Deja Vu

For the second consecutive season, New Haven is ranked second in Super Region One. And for the second straight season, they will take on the PSAC champion in the second round of the playoffs. Last year, it was Kutztown and this year, they will play Indiana this Saturday.

The third seeded Crimson Hawks advanced to the second round with a 27-17 victory over sixth seeded Shepherd last Saturday. Both teams featured good defenses and it showed in the final stats of the game. The teams combine for only 575 yards of total offense including just 218 through the air.

So the road to the national championship for New Haven will start with a very tough test. IUP has one of the best defenses in the country and only two teams this year have managed to score more than 20 points against them this year.

Common Opponents

IUP and New Haven have one common opponent this year. They both defeated Southern Connecticut. The Crimson Hawks beat the Owls in the opening weekend by the score of 33-6. New Haven defeated their cross-town rival 48-9 in late October.

Playoff Success

Both IUP and New Haven also have storied playoff histories. They both made a run to the title game but lost. IUP made the run in 1993 while New Haven made their run in 1997.

Both teams are also no strangers to playing each other but it has been a long time since they lined up on the field. The first match-up was a 1993 playoff game which saw Indiana come out with a win at New Haven 38-35 in the quarterfinals. New Haven was 11-0 entering the game while IUP went all the way to the title game before falling to North Alabama.

Here is the 1993 playoff game summary from the New Haven media guide:

November 27, 1993 - Indiana, Pa. 38, New Haven 35

New Haven fell behind when Indiana scored a touchdown with 8:00 remaining in the first quarter. The Chargers answered with two first quarter scores of its own as Roger Graham scored from five yards and 14 yards, giving UNH a 14-7 lead. Graham raised the lead to 21-7 when he scored from 14 yards again, before IUP cut the lead to 21-14 at halftime. UNH's A.J. Livingston tallied the fourth rushing TD against the Indians, raising the advantage to 28-14. However, Indiana scored 24 unanswered points. New Haven pulled to within three points, 38-35, when Livingston scored on a 19-yard run at the 3:59 mark. But, the Indians kept the ball for the rest of the game to seal the win. Graham gained 173 yards and scored three TDs in the game while Livingston added 105 yards and two TDs. Jim Weir completed 16 of 35 passes for 230 yards, but no touchdowns.

Head to Head

IUP leads the all-time series against New Haven with a 5-3 advantage. IUP has won the past three match-ups despite not playing in 10 years. Here is a look at the past games:

1993 IUP 38 @ New Haven 35 (Quarterfinal Playoff Game)
1994 @ New Haven 18 IUP 16
1995 New Haven 20 @ IUP 19
1996 @IUP 14 New Haven 6
1997 @ New Haven 43 IUP 14
2000 @ IUP 14 New Haven 9
2002 @ IUP 42 New Haven 6
2003 IUP 28 @ New Haven 7

New Haven Playoff History

The playoff success of New Haven has been very good over the years. They won their first playoff game over Kutztown last year since 1997. Here is a breakdown of the Chargers in the playoffs over the years:

Overall: 8-5

Home: 7-1
Away: 1-3
Neutral: 0-1

1st Round- 4-0
2nd Round 1-0
Quarterfinals 2-3
Semifinals 1-1
Finals 0-1

By Conference

PSAC 5-1
WVIAC 1-0
Gulf South 0-1
GLIAC 1-1
Independent 1-0
North Central 0-1
CIAA 0-1

By Coach

Whipple 3-2
Sparano 4-2
Rossomando 1-1

Playoff History

1992 (Mark Whipple)
New Haven 38, @West Chester 26 .............................1st round
@New Haven 35, Ferris State 13 (Yale Bowl) ....... Quarterfinals
@Jacksonville St. 46, New Haven 35 ........................ Semifinals
1993 (Mark Whipple)
@New Haven 48, Edinboro 28 (So. Conn. St.) ...........1st round
Indiana, Pa. 38, @New Haven 35 (So. Conn. St.) Quarterfinals
1995 (Tony Sparano)
@New Haven 27, Edinboro 12 (So. Conn. St.) ............1st round
@Ferris State 17, New Haven 9 ............................. Quarterfinals
1997 (Tony Sparano)
@New Haven 47, Glenville St. 7 (Sacred Heart) ........1st round
@New Haven 49 Slippery Rock 21 (Yale Bowl) ....Quarterfinals
@New Haven 27, UC Davis 25 (Yale Bowl) ............... Semifinals
Northern Colorado 51, New Haven 0 ................................Finals
2011 (Peter Rossomando)
@New Haven 44, Kutztown 37................................... 2nd round
@Winston-Salem State 27, New Haven 7.............. Quarterfinals

IUP Playoff History

IUP is 17-14 all-time in the playoffs after their win over Shepherd. The 17 victories have tied the Crimson Hawks for the seventh most wins in Division II playoff history. They are tied with Carson Newman and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Here is a look at their previous playoff games:

1987 Central Florida 12, IUP 10 Orlando, Fla.
1988 Millersville 27, IUP 24 Indiana, Pa.
1989 IUP 34, Grand Valley State 24 Grand Rapids, Mich.
IUP 17, Portland State 0 Portland, Ore.
Mississippi College 26, IUP 14 Clinton, Miss.
1990 IUP 48, Winston-Salem State 0 Indiana, Pa.
IUP 14, Edinboro 7 Indiana, Pa.
IUP 27, Mississippi College 8 Clinton, Miss.
North Dakota State 51, IUP 11 Florence, Ala.
1991 IUP 56, Virginia Union 7 Indiana, Pa.
IUP 52, Shippensburg 7 Indiana, Pa.
Jacksonville State 27, IUP 20 Jacksonville, Ala.
1993 IUP 28, Ferris State 21 Indiana, Pa.
IUP 38, New Haven 35 New Haven, Conn.
IUP 21, North Dakota 6 Indiana, Pa.
North Alabama 41, IUP 34 Florence, Ala.
1994 IUP 35, Grand Valley State 27 Indiana, Pa.
IUP 21, Ferris State 17 Big Rapids, Mich.
Texas A&M Kingsville 46, IUP 20 Kingsville, Texas
1996 Ferris State 24, IUP 23 Big Rapids, Mich.
1998 Shepherd 9, IUP 6 Indiana, Pa.
1999 IUP 27, Slippery Rock 20 (OT) Slippery Rock, Pa.
IUP 26, Millersville 21 Millersville, Pa.
NW Missouri State 20, IUP 12 Maryville, Mo.
2000 Northwood 28, IUP 0 Midland, Mich.
2001 Saginaw Valley State 33, IUP 32 University Center, Mich.
2002 IUP 27, Saginaw Valley State 23 Indiana, Pa.
Grand Valley State 62, IUP 21 Allendale, Mich.
2007 IUP 45, West Chester 35 West Chester, Pa.
Shepherd 41, IUP 34 Shepherdstown, W.Va.
2012 IUP 27 Shepherd 17 Indiana, PA


This game should be a very good game between two very good teams. Both teams have solid offenses and shutdown defenses. Both teams are not strangers to postseason success and will not wilt in the spotlight of postseason football.