2014 Indiana State Sycamores football team

2014 Indiana State Sycamores football
FCS Playoffs Second Round vs. Chattanooga, L 14–35
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 19
FCS Coaches	No. 18
Record	8–6 (4–4 MVFC)
Head coach	Mike Sanford (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Brian Sheppard (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brian Cabral (2nd season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State +^		7	–	1					15	–	1
No. 2 Illinois State +^		7	–	1					13	–	2
No. 10 Northern Iowa ^		6	–	2					9	–	5
No. 12 South Dakota St. ^		5	–	3					9	–	5
No. 19 Indiana State ^		4	–	4					8	–	6
No. 22 Youngstown State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Southern Illinois		3	–	5					6	–	6
Western Illinois		3	–	5					5	–	7
Missouri State		1	–	7					4	–	8
South Dakota		0	–	8					2	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2014 Indiana State Sycamores football team represented Indiana State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Mike Sanford and played their home games at Memorial Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 8–6, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They made their third post-season appearance in the FCS Playoffs; they defeated Eastern Kentucky in the first round before losing in the second round to Chattanooga.

Connor Underwood, a junior Linebacker was named 2d team "All-American" by the Associated Press and 1st team by The Sporting News. Quarterback Mike Perish, set career marks for touchdowns, passing yards, attempts and pass completions. Head Coach Mike Sandford was named the Regional (#4) Coach of the Year by the AFCA.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	12:00 pm	at Indiana*		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPNews	L 10–28	38,006
September 6	3:00 pm	Tennessee Tech*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		W 49–14	5,113
September 13	3:00 pm	at Ball State*		Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN (Blue Key Victory Bell)	ESPN3	W 27–20	15,860
September 27	3:00 pm	No. 22 Liberty*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	W 38–19	5,633
October 4	3:00 pm	No. 10 Northern Iowa	No. 25	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		W 20–19	4,291
October 11	3:00 pm	No. 15 Illinois State	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN (Rivalry)	ESPN3	L 18–20	7,534
October 18	3:30 pm	at No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 22	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN3	L 17–34	18,477
October 25	7:00 pm	at No. 20 Southern Illinois	No. 22	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL (Rivalry)	ESPN3	W 41–26	10,255
November 1	1:00 pm	Missouri State	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		W 20–18	4,799
November 8	1:00 pm	No. 22 South Dakota State	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		L 17–32	4,905
November 15	2:00 pm	at No. 15 Youngstown State	No. 23	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN3	W 27–24 OT	9,642
November 22	2:00 pm	at Western Illinois	No. 18	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		L 20–34	1,783
November 29	1:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 25	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN3	W 36–16	1,941
December 6	1:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Chattanooga*	No. 25	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 14–35	8,419
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	25	20	22	22	19	17	23	18	25	19
Coaches	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	22	23	24	21	19	25	18	21	18