksonville State wide receiver Josh Barge (Offensive) and linebacker Joel McCandless (Newcomer), along with UT Martin kicker Jackson Redditt are the rest of this week's honorees.

Stacked Schedule
Four ranked teams are part of a strong schedule for Southeast in 2015. The Redhawks kicked off the season at #24 Missouri (Sept. 5) and also square off against #23/25 Indiana State (Sept. 19), #21/22 Eastern Kentucky (Oct. 17) and #1/4 Jacksonville State (Nov. 14) this year. Southeast is 4-22 against ranked Football Championship Subdivision (4-19) and Football Bowl Subdivision (0-3) teams combined since 2004. Tom Matukewicz is the only head coach in the school's football history that has led the Redhawks to two wins over ranked opponents in the same season. That happened when Southeast took down then-# 3 Southeastern Louisiana (24-23) and #20 Tennessee State during Matukewicz's head coaching debut in 2014.

Matukewicz vs. Indiana State
Saturday marks the first time Tom Matukewicz faces Indiana State as a head coach. Matukewicz coached against ISU plenty as an assistant under Jerry Kill at Southern Illinois from 2001-07. Southeast defensive coordinator Bryce Saia coached the D-Line on that staff from 2004-07.  SIU was 5-2 vs. the Sycamores during the time Matukewicz was there and 4-0 during the time Saia was in Carbondale.

The Chase is On
Star wide receiver Paul McRoberts is on pace to break Southeast's all-time career record in receiving touchdowns. McRoberts caught an 18-yard pass from Tay Bender for his first touchdown reception of the season to tie the game late in the third quarter vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). He is second with 21 receiving touchdowns behind Willie Ponder who caught 26 TD passes from 2001-02. Ponder is also the Redhawks all-time leading receiver with 2,543 yards.

More on McRoberts
Paul McRoberts made the 100th catch of his career on a 3-yard pass from Tay Bender in the first quarter against Missouri (Sept. 5). McRoberts leads Southeast with eight catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in two starts this season. Career wise, McRoberts has 107 receptions for 1,586 yards and 21 touchdowns. He took over the 10th-place spot on the Redhawks career receiving yardage list last week. McRoberts has caught a touchdown pass in 12 of his last 15 games.

2,000 in Reach
DeMichael Jackson, currently the Ohio Valley Conference's second-leading rusher, needs just 26 more yards to reach 2,000 in his career. Jackson enters Saturday's game ranked eighth all-time at Southeast with 1,974 rushing yards in 30 games and 16 starts. He has 243 yards on 48 carries, averaging 121.5 yards per game through two weeks this season. Henry Harris (2,773 yds from 2008-10) was the last Redhawk running back to rush for 2,000 career yards.

Jackson Notches Career-High
DeMichael Jackson ran for a career-high 186 yards on 30 carries in Southeast's home-opening win over Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). Jackson averaged 6.2 yards per carry and picked up the ninth 100-yard game of his career. His 186 yards are the most in a game in the Ohio Valley Conference this year. So far, Jackson and Jacksonville State's Troymaine Pope (173 yds at Chattanooga) have the league's only two 100-yard rushing games.Jackson is tied for third all-time in career 100-yard games as a three-year starting running back at Southeast.

Flye Returns to Practice
Sophomore cornerback JJ Flye returned to practice on Sept. 8, the week of the Southern Illinois game. Flye was out with an injury sustained in an accident back on July 4. He suffered skin and nerve damage and had to have pins inserted into his wrist after a firecracker went off in his right hand. It is undetermined at this time if he'll play Saturday. Flye played in eight games and made one start during his rookie campaign in 2014. He registered 14 tackles and two pass breakups.

In the FCS
Southeast ranks among the top-five NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams in several categories this young season. The Redhawks lead the nation in fourth-down conversion percentage (1.000), fourth-down conversion percentage defense (0.000) and passes had intercepted (0). Southeast is also among the FCS's top five in turnover margin (2nd, 3.50 avg.), turnovers gained (3rd, 8), fumbles recovered (3rd, 4 FR) and interceptions (4th, 4 INT). Individually, David Coley, Roper Garrett and Eriq Moore are all tied for third nationally in fumbles recovered (1 FR), Alex Knight is third in punting (47.4 avg.), DeMichael Jackson is fourth in rushing yards (243) and fifth in rushing yards per game (121.5), and Mike Ford is sixth in interceptions (1.0 per game).

What About the OVC?
The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference in fourth-down conversion percentage (1.000), fourth-down conversion percentage defense (0.000), fumbles recovered (4), passes had intercepted (0), interceptions (4), red zone defense (83.3 pct.), turnover margin (+7), turnovers gained (8) and turnovers lost (1). Southeast is also second in third-down conversion percentage defense (40 pct.), net punting (38.16 ypp), rushing offense (181 ypg), tackles for loss (8.5) and winning percentage (.500). Eriq Moore (1), David Coley (1) and Roper Garrett (1) lead the OVC in fumble recoveries, Mike Ford is first in interceptions (2) and Alex Knight tops the OVC in punting (47.4 ypp).

Man with a Purpose
DeMichael Jackson, Southeast's leader in all-purpose yardage with 264 yards in two games this season, presently has 2,308 all-purpose yards in his career. Jackson is 629 yards away from cracking the school's top-10 career list. Timmy Holloman (2005-08) occupies the No. 10 spot with 2,973 yards. Jackson ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 132 all-purpose yards a game this year.

Pick Free
Junior Tay Bender went his first two starts as Southeast's quarterback without throwing an interception. Bender completed 28-of-51 passes (54.9 pct.) for 215 yards and a touchdown during that time. He completed an 18-yard pass to Paul McRoberts late in the third quarter to tie the game at 24-24 vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 12), his first passing TD. Bender is also the Redhawks second-leading rusher with 96 yards on 31 carries.

Garrett Sees Doubles
Southeast's top tackler from a year ago, linebacker Roper Garrett recorded a team-high 13 tackles and a fumble recovery vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). Garrett registered his first double-digit tackle game this season and seventh of his career. He has led the Redhawks in tackles a total of six games during his career. Garrett (179 total tackles) needs 50 more stops to place himself among Southeast's top 20 all-time career tackles leaders.

About #23/25 Indiana State
Indiana State, which is in the national top-25 for a school record 13th-straight week, enters Saturday's matchup at 1-1 overall. ISU fell to in-state Big Ten rival Purdue, 38-14, in its last game on Sept. 12. LeMonte Booker is the Sycamores top rusher with 157 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Booker averages over nine yards per carry (9.2) and 78.5 rushing yards a game. Quarterback Matt Adam has 358 passing yards and four touchdowns, and 126 yards rushing and another TD in his first two starts under center. Defensively, Preseason All-American linebacker Connor Underwood recently broke ISU's all-time tackles for loss record. Underwood has 55.5 career tackles for loss. The Sycamores have been hampered by injuries early. Booker and All-Missouri Valley Football Conference safety Mark Sewall both went down with leg-related injuries at Purdue. The severity of those injuries is not yet known. That was in addition to the loss of starting inside linebacker Jordan Jackson and backup running back Dimitri Taylor to torn ACLs the previous week against Butler. Defensive back Kevin Beacham, lineman Chris McDaniel, starting linebacker Kendall Walker and offensive lineman Marcus Smith also missed the Purdue game.