Forgot to post this last night...

[Jason Svoboda]

But yesterday marked 3 years since that playoff appearance and win at EKU

 

[TreeTop]

So does that mean we had players on the team this season, who were part of that Playoff team?

 

[Hooper]

So does that mean we had players on the team this season, who were part of that Playoff team?

Yep! I was at that game (had only been waiting my whole adult life to go to an Indiana State I-AA/FCS playoff game!)

When we made the big comeback and got up big late Sanford put an underclassman named LeMonte Booker in the game to get some reps. I'm sure there were others.

Yet still some on here think he left us with a bare cupboard and couldn't coach and try and lay blame on our current winless season on him and his staff. I will forever be fond of him for not only getting us into the playoffs but also winning an FCS playoff game. It took 30 years and lots of suffering as an ISU football fan but he was the one who finally did it. Not Mcguire, not West, not Miles and not Mallory.

 

[niklz62]

Yep! I was at that game (had only been waiting my whole adult life to go to an Indiana State I-AA/FCS playoff game!)

When we made the big comeback and got up big late Sanford put an underclassman named LeMonte Booker in the game to get some reps. I'm sure there were others.

Yet still some on here think he left us with a bare cupboard and couldn't coach and try and lay blame on our current winless season on him and his staff. I will forever be fond of him for not only getting us into the playoffs but also winning an FCS playoff game. It took 30 years and lots of suffering as an ISU football fan but he was the one who finally did it. Not Mcguire, not West, not Miles and not Mallory.

you could argue that we make the playoffs at least in 1995 and 2012 if the would have let 24 teams in the playoffs.

edit: but all of the above could still be true.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Yep! I was at that game (had only been waiting my whole adult life to go to an Indiana State I-AA/FCS playoff game!)

When we made the big comeback and got up big late Sanford put an underclassman named LeMonte Booker in the game to get some reps. I'm sure there were others.

Yet still some on here think he left us with a bare cupboard and couldn't coach and try and lay blame on our current winless season on him and his staff. I will forever be fond of him for not only getting us into the playoffs but also winning an FCS playoff game. It took 30 years and lots of suffering as an ISU football fan but he was the one who finally did it. Not Mcguire, not West, not Miles and not Mallory.

He did leave us bare. You don't play over 40+ freshman and transfers if you've got a solid upperclass base. Nor do you take 5 guys from D2 ball and most of them end up playing significant minutes if not coming in and starting over Sanford's recruits. Also, Sanford ran with Miles last couple recruiting seasons like any coach should have. If we didn't have the insane number of injuries the year before and the behind the scenes Shakir mess, I think we'd have gone back-to-back to the playoffs. But alas, shit happens.

The roster is still a mess and we're in the bottom 2 teams in the Valley talent wise (us and Missouri State but I think they have more explosive playmakers), especially at positions that matter. I don't think it is any coincidence that our staff is beating down the JUCO doors looking at line and QB help. Also hope Mallory (which his Michigan connection) is reaching out to all of those QBs and players that are leaving at Michigan.

Here is my decade in a nutshell:

West left Miles absolute dog shit. He was brought in to close the program and almost succeeded. Miles worked it into a formidable roster by landing game breakers (Bell, Fouch, Perish, Hilton, Obaseki, Underwood, Sewalls, et al) but not a lot of depth by the time he jumped. It was trending that way but wasn't quite there. Sanford came in and did a fair job but was too hands off in recruiting (IMO or he was just a bad closer) because he let the staff offer way too many single D1 offer kids and relied way too much on JUCO kids.

This is where the bottom dropped out as those kids either couldn't make grades, had other off-the-field issues, or couldn't play and he also alienated Indiana HS football coaches from the program. That led to the shit sandwich that Mallory inherited where he not only had kids that didn't fit his systems, but he had kids with off the field problems. Now, this is compounded by Sanford's staff recruiting those kids that aren't MVFC level players and a lot of those kids played this year.

If we're going to reverse course, those kids are going to have to be cleared out (sorry to parents on here that may not like to hear that) and he has a large uphill battle to stabilize the offensive/defensive lines and then land some game breakers. I don't believe we have a single player returning on offense next year that is All-MVC level, even honorable mention. I'd love to be wrong about that. Defensively, we have a couple nice pieces in Moss and Griffith but our secondary was one of the worst in FCS and our line leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[needles]

Truth! I do think Sparks is a capable MVFC quarterback however. The other cat would be an All American...at Wabash.

 

[the johnner]

If you want the short list of 'to do's' to get the prospects of the ISU football program on a long term incline, 2 changes have to occur NOW: The entire community, including but not limited to the University and the Alums, have to place the same energy and resources behind the football program that is put behind the Mens Basketball Program. Second a public commitment has to be made by ISU University and Terre Haute executive Leadership to BUILD A NEW STADIUM. A CHAMPION has to be named to head the effort and a DEADLINE established when the FIRST GAME WILL BE PLAYED in this new facility.

 

[Hooper]

If you want the short list of 'to do's' to get the prospects of the ISU football program on a long term incline, 2 changes have to occur NOW: The entire community, including but not limited to the University and the Alums, have to place the same energy and resources behind the football program that is put behind the Mens Basketball Program. Second a public commitment has to be made by ISU University and Terre Haute executive Leadership to BUILD A NEW STADIUM. A CHAMPION has to be named to head the effort and a DEADLINE established when the FIRST GAME WILL BE PLAYED in this new facility.

A few things then I'll let it go.

Boda--I agree with your historical analysis. Like many on here I lived through it too and (like some on here) I have thrown my own money at the problem for years (thousands of dollars in donations, charity auctions, golf outings, etc. over the years.). I don't have time to research who left or was kicked off when Mallory came, nor who was injured throughout the season. But pull the defensive depth chart of the three games we all thought, going in, that we would/could win: EIU, SIU, and MSU. The charts show lots of juniors and seniors starting and upperclassman as backups. A review of a few of their bios showed playing time the year before and some even in 2015. Yeah I saw the St. Joes transfers getting PT but guess who recruited them when they shut down last year? Hint: It wasn't Sanford.

Something happened after the ILSU game. Not sure if it was a key injury, coaching, attitude, or what but I will state for the final time I don't believe we were so void of talent to cause us to get completely boat-raced every Saturday in the MVFC, especially against SIU and MSU. Something else had to be going on. I just don't know what it is/was.

Johnner--Yes! And I think a cheaper and easier idea is to come out of nowhere and offer FCOA football scholarships. I don't know the Title IX implications, but can you imagine the reverberation throughout recruiting circles here in the Midwest when word gets out ISU will give you money to play football for them? Clink should add funding FCOA scholarships to the Elevate campaign. A few hundred thousand could get things started and eventually they could be endowed. Have Tom James find 100 football alumni and ask them to contribute at least 50 bucks per bi-weekly paycheck could also be a start and get you into six figures quickly.

 

[niklz62]

I think tha FCOA would be a bigger step than a stadium. I wonder how much the max is and how much it would cost to be in compliance.

 

[#33]

Yep! I was at that game (had only been waiting my whole adult life to go to an Indiana State I-AA/FCS playoff game!)

When we made the big comeback and got up big late Sanford put an underclassman named LeMonte Booker in the game to get some reps. I'm sure there were others.

Yet still some on here think he left us with a bare cupboard and couldn't coach and try and lay blame on our current winless season on him and his staff. I will forever be fond of him for not only getting us into the playoffs but also winning an FCS playoff game. It took 30 years and lots of suffering as an ISU football fan but he was the one who finally did it. Not Mcguire, not West, not Miles and not Mallory.

I agree Hooper, Sanford dose not get enough credit for what he did during his tenure, Ive said this in other post but he had 2 season, 13 and 15 where injuries killed the teams affectiveness, in 16 he had a dumb ass qb that couldn't make grades. My only complaint, he seemed to run to loose of a program, not enough discipline. I knew he was gone when he didn't have a season ending news confrence........with that being said, we were so bad, the Terre Trib didn't even write about the loss to N IA

 

[Sycamorefan96]

I was talking about this with someone the other day and we both came to the conclusion that whenever ISU makes a coaching change we need to hire someone that runs a similar offense and a similar defense as the one we've been having success with. You know instead of hiring someone that is going to change everything up and then either leave for something better in a few years or get fired. I'm pretty sure if Sanford (or a coach that runs similar stuff as him) was still the coach we would have won a few games and been a lot more competitive this year.