Gameday Central | Complete Game Notes (PDF) | PSAC Weekly Notes

THE GAME: IUP is back on the road this week as the Crimson Hawks continue their PSAC West schedule at Edinboro on Saturday afternoon. They continue to dominate opponents on the ground, coming off of a 33-16 win over rival Slippery Rock on Homecoming, and have won two straight. After dropping their first 2 games, the Fighting Scots will be going for their 4th straight win, scoring 31-plus in each of the last 3 games.

ON THE AIR: The game will air live on WQMU-FM 92.5 with Jack Benedict serving as the play-by-play announcer and John Flickinger at his side as the color analyst. The two will be joined by sideline reporter Greg Drahuschak. The pregame show begins at 11:30 a.m. IUP-TV will again be back to webstream the game on NMTVSports.com.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) begins his second season at the helm after leading the Crimson Hawks to a 7-3 overall record (5-2 PSAC West) in 2011. This is Cignetti's 30th year of coaching, with previous stops at Alabama (07-10), NC State (00-06), Pittsburgh (83-84, 93-99) Temple (89-92), Rice (86-88) and Davidson (85). Two of his most notable pupils have been WR Julio Jones at Alabama and QB Philip Rivers at NC State.

THE SERIES: IUP owns the all-time series lead with Edinboro 54-21-4, including shutout wins over the Fighting Scots in each of the past two seasons. The Crimson Hawks are 7-3 in the last 10 games in Edinboro with an 18-0 win back in 2010.

IN THE TOP 25: IUP has bounced around the AFCA top 25 coaches poll since entering at No. 23 in Week 2. The Crimson Hawks have reached as high as 14 and are currently No. 22 for the third straight week. They're also ranked No. 20 in the D2Football.com media poll.

NEXT GAME: The Crimson Hawks are back at home next Saturday when they host hot-handed Mercyhurst, which enters this Saturday 5-1 (3-0) this year. The two schools are an even 2-2 in the young series that dates back to a 42-10 IUP victory in 2008. Last year was the most exciting matchup, as IUP rallied from 11 down for a 35-28 overtime victory. 

HAWK TALK

GROUND AND POUND... The IUP running game is one of the best in Division II, averaging 309.0 yards per game, 7th in the nation. Led by Sr. RB Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary), the Crimson Hawks have gone over 300 yards in a game 4 times, average 5.9 yards per carry and have scored 21 TDs on the ground.

TUCK'S TRUCKIN'... 2nd in Division II with 165.8 rushing yards/game, Tuck is easily one of the best running backs in the nation. With 233 yards against The Rock, he has posted 3 200-yard rushing games, the most for IUP since James Suber had 3 in 1996.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS... Tuck's big effort last week moved him into 3rd place in IUP history with 3,676 career rushing yards, passing Aamir Dew. He's now just 141 yards shy of Chris Morgan, who ran for 3,817 yards from 2003-06.

THE ROCKET... Sr. RB De'Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) finally lifted off last weekend, rushing 16 times for 158 yards and 2 TDs, including a 31-yarder with :25 left in the second quarter. Seeing action in all 6 games, he's run for at least 80 yards as the backup 3 times and averages an impressive 6.8 yards/carry.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK... Led by an experienced offensive line and one of the top running games in the nation, IUP leads the NCAA with an impressive 36:06 time of possession/game. IUP has won the T.O.P. battle each game, owning a margin of 41:14-18:46 last week against Slippery Rock.

LINE EXPERIENCE... That experienced offensive line is led by Sr. C Anthony DiPasquale (Pittsburgh/Pine-Richland), who anchors a unit that has a combined 129 career IUP starts and 138 career games. Using the same lineup for all 6 games this year, the Crimson Hawks are first in the PSAC and t-12th in Division II by allowing just 4 sacks. 

BEST DEFENSE IN THE NATION?... IUP boasts arguably the top defense in the nation so far this year, ranking near the top of Division II in several categories including scoring defense (1st - 9.17 ppg); rushing defense (4th - 53.67 ypg); and total defense (3rd - 216.00 ypg).

IUP is also 1st in the nation in first downs allowed (11.00/game), t-5th in third down efficiency (20/74; 27.03%), and 11th in passing defense (162.33 ypg).

SUFFOCATING... That IUP run defense has been practically suffocating this season, allowing an average of 53.67 rushing yards per game. Opponents have run for over 50 yards in a game just twice, and are averaging just 1.8 per carry. They've allowed former All-PSAC RBs to rush for a combined 90 yards on 36 carries.

A THORN IN YOUR SIDE... Sr. DT Carl Thornton (Beaver Falls/Beaver Falls) is one of the main reasons why the IUP defense is so suffocating, totaling 21 tackles 6.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, adding a team-leading 3.5 sacks. He had a big day against The Rock with 7 tackles and 2 sacks.

LET ME CLEAR MY THROAT... Jr. LB Carl Fleming (Reisterstown, MD/Franklin) has announced his presence as one of the dominant forces on superb IUP defense, leading the team with 31 total tackles, including 15 solo stops on the year. He has 6.0 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, 1.5 sacks and has broken up 2 passes. 

LEADER OF THE DEFENSE... Sr. S Johnny Franco (Altoona/Tyrone) continues to play all over the field with 25 tackles, 2.5 TFL, and a team-leading 3 interceptions. 2 of those picks came last week against rival Slippery Rock, including 1 on a hail mary at the end of the 1st half and another to help seal the win in the 4th quarter.

WINNING THE BATTLE... One reason for IUP's success is winning the turnover battle, as the Crimson Hawks are t-5th in the nation with a turnover margin of +9. The defense has forced 17 in 6 games, recovering 10 fumbles, while the offense has given it up just 8 times.

THE 500 WIN CLUB... IUP became just the 17th school in NCAA Division II history with 500 all-time wins when it defeated Lock Haven 56-6 on Nov. 5 last year. The Crimson Hawks have a record of 506-253-23 (.662) in 83-plus seasons.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING SCOTS

OFFENSE... Edinboro brings one of the top passing attacks in the PSAC, led by QB Cody Harris. 4th in the conference with 290.4 yards/game, Harris has an incredible 73.6 completion pct. and has tossed 10 TDs compared to just 2 INTs. He's also a threat on the ground with 5 rushing TDs. He has a host of receivers to throw to, including WR Marcus Johnson, who's 3rd in the PSAC with 34 catches. Another prime target for Harris is RB D'Andrea Vaughn, who has 17 receptions out of the backfield. He's also the team's leader rusher, albeit averaging just 36.8 yards/game. The offense has blown up in the last three games, scoring at least 31 in each contest, averaging 36.7 points/game.

DEFENSE... The Fighting Scots defense boasts the PSAC's leading tackler in FS Kenny Pettis. He has 65 total stops on the year, avearging 13.0 per game, with 31 solo tackles. He's also a part of a unit that has 9 interceptions and has broken up 20 more passes this year. Pettis has picked off 2 passes and broken up 4 more while CB James Jackson has 3 interceptions. MLB Bruce Davis and DE Blaine Iskula provide the big plays in the backfield, each with 5.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks.

SPECIAL TEAMS... K Sean Seefeldt will handle placekicking and kickoff chores, although he's had a tough time this year converting just 2-7 FGs and 18-20 XPs. P J.D. Rodgers averages 36.9 yards/punt, dropping 9 of his 28 inside the 20-yard line. Willie Lowe will be the main kickoff returner, averaging 32.8 yards on 4 returns.