THE IUP Football Thread

[Iupgh]

Great! Could be the missing piece for the defense. We'll see. One strong producer at DT is what they need. Also, they signed a number of incoming freshmen at DL who look good on paper, so I think they will get more depth at the position from freshmen.

All this guy needs to do is help stop the run and terrorize opposing PSAC offensive linemen, right?

Frosh from Aliquippa may offer help the McBride kid is plenty big and those Quip kids usually play early like Dajour Fisher did.

[Iupgh]

Tort's (11) losses (in order):

2017

1. West Florida (27-17) - IUP came out flat before at least making a game of it in second half. But, you have to win home games in the Final Four.

2018

2. @ California (36-24) - The infamous 'pick six' as IUP was going in to put the game away. Terrible loss.

3. Slippery Rock (30-27) - IUP was hammered in the first half before taking the lead late in the game. Roland Rivers led a last-minute drive to win it -- converting a key 4th and 7 that would have ended the game.

4. Shippensburg (45-21) - The 'we quit' game. IUP was out of the playoffs and appeared to have zero interest in this game.

2019

5. @ Slippery Rock (45-42) - Incredible game. Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose.

6. Shepherd (31-27) - Another incredible game. Bagent led a last-drive TD for the win.

2021

7. Shepherd (37-21) - Multiple starters out including starting QB. IUP got walloped.

8. California (38-34) - Cal scored winning TD with seconds remaining. IUP gave up 21 points in 4th quarter ... one of worst losses at Miller in recent memory. The Irv Charles wide open drop for a clear TD would have put the game away. Instead, it gave hope -- and all hell broke loose.

9. Edinboro (21-17) - The worst loss in Miller Stadium in decades (maybe ever).

2022

10. @ Gannon (43-36) - IUP's worst defensive showing in memory. To its credit, Gannon's offense was incredible that day.

11. Shepherd (48-13) - Three weeks after defeating Shepherd, the Rams clobbered IUP.




So, I'll give you IUP was the 'better team' and never should have lost in 3 of the 11 defeats (Ship, Edinboro, Gannon).

Of the others, it is my opinion IUP should not have lost games 2, 3, 6 and 8. That's not because they had better talent. Those Cal teams and SRU (Rivers) teams were exceptionally strong and very equal. **** happens. Game 6 (Shepherd) was a game IUP had to finish and shouldn't have lost. That was a heartbreaker.

Solid insight as usual. Loss 2 was a Rob Job by the officiating, 2 phantom illegal man downfield calls calling back one TD. IUP was the better team that night. The officiating crew was suspended for 2 weeks by the home office that in itself should tell u how bad they were.

[Iupgh]

4th school inside of 2 years....I think we can all read between the lines here. Hopefully they've built a stronger culture than in the past but it has never been a strong suit of this staff. strong recruiters, not so strong at development and building character/discipline....

Boy u are a hater for some odd reason. IUP actually has way less transfers than both Cal and SRU with most players in Tort’s era home grown or portal savvy. Your act is getting real tiresome. U are borderline return of the “personalities”…just sayin

[Iupgh]

I say good luck to you, I hope it works out but I don't think this is going to be the team everyone thought it would be say a month or two ago. at least not from what i'm hearing/seeing. time will tell.

Yes time will tell, u are correct on that. I still like the program’s chances.

[Iupgh]

Oh interesting. From what I had heard Shepherd was pretty excited about him. Wonder why it didn’t work out, but good pull for IUP either way I’d think.

Yes if u watch the Shepherd spring game he got ample reps with the first team defense at DT…Curios on why he left indeed. He is a Pa kid i see.

[EyeoftheHawk]

100% BUT you know come Aug. with this type of hype I'm going to stir the pot a bit lol. All this talk the last week about oh no this and that...couldn't pass up the opportunity. Looking forward to that Thursday opening night. I'll have about 4 screens going to keep an eye on all the action. going to be great

Yes, this is an annual thing from you. We get it. Don’t you have anything better to do? What’s the hot topic of discussion over on the Clarion football thread?

[CUlater]

I get it. BUT, it's real hard to not lose any games. SRU, Cal, Shepherd ... they all have scholarships, great players and good coaches, too.

Tort's won two PSAC titles in five seasons. Shepherd hasn't won one yet. They've had more playoff success, but it just shows how hard winning that conference title game actually is.

Don't get me wrong ... Tort has had some maddening performances as a head coach. He's also had some really, really fluky losses. But, if you go back to August of 2017 and tell the IUP brass he'd be 58-11 after five seasons ... I think it's safe to say we'd have all took it.

Just remember there are a TON of new starting QBs in the PSAC this year. A whole lot of big names are gone. Tort (somehow) landed the most sought-after D2 QB in the Portal. Believe me, I get the 'rile up the IUP fans' notion (it's easy to do). But, they may be pretty good this year. We'll find out real fast come Aug. 31. He's not playing a cupcake like most of the league. It's going to be a war on that Thursday night inside Miller Stadium.

100% BUT you know come Aug. with this type of hype I'm going to stir the pot a bit lol. All this talk the last week about oh no this and that...couldn't pass up the opportunity. Looking forward to that Thursday opening night. I'll have about 4 screens going to keep an eye on all the action. going to be great

[IUPbigINDIANS]

This is great, I vividly remember most of these games. My point is eliminating a few of these loses means, making the playoffs when you didn't. winning at least a share of the conference, when you didn't, ect...Cannot just be pleased beating Clarion and Seton Hill by 40pts every year. that's not your goal.

I get it. BUT, it's real hard to not lose any games. SRU, Cal, Shepherd ... they all have scholarships, great players and good coaches, too.

Tort's won two PSAC titles in five seasons. Shepherd hasn't won one yet. They've had more playoff success, but it just shows how hard winning that conference title game actually is.

Don't get me wrong ... Tort has had some maddening performances as a head coach. He's also had some really, really fluky losses. But, if you go back to August of 2017 and tell the IUP brass he'd be 58-11 after five seasons ... I think it's safe to say we'd have all took it.

Just remember there are a TON of new starting QBs in the PSAC this year. A whole lot of big names are gone. Tort (somehow) landed the most sought-after D2 QB in the Portal. Believe me, I get the 'rile up the IUP fans' notion (it's easy to do). But, they may be pretty good this year. We'll find out real fast come Aug. 31. He's not playing a cupcake like most of the league. It's going to be a war on that Thursday night inside Miller Stadium.

[CUlater]

Tort's (11) losses (in order):

2017

1. West Florida (27-17) - IUP came out flat before at least making a game of it in second half. But, you have to win home games in the Final Four.

2018

2. @ California (36-24) - The infamous 'pick six' as IUP was going in to put the game away. Terrible loss.

3. Slippery Rock (30-27) - IUP was hammered in the first half before taking the lead late in the game. Roland Rivers led a last-minute drive to win it -- converting a key 4th and 7 that would have ended the game.

4. Shippensburg (45-21) - The 'we quit' game. IUP was out of the playoffs and appeared to have zero interest in this game.

2019

5. @ Slippery Rock (45-42) - Incredible game. Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose.

6. Shepherd (31-27) - Another incredible game. Bagent led a last-drive TD for the win.

2021

7. Shepherd (37-21) - Multiple starters out including starting QB. IUP got walloped.

8. California (38-34) - Cal scored winning TD with seconds remaining. IUP gave up 21 points in 4th quarter ... one of worst losses at Miller in recent memory. The Irv Charles wide open drop for a clear TD would have put the game away. Instead, it gave hope -- and all hell broke loose.

9. Edinboro (21-17) - The worst loss in Miller Stadium in decades (maybe ever).

2022

10. @ Gannon (43-36) - IUP's worst defensive showing in memory. To its credit, Gannon's offense was incredible that day.

11. Shepherd (48-13) - Three weeks after defeating Shepherd, the Rams clobbered IUP.




So, I'll give you IUP was the 'better team' and never should have lost in 3 of the 11 defeats (Ship, Edinboro, Gannon).

Of the others, it is my opinion IUP should not have lost games 2, 3, 6 and 8. That's not because they had better talent. Those Cal teams and SRU (Rivers) teams were exceptionally strong and very equal. **** happens. Game 6 (Shepherd) was a game IUP had to finish and shouldn't have lost. That was a heartbreaker.

This is great, I vividly remember most of these games. My point is eliminating a few of these loses means, making the playoffs when you didn't. winning at least a share of the conference, when you didn't, ect...Cannot just be pleased beating Clarion and Seton Hill by 40pts every year. that's not your goal.

[IUPNation]

I'm so confused. Are we good again or do we suck again.

:-)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Great! Could be the missing piece for the defense. We'll see. One strong producer at DT is what they need. Also, they signed a number of incoming freshmen at DL who look good on paper, so I think they will get more depth at the position from freshmen.

All this guy needs to do is help stop the run and terrorize opposing PSAC offensive linemen, right?

Correct. IUP is loaded at the EDGE. They just need some effective 'cloggers' in the middle.

[iupgroundhog]

IUP has found some defensive line help by signing Cyler Rozina from Lackawanna College. His recruitment path seems like quite the affair as he had many D2 and a couple D1 offers. He signed briefly with Shepherd before announcing on Twitter yesterday that he’s 100% committed to IUP. Of course in January he Tweeted that he was 100% committed to Shepherd before jumping into the transfer portal in May. Anyway, he’s not heavy but still good sized at 6’3” and about 260 lbs.

Great! Could be the missing piece for the defense. We'll see. One strong producer at DT is what they need. Also, they signed a number of incoming freshmen at DL who look good on paper, so I think they will get more depth at the position from freshmen.

All this guy needs to do is help stop the run and terrorize opposing PSAC offensive linemen, right?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Hey don't bring Clarion into this. You guys like to talk about Indiana, we are talking about Indiana. You know i've thought this for years, yes that record is phenomenal but if you take care of the locker room issues and develop some culture that becomes 4 PSAC titles and at least 2 regional titles over the last 6. Good problems to have and like it's been said on here many times, most would kill to be in that position. My issue with it is that I feel in over half of those years you under achieved (even with a great record). When you are blessed with the position that IUP has been in and you put together top end talent from year to year...you have to take advantage of it more often. Many of the games that they lose they are the more talented team, and the more poorly coached team. I've watched football in this conference for a long time. tell me i'm wrong?

Tort's (11) losses (in order):

2017

1. West Florida (27-17) - IUP came out flat before at least making a game of it in second half. But, you have to win home games in the Final Four.

2018

2. @ California (36-24) - The infamous 'pick six' as IUP was going in to put the game away. Terrible loss.

3. Slippery Rock (30-27) - IUP was hammered in the first half before taking the lead late in the game. Roland Rivers led a last-minute drive to win it -- converting a key 4th and 7 that would have ended the game.

4. Shippensburg (45-21) - The 'we quit' game. IUP was out of the playoffs and appeared to have zero interest in this game.

2019

5. @ Slippery Rock (45-42) - Incredible game. Somebody had to win and somebody had to lose.

6. Shepherd (31-27) - Another incredible game. Bagent led a last-drive TD for the win.

2021

7. Shepherd (37-21) - Multiple starters out including starting QB. IUP got walloped.

8. California (38-34) - Cal scored winning TD with seconds remaining. IUP gave up 21 points in 4th quarter ... one of worst losses at Miller in recent memory. The Irv Charles wide open drop for a clear TD would have put the game away. Instead, it gave hope -- and all hell broke loose.

9. Edinboro (21-17) - The worst loss in Miller Stadium in decades (maybe ever).

2022

10. @ Gannon (43-36) - IUP's worst defensive showing in memory. To its credit, Gannon's offense was incredible that day.

11. Shepherd (48-13) - Three weeks after defeating Shepherd, the Rams clobbered IUP.




So, I'll give you IUP was the 'better team' and never should have lost in 3 of the 11 defeats (Ship, Edinboro, Gannon).

Of the others, it is my opinion IUP should not have lost games 2, 3, 6 and 8. That's not because they had better talent. Those Cal teams and SRU (Rivers) teams were exceptionally strong and very equal. **** happens. Game 6 (Shepherd) was a game IUP had to finish and shouldn't have lost. That was a heartbreaker.

[CUlater]

You nailed it. Tort is a terrible 48-11 as head coach. That's a crappy 81.3 winning percentage. He's only won two PSAC titles in five seasons and one Regional title. Unacceptable.

If he and his staff were better at developing players, they'd have a much better record than 48-11. Hell, he should be 59-0 at this point.

They'll be lucky to win 2 or 3 games this year.

Clarion is the clear favorite in the Region. The Fly will rule the landscape. From what I'm hearing/seeing, the Golden Eagles will be pitching shutouts while scoring 50+ weekly.

IUP should be terrified of this upcoming season.

Hey don't bring Clarion into this. You guys like to talk about Indiana, we are talking about Indiana. You know i've thought this for years, yes that record is phenomenal but if you take care of the locker room issues and develop some culture that becomes 4 PSAC titles and at least 2 regional titles over the last 6. Good problems to have and like it's been said on here many times, most would kill to be in that position. My issue with it is that I feel in over half of those years you under achieved (even with a great record). When you are blessed with the position that IUP has been in and you put together top end talent from year to year...you have to take advantage of it more often. Many of the games that they lose they are the more talented team, and the more poorly coached team. I've watched football in this conference for a long time. tell me i'm wrong?

[Ram040506]

They are all 100 percent committed. Some are even a whopping 110 percent committed. The ones who go totally cray are even 1,000 percent committed. They are all blessed and can't wait to work.

Playing for multiple schools isn't the black eye it was a decade ago. It's just the new normal. Scholarships are year-to-year and now so are players. If both Shepherd and IUP signed this kid I have to trust there's some talent. It's now up to the staff to keep his head on straight -- at least for the next four months.

I had no idea he was at Millersville previously. Like most players, he'll probably end up being never heard from again. But I do remember the Shepherd coaching staff being excited about his commitment so there is definitely some talent there. Hopefully IUP can bring it out of him, because this is probably the last chance.