GameDay Central
IUP Crimson Hawks (7-2, 4-2 PSAC West)
Gannon Golden Knights (5-4, 4-2 PSAC West)
Saturday, November 9, 2013 | 1:00 p.m.
Frank Cignetti Field at George P. Miller Stadium | Indiana, Pa.

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Watch: IUP-TV (CATV Ch. 6) | NMTVSports.com
Listen: WQMU 92.5 FM | U92radio.com
Live Stats: IUPAthletics.com | Fan Stats | Media Stats

PSAC Coverage
PSAC Week 8 Preview | PSAC Statistics

Other Links
2013 IUP Schedule | Ticket Information | Tailgating Information

THE GAME: The Crimson Hawks will play at home for the final time in 2013 when they host Gannon at Frank Cignetti Field on Saturday. IUP will honor 19 seniors and look to continue its winning streak to three after road wins over Mercyhurst (28-6 on Oct. 26) and Clarion (42-14 on Nov. 2). Gannon rebounded after two straight losses with a 40-21 win over Seton Hill last week. Both teams enter with 4-2 records in the PSAC West, with Gannon still alive for a berth in the "State Game," needing a win plus a Seton Hill upset victory over Slippery Rock.

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. You can also listen to the action on the internet at u92radio.com. IUP-TV will have the live broadcoast on Comcast Ch. 6 and NMTVSports.com.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: IUP head coach Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) enters his third season at the helm after leading the Crimson Hawks to a PSAC championship, a 12-2 record and a berth in the NCAA playoffs in 2012. Through his two-plus seasons, Cignetti has a record of 26-7, going 15-5 in PSAC West play and 2-1 in the NCAA playoffs. He has a record of 13-3 at home and 13-4 on the road. This is Cignetti's 31st 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 holds a 3-2 lead in a series that dates back to Gannon's first year in the PSAC in 2008. The Crimson Hawks have won two straight, including last year's dramatic 38-35 4th quarter victory that helped them earn a berth in the PSAC championship.

NEXT GAME: The Crimson Hawks will travel to Shippensburg to play the Red Raiders in the regular season finale.  This will be a rematch of last year's PSAC championship game, won 41-10 by the Crimson Hawks. IUP owns the all-time series lead, 43-16-4. 

HAWK TALK

COUNTDOWN TO 800... Today marks the 800th game in IUP's "modern era" (since 1927). IUP holds a record of 520-256-23 record in its previous 799 games, the 16th most all-time victories in Division II.

THE NATIONAL POLLS... IUP remains on the outside looking in on both of this week's Top 25 Polls. The Crimson Hawks received 8 votes in the AFCA Coaches' Poll, 28 back of Virginia State and Carson-Newman, which are both ranked 25th.

IN THE REGIONAL POLLS... Earlier in the week the NCAA released the season's 2nd regional rankings, with IUP outside of the top 10 in Super Region One. The top six teams in each region, barring any earned access circumstances, advance to the Division II playoffs.

THREE STRAIGHT... R-Sr. RB De'Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) has reached the 100-yard mark in each of his last three games, averaging 148 yards and scoring 7 TDs during that span. He ran for a career-high 186 yards two weeks ago at Mercyhurst.

GOOD COMPANY... With his 129 yards last week, Williams moved into IUP's top 10 in career rushing yards. His two-year total of 2,284 is 8th all-time, 194 behind Larry Monsilovich's (1969-71) 2,478. James Suber (1995-96) is 6th with 2,565 career yards.

HITTING THE CENTURY MARK... With those three straight 100-yard rushing games, Williams now has five this season. His six last season gives him 11 in 23 career games. In his two seasons, Williams is averaging 99.3 yards per game.

WE HAVE LIFT-OFF... Williams has lifted his rushing average from 85.6 to 106.6 in the last three weeks and hopes to increase that even more this week. Gannon gives up a PSAC-worst 234.3 yards per game on the ground, including three games of at least 350 yards.

INCHING CLOSER... Sr. WR Terrill Barnes (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) needs just 8 more catches to enter IUP's top 10 in single season receptions with 57. With 777 yards this season, he needs just 151 to enter the single season top 10 for receiving yards. In an 11-game season, he's on pace for 60 catches for 950 yards and 7 TDs.

NICE CATCH(ES)... With is 2 catches last week, Barnes broke a 10th place tie with LeRon McCoy with 112 career receptions. His 1,897 yards in his three seasons at IUP is 10th all-time while his 16 TDs are tied for 9th.

Among those with only three playing seasons at IUP, he's 2nd in receptions (Lewis Hicks, 1996-98, 139), 2nd in yards (Hicks, 2,060) and tied for 1st in TDs (Darel Patrick, 1984-86, 16).

BACK IN BUSINESS... After giving up 1,086 yards to Slippery Rock and Edinboro, the IUP defense has given up an average of 277.5 yards in its last two contests. The Crimson Hawks have forced 5 turnovers during that time and have giving up just 20 points.

AIR CONTROL... The majority of the yards given up to Slippery Rock and Edinboro was through the air as those two totaled 733 yards. However, against Mercyhurst and Clarion, IUP has given up just 176 yards on 17-51 passing, tallying 4 interceptions.

PICK CITY... The Crimson Hawks lead the PSAC and are tied for 7th in DII with 17 interceptions this season. Six times the IUP defense has picked off at least 2 passes, including 5 against Cal. R-Jr. SS Eric Williams (Yardley/Pennsbury) leads the team with 5 picks, which is tied for 1st in the conference and tied for 13th in the nation.

COVERING THE KICK... IUP leads the PSAC in kickoff coverage, averaging a net of 49.0 yards per kick. With the help of Jr. K Brett Ullman (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall), IUP is 2nd in the conference with 23 touchbacks.