Gameday Central | Complete Game Notes (PDF) | PSAC Championship Preview

THE GAME: For the first time since 1987, IUP will play in the PSAC championship as the Crimson Hawks host Shippensburg on Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium. In a matchup of two top-15 teams, the game will feature IUP's No. 1 total defense against the No. 1 total offense of Shippensburg. IUP enters the game 9-1 overall and on a six-game win streak, with its only loss to then-No. 6 California 26-24 back on Sept. 22. The Red Raiders come in with a perfect 10-0 record and boast Division II's longest active win streak with 14 games.

ON THE AIR: The game will air live on television on PCN, as IUP-TV commentators Anthony Scherer and Mike Nicastro bring you the action. It can also be heard 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 1:30 p.m. WIUP-FM 90.1 will also have the call with Kyle Pillar on the play-by-play along with Vincent Paparella and Tim Quigley adding the color.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Hawks, putting together an overall record of 16-4 after leading IUP 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 a 44-17-4 all-time series lead with the Red Raiders and has completely dominated the series, winning 20 straight matchups dating back to 1988. Since 2000, IUP has outscored Shippensburg 210-61, including a 30-0 win in the last meeting in 2007. This will be the first PSAC title game matchup between these two schools.

RANKINGS: The Crimson Hawks enter the week 13th in both the AFCA coaches poll and the D2Football.com media poll, and sit at No. 5 in the Super Region One rankings. Shippensburg is 7th in the AFCA and 11th in the  D2Football.com polls and is the No. 1 team in the region.

HAWK TALK

REGIONAL RANKINGS... IUP enters this week No. 5 in the Super Region One rankings. The top 6 teams in the final ranking (Nov. 11) will advance to the NCAA playoffs, with the champion of each conference in the region (PSAC, WVIAC, NE-10, CIAA) earning an automatic bid. 

GROUND AND POUND... With one of the best running games in Division II, the Crimson Hawks have put up one of the best rushing seasons in school history with 2,852 yards. Currently 359 behind the school single season record of 3,211, IUP averages 285.2 yards per game.

TUCK'S TRUCKIN'... Easily one of the best backs in the nation, Sr. RB Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) is 3rd in Division II with 154.8 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 3 players in DII with 1,500+ rushing yards. Also, his 15 TDs are tied for t-14th 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 576 yards and 4 TDs behind all-time leader Michael Mann (4,805 yds, 19 TDs).  

OUT OF THE BOX... Entering in the 4th quarter against Cal, Jr. QB Mike Box (Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill) took over as the starter the following week against Millersville and hasn't looked back, throwing for 7 TDs and 2 INTs since then. He's been razor sharp in IUP's last 3 games, completing 69 pct of his passes (29-42) for 476 yards, while throwing 5 TDs and with just one pick.

THE ROCKET... Sr. RB De'Antwan “The Rocket” Williams has provided additional excitement in the running game this year, averaging 80.9 yards/game with 7 TDs. With a blend of speed and power, Williams has hit the 100-yard mark twice, including a career-high 158 yards against The Rock, and is averaging 106.2 yards/game with 5 TDs in the last 5 contests.

BEST DEFENSE IN THE NATION... The matchup against the nation's No. 1 offense could get interesting as IUP boasts arguably the top defense in the nation this year. The Crimson Hawks have the No. 1 total defense (239.90 yards/game); the No. 2 scoring defense (11.30 points/game); the No. 2 rushing defense (69.60 yards/game); and are 13th in DII in passing defense (170.30 yards/game). IUP is also 1st in the nation in first downs allowed (13.20/game), 14th in third down efficiency (40/128; 31.25%), and 16th in pass efficiency (104.48 rating).

SUFFOCATING... That IUP run defense has been practically suffocating this season, allowing an average of 69.60 rushing yards per game. The Crimson Hawks have allowed 100 yards three times and have given up just 6 TDs on the ground this year. Opponents are averaging a paltry 2.2 yards on 310 attempts.

NO PLAYS FOR YOU... Where the Red Raiders are 4th in DII with 80.9 offensive plays per game, IUP leads the nation by allowing its opponents to run just 57.3 plays per game. Twice this year IUP opponents have run more than 65 plays with the most being Edinboro's 70.

GETTING TO THE QB... The Crimson Hawks are 2nd in the PSAC and tied for 22nd in the nation in sacks, getting to the quarterback 28 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 5.5.

TACKLE MACHINE... Jr. LB Alexander Berdahl (Ashburn, Va./Bishop O'Connell) leads the team in tackles with 68, including 35 solo stops. He can make plays all over the field, posting 6.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

BLOCK THAT KICK... IUP has blocked three FGs and PATs this year, with Thornton getting his hands on 2 and Jr. DB Terrell Holloway (Penn Hills/Penn Hills) blocking another. 

WINNING THE BATTLE... One reason for IUP's success is winning the turnover battle, as the Crimson Hawks are 7th in the nation with a turnover margin of +14. The defense has forced 26 in 10 games, with 15 picks and 11 fumble recoveries, while the offense has given the ball up just 11 times.

IUP IN THE STATE GAME... This will be IUP's sixth appearance in the conference's “State Game” and it's first since 1987. IUP is 2-3 in its previous appearances, with wins in 1987 (vs. West Chester, 21-9) and 1986 (vs. West Chester, 20-6) and losses in 1985 (vs. Bloomsburg, 31-9), 1965 (vs. East Stroudsburg, 26-10) and 1964 (vs. East
Stroudsburg, 27-14). 

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS

OFFENSE... The Red Raiders boast the top offense in the entire nation, racking up 566.5 yards and nearly 53 points per game. Most of that damage is done through the passing game where Zach Zulli, a serious contender for the Harlon Hill Award, leads Division II with 3,845 passing yards, 4,027 total yards, and 49 touchdowns. He has a pair of national top-15 pass catchers in WRs Jacob Baskerville and Trevor Harman who are 8th and 14th in the nation, respectively, in receiving yards. TB Mike Frenette adds to the attack as the all-purpose back averages 5.5 yards/carry and is 3rd on the team with 46 catches out of the backfield. The spread hurry-up offense goes at a lightning fast pace, averaging over 80 plays per game.

DEFENSE... The Shippensburg defense is the best in the PSAC East, giving up just under 23 points and 327 yards per game. The Red Raiders did give some ground later in the year, as Kutztown, West Chester and Bloomsburg averaged 34 points and nearly 500 yards per contest. The Red Raiders have also given up plenty on the ground, including 268 yards to Bloom RB Franklyn Quiteh. Shippensburg does cause problems with the opposing quarterback, picking off 16 passes (t-15th in DII) and racking up 27 sacks (t-22nd). DE Jake Metz and LB Cody Fleming lead the way, combining for 30.5 TFL and 10.5 sacks.

SPECIAL TEAMS... K Michael Lloyd has converted less than 50 pct. of his FG tries (6-13) yet seems to get better as he gets farther away, making 6-10 from 30+. Sheldon Mayer averages 12.6 yards on 12 punt returns while Justin Pyle averages 22.0 yards on 15 kickoff returns. Nate Schmidt doesn't punt much, but he averages 38.6 yards per kick.