The Crimson Hawks, fresh off the bye, go on the road to face top 25 opponent and PSAC West rival Slippery Rock. IUP looks to snap their current two game losing streak against The Rock. IUP's top two passing offense and number one ranked total defense in the nation looks to acquire a multi-game lead in the PSAC West against Shawn Lutz and his elite rushing offense. 

IUP came out blasting in the first quarter against Edinboro, scoring 21 of their 35 points in the first fifteen minutes. Leon Parson logged 124 scrimmage yards and one rushing touchdown. On defense, Terell Williams recovered a fumble for the Crimson Hawks and returned it for a touchdown while five Crimson Hawks recorded atleast one sack. 

Slippery Rock bounced back against an upset loss against Gannon with a 49-7 blowout victory against Seton Hill. The Rock's offense came primarily through their run game which saw 410 of their 541 scrimmage yards come on the ground. JayJay Jones rushed for 189 yards and one touchdown while quarterback DaOne Owens rushed into the end zone three times. The Rock's defense allowed only one touchdown and forced Seton Hill to punt nine times. 

Quick Notes/Story Lines

• 2025 marks the 91st meeting between IUP and Slippery Rock. The Crimson Hawks lead the all-time series 49-40-2.

• Slippery Rock won the 2024 matchup on a late touchdown pass which gave them a one point lead, IUP missed a 54-yard field goal after beginning the drive with only 13 seconds left. 

• IUP holds an 11-7 record against Slippery Rock on the road, their most recent win on the road was in 2021 which resulted in a 48-21 showing. 

• IUP's longest winning streak against Edinboro was 12 games from 1984 to 1996 while the longest losing streak was a six game stretch from 1927 to 1932. IUP is currently on a two game losing skid. 

• The Crimson Hawks average 20.47 points per game against Slippery Rock, totaling 1,863 points in 91 meetings.

• IUP holds a record of 16-9 dating back to 1968 in games after a bye. Their most recent matchup was in 2024 against Shippensburg, IUP won the game 38-7. 

• Slippery Rock's most recent matchup against Seton Hill was a dominant showing from their rushing offense. Quarterback DaOne Owens ran for three touchdowns, netting 79 yards on nine attempts while JayJay Jordan rushed for 189 yards, averaging 14.5 YPC. Slippery Rock scored six of their seven touchdowns through the rushing game. 

• Slippery Rock's JayJay Jordan leads the PSAC in rushing yards per game (148.7). Jordan has also found the endzone seven times for The Rock and has accumulated a total of 892 yards on the ground. 

• Matthew Rueve leads IUP to the number one passing offense in the PSAC. Leading the conference in completion percentage (76.1%), passing yards (1,608) and passing touchdowns (18). 

• IUP also holds two of the top five receivers in the PSAC in receiving yards per game, Maurice Massey (94.0) and Devin Whitlock (81.2).

• IUP's offense and defense rank first in the PSAC in total yards. The Crimson Hawks have averaged 353.4 yards per game on offense and have only allowed an average of 139.6 yards per game on defense. 

Notebook

KEEP SLINGING IT
Quarterback Matthew Rueve has taken the PSAC by storm after transferring from Findlay. Rueve has taken the mantle and leads the PSAC in total passing yards (1,608), passing touchdowns (18), passing averages per game (321.6), and passing percentage (76.1%). Rueve tied his career high passing touchdown performance against Millersville where Rueve torched the Millersville defense for six touchdowns and 443 yards. 

BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS
Maurice Massey set his career high for touchdown catches in a game, catching four of Rueve's six passes for scores. Massey's previous high was three against Gannon on Nov. 2, 2024, in Erie. He also set a career-high for his longest reception, but his 173 yards receiving was not a career-high, as he had 181 in his three-touchdown game against Gannon.
 
ALL HE DOES IS CATCH TOUCHDOWNS
Jeremiah Coleman has emerged as a solid receiving option for Matthew Rueve, having caught nine passes in three games, including four touchdowns. Coleman had a career-high 123 receiving yards against Millersville, breaking a catch and run for a season-high 66 yards. 
 
SPLASH PLAYS A PLENTY
There has been no shortage of splash plays by the IUP offense and special teams, as 11 of IUP's scoring plays have gone for at least 20 yards. The lone special team's touchdown, a punt return by Kalen Frazier, went for 60 yards against Lock Haven. It was the first punt return touchdown for IUP since 2014.  
 
GENERATIONAL DEFENSE
The offense may be getting a lot of the headlines, but the Crimson Hawk defense has been setting historic numbers under the radar. IUP ranks first in the PSAC in total defense, passing defense, and rushing defense. The Crimson Hawk defense only surrenders an average of 206.8 yards per game, of these yards, 67.2 are rushing yards, while the remaining 139.6 have been through the air. IUP has only given up 72 points on the season which marks second in the PSAC. In terms of getting to the quarterback and making splash plays, the Crimson Hawks have sacked the opposing quarterback 21 times for a loss of 143 yards so far. Tortorella is looking to shatter his defensively best season in 2012, which saw the Crimson Hawk defense only allow 257.9 yards per game. 

THREE-GAME RECORD
Matthew Rueve has thrown for 15 touchdown passes over the Crimson Hawks' last three games. This performance broke the previous record of 13 touchdown passes in a three-game span set by Brian Eyerman, who did this with a 4-5-4 stretch against Catawba, New Haven, and Millersville in 2002.

EXTREMELY EFFICIENT
Rueve leads the entire NCAA, no matter the division, with a 206.77 passing efficiency rating. The next closest in Division II is Gavin Sukup from University of Indianapolis with a 183.23 passer rating. The highest in Division I is Carlos Del Rio-Wilson from Marshall, who has recorded a 197.98 passer rating.

IT'S IN THE GENES
IUP Transfer quarterback Matthew Rueve has a long line of quarterbacks in his bloodline, most notably his cousin, former NFL quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck. Rueve followed in his uncle's footsteps to Boston College to start his collegiate career after being a three-star recruit and considered the  No. 1 pro-style passing prospect in the Ohio Class of 2020. Rueve's cousin and Matt's son, Henry Hasselbeck, is a quarterback on UCLA's roster. Rueve spent last season at the University of Findlay and was named second-team all-conference while passing for 2,646 yards and 26 touchdowns in his lone season as an Oiler.

FAMILIAR FACES
IUP offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. recruited Rueve to start his collegiate career at Boston College. The quarterback spent two seasons in Cignetti's offense before Junior moved on to take the OC job at the University of Pittsburgh. The duo will look to cook up some magic on the field named after Cignetti's father and IUP great, Frank Cignetti Sr.

DEPTH AT RECEIVER
The Crimson Hawks have of the deepest wide receiver rooms in the PSAC as well as Division II.  

Nine different Crimson Hawks have caught touchdown passes this season. Maurice Massey leads the way with six scores on 22 receptions. Promising freshman Jeremiah Coleman has caught four touchdown passes on seven receptions, including a 72-yard bomb that went into the endzone. Coleman is leading the way with 37-yards per reception, while nine other receivers are averaging double-digit yards per reception. 

THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD
IUP has made three appearances in the NCAA Regionals under head coach Tortorella. However, the Crimson Hawks have not made an appearance there since the team's most recent PSAC Championship in 2022. IUP will look to end the longest NCAA Playoff drought under the current regime.