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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 91 F or the first time in 30 years, Indiana State advanced to the FCS Playoffs in 2014. It was a remarkable accomplish- ment not only because it also won its first postseason game since 1983 but also because the Syca- mores won only one game in 2013. They're expecting to use that playoff run and 8-6 finish to fuel another solid season in 2015. A strong defensive effort helped Indiana State reach such heights, and it'll be that unit expected to carry the team, at least early on, in 2015. "They are an aggressive group that thrives at getting lots of play- ers to the football and at forcing turnovers," said Brian Fritz, the Sycamores' radio play-by-play an- nouncer. "Several players have played together and started togeth- er for three or more years, includ- ing leaders Connor Underwood, 8/30 at Indiana . . . . . . . . . . L, 10-28 9/6 TENNESSEE TECH . . . W, 49-14 9/13 at Ball State . . . . . . . . W, 27,20 9/27 LIBERTY . . . . . . . . . . . W, 38-19 10/4 NORTHERN IOWA . . . W, 20-19 10/11 ILLINOIS STATE . . . . . L, 18-20 10/18 at North Dakota State . L, 17-34 10/25 at Southern Illinois . . . W, 41-26 11/1 MISSOURI STATE. . . . W, 20-18 11/8 SOUTH DAKOTA ST. . . L, 17-32 11/15 at Youngstown State . W, 27-24 11/22 at Western Illinois . . . L, 20-34 11/29 at Eastern Kentucky . . .W,36-16 12/6 at Chattanooga . . . . . . L, 14-35 Who's in Charge? COACH MIKE SANFORD Record at Indiana State: 16-21 (three seasons) Record vs. Purdue: 0-1 Indiana State Connor Underwood's high motor has keyed his success, helping him to a school sin- gle-season record 13.5 sacks in 2014. Indiana State Sycamores 2015 OPPONENT PRE VIE W S E P T. 12 • RO S S - A D E S TA D I U M, W E S T L A FAYE T T E • T I M E: N O O N • T V: E S P N E WS 9/5 BUTLER 9/12 at Purdue 9/19 SE MISSOURI ST 10/3 at Missouri State 10/10 at South Dakota St 10/17 S. ILLINOIS 10/24 N .DAKOTA STATE 10/31 at Illinois State 11/7 at Northern Iowa 11/14 W. ILLINOIS 11/21 YOUNGSTOWN ST 2014 Results (8-6) 2015 Schedule G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : P U R D U E - 12 OF NOTE: Indiana State won eight games last season, its most victories since it joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 1986. 7 in the country in 2014, and beast- ly 245-pound running back Devon Johnson returns. His 8.58 yards per carry led the country and his 1,767 rushing yards ranked No. 6 in the na- tion. He could be primed for another big season in 2015, especially if Bird- song can play well and keep defenses stretched out. "He's Mike Alstott," Traylor said of Johnson. "He gets in the hole and with the scheme of Marshall's offense — a lot of times the defense has to go to a nickel with the double slots and four wides — so a lot of times, especially with their zone blocking scheme, if the offensive line is able to reach a linebacker, (Johnson) is one-on-one with the safety. You get a 245-pound back that runs a 4.6, you know what's going to happen." It could be crucial for the offense to keep up its frenetic scoring pace: The defense could need time to find a groove after losing important pieces from a unit that allowed an average of only 21 points per game. Gone are six starters, including five of the front seven, and the en- tire defensive line. But it's one of the back-half starters whose loss could be even more influential: NFL pick Darryl Roberts' lockdown-type skills at corner where defensive coordina- tor Chuck Heater likes to play a tight press man coverage dictated what the front 7 could do. It was Roberts' abili- ty that allowed Heater to play aggres- sively, Traylor said. Heater still will want the same ap- proach — he's big on blitzing, Traylor said — but he'll need to find players who can execute at a high level. "It's going to be a work in progress as far as the early part of the season. It's going to be a trial by fire," Traylor said. "But the good thing is Marshall had so many blowouts last year, it al- lowed those guys to get some pretty good experience." — Stacy Clardie