IUP Football 2021

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I can hear that front runner Chris Fowler already drooling over the script o the teleprompter... Imagine this scenario... Lol

"And now we see the Crimson Hawks exiting their locker room from across the parking lot at the Memorial Field House, a historic building on the campus at IUP. It's a short walk to the stadium - about 90 seconds total from the door exiting the newly renovated locker room in basement of the field house. The doors will open, and there they will be asked to reach upwards and touch the statue, built to scale, of an adult red-tailed hawk with wings fully outstretched, donated by the former IUP player and NFL coach, Jim Haslett. A plaque at the base of the statue reads, 'I will fly high for IUP today.' Upon exiting the locker room, they will enter a dimly lit tunnel, only about four-feet wide. It's narrow and claustrophobic. And when they make the singular 90 degree left turn, it's when former players said they begin to get goosebumps.

There hasn't been a top ten opponent come into Miller Stadium for a nighttime contest since sixth-ranked Bloomsburg did so on a Thursday night back during the fall of 2011. There you see head coach Paul Tortorella leading his team through that short hallway. The 5th year coach found immediate success in his first year in 2017, taking over after being a longtime defensive coordinator for both Curt Cignetti and his father Frank, who this field is named after. In that 2017 year, the first year coach took down divisional rivals California and Slippery Rock. It's not been since that season that IUP has accomplished feat. Tortorella told us yesterday that, 'It takes a different kind of team to make it through that stretch unscathed. I think this group is different.'

Long pause ------- Players wait at the exit of the tunnel

A stadium worker points to the team indicating the music is cued up and ready for their entrance

"And here come the Crimson Hawks."

Sounds a little like Va Tech. LOL.

The entrance is a big part of the game experience. I get it ... not so much in D2. But, in D1, that's one of the most exciting parts of the experience.

IUP's is kind of blah. It didn't used to be ... IUP used to enter from the opposite end, through the band playing Cherokee. That was actually an intimidating entrance. Now it's just kind of a awkwardly long walk around the prison fence, down the small hill and they come out to that God-awful Crimson Express.

[IUP24]

Sounds a little like Va Tech. LOL.

The entrance is a big part of the game experience. I get it ... not so much in D2. But, in D1, that's one of the most exciting parts of the experience.

IUP's is kind of blah. It didn't used to be ... IUP used to enter from the opposite end, through the band playing Cherokee. That was actually an intimidating entrance. Now it's just kind of a awkwardly long walk around the prison fence, down the small hill and they come out to that God-awful Crimson Express.

I was going for that effect. The "claustrophobic tunnel" must have given it away. He said a few years back when ND played there, "And here come the Irish into this CAULDRON OF CHAOS!" Lol

I was at a PItt/VT game in Blacksburg a few years ago. The Enter Sandman thing is cool. Those people are massive jerks though; they think they are royalty. Be okay if I never went back there again.

I laugh every time he does that stuff on those games. I used to think it was cool, but now I think it's hilarious. Him and Herbie do a good job, but Fowler is a huge front runner in my opinion. He plays to the crowd too much for me anymore. The guys writing those intro speeches know the descriptive buzz and trigger words to throw in there. If I have to hear the phrase, "organized full stadium white out" one more time, I might throw the remote across the room. I also chuckle, because he never says that they have a losing record in those "organized full stadium white out" games.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was going for that effect. The "claustrophobic tunnel" must have given it away. He said a few years back when ND played there, "And here come the Irish into this CAULDRON OF CHAOS!" Lol

I was at a PItt/VT game in Blacksburg a few years ago. The Enter Sandman thing is cool. Those people are massive jerks though; they think they are royalty. Be okay if I never went back there again.

I laugh every time he does that stuff on those games. I used to think it was cool, but now I think it's hilarious. Him and Herbie do a good job, but Fowler is a huge front runner in my opinion. He plays to the crowd too much for me anymore. The guys writing those intro speeches know the descriptive buzz and trigger words to throw in there. If I have to hear the phrase, "organized full stadium white out" one more time, I might throw the remote across the room. I also chuckle, because he never says that they have a losing record in those "organized full stadium white out" games.

Brent Musburger gave the best lead-ins ever in my opinion. He could make Seton Hill at Clarion seem like the national title game.


... You are looking live at 19 people packing in Outzen Field in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.


A lot of Brent's Saturday Night games, while good on the surface, would turn blowout. I'd love when Virginia Tech would be down 50-7, and then score, and he'd say 'hold just a minute, friends'.


I had a much different opinion on Blacksburg. I thought it was a cool Saturday game trip. Nice town. But, I agree, many still think they are in the heyday of Beamer Ball. They do have an incredible following.

I do think a lot of that stuff -- Enter Sandman, Whiteouts, etc., -- does (or, can) have an effect on the guests. Even on our small scale (back in my era) IUP would have teams psyched out before they even kicked off. I've seen the glitz and rowdy crowds of the KCAC take teams right out of the game -- many, many times. SRU teams have had some epic meltdowns inside the KCAC.

[IUPMonk]

Duke's entrance is pretty good too. The crowd goes crazy as the blue devil runs to mid field and jams the pitch fork into the turf. VT fans jumping up and down to enter the Sandman was a game day experience, but pumping the crowd noise back through the stadium speakers was like a WWE wrestler getting a cheap pop out of the crowd - " The Rock is finally back in Blacksburg" and the fans go wild.

[IUP24]

Brent Musburger gave the best lead-ins ever in my opinion. He could make Seton Hill at Clarion seem like the national title game.


... You are looking live at 19 people packing in Outzen Field in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.


A lot of Brent's Saturday Night games, while good on the surface, would turn blowout. I'd love when Virginia Tech would be down 50-7, and then score, and he'd say 'hold just a minute, friends'.


I had a much different opinion on Blacksburg. I thought it was a cool Saturday game trip. Nice town. But, I agree, many still think they are in the heyday of Beamer Ball. They do have an incredible following.

I do think a lot of that stuff -- Enter Sandman, Whiteouts, etc., -- does (or, can) have an effect on the guests. Even on our small scale (back in my era) IUP would have teams psyched out before they even kicked off. I've seen the glitz and rowdy crowds of the KCAC take teams right out of the game -- many, many times. SRU teams have had some epic meltdowns inside the KCAC.

I partially agree. Although, I feel like the older I've gotten the more I think the impact a crowd can have is overrated. I think those SRU teams melted down because their coach did. Did the crowd cause Reynolds to lose it? Tough to say. I've seen those meltdowns. A couple calls went the wrong way, players started making mistakes, etc. The crowd may have frustrated him, but I'm not sure they caused the meltdown. He recruited a lot of the "individual" type players. They played the style and system, but in the moments when adversity struck, they crumbled because they weren't built for those within their program.

People will say the rowdiest two crowds that Blacksburg has ever had were the recent games where they hosted Clemson and Notre Dame. They got their doors blown off both times. I think that stuff impacts potentially singular moments within a game, but likely not the outcome. Penn State pulls the whiteout game out against Ohio State or Michigan every year. They have a losing record during Chris Fowler's "organized full stadium whiteouts." Granted, those are typically their two toughest games. Others will tell you that those types of environments actually galvanize and rally a visiting team, within reason. A team that's filled with scrubs will "exit light and enter night" rather quickly.

It's tough to quantify the impact a crowd has on a team. Has some impact, certainly, but likely not on the final score when you're dealing with two teams who have capable players.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I partially agree. Although, I feel like the older I've gotten the more I think the impact a crowd can have is overrated. I think those SRU teams melted down because their coach did. Did the crowd cause Reynolds to lose it? Tough to say. I've seen those meltdowns. A couple calls went the wrong way, players started making mistakes, etc. The crowd may have frustrated him, but I'm not sure they caused the meltdown. He recruited a lot of the "individual" type players. They played the style and system, but in the moments when adversity struck, they crumbled because they weren't built for those within their program.

People will say the rowdiest two crowds that Blacksburg has ever had were the recent games where they hosted Clemson and Notre Dame. They got their doors blown off both times. I think that stuff impacts potentially singular moments within a game, but likely not the outcome. Penn State pulls the whiteout game out against Ohio State or Michigan every year. They have a losing record during Chris Fowler's "organized full stadium whiteouts." Granted, those are typically their two toughest games. Others will tell you that those types of environments actually galvanize and rally a visiting team, within reason. A team that's filled with scrubs will "exit light and enter night" rather quickly.

It's tough to quantify the impact a crowd has on a team. Has some impact, certainly, but likely not on the final score when you're dealing with two teams who have capable players.

The 2013-14 game the crowd 100% altered the game. That was finally the night SRU could end its (still going on) losing streak in Indiana (dating now to 1991). That was the game KR finally lost it after getting hammered all night and got T'd up with about a 90 seconds left. Changed the whole game.

Their last game here (the one Joe could have won by 50 if he wanted) ... their players were mentally gone before the ball tipped. IUP's students went nuts on them for the entire warm-up. I don't know why the KCAC gets so wound up for SRU ... that's hardly a basketball rival. But, nonetheless, it does.

Hate to bring it up but IUP's only ever loss in basketball to Seton Hill ... the crowd did a number on IUP that night. Granted, that was a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere for that program.

Your examples above ... Va Tech just isn't very good anymore. I'd put them on Pitt level.

[IUP24]

The 2013-14 game the crowd 100% altered the game. That was finally the night SRU could end its (still going on) losing streak in Indiana (dating now to 1991). That was the game KR finally lost it after getting hammered all night and got T'd up with about a 90 seconds left. Changed the whole game.

Their last game here (the one Joe could have won by 50 if he wanted) ... their players were mentally gone before the ball tipped. IUP's students went nuts on them for the entire warm-up. I don't know why the KCAC gets so wound up for SRU ... that's hardly a basketball rival. But, nonetheless, it does.

Hate to bring it up but IUP's only ever loss in basketball to Seton Hill ... the crowd did a number on IUP that night. Granted, that was a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere for that program.

Your examples above ... Va Tech just isn't very good anymore. I'd put them on Pitt level.

Yeah, I get that. I'm just saying that a crowd rarely impacts a game in a singular moment to say that it changes the end result of the game. The Seton Hill game, for sure. That was a unique situation that won't be replicated anywhere. Those atmospheres are fun and awesome, but I just don't feel the quantification exists in the manner we think it does. One could say that the rowdy crowd propelled Dustin Sleva to drop an absolute hammer on IUP, Joe, and the crowd nearly every time he played there. I recall Damon Jones from Mercyhurst dropping 30 on IUP against Mercyhurst in front of a big crowd in an upset win. Joe said the crowd and building probably motivated Jones and Hurst. I believe he actually said, "Guys get excited to play here because it's like playing in the Garden." That stuff galvanizes and motivates certain players, coaches, teams. It breaks others; probably cause they aren't built for it from a mental standpoint.

I'm not saying I disagree with you at all. I think it's just how you look at it. As you know, I'm a huge proponent of doing everything necessary to get the best home court/field advantage possible. I think the actual discussion we should be having is what impact do those crowds have on officials. The 2014 SRU-IUP game is a prime example of that. Heck, we all saw that Seton Hill game.. They should have received more than one technical foul for having numerous football players physically standing on the basketball court on the end where the game was being played. I've never seen that before or after. It looked like an AAU tournament crowd.

The Reynolds technical happened with under two minutes to go in a close game (I think IUP may have been losing by a bucket or two). If I recall correctly, the play he lost his mind over was a loose ball on the opposite side of the court from the IUP bench (happened right in front of me in the student section). IUP got possession, but it was definitely a 50/50 call. He went ballistic and got T'd up. Tough to say how anybody reacts there. Big game, emotional game, rivalry game, former assistant going up against his mentor. Both those guys were riding the officials hard all night. Both guys were told to calm down more than once. Reynolds walked nearly out to midcourt and got hit with the T. The crowd rode him all night, but I don't think that's why he made that decision. I think it's worth asking, does IUP get that call at SRU? Or if they do, does Reynolds get T'd up with the home crowd in his corner? I think officials often get rattled by those crowds too.

After the commotion, Devante his both free throws, IUP drained a 3 to take the lead on the ensuing possession, and the crowd went into a frenzy. But SRU still tied that basketball game with that crowd. On their last possession, down a bucket and the KCAC shaking, they drained a runner to tie the game. IUP ultimately won at the buzzer when Mathis hit a layup. It's just worth noting that even in that environment, the players from SRU never actually blinked (until the last defensive possession of course).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Yeah, I get that. I'm just saying that a crowd rarely impacts a game in a singular moment to say that it changes the end result of the game. The Seton Hill game, for sure. That was a unique situation that won't be replicated anywhere. Those atmospheres are fun and awesome, but I just don't feel the quantification exists in the manner we think it does. One could say that the rowdy crowd propelled Dustin Sleva to drop an absolute hammer on IUP, Joe, and the crowd nearly every time he played there. I recall Damon Jones from Mercyhurst dropping 30 on IUP against Mercyhurst in front of a big crowd in an upset win. Joe said the crowd and building probably motivated Jones and Hurst. I believe he actually said, "Guys get excited to play here because it's like playing in the Garden." That stuff galvanizes and motivates certain players, coaches, teams. It breaks others; probably cause they aren't built for it from a mental standpoint.

I'm not saying I disagree with you at all. I think it's just how you look at it. As you know, I'm a huge proponent of doing everything necessary to get the best home court/field advantage possible. I think the actual discussion we should be having is what impact do those crowds have on officials. The 2014 SRU-IUP game is a prime example of that. Heck, we all saw that Seton Hill game.. They should have received more than one technical foul for having numerous football players physically standing on the basketball court on the end where the game was being played. I've never seen that before or after. It looked like an AAU tournament crowd.

The Reynolds technical happened with under two minutes to go in a close game (I think IUP may have been losing by a bucket or two). If I recall correctly, the play he lost his mind over was a loose ball on the opposite side of the court from the IUP bench (happened right in front of me in the student section). IUP got possession, but it was definitely a 50/50 call. He went ballistic and got T'd up. Tough to say how anybody reacts there. Big game, emotional game, rivalry game, former assistant going up against his mentor. Both those guys were riding the officials hard all night. Both guys were told to calm down more than once. Reynolds walked nearly out to midcourt and got hit with the T. The crowd rode him all night, but I don't think that's why he made that decision. I think it's worth asking, does IUP get that call at SRU? Or if they do, does Reynolds get T'd up with the home crowd in his corner? I think officials often get rattled by those crowds too.

After the commotion, Devante his both free throws, IUP drained a 3 to take the lead on the ensuing possession, and the crowd went into a frenzy. But SRU still tied that basketball game with that crowd. On their last possession, down a bucket and the KCAC shaking, they drained a runner to tie the game. IUP ultimately won at the buzzer when Mathis hit a layup. It's just worth noting that even in that environment, the players from SRU never actually blinked (until the last defensive possession of course).

That SRU game was probably my favorite game ever in the KCAC. It had mega drama, both coaches insane, huge, rowdy crowd. Low scoring game, too. If you look at the box score from that game ... IUP never should have won. SRU clobbered them on the stats all except the FTs. IUP shot nearly triple the FTs that game. KR yapped about that heavily after the game. He actually should have been T'd up long before it happened. The timing was just terrible. They may have wrapped it up and ended that horrid streak.

As we say, though, KR had some really strong teams back then. Even into the Micah Till era they were tough, although Till also went winless in the KCAC.

Their last two trips to Joe's house he's really hammered them both times ... 30+ in both and one he called off the dogs or it would have been a 50-burger.

[IUPNation]

Brent Musburger gave the best lead-ins ever in my opinion. He could make Seton Hill at Clarion seem like the national title game.


... You are looking live at 19 people packing in Outzen Field in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.


A lot of Brent's Saturday Night games, while good on the surface, would turn blowout. I'd love when Virginia Tech would be down 50-7, and then score, and he'd say 'hold just a minute, friends'.


I had a much different opinion on Blacksburg. I thought it was a cool Saturday game trip. Nice town. But, I agree, many still think they are in the heyday of Beamer Ball. They do have an incredible following.

I do think a lot of that stuff -- Enter Sandman, Whiteouts, etc., -- does (or, can) have an effect on the guests. Even on our small scale (back in my era) IUP would have teams psyched out before they even kicked off. I've seen the glitz and rowdy crowds of the KCAC take teams right out of the game -- many, many times. SRU teams have had some epic meltdowns inside the KCAC.

[IUPNation]

The 2013-14 game the crowd 100% altered the game. That was finally the night SRU could end its (still going on) losing streak in Indiana (dating now to 1991). That was the game KR finally lost it after getting hammered all night and got T'd up with about a 90 seconds left. Changed the whole game.

Their last game here (the one Joe could have won by 50 if he wanted) ... their players were mentally gone before the ball tipped. IUP's students went nuts on them for the entire warm-up. I don't know why the KCAC gets so wound up for SRU ... that's hardly a basketball rival. But, nonetheless, it does.

Hate to bring it up but IUP's only ever loss in basketball to Seton Hill ... the crowd did a number on IUP that night. Granted, that was a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere for that program.

Your examples above ... Va Tech just isn't very good anymore. I'd put them on Pitt level.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP has signed transfer DB Akshay Thaper (6'2, 185 lbs). Looks like he should have (3) years at IUP.

[Fightingscot82]

IUP has signed transfer DB Akshay Thaper (6'2, 185 lbs). Looks like he should have (3) years at IUP.

I'd be interested in hearing his story about how a kid from Virginia ends up at a DII in Iowa.

[iupgroundhog]

I'd be interested in hearing his story about how a kid from Virginia ends up at a DII in Iowa.

I-80?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'd be interested in hearing his story about how a kid from Virginia ends up at a DII in Iowa.

If you offer, they will come.

[Fightingscot82]

If you offer, they will come.

True. I do recall that Gannon landed a QB in California with a scholarship and proximity to skiing.