One more nonconference tune-up for IU comes under the Friday night lights at Memorial Stadium.
Next up are the Indiana State Sycamores, from the Missouri Valley Conference of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Here’s everything you need to know about Indiana’s week three matchup in Bloomington:
INDIANA STATE (2-0) at No. 19/22 INDIANA (2-0)
- Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET, Friday
- Location: Bloomington, Ind., Memorial Stadium (52,626; field turf)
- Television: BTN — Lisa Byington (pbp), Jared Thomas (color), Melanie Ricks (sideline)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- Radio: IU Football radio network
- Odds: Indiana is around a 48.5-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 84 degrees, sunny, wind 4 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Indiana leads the series 7-0.
- The Coaches:
- Curt Cignetti is in his second year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 132-37 record in his 15th season as a college head coach. He’s 13-2 at Indiana.
- Curt Mallory is 26-55 in his ninth season as a head coach, all at ISU.
🗣️ Be dominant. pic.twitter.com/FV6n8kMsHL
— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) September 12, 2025
GAMEDAY TIMELINE
- 12 P.M. – Tailgating & Parking Lots Open
- 4 P.M. – B-Town Boulevard Opens
- 4:05 P.M. – The Walk & Gameday Rally
- 5 P.M. – Stadium Gates Opens
- 6 P.M. – Marching Hundred Pregame Show
- 6:30 P.M. – Kickoff vs. Indiana State
TALE OF THE TAPE
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK THREE SLATE
INDIANA STATE NOTES AND NUMBERS
After their first 2-0 start since 1986, Indiana State football hits the road for the first time in the 2025 season. The Sycamores are led by head coach Curt Mallory, son of longtime IU head coach Bill Mallory. Curt spent several years in Bloomington on the IU staff in various roles.
About the Matchup
Indiana State has traveled to Bloomington to take on Indiana seven times dating back to the inaugural contest in 1925. Six of the seven contests have come since 2003, with games played in three consecutive seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
The Sycamores have fallen in all seven matchups to the Hoosiers including the 2023 contest at IU, 41-7. Indiana State and IU are scheduled to conclude their current scheduling contract in the 2027 season.
Indiana State against the Big Ten
Indiana State is 0-20 against the current iteration of the Big Ten Conference with matchups against Indiana (0-7), Purdue (0-7), Maryland (0-1), Minnesota (0-3), Northwestern (0-1), and Penn State (0-1).
Sycamores against Power Four Opponents
Indiana State heads into the weekend contest against Indiana seeking their first win against a current Power Four Conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC) institution since topping Cincinnati back in the 1987 season. The Sycamores hosted the Bearcats that season, winning 40-18, in Terre Haute.
The Sycamores are 3-2 all-time against Cincinnati, 0-2 against Florida, 0-1 against Georgia Tech, 0-7 against Indiana, 0-2 against Iowa State, 0-3 against Kansas, 0-3 against Kansas State, 3-7-1 against Louisville, 0-1 against Maryland, 0-3 against Minnesota, 0-1 against Mississippi, 0-1 against Northwestern, 0-1 against Oklahoma, 0-1 against Oklahoma State, 0-1 against Penn State, 0-7 against Purdue, 0-1 against Tennessee, and 0-1 against Texas Tech.
FBS Road Openers Under Mallory
Indiana State is 0-7 in road openers in the Mallory era dating back to his installment at the helm of the Sycamore football program in 2017. All seven road opening contests in the Mallory era have come at Power Four opponents, including No. 21 Tennessee back on September 9, 2017.
2017 – at No. 21 Tennessee (L, 42-7)
2018 – at Louisville (L, 31-7)
2019 – at Kansas (L, 24-17)
2021 – at Northwestern (L, 24-6)
2022 – at Purdue (L, 56-0)
2023 – at Indiana (L, 41-7)
2024 – at Purdue (L, 49-0)
MVFC Players of the Week (Take Two)
Indiana State’s Logan Wilson (Defensive) and Larry Stephens III (Newcomer) received the conference’s weekly honors as announced by the MVFC on Monday afternoon for their efforts against Eastern Illinois. It marked the second consecutive week Indiana State claimed two of the conference’s five weekly awards.
Wilson recorded nine tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, and added a batted down pass at the line of scrimmage to highlight his afternoon against the Panthers. Stephens hauled in a game-high five passes for 67 yards and his first touchdown in the Sycamores’ win.
Wilson and Stephens III join Plez Lawrence (Week 1 – Offensive) and Sebastian Lopez (Week 1 – Special Teams) who received Valley honors following their season-opening win over McKendree. Wilson becomes the first Sycamore to earn MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honors since Joey Shew claimed recognition on November 4, 2024, against North Dakota. Stephens III is the first Sycamore to claim Newcomer of the Week honors since Elijah Owens received the honors on October 14, 2024, after the Murray State game.
PREDICTIONS
Indiana State appears to be better than they’ve been in recent years, and they’re certainly better than Western Illinois, the FCS opponent IU faced a year ago. But the Sycamores are no match for the Hoosiers.
TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 52 INDIANA STATE 3
- ESPN SP+ (Computer): Indiana 47 Indiana St. 6 (99% win probability)
- ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has a 99% chance to win.
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