Gameday Central | Complete Game Notes (PDF) | PSAC Weekly Notes | Fourth Annual Coal Bowl

THE GAME: In what will be the Division II game of the week, IUP travels down the road to face rival California at Adamson Stadium on Saturday. The Crimson Hawks have risen up the national polls and are ranked No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 21 in the D2Football.com Media Poll. Meanwhile the Vulcans are No. 6 in both respective polls. Both schools enter with perfect 3-0 records and have shown a significant amout of offensive output this year.

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 3:00 p.m. IUP-TV will again be back to webstream the game live on NMTVSports.com. 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. The game will also air live on The CW Pittsburgh. Check your local listings for available channels.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: IUP head coach 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).

THE SERIES: IUP has dominated the all-time series, owning a 55-22-2 record. However, the Vulcans have had the upper hand as of late, winning the last five matchups and six of the last seven. From 1985-2004, IUP defeated California 20 straight times.

IN THE TOP 25: IUP has made huge leaps up the national polls, debuting at No. 23 after the first week and moving up to No. 17 the following before a No. 14 ranking this week. Prior to this season, the Crimson Hawks were not ranked since November of 2008.

NEXT GAME: The Crimson Hawks remain are back on the road next week with another West-East crossover matchup at Millersville. IUP owns an 11-5 record in the all-time series, last meeting the Marauders in 2009. 

HAWK TALK

GROUND AND POUND... Led by a quartet of backs, IUP is ranked 4th in Division II with 325.33 yds/game. Sr. RB Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) is 2nd in the PSAC and 8th in the nation with 155.0 yds/game, including a 202-yard effort against Lock Haven. R-Fr. RB Montay Green (Pittsburgh/Fox Chapel) ran for 101 yards in the opener while Fr. RB Alex Holland (Curwensville/Curwensville) and Sr. RB De'Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) went for 96 and 83 yards, respectively, at Cheyney.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS... Tuck continues to chip away at the IUP career rushing charts as he now has 3,146 yards, 4th all-time. He's currently 477 yards behind Aamir Dew (1999-2001) for 3rd place.

“THE ROCKET”... Williams has seen his playing time in the backfield increase over the last two games, with 83 yards at Cheyney and 68 yards and 2 TDs against Lock Haven. A transfer from Rutgers, he's averaging 6.1 yards on 27 carries.

LOOK AT THE SCOREBOARD... Through three games, IUP has a scoring margin of 131-6, defeating teams by an average of 43-2. This is the largest scoring margin through three games since 2008, when IUP outscored opponents 151-10. The most points IUP has ever scored in its first three games of the season was in 2007, accumulating 163 in wins over Cheyney (80-14), ESU (38-23) and
Millersville (45-0).

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK... The Crimson Hawks powerful running game has helped IUP own the time of possession so far this year, ranking 2nd in the PSAC and 11th in DII with a time of 34:43.

MORE BIG PLAYS ARE COMING... After a quiet opener, Jr. WR Pat Brewer (Coatesville/Coatesville) has come up with big plays in each of the past two contests, catching a 57-yard TD pass against Cheyney and returning a kickoff 82 yards for a TD against Lock Haven. Last year the speedster averaged 25.2 yards per catch, with 5 plays of at least 44 yards.

FIRST RATE DEFENSE... 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 (2nd - 2.00 ppg); total defense (2nd - 150.00 ypg); rushing defense (2nd - 29.00 ypg); and passing defense (7th - 121.00 ypg).

IUP is also 1st in the nation in first downs allowed (7.67/game); 3rd in third down efficiency (7/37; 18.92%); and 10th in red zone efficiency (1/2; 50.00%).

THE GREAT WALL... The big boys up front have gotten their wings on several balls at the line of scrimmage, as defensive linemen have racked up 6 batted balls this year. Jr. DE Errol Brewster (Harlem, NY/Springbrook (MD)) leads the way with 3 through 3 games this year.

THE MEISNER BROS.... Sr. DE Greg Meisner (Greensburg/Hempfield ) (Kentucky) and his brother So. DE Shane Meisner (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield ) (Rutgers) both transfered to IUP this year and have helped IUP wreak havoc on opposing offenses. They've combined for 20 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 passes broken up, 2 FR and a FF.

THE NAME CHANGES, BUT HIS PLAY DOESN'T... Jr. DB Terrell Holloway (Penn Hills/Penn Hills) (formerly Terrell Washington) has continued to excel at IUP's “Star” position, as 4.0 of his 6 tackles have come behind the line of scrimmage. He's added a sack and came off the edge to block a Lock Haven field goal attempt last Saturday.

ULLMAN ON FRED MITCHELL WATCH LIST... So. K Brett Ullman (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) is one of 44 kickers from across college football to be named to the Watch List for the 2012 Fred Mitchell Award. Ullman has 21 points this year, converting 18-18 XPs and and a 42-yard field goal.

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 504-252-23 (.662) in 83-plus seasons.

PSAC PRESEASON POLL... The Crimson Hawks were tied atop the PSAC West preseason coaches' poll which was released at the conference's media day on Aug. 6. IUP received three first place votes to tie for first with rival California, which received two first place votes. 

SCOUTING THE VULCANS

OFFENSE... The high-powered California offense is led by one of the top QBs in Division II in Peter Lalich. 3rd in the PSAC with 331.7 yds/game, he's completing 60.2 pct. of his passes and has tossed 8 TDs. His top two pass catchers have been WR Mike Williams and TE Blake Williamson. At 5-11, 185, Williams has caught 21 passes for 341 yards and 3 scores. More of a possession guy, Williamson has averaged 8.8 yards on his 17 receptions. Leading the run game again will be RB Lamont Smith, who's gone for over 100 yards each of the past two games. Despite their 34.0 pts/game, the Vulcans have turned the ball over 8 times in 3 games.

DEFENSE... The California defense has stood tough against top competition this year, but has allowed 374 yards of offense per game, including 301 through the air. Most of that dammage was down against Kutztown, which could be the top offense in the PSAC. DE BJ Stevens has been a threat, leading the defense with 5.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks this year while fellow DE Darnell Harding has 22 tackles, 4.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. S Greg Cochrane leads the team with 23 tackles with 1 pick.

SPECIAL TEAMS... K Cody Nuzzo has taken all of the kicks for the Vulcans, going 10-12 on XPs and 2-3 on chip-shot FGs. P Andrew Cerett will handle punting duties as he averages 44.9 yards on his 9 punts this year, including a long of 64 yards. Trey Johnson and Jeff Knox, Jr. have been the main kickoff returners while Johnson will be back deep on punts.