THE IUP Football Thread

[Ram Tough]

The visual aspect is really good. You can really see what's going on. I watched all of IUP's games on the internet. At times, when I see some comments by actual game attendees it's clear that you have a really good angle on things watching the webcast, things that can be missed when you watch from a position within the stadium.

I agree with that. There were some replays that changed my views on a few plays or calls.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think that's what's kind of been said here to this point. IUP probably was mentally fragile. I think both teams are pretty even. If they played 10 times, the series may be an even split. Maybe Shepherd is a little bit better, but to EyeOfTheHawk's point, they aren't that many points better.

I think this played out very similar to the PSAC Championship, just the script was flipped.

That 10 games would all be contingent on weather. Dry field Shepherd wins 9 of 10 this year.

[IUP24]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

IUP's best student play by play man was Josh Hill. He did it for 2-3 years. Football and basketball. Josh is now the Director of Strategic Communications and Ideas at IUP. He was hired a few months ago and took over the vacancy left by Ryan Rebholz . He was a good friend of mine in college and still to this day. I promise that I'm not allowing my personal relationship with Josh to formulate my opinion of the way in which he conducted himself in the broadcast booth. Go back and watch some basketball and football videos from 2014, 2015, and 2016. Totally different level of knowledge and preparation. I think the big difference with Josh actually had a devoted and vested interest in IUP athletics, and Division 2 sports as whole, namely football and basketball.

But the overall cadence at which he spoke was proper. His speed, technique, and tone fit the flow of the game. He knew when to get excited and when not. He knew how to be objective and professional. He knew he was calling a game; not being a fan. I put the manner in which he called a game up against some of the best D2 broadcasts I've heard.

The thing with most student broadcasters, and this isn't just limited to IUP, is that they do not understand the D2 landscape. It's hard when you hear things like, "Shepherd is going to be have be very careful playing against IUP to be able to keep it close as the #2 seed." Do they understand how good Shepherd is? Or how good Bagent is? I'm not saying that to be critical. It's just part of the conversation. You have 8 teams left playing in the country. They all are good. They all have guys on scholarship. Teams are 3 wins away from winning a national championship. Nobody is playing careful to keep it close.

Had Josh been on the call, he would've had every piece of information imaginable to offer viewers pre-game, in-game, and during stoppages. It was just a different level of preparation. And maybe it's why he's been very successful in his field. Josh reads this board. And I think these are things he can likely get involved in at IUP. He's an alum, he's local to the area, and he has a vested interest in the devoted fans of the athletic program.

And it's not just student broadcasters either, as you mentioned. Hell.. A couple weeks ago, on the broadcast of when IUP played Walsh in basketball, the play by play guy said during the game that, "This team is really good, I wonder if they are ranked." They are ranked #2 in the country and are one of the biggest names in Division 2 basketball. So, it's a systemic problem across the board at this level.

I'm with everyone in supporting the opportunity to get students "tape," if you will, for their resume. Sometimes I question the coaching they get, or don't, to your point. Sometimes I wonder if the ones on air are the only ones that want to do it. There have been some real doozies over the years. A couple years back, a former IUP football player called basketball games, who I will not say the name of. It was horrifyingly bad. He was the color commentator. The broadcast would've been better by simply having the less than stellar play by play man. It's things like that which frustrate me. It's not that they are imperfect, it's that somebody is not telling them the things they need to be doing differently to improve. Treat this as a job, or an internship, so to speak. If this your craft and what you want in your profession, this is what you need to do to improve yourself and grow. That's what should be asking out of our faculty in that department. I'm not putting all of it on the students. The prep and knowledge is on them. The other things is on the paid adults not helping them grow.

[Ship69]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

Getting names wrong is one of the biggest no-nos in journalism, whether it be print or not. When they're your own players, it's doubly bad. For the opposing teams, they need to talk to a coach, a student manager or someone else connected to the team and maker sure they get phonetic pronunciations for difficult names. Not that hard to do. My print journalism teacher at Ship used to dock us a letter grade for every misspelled word we had in a story. In other words, one misspelling meant you got no higher than a "B," two no higher than a "C," and so on. You learned quickly to go over your work.

[IUPNation]

I have done that job. I'm just saying that they need to work harder on learning the game.

Yet if we criticized anything about Shepherd you’d write another revenge song…I mean post.

:-)

[Ram040506]

Yet if we criticized anything about Shepherd you’d write another revenge song…I mean post.

:-)

I feel like your stirring up a frenzy in your mind so you can hate us forever lol.

[ShoNuff]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

"You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast" IUPbigINDIANS , when it comes to the football announcers, I would welcome pauses, because you have pauses in other colleges and NFL football games. However, the IUP football announcers just keep talking and trying to analyze EVERY play, as if there should not be any pauses during their broadcast. Sometimes, a tackle is just a tackle. However, they attempt to make every play something very big. Just say whomever the ball carrier is has gained how many yards to what yard line and who he was tackled by....and that is it, especially if its a 2-4 yard play.And they EVERYBODY on IUP's team was "unstoppable" ALL year. Stuff like that. Too much "over The Top" play-calling.

"Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving." Now I think THIS is the actual problem. I do not believe the students are getting any feedback from their professors. That is why they continue with the same mistakes, week after week, year after year. Hopefully these young students can get some real feedback.

[IUPNation]

I feel like you’re stirring up a frenzy in your mind so you can hate us forever lol.

The irony!

Yes I hate your team. They are in our way.

[Ship69]

"You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast" IUPbigINDIANS , when it comes to the football announcers, I would welcome pauses, because you have pauses in other colleges and NFL football games. However, the IUP football announcers just keep talking and trying to analyze EVERY play, as if there should not be any pauses during their broadcast. Sometimes, a tackle is just a tackle. However, they attempt to make every play something very big. Just say whomever the ball carrier is has gained how many yards to what yard line and who he was tackled by....and that is it, especially if its a 2-4 yard play.And they EVERYBODY on IUP's team was "unstoppable" ALL year. Stuff like that. Too much "over The Top" play-calling.

"Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving." Now I think THIS is the actual problem. I do not believe the students are getting any feedback from their professors. That is why they continue with the same mistakes, week after week, year after year. Hopefully these young students can get some real feedback.

As students they do tend to be excitable. The one guy went nuts about what a "great pass" Bagent threw on Shepherd's first TD. That guy was so far open that I could have hit him in my younger days as a decent sandlot quarterback. For a guy with Bagent's talent, it couldn't have been any easier than that one.

[Ram Tough]

As students they do tend to be excitable. The one guy went nuts about what a "great pass" Bagent threw on Shepherd's first TD. That guy was so far open that I could have hit him in my younger days as a decent sandlot quarterback. For a guy with Bagent's talent, it couldn't have been any easier than that one.

To be fair Bagent faced a ton of pressure. But yeah ... That was incredibly easy for him.

[EyeoftheHawk]

To be fair Bagent faced a ton of pressure. But yeah ... That was incredibly easy for him.

Bagent gets all the accolades for his ridiculous throwing stats, but I’m equally impressed with his instincts in the pocket and how he moves around. He’s not a big runner, but he can if necessary. He almost never loses yards, which is huge. A lot of lesser quarterbacks end up in 2nd and 12 or 3rd and 11, but even when pressured Bagent will put the team in 2nd and 6 or 3rd and 5, and that’s a big difference. He’s big and strong, and moves really well. That’s why he has a good chance to earn a paycheck next fall. He truly has it all.

On the play in question, a lot of lesser quarterbacks would have been sacked or tried to run for it. Bagent bought some time, kept his eyes downfield, and delivered a strike. The only question was whether or not the kid was going to hold on. You’re going to win a lot of games when you have a player like that.

[IUPNation]

Bagent gets all the accolades for his ridiculous throwing stats, but I’m equally impressed with his instincts in the pocket and how he moves around. He’s not a big runner, but he can if necessary. He almost never loses yards, which is huge. A lot of lesser quarterbacks end up in 2nd and 12 or 3rd and 11, but even when pressured Bagent will put the team in 2nd and 6 or 3rd and 5, and that’s a big difference. He’s big and strong, and moves really well. That’s why he has a good chance to earn a paycheck next fall. He truly has it all.

On the play in question, a lot of lesser quarterbacks would have been sacked or tried to run for it. Bagent bought some time, kept his eyes downfield, and delivered a strike. The only question was whether or not the kid was going to hold on. You’re going to win a lot of games when you have a player like that.

He probably should have been playing in Morgantown all along.

[Iupgh]

That 10 games would all be contingent on weather. Dry field Shepherd wins 9 of 10 this year.

They played twice and split. The best player in the country plays for Shepherd enough said….
Moving forward I thought IUP overachieved a bit with 3 major season ending injuries and a new QB 10-2 doesn’t look bad. PSAC title game was a feather in there cap as they took care of business2 without 2 of there best weapons in street clothes.

2023 will be interesting as I look forward the West as a hole loses a lot of key Quarterbacks (Cal, GU, SRU). I am a big QB guy at this level it is huge and imperative to a strong season. Sexton will be the leader coming out of the gate unless someone lands a big time transfer. IUP would need to add 2 receivers and one more RB as both groups are solid but could use some fresh bodies. WR help seems to be on the way as that is usually a position u can replenish fast aka Lockhart last year. OL has 2 studs returning and possibly the center if he stays. The D 2 portal could be there strategy concerning 2 OL but there is a few on roster that can step in also.
TE will be strong as Laney returns and the freshman they redshirted turned down a FCS schools to sign with IUP.

Defensively the back 7 should be strong despite the collapse in the regional final. The true freshman that started is going to be a special player and if somehow they can land a transfer corner and move Taylor to safety that would be a tremendous back 7. LB will be strong as DDB and Holmes will be a great duo. The 2 DT will need replaced and the edge guys will be a force with more experience and strength meaning Feasel and Fowler. Once again the D2 portal for 2-3 bodies up front would go a long way. Special teams wise the all conference punter will be back from injury and there always is room to bring in another kicker to compete that’s for sure. Also year 2 for the OC should not be downplayed. Tort 48-11 with 2 PSAC titles in 5 seasons is solid work as the resources and facilities are both sub par as is getting guys into East Harvard….there u go.

[IUPalum]

They played twice and split. The best player in the country plays for Shepherd enough said….
Moving forward I thought IUP overachieved a bit with 3 major season ending injuries and a new QB 10-2 doesn’t look bad. PSAC title game was a feather in there cap as they took care of business2 without 2 of there best weapons in street clothes.

2023 will be interesting as I look forward the West as a hole loses a lot of key Quarterbacks (Cal, GU, SRU). I am a big QB guy at this level it is huge and imperative to a strong season. Sexton will be the leader coming out of the gate unless someone lands a big time transfer. IUP would need to add 2 receivers and one more RB as both groups are solid but could use some fresh bodies. WR help seems to be on the way as that is usually a position u can replenish fast aka Lockhart last year. OL has 2 studs returning and possibly the center if he stays. The D 2 portal could be there strategy concerning 2 OL but there is a few on roster that can step in also.
TE will be strong as Laney returns and the freshman they redshirted turned down a FCS schools to sign with IUP.

Defensively the back 7 should be strong despite the collapse in the regional final. The true freshman that started is going to be a special player and if somehow they can land a transfer corner and move Taylor to safety that would be a tremendous back 7. LB will be strong as DDB and Holmes will be a great duo. The 2 DT will need replaced and the edge guys will be a force with more experience and strength meaning Feasel and Fowler. Once again the D2 portal for 2-3 bodies up front would go a long way. Special teams wise the all conference punter will be back from injury and there always is room to bring in another kicker to compete that’s for sure. Also year 2 for the OC should not be downplayed. Tort 48-11 with 2 PSAC titles in 5 seasons is solid work as the resources and facilities are both sub par as is getting guys into East Harvard….there u go.

Now you say they overachieved? What a joke you are. All year you've yacked that this team is the best in the region. blah blah blah.

[IUPNation]

Now you say this tea, overachieved? What a joke you are. All year you've yacked that this team is the best in the region. blah blah blah.

They were only second best.