INDIANA, Pa. - The Crimson Hawks hit the road for the second time this season and look to crash Clarion's Homecoming party this Saturday afternoon at Memorial Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

IUP is coming off its Homecoming game, holding on to defeat Gannon 28-23 last Saturday. It was the second straight win for the Hawks, who improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC West. IUP was aided by a hot start, scoring touchdowns on its first two drives and used a defensive stop with under 3 minutes left to preserve the win. Gr. QB Harry Woodbery totaled 4 touchdowns. 

Clarion is winless (0-5, 0-2) on the year and is coming off a 75-0 loss at nationally-ranked Slippery Rock a week ago. The Golden Eagles were held to 81 yards of total offense, converted 1-14 third down chances, and gave away 3 turnovers. 

QUICK NOTES / STORYLINES
• IUP has now won back-to-back games after its September home loss to Shepherd. The Crimson Hawks are 11-2 in October games under HC Paul Tortorella since 2017. Both losses came to Slippery Rock (2018, 2019). 
• Last week's win gave IUP a 20-3 record against PSAC West foes under Tortorella. Those losses - Slippery Rock and Cal in 2018, Slippery Rock in 2019.
• IUP has won nine straight games against Clarion dating back to 2011 and own the overall series 63-23-3. 
• The Hawks have scored 30 points in the series six times during the 9-game win streak, winning by an average of 33.0 points in those games. The other three games have been decided by an average of 7 points (25.0-18.0). 
• The Crimson Hawks dropped out of this week's AFCA Coaches' Top 25 poll despite their win. It's their third straight drop in the rankings and the first time they haven't been in the top 25 since the 2019 preseason. 
• Gr. QB Harry Woodbery has totaled 9 touchdowns - 7 pass, 2 rush - in his two games since taking over the starting job. He's completing 61.1 pct. of his passes and has yet to throw an interception or be sacked. 
• The Clarion defense is giving up 49.0 points per game, including 75 last week at Slippery Rock, and has just 3 interceptions and 4 sacks this year.
• Three times Clarion has given up 350+ passing yards this year - 365 to Lake Erie, 366 to Shippensburg, 442 to Slippery Rock.
• After averaging 3.1 yards per rush over the first two weeks, the Crimson Hawks have rushed for 171.0 yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry in the last two games. Sr. RB Malik Anderson leads IUP with 198 yards and 7.3 yards per rush this year.
• The Hawks have forced 9 turnovers this year (2.3/game) and are among the best in Division II with a +8 turnover margin. 
• Clarion has committed 14 turnovers through five games, with QBs throwing 8 interceptions. 

NOTEBOOK

HAWKS REBOUNDED FROM SEPTEMBER LOSS
The Crimson Hawks responded well from their early-season loss to No. 11 Shepherd, winning each of their last two games over Mercyhurst and Gannon. The loss to Shepherd marked just the sixth season since 2011 that IUP has dropped a game in the first month. Two of those years the Hawks made the NCAA playoffs, including 2012 when IUP rebounded from a loss at No. 6 Cal U to win the PSAC. 

COACH TORTORELLA THROUGH 40 GAMES
The Mercyhurst game two weeks ago marked Coach Tortorella's 40th game as head coach of the Crimson Hawks. Now with 41 games under his belt, Tortorella owns a record of 34-7 (.829), including a 20-3 (.870) mark against PSAC West schools. He reached 30 wins faster than any other IUP coach (35 games), and has two NCAA playoff berths (2017, 2019), division, PSAC, and regional titles (2017), and a 6-3 record against top-25 opponents. 

CRIMSON HAWKS HAVE DOMINATED SERIES WITH CLARION
IUP owns a 63-23-3 all-time record against Clarion dating back to 1927. The Hawks have won nine straight games and 19 of the last 22 dating back to 1998. The Golden Eagles' three victories during that time have come in 2000 (21-13 at IUP), 2009 (30-28 at Clarion), and 2010 (21-14 at IUP). During the Hawks' 9-game win streak they're averaging more than 36 points per game with four outings of more than 40. The defense has shut out Clarion twice during that span and is giving up just over 12 points per game. 

CRIMSON HAWKS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
For the third straight week IUP dropped in the national rankings, this week falling completely out of the AFCA Coaches' Top 25 for the first time since the 2019 preseason. IUP dropped out of the D2Football.com Media Top 25 after the Shepherd loss. The Hawks opened the season at No. 17 in the coaches' poll and moved up to No. 14 after defeating a ranked Kutztown squad. Dating back to 2016, IUP has been nationally-ranked in 52 of 57 possible national ranking releases, including 36 straight weeks from 2016-18.

IUP OFFENSE STILL FINDING ITS FOOTING, HAS IMPROVED EACH WEEK
After not reaching 300 yards of total offense in the season-opening win over No. 18 Kutztown, the Crimson Hawks have improved each week, putting up 380 yards in the win over Gannon. IUP had just 328 yards in the win at Mercyhurst, although five of its 11 drives were short fields starting in Lakers' territory. IUP is still looking for a return to form from its 2019 season and will face a Clarion defense that ranks last n the PSAC in scoring (49.0), total offense (452.0) and passing offense (312.2) this year.

WOODBERY OFF TO GOOD START IN IUP CAREER
Some of that offensive improvement can be attributed to graduate transfer QB Harry Woodbery, who has started under center each of the last two games. Woodbery has totaled 9 touchdowns - 7 pass, 2 rush - in his two games in crimson and gray, and has led a combined 4 first quarter scoring drives against Mercyhurst and Gannon. He hasn't played enough games to qualify among conference stat leaders, but if he did, his 160.8 QB rating would rank 5th in the PSAC, 2nd in the division. 

IUP OFFENSE SPREADING THE WEALTH IN PASS GAME
Through four games this season, nine different IUP receiverss have caught at least 1 pass while five players have at least 1 receiving touchdown. The main targets so far have been Jr. WR Duane Brown and Sr. WR Irvin Charles, who have 35 receptions, 507 yards, 6 TDs and three 100-yard games between them. Brown leads the team with 21 receptions and 273 yards in three games while Charles' 4 TDs are a team-best. 

TRIO OF BACKS SHARING THE LOAD IN THE RUN GAME
The Crimson Hawks consistently have a deep running back group and this year is no exception. Three players have shared the workload, as Srs. Malik Anderson and justice Evans, and Fr. Dayjure Stewart have combined for 95 carries, 511 yards and 2 TDs - about 86 percent of the team's total. All three have led the team in rushing at least once, with Stewart posting a team-high 98 yards in the win over Mercyhurst.

CRIMSON HAWKS 23-1 SINCE 2011 WHEN THE DEFENSE SCORES
Jr. DT Raunya Mitchell scored the defense's first touchdown of the season when he picked off a tipped pass and rumbled 21 yards for a score in the season-opening win over Kutztown. The Crimson Hawks have 28 defensive touchdowns since 2011 and boast a 23-1 record since then when the defense scores.

CRIMSON HAWKS AMONG BEST IN PSAC, NATION IN FORCING TURNOVERS
Through four games the IUP defense has forced 89 turnovers, tallying 6 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries. Despite playing fewer games, IUP leads the PSAC with those 6 picks with the 2.3 turnovers forced per game ranking 2nd in the conference. 

NEWCOMERS LEADING DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Through four games, IUP's top seven tacklers are all newcomers - either freshmen or transfers. Gr. LB Malachi Newell leads the team with 31 tackles and 2 forced fumbles, Fr. FS Charles Ingram is 2nd with 24 tackles, Jr. DE Vaughn Wallace leads the team with 3.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks, has 2.5 sacks, and Fr. SS Jaheim Howard leads with 2 interceptions.

GRUBBS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN PUNTING
Soph. P Dylan Grubbs has been a standout on the IUP special teams this year, currently ranking 5th in Division II with a 43.0 average on 20 punts. Six of his punts have gone for 50+ yards with 8 landing inside the opponents' 20. Grubbs earned PSAC West and national Special Teams Player of the Week honors after IUP's 29-26 win over Kutztown.