INDIANA, Pa. - The 14th-ranked Crimson Hawks stay at home as they move on to their second game of the season to host 11th-ranked Shepherd at George P. Miller Stadium this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. 

IUP is coming off an exciting season-opener, defeating 18th-ranked Kutztown 29-26 with a big fourth quarter performance last weekend. Down 13-7 after three, the Hawks outscored Kutztown 22-13 in the final 15 minutes, including a dramatic interception return for a touchdown with 6:30 to play. It was the fifth straight season-opening win for IUP, and the 20th in the last 23 years. 

Shepherd is 2-0 on the year and enters with one of the highest scoring offenses in the nation, coming off a 56-26 blowout victory at Gannon last Saturday. After allowing an opening Gannon touchdown, Shepherd scored 35 of the next 38 points to take a dominant lead into halftime en route to the convincing win. 

QUICK NOTES / STORYLINES
• This game is a rematch of the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Division II playoffs, a game won by Shepherd 31-27 in the final seconds. 
• This also marks the first time these programs have met in the regular season. Shepherd leads the all-time series 4-1 with all previous meetings coming in the NCAA playoffs. IUP's lone win in the series came by a score of 27-17 in 2012.
• This week's game is also the second straight top-25 matchup for the Crimson Hawks after defeating then-No. 18 Kutztown in game one. 
• The Crimson Hawks enter this week ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the D2Football.com Media Poll. Shepherd is No. 11 in both polls.
• IUP HC Paul Tortorella is 6-2 all-time against top-25 opponents, including a 1-1 mark against teams in the top-10. Both of those top-10 matchups came against a 9th-ranked Slippery Rock team - a 34-17 win in 2017 and 45-42 loss in 2019. 
• Soph. QB Javon Davis earned his first career start in the opener, completing 20-30 passes for 204 yards and 2 TDs. He threw for 146 yards and a TD in the second half, helping IUP outscore Kutztown 22-13 in the fourth quarter.
• Davis' favorite target was R-Jr. WR Duane Brown, who caught a career-high 10 passes for 131 yards an a score. It was Brown's third career 100-yard receiving day.
• The Rams defense has given up a combined 56 points in two games and has a pass defense near the bottom of Division II with 257.5 yards allowed. 
• Shepherd does boast two big-play defensive ends in Malik Holloway and Kyle Smith. The two have combined for 22 tackles, 8.0 TFLs and 5.0 sacks.
• Shepherd QB Tyler Bagent is a two-time Harlon Hill Award nominee who currently leads the PSAC in nine statistical categories, including completion pct. (74.3) and yards per game (354.5), and is tops in Division II in TD passes (9). 
• Despite giving up 291 passing yards last week, the IUP defense tallied 3 interceptions, broke up 4 more passes, and had 2 sacks. 

NOTEBOOK

COACH TORTORELLA HEADS INTO YEAR FOUR AT THE HELM
Coach Tortorella is in his fourth season as the head coach after reaching 30 wins faster than any other coach in IUP history, hitting the mark in 35 games. Through his first three-plus seasons, Tortorella carries a 32-6 (.842) overall record with a pair of NCAA playoff berths, regional, PSAC and division titles, and a 5-2 record against ranked opponents. The .838 win percentage is the seventh-best mark of any Division II team - and best of any PSAC program - during that time. It also gives Tortorella the third-best win percentage among active Division II coaches with three or more years of experience.

IUP IMPROVED IT'S RECORD IN SEASON OPENERS
With its win last week, IUP improved to 54-33-3 (.617) all-time in season openers. That record includes a current streak of five (2016-19, 21) while also winning 20 of the last 23 openers overall dating back to 1998. IUP has opened the season 14 times since 2000, going 12-2 in those games. 

IUP vs. THE PSAC EAST
Since 2006, IUP is 36-9 (.800) against teams from the PSAC East, including a recent run of 11 straight victories between the 2015 and 2018 seasons. The Crimson Hawks went 3-1 against East teams in 2019, including blowouts of Millersville (54-0), Lock Haven (77-14), and Shippensburg (54-24), before a NCAA playoff loss to Shepherd (31-27). 

CRIMSON HAWKS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
After its 29-26 season-opening win over Kutztown, IUP moved up one spot to No. 14 in the AFCA Coaches' Top 25, released Monday. The Crimson Hawks were ranked No. 17 by the coaches in the preseason, and moved up to No. 15 after their idle first week. IUP also moved up to No. 19 in this week's D2Football.com Media Top 25. 

CRIMSON HAWKS PICKED SECOND IN PSAC WEST, SHEPHERD FAVORITE IN EAST
IUP was picked to finish second in the PSAC Western Division by the coaches when the league announced its preseason polls in early August. Slippery Rock was the favorite to repeat with four of the eight first place votes. IUP received three first place votes and Cal U received the final one and was voted third. In the East, Shepherd received six of the eight first place votes as the top favorite. 

SECOND STRAIGHT TOP-25 BATTLE FOR CRIMSON HAWKS
For the second consecutive week, IUP will compete in a battle of top-25 programs. IUP HC Paul Tortorella is 6-2 all-time against ranked teams, including a 1-1 record against top-10 opponents. The last time the Crimson hawks played in back-to-back top-25 matchups came in 2017 when they took down No. 16 Cal U (26-10) and No. 9 Slippery Rock (34-17). 

DAVIS COMING OFF SOLID FIRST START UNDER CENTER, WOODBERY LOOKS TO RETURN
R-Soph. QB Javon Davis earned his first career start in the season-opening win over Kutztown, putting together a solid performance by going 20-30 for 204 yards and 2 TDs. Davis has been here since 2018, backing up All-American QB Lenny Williams before redshirting in 2019. He battled graduate transfer Harry Woodbery in the fall for the starting spot. Woodbery, who played three seasons at FCS Eastern Illinois, was not available in the opener due to COVID-19 protocols. 

IUP OFFENSE LOOKS FOR ANOTHER STANDOUT SEASON
Under the direction of offensive coordinator Tate Gregory, the IUP offense saw a change in philosophy in 2019 that helped the Crimson Hawks put up some of the best numbers in program history. IUP set program records for passing yards (3,621), passing yards per game (301.8), and passing touchdowns (41), while also putting up 44.2 points per game, which is second all-time. Woodbery and/or Davis look to lead a similar offensive output in 2021 with several running backs, receivers, and tight ends looking to make contributions. 

VERSITILE WR DUANE BROWN SET CAREER-HIGH IN OPENER
Jr. WR Duane Brown had a big opening weekend against Kutztown, snagging a career-high 10 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, adding 20 yards in five carries. Brown exploded onto the scene in his first year as a receiver in 2019, earning all-conference and all-region honors. An all-around threat, he tied for 7th in Division II with 19 total touchdowns (13 rec, 6 rush), and led IUp with 937 receiving yards and 19.9 yards per catch. Brown also finished 8th in the nation with a 14.7 punt return average. 

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA JOSH DAUBERMAN HEADLINES OFFENSIVE LINE
Sr. OL Josh Dauberman returns for his fourth year boasting a wealth of experience. The right guard entered 2021 with 33 career games under his belt with 25 starts, earning all-conference honors twice in addition to all-region honors in 2019. He landed on preseason All-America lists for both Lindy's and D2Football.com and was voted to IUP's All-Decade Team of the 2010s. Also returning is R-Jr. Darrell Davis (22 games, 8 starts) at left tackle and R-Jr. John Robinson (15 games, 6 starts) at left guard. 

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 to give IUP a 29-19 lead with 6:30 left on Saturday. The Crimson Hawks have 28 defensive touchdowns since 2011 and boast a 23-1 record during that time when the defensive puts points on the board. 

MITCHELL, GRUBBS EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Mitchell and Soph. P Dylan Grubbs came out of the win with some individual weekly recognition by the conference, each earning PSAC West Athlete of the Week honors. Mitchell was the defensive player of the week, in large part due to his pick-6, while Grubbs was the specialist of the week after averaging 50.6 yards on six punts. Grubbs was also named Division II Special Teams Player of the Week by D2Football.

IUP DEFENSE MADE BIG PLAYS AGAINST KUTZTOWN
Despite giving up 479 total yards, including 291 through the air, the IUP defense made several big plays in the game one win over Kutztown. The Hawks grabbed 3 interceptions, broke up 4 passes, and had 2 big sacks in the closing minute. In addition to Mitchell's interception, Fr. SS Jaheim Howard and Jr. LB Connor Kelly each had picks, while Fr. DE Maurice Feazell and Jr. DE Vaughn Wallace combined for 2 sacks. 

NEW FACES STAND OUT FOR DEFENSE IN FIRST WEEK
Of the 11-leading tacklers for the Crimson Hawks in game one, nine were seeing their first action in an IUP uniform. A pair of former Youngstown State players combined for 16 tackles, as grad transfer LB Malachi Newell had a team-high 9 stops with a pass breakup while Sr. CB Bryce Gibson had 7 tackles. Freshmen safeties Charles Ingram and Jaheim Howard combined for 9 tackles, an interception, and a pass breakup, while Jr. DE Vaughn Wallace, Fr. DE Tyrone Fowler Jr. and Fr. DE Maurice Feazell combined for 8 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble. 

QCARTER INCHING TOWARDS RETURN RECORD
Jr. KR Qashah Carter is looking to break the school's career kickoff return yards record held by All-American and NFL draft pick Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (2006-09). Carter enters this week second in IUP history with 1,220 yards on kick returns, trailing Owusu-Ansah (1,373) by 153 yards. For his career, Carter is averaging 27.1 yards on 45 returns. He had 801 yards, including a 95-yard TD, during his 2018 freshman campaign, and 405 yards in 2019.