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

THE GAME: In a weekend filled with playoff implications, the Crimson Hawks head out onto the road for the final time in the regular season as they travel to face Gannon on Saturday. IUP has won five straight games, including last week's 45-0 shut out of Clarion, outscoring opponents by an average of 35-9 over that span. Gannon won its first game since Week 1 last Saturday, edging out winless Lock Haven 13-7. 

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 12:30 p.m. IUP-TV will again be back to webstream the game live on NMTVSports.com.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) is in 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: This short series is tied at 2-2 with IUP victories in 2008 (35-10) and 2011 (35-7). Gannon's victories are sandwiched in between, winning 29-3 in 2009 and 45-17 in 2010. Each team is 1-1 at home.

RANKINGS: IUP shows up at No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the D2Football Media Poll this week. The Crimson Hawks also moved up in the Super Region One rankings at No. 6. See page 7 for more details.

NEXT GAME/PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP: Next weekend is still up in the air for IUP depending on results of this week. An IUP win and a California loss would put the Crimson Hawks in the PSAC Championship game where they would host Shippensburg. A win by California would send the Vulcans to the title game and IUP would host Millersville. Originally, IUP was scheduled to host Shippensburg but the Raiders locked up a championship game appearance with last week's win over Bloomsburg. (Cal vs. Mercyhurst Live Stats)

HAWK TALK

REGIONAL RANKINGS... IUP enters this week No. 6 in the Super Region One rankings. The top 6 teams in the final ranking (Nov. 11) will advance to the NCAA playoffs, however, if the season ended today the earned access rule would come into effect and Shepherd (WVIAC) would replace IUP.

EARNED ACCESS... The champion of each conference in the region (PSAC, WVIAC, NE-10, CIAA) earns an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. If there is a conference champion that is lower than the top 6 in the regional rankings, they will bump the lowest ranked school from a conference with multiple teams in the top 6.

GROUND AND POUND... With one of the best running games in Division II, the Crimson Hawks could break the school record for rushing yards in a season of 3,211 (1993). Currently with 2,622, IUP averages 291.3 yds/game (6th in DII) and is on pace for 3,204 yards in the regular season.

TUCK'S TRUCKIN'... Easily one of the best backs in the nation, Sr. RB Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) is 2nd in Division II with 166.8 rushing yds/game. Averaging an impressive 6.5 yds/carry, he's surpassed 200 yards in a game 4 times and is 1 of only 2 players with 1,500+ rushing yards. Also, his 15 TDs are tied for 6th in nation.

4,000 REASONS... Already 2nd on the IUP all-time rushing list, Tuck went over 4,000 career yards with his 231-yard performance against Mercyhurst. He's 623 yards and 4 TDs behind all-time leader Michael Mann (4,805 yds, 19 TDs) with 2 games left in the regular season.  

TUCK AGAINST GANNON... Tuck has yet to go over 100 yards in 3 previous contests against the Golden Knights, running 42 times for 200 yards and 2 TDs in 3 games. His averages of 66.7 yds/game and 4.8 yds/carry against Gannon are below his career averages of 116.2 yds/game and 5.3 yds/carry.

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 - 9.67 ppg); total defense (1st - 227.56); rushing defense (3rd - 64.78 ypg); and passing defense (10th - 162.78 ypg).

IUP is also 1st in the nation in first downs allowed (12.22/game), 5th in third down efficiency (32/116; 27.59%), and 9th in pass efficiency (98.56 rating).

SUFFOCATING... That IUP run defense has been practically suffocating this season, allowing an average of 64.78 rushing yards per game. The Crimson Hawks have allowed over 100 yards just twice and have given up just 5 TDs on the ground this year. Opponents are averaging a paltry 2.1 yds/carry so far this season. 

GETTING TO THE QB... The Crimson Hawks are 3rd in the PSAC and tied for 28th in the nation in sacks, getting to the quarterback 25 times this season. Sr. DT Carl Thornton (Beaver Falls/Beaver Falls) leads the way with 7.0 sacks while So. DE Shane Meisner (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield ) has 4.5.

A THORN IN YOUR SIDE... Thornton is arguably one of the best defensive linemen in the conference, being named All-PSAC West every year on campus. This year he's tied for 23rd in Division II in sacks per game and in his career has racked up 196 tackles, 35 TFL and 15 sacks from his tackle position. 

NOT PASSING FRIENDLY... Outside of the California game, the IUP defense has been solid against the pass this year as opponents have completed just 47 pct of their passes for an average of 128 yds/game and 2 TDs. Twice IUP has held opposing QBs under 100 yards and have a total of 12 interceptions, 1 for every 19 attempts, and has batted away 34 more passes.

WINNING THE BATTLE... One reason for IUP's success is winning the turnover battle, as the Crimson Hawks are t-3rd in the nation with a turnover margin of +12. The defense has forced 20 in 8 games, with 10 picks and 10 fumble recoveries, while the offense has given the ball 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 509-253-23 (.663) in 83-plus seasons.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

OFFENSE... Statistically on the bottom of half of conference rankings in most offensive categories, Gannon does boast a high-flying passing attack led by first year QB Liam Nadler. Nadler is 3rd in the PSAC with 2,337 passing yards and puts it up an average of 41 times per game. Five receivers have at least 20 catches for the Golden Knights, including WR Abraham Ocasio who leads the PSAC West with 54 receptions this season. Those lofty numbers have led to plenty of sacks as opponents have taken down Nadler 37 times in 9 games so far this year.

DEFENSE... Gannon is one of 8 teams in the PSAC that give up more than 30 points per game at 30.9, including 3 games of more than 40 points. The pass defense is the lone bright spot, as the Golden Knights are 7th in the NCAA as they give up just 159.7 yards/game. CB Ta'Von Bailey has played well with 12 pass breakups while LB Will Giles has 4 interceptions and CB Tashawn Sneed has 2. Gannon has given up 202 yards/game and 16 TDs on the ground, including 483 to Bloomsburg.

SPECIAL TEAMS... Justin Caliste is a threat to score on returns, returning 9 punts this year for a 17.2 yard average, including a 65 yard TD. He'll also run back kickoffs, averaging 24.0 yards on 24 returns. Matt Szczupakowski has been nearly perfect this year in the kicking game, converting 9-10 FGs and 17-17 XPs. He's 5-6 beyond 30 yards with a long of 45. Adam Schaffer has taken the majority of Gannon's punts this year