Game Notes  (.pdf)

WEEK  9
Indianapolis (6-2, 5-2 GLIAC) at Ferris State (5-3, 4-3)
Big Rapids, Mich. - Top Taggart Field
Sat., Oct. 29, 2 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:  With a four-game winning streak in hand and playoff aspirations in mind, the UIndy football team heads to Ferris State for a GLIAC North Division showdown with the Bulldogs.

About Ferris State:  Heading into last week, Ferris State was part of a three-way tie for the GLIAC North Division lead, but after losing big to a streaking Grand Valley State squad last Saturday, the Bulldogs now sit a game back of UIndy and Saginaw Valley in the league standings.

FSU dropped a 57-10 decision at Grand Valley in the annual Anchor-Bone Classic Oct. 22.  GVSU opened the game with 31 unanswered points and went on to finish the night with 631 yards of total offense.

On the season, Ferris State's balanced attack ranks fourth in the conference in both rushing offense (220.2 ypg) and passing offense (241.4 ypg).  The Bulldogs average 461.6 total yards per game, good for second in the GLIAC and 18th in Division II.

Defensively, junior linebacker Tayo Moss ranks third in the league in tackles per game (9.5), while junior denfensive end Jordan Morgan is tied for second in total sacks (6.0).

Hounds vs. Bulldogs:  In its longest-standing currently-active rivalry, UIndy owns a 13-16-1 mark all-time versus Ferris State.  The series dates back to 1953 -- earliest of any GLIAC team -- and Saturday's game will mark the 31st meeting.  The Hounds have also faced Ashland 31 times through the years, good for the Greyhounds' highest number of meetings with any current GLIAC opponent.

UIndy has won three of the last four match-ups with the Bulldogs, including a 37-33 win at Key Stadium last season.  UIndy fought back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, capped by a game-winning touchdown from Paul Corsaro with just 48 seconds left.

The Bulldogs put the ball on the ground a staggering seven times that night, with five of the fumbles recovered by UIndy.

Last Time Out:  UIndy's offense racked up 509 yards of total offense in last week's 38-31 win versus Northern Michigan.  QB Chris Mills threw for a career-high 415 yards, with receivers Ryan Forney and Mar'Quone Edmonds accounting for 369 of them.

On A Roll:  The Greyhounds look for a fifth straight win Saturday at Ferris State.  UIndy, which heads into the weekend riding its first four-game winning streak in four years, hasn't won five in a row since 1998.

Northern Exposure:  Though its the southern-most school in the league, UIndy remains atop the GLIAC North Division standings.  Both the Greyhounds and Saginaw Valley sport a 5-2 record in conference play.

Playoff Picture:  The initial NCAA Division II regional polls were released this week, with the Greyhounds grabbing the No. 7 spot in Super Region #3.

UIndy is one of five GLIAC teams to appear in the top 10, with Wayne State (4), Hillsdale (6), Saginaw Valley (8) and Ashalnd (9) also earning recognition.

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.

Despite the solid No. 7 ranking, UIndy has some work to do yet, as just the top six teams from each region advance to the 24-team national tournament.  The Greyhounds have yet to qualify for the postseason since joining Division II back in 1979.  Before this week, they had not been regionally ranked since October of 2001.

The NCAA D-II Championships will begin Nov. 19 on campus sites.  The opening round begins with the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds and the fourth- and fifth-seeded squads from each region facing off at the higher seeds' home field, while the top two teams receive byes.

Vote of Confidence:  In addition to its appearance in the regional poll, UIndy is also receiving votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.  This marks the second week this season the Greyounds received votes in the national poll, as the team also garnered nods in the Sept. 19 edition.

UIndy has never been ranked in the top 25 in the coaches poll -- which was first published in 2000 -- and before this season, last received votes on Sept. 9, 2009.  The team's most recent appearance in a national poll came on Oct. 6, 1997, when the Hounds ranked 12th in the NCAA D-II Football Committee's top 20 poll.  The committee ceased producing weekly polls after the 1999 season, giving way to the AFCA rankings.

Ball Security:  The Greyhounds, who had gone 35 straight quarters without a turnover, still have their sights set on the D-II record for fewest turnovers in the season.  The benchmark of eight is currently shared by Lenoir-Rhyne (1994), Winston-Salem (2004) and Abilene Christian (2010).

Like a Broken Record:  Mills enters week nine with 21 touchdown passes, one shy of UIndy's single-season record.  Two TD tosses Saturday would break the mark of former all-conference-performer Matt Kohn, who threw 21 touchdowns back in 2003.

1,000-Yard Club:  After becoming the fifth-ever Greyhound to surpass 2,000 career receiving yards last week, senior receiver Ryan Forney looks to become just the fourth Hound to amass 1,000 yards receiving in a single season.  The Crown Point, Ind., native enters the Ferris State game with 913 receiving yards.  His average of 114.1 yards per contest is good for second in the GLIAC and seventh in Division II.

Touchdown Mar'Q:  Already the school's single-season record holder for receiving touchdowns with 12, junior Mar'Quone Edmonds needs just five more touchdown receptions to break UIndy's career mark.  The junior has 22 TD catches in his time at UIndy, good for a share of second on the school's all-time list.

UIndy Hall-of-Famer Dick Nyers (1952-55) owns the career record with 26.  Nyers' 16 touchdowns (10 rec, 6 rush) in 1954 still stands as the program's overall season record for TDs.

Swan Song:  After 13 seasons as an associate member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), the fall of 2011 marks the final season of GLIAC play for the UIndy football squad.  The Greyhounds will move to the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) next year, which will add football in the fall of 2012.

A founding member of the GLVC, Indianapolis has been an associate member of the GLIAC since it merged with the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference back in 1999.

“We hopefully go out with a bang,” says Head Coach Bob Bartolomeo of the Hounds' final GLIAC season.  “We want to make our presence known one more time in the GLIAC.  We would love nothing better than to go out winners.  That's something our team has been focused on since starting training in January.”

The addition of football to the GLVC's 17 sponsored sports will allow UIndy to compete as a full member of the largest Division II conference in the nation.  Nine teams will compete for the first GLVC football crown in 2012, including full-timers Kentucky Wesleyan, McKendree, Missouri S&T, Quincy, Saint Joseph's, UIndy and William Jewell and associate members Central State and Urbana.