Game notes (.pdf)
WEEK 10
Indianapolis (7-3, 6-3 GLIAC) at Ohio Dominican (6-4, 5-4)
Columbus, Ohio - Panther Field
Saturday, Nov. 12, 12 p.m. ET
LIVE STATS: livestats.prestosports.com/indianapolis
RADIO: WICR 88.7 FM
AUDIO WEBCAST: wicr.uindy.edu
VIDEO WEBCAST: livestats.prestosports.com/indianapolis
On Tap: The UIndy football team looks to keep its playoff hopes alive when it heads to Ohio Dominican Saturday for final game of the 2011 regular season. A win versus the Panthers would give the Greyhounds a program-record-tying eight wins on the season.
Poll Position: Despite picking up a loss versus Wayne State last week, UIndy remains in the NCAA Division II
regional poll, slipping one spot to No. 9 in Super Region #3*. The Greyhounds are one of four GLIAC teams to appear in the top 10, with Saginaw Valley (3), Wayne State (4) and Hillsdale (8) also earning recognition. Meanwhile, Ashland's week-10 loss to Ohio Dominican dropped it from the sixth spot to out of the rankings.
With just one week remaining in the regular season, UIndy will need a little help cracking the 24-team NCAA field, as a mere six teams from each of the nation's four regions will earn postseason berths. The Greyhounds have not qualified for the playoffs since joining Division II back in 1979. Before this season, they had not been regionally ranked since October of 2007.
The NCAA Division II Football Selection Show is scheduled to air on NCAA.com Sunday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. Eastern.
*A total of 38 teams make up Division II's third “super region,” as members of the GLIAC, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) comprise the lot.
About Ohio Domician: Ohio Dominican is coming off a big road win last week. The Panthers traveled to Ashland and downed the region's sixth-ranked team, 20-17. Senior Chris Vortkamp booted a 33-yard field goal with 8:55 left to break a 17-17 tie. Then after forcing an AU punt, the Panthers controlled the ball for the final 6:03 to run out the clock and not permit the Eagles a chance to tie.
Running back Mike Noffsinger shouldered the load versus Ashalnd, as the senior workhorse carried the ball 31 times for 104 yards. Noffsinger ranks third in the GLIAC in both carries (214) and rushing yards per game (113.4).
Despite ranking 12th in the league in passing offense, ODU puts up 31.3 points per contest, good for fifth in the conference and just 0.7 ppg less than UIndy. Both teams have scored 41 touchdowns through 10 games, with the Greyhounds tacking on 13 field goals compared to ODU's nine.
Hounds vs. Panthers: With Ohio Dominican joining the GLIAC just last year, the Greyhounds have faced the Panthers just once, as UIndy downed ODU
31-17 at Key Stadium in the 2010 season finale.
UIndy earned a 24-0 lead by halftime and held the Panthers scoreless for the first 36 minutes of the game.
Ryan Forney compiled 124 receiving yards while
Paul Corsaro earned three short-yardage touchdowns.
Last Time Out: UIndy's
28-19 loss to 24th-ranked Wayne State last week not only snapped its first five-game winning streak in 1999, but also broke a string of seven straight wins at Key Stadium.
After fighting to a 7-7 tie at the break, WSU held to ball for 22 minutes in the second half, including a clock-killing 15-play scoring drive that consumed more than half of the fourth quarter. The Warriors used a stellar 78-percent third-down conversion rate (14-for-18) to maximize their time of possession.
Eight Wins: A win at Ohio Dominican would give the Hounds eight victories on the year, tying the program record for wins in a season. In its first 73 years of playing football, UIndy has had five eight-win seasons, with the most recent coming in 1998. Below is a list of the Hounds' eight-win campaigns.
1998- 8-2 (.800)
1997- 8-3 (.727)
1984- 8-2 (.800)
1975- 8-3 (.727)
1953- 8-0 (1.000)
Dynamic Duo: Senior
Ryan Forney and junior Mar'Quone Edmonds, who rank one and two in the GLIAC in receptions per game, are on pace to accomplish a feat no Greyhound tandem has accomplished since 2003. The pair enter the week with a combine 1,930 receiving yards between them. The last Greyhound duo to reach 2,000 receiving yards in a season was Cesare Manning and Rob Mager in 2003. Manning (1,220) and Mager (866) combined for a total of 2,086 receiving yards that season, setting the school record for most by any two Greyhound receivers.
Ball Security: The Greyhounds enter the week with an NCAA-low three turnovers on the season. FCS-school North Dakota State has just four turnovers on the year, while Ouachita Baptist is the next closest D-II team with eight.
UIndy has its sites set on both the Division II and the overall NCAA record for fewest turnovers in a season. The former mark of eight is shared by Lenoir-Rhyne (1994), Winston-Salem (2004) and Abilene Christian (2010), while the latter record of six is shared by three D-III teams in Mount Union (1995), McDaniel (1999) and Tufts (2009).
Points of Contention: The Greyhounds need 34 points this Saturday to eclipse the school record for most points scored in a season. The 2007 Hounds, led by current UIndy quarterbacks coach Casey Gillin, put up 353 in 11 games. This year's squad enters the ODU game having scored 320.
Like a Broken Record: A number of individual single-season program records could also fall Saturday, especially those in the passing and receiving categories. Below is a concise list of UIndy season benchmarks that are in immediate danger, along with what the respective persuers needs to break them.
- Completions (239)- Chris Mills needs 16 completions
- Completion percentage (63.1) - Mills needs to complete approx. 33% of his passes
- Receiving yards (1,220)- Ryan Forney needs 102 rec. yards
- Receptions (84) - Forney needs six catches
- Total touchdowns scored (16) - Mar'Quone Edmonds needs three
- Field goals made (15) - Scott Miller needs three
- PATs made (35) - Miller needs one
Program single-season records already broken:
- TD passes (27) by Mills
- TD catches (14) by Edmonds
- All-purpose yards (1,652) by Forney
