THE IUP Football Thread

[EyeoftheHawk]

I agree with what you say here. Felt like an improvement in the penalty department, but run game was deceptive.

If the stats on the IUP site are correct, then Hurst averaged 5.6 yards per carry (not including sacks on the qb). If you include rushes by both QB's and Lockhart, IUP averaged 5.4 yards per carry. If you look at yards from our running backs, they averaged 3.96 yards per carry. So we played an extremely average run game against Hurst's D(4 YPC), while their backs averaged 5.6 YPC against our highly touted defense.

Not fully blaming our backs here either! If our OLine can't get push off the line of scrimmage or at the very least open a hole against Mercyhurst, then how can we expect to run against other teams. I think it seemed the gameplan for today was to try to get our run game going to get the line and backs some confidence, putting up big numbers against a worse team. If that was indeed the plan, I don't think it worked.

I know I sound like a broken record, always harping on the team, but it's only because I think they have SO MUCH potential. I'm sure the last thing these guys want is a mediocre season, but that's where I think things are headed if they don't shape up soon.

Why does it matter how IUP gets its rushing yards? I get it that there’s frustration they can’t just line up and get 4, 7, 5, 20 per carry from the backs, but IUP’s overall offense isn’t set up that way anymore. When you’re operating from the shotgun in one back sets on most plays, the single back just isn’t going to be as successful. That formation provides multiple ways to move the ball with several different personnel. The design favors the style of the QB currently on campus and I think we saw the best version of it so far yesterday.

I am not trying to say that the offensive line is where it needs to be to play championship football, that’s for sure. When the RB’s do get the ball there’s not a lot of push or room to run. If you watch their first step on most running plays they seem to come out high and are slow off the ball. They’re getting beat at the point of attack. That has to be fixed or there need to be some changes in that group. They did pass protect very well yesterday, but Mercyhurst is not Slippery Rock.

As was pointed out earlier, we’ll see how good IUP is next Saturday night.

[IUPNation]

IUP’s SOS took another hit..Ashland lost to Tiffany.

[iupgroundhog]

Why does it matter how IUP gets its rushing yards? I get it that there’s frustration they can’t just line up and get 4, 7, 5, 20 per carry from the backs, but IUP’s overall offense isn’t set up that way anymore. When you’re operating from the shotgun in one back sets on most plays, the single back just isn’t going to be as successful. That formation provides multiple ways to move the ball with several different personnel. The design favors the style of the QB currently on campus and I think we saw the best version of it so far yesterday.

I am not trying to say that the offensive line is where it needs to be to play championship football, that’s for sure. When the RB’s do get the ball there’s not a lot of push or room to run. If you watch their first step on most running plays they seem to come out high and are slow off the ball. They’re getting beat at the point of attack. That has to be fixed or there need to be some changes in that group. They did pass protect very well yesterday, but Mercyhurst is not Slippery Rock.

As was pointed out earlier, we’ll see how good IUP is next Saturday night.

I would say IUP's offense is in an evolving state. You really don't know what to expect week-to-week. Nobody expected what you are describing as an offense built around Hunter's style, although it may become that. Yesterday, it seemed like there were more designed QB running plays and also that Karst is quicker to take off when pass plays don't seem to be looking good. However, I think the thinking from everybody who follows IUP football coming into the season was that IUP would have a balanced attack similar to what we've had for the last several years (or decades). It may very well start to revolve around Hunter's style, as you say.

If you watched Penn State/Iowa last night, they replayed running plays so you could see the gaping holes the PSU OL was creating. Much of the IUP conversation seems to be about "the push". I get that but springing RB's loose is contingent on creating "space" as you call it. IUP OL does not seem to be doing that. Stewart is quick enough to hit small openings. The others do not seem to be able to.

Look, we all agree that a whole lot comes down to this Saturday's game. The result will set the tone for the rest of the season. IUP has a lot of weapons and some of them I don't think we've seen yet. I'm looking forward to a great game against SRU. I think it comes down to who executes the best game plan. Of particular interest is SRU's passing attack versus the IUP secondary.

As a fan, I am "all in" and I'm picking the Crimson Hawks.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I would say IUP's offense is in an evolving state. You really don't know what to expect week-to-week. Nobody expected what you are describing as an offense built around Hunter's style, although it may become that. Yesterday, it seemed like there were more designed QB running plays and also that Karst is quicker to take off when pass plays don't seem to be looking good. However, I think the thinking from everybody who follows IUP football coming into the season was that IUP would have a balanced attack similar to what we've had for the last several years (or decades). It may very well start to revolve around Hunter's style, as you say.

If you watched Penn State/Iowa last night, they replayed running plays so you could see the gaping holes the PSU OL was creating. Much of the IUP conversation seems to be about "the push". I get that but springing RB's loose is contingent on creating "space" as you call it. IUP OL does not seem to be doing that. Stewart is quick enough to hit small openings. The others do not seem to be able to.

Look, we all agree that a whole lot comes down to this Saturday's game. The result will set the tone for the rest of the season. IUP has a lot of weapons and some of them I don't think we've seen yet. I'm looking forward to a great game against SRU. I think it comes down to who executes the best game plan. Of particular interest is SRU's passing attack versus the IUP secondary.

As a fan, I am "all in" and I'm picking the Crimson Hawks.

Well, the past two years IUP has gone in to this game hearing about how great SRU supposedly was ... we saw how those games ended.

Lot of green Kool-Aid being chugged on these boards. Let's keep in mind SRU's best win so far is against Millersville. Solid team but not likely a playoff contender. SRU's opponents have a combined 7-9 record. Only Millersville is above .500. The West Chester win looked good at the time, but, the Rams aren't very good.

SRU is a good team. No doubt about it. But, let's see how they respond when the team across from them can punch back, has the same depth, size, speed, etc. IUP will be -- by far -- the best defense SRU will have faced this season.

IUP isn't going up there to lose. I can promise you that much.

The Rock may win and turn out to be very strong. However, Tort and the Timeout Slingers are standing in their way. I know IUP is actually one of the few (if any) teams that actually enjoys going up there. They seem to really rise up in the hostile environment, etc. This is also (by a mile) the biggest road crowd IUP takes all season. The big crowd certainly played a part two years ago up there when IUP blasted them.

Just think, if the math team on the sidelines could count to three, ... this game would probably have a much different outlook right now.

[Ship69]

Philadelphia has 4 championships in the last 45 years. We went 25 years without anything.

The Sixers haven’t won a title in 40 years.

The Flyers are clocking at 48 years without a title.

Geez, the Cubs went 108 years without winning the WS. Forty-five years is ancient history. The Bears will be up to 38 years without winning a Super Bowl. The Hawks have won more Stanley Cups than the Flyers, but they were one of the original six and had a drought of almost 50 years between their 1961 Stanley Cup and the next one. White Sox titles have been extremely rare. Why not just agree that both cities have not done very well for quite a while.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Tort and the Timeout Slingers

Can’t decide if this should be a band or a tee shirt…or both.

[IUPNation]

Geez, the Cubs went 108 years without winning the WS. Forty-five years is ancient history. The Bears will be up to 38 years without winning a Super Bowl. The Hawks have won more Stanley Cups than the Flyers, but they were one of the original six and had a drought of almost 50 years between their 1961 Stanley Cup and the next one. White Sox titles have been extremely rare. Why not just agree that both cities have not done very well for quite a while.

Chicago has more titles. Philadelphia takes way more gut punches

[IUPNation]

Curt using smart phone evidence to try to get a call overturned.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2023/09/jam...j0oa7pone28x4c

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The last (10) games between IUP and SRU are an even split. IUP has won the last two meetings.

From an IUP view, three of these were painful losses (2015, 2018 and 2019). Three losses by a combined (7) points. Tort is 3-2 vs SRU (and 2-1 as the visiting team). The recent trend is when IUP wins this game, it does so fairly comfortably. When IUP loses this game, it's been pretty tight.

-

YEAR	WINNER	SCORE	VENUE
2022	IUP	20-12	Indiana
2021	IUP	48-21	Slippery Rock
2019	SRU	45-42	Slippery Rock
2018	SRU	30-27	Indiana
2017	IUP	34-17	Slippery Rock
2016	IUP	48-19	Indiana
2015	SRU	40-39	Slippery Rock
2014	SRU	31-21	Indiana
2013	SRU	42-16	Slippery Rock
2012	IUP	33-16	Indiana

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Great quote from Darius Bruce last night on the Tort Show:

"We gotta see them ... but, they gotta see us, too."


I think Tort is a magician at playing up this 'underdog' role. He has his faults. But, getting them to play on the road may be his biggest strength. He's now 24-3 away from Miller.

I doubt they'll be gifted another Chad Kuhn interview again this year (like two years ago), but I think he loves going up there as the perceived dog.

[IUPNation]

Great quote from Darius Bruce last night on the Tort Show:

"We gotta see them ... but, they gotta see us, too."


I think Tort is a magician at playing up this 'underdog' role. He has his faults. But, getting them to play on the road may be his biggest strength. He's now 24-3 away from Miller.

I doubt they'll be gifted another Chad Kuhn interview again this year (like two years ago), but I think he loves going up there as the perceived dog.

Well..they are the underdog going into the game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well..they are the underdog going into the game.

That's debatable in reality

[IUPNation]

That's debatable in reality

Slimey hasn’t faced any adversity yet…so how they handle a bump up in competition will be the key.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Slimey hasn’t faced any adversity yet…so how they handle a bump up in competition will be the key.

Correct. SRU is going to kill everybody, every season, right up until the moment they don't.

[iupgroundhog]

I like to think of SRU as being the overdog.