THE IUP Football Thread

[EyeoftheHawk]

Looking ahead, a season like this can linger and impact the program negatively for multiple years. It’s a lot harder to sell “ALL IN” to a top transfer or high school recruit that’s going to be in decision making mode in a few weeks. ALL IN is just a saying on a tee shirt at this point, that’s it.

I think Slippery Rock has a legit shot to make the national semi-finals this year. SR1 is down. There’s no Shepherd or top team from the other conferences that should beat them. It probably ends after that but it’s realistic that they end up 13-1 with a lot of headlines along the way. California is going to finish 8-2 and make the playoffs, or 7-3 at worst and just miss the playoffs. If I’m a great player looking for a home after this season, I’d absolutely pick either Slippery Rock or Cal over IUP. Both have better facilities, coaching staffs, and beat IUP on the field in games that weren’t close.

The last IUP losing season was in 2009 when they were 5-6 under Lou Tepper. The following year they went 6-5 but Tepper was ultimately fired after that season. It took IUP three seasons to get back to the playoffs, and that was Curt’s team that was a play away from the national semi-finals. Curt was a splash hire and probably deserves more credit than he gets for pulling the program out of the hole. It’s probably going to take that type of hire again. My point is it’s more likely than not that IUP does not make the playoffs again until the 2026 season. You may think that’s a stretch but ask the folks at Bloomsburg, Edinboro, and West Chester if they ever thought their football programs would be where they are today.

I’m not sure the press box at The Mill will standing in three years!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Looking ahead, a season like this can linger and impact the program negatively for multiple years. It’s a lot harder to sell “ALL IN” to a top transfer or high school recruit that’s going to be in decision making mode in a few weeks. ALL IN is just a saying on a tee shirt at this point, that’s it.

I think Slippery Rock has a legit shot to make the national semi-finals this year. SR1 is down. There’s no Shepherd or top team from the other conferences that should beat them. It probably ends after that but it’s realistic that they end up 13-1 with a lot of headlines along the way. California is going to finish 8-2 and make the playoffs, or 7-3 at worst and just miss the playoffs. If I’m a great player looking for a home after this season, I’d absolutely pick either Slippery Rock or Cal over IUP. Both have better facilities, coaching staffs, and beat IUP on the field in games that weren’t close.

The last IUP losing season was in 2009 when they were 5-6 under Lou Tepper. The following year they went 6-5 but Tepper was ultimately fired after that season. It took IUP three seasons to get back to the playoffs, and that was Curt’s team that was a play away from the national semi-finals. Curt was a splash hire and probably deserves more credit than he gets for pulling the program out of the hole. It’s probably going to take that type of hire again. My point is it’s more likely than not that IUP does not make the playoffs again until the 2026 season. You may think that’s a stretch but ask the folks at Bloomsburg, Edinboro, and West Chester if they ever thought their football programs would be where they are today.

I’m not sure the press box at The Mill will standing in three years!

It's possible.

It's also possible they have a massive turnaround next year (one of those teams with so many upperclassmen that not even this staff can screw it up).

Tort will have money to spend in the portal. He needs a couple big dawgs.

Hard to say what next year holds.

Portal Season (for most teams) starts in two weeks.

[EyeoftheHawk]

It's also possible they have a massive turnaround next year (one of those teams with so many upperclassmen that not even this staff can screw it

This crossed my mind. Despite that though, there are A LOT of holes to fill if they want to have a team that can compete for the PSAC and SR1.

If we’re being honest, QB is still a question mark. They should be very good at RB and the O-line should be better with only losing Djouha. I’m guessing they’ll be shopping for a spot or two though. At least one good WR is needed. In some ways maybe IUP had too many good ones this year.

On defense they have to replace both starting LBs. Holmes is gone and Di-Nunzio Biss is leaving to take a job in Texas. D-Line needs help. That’s a pretty average group as it is and there’s no depth. Who knows what’s going to happen with Folwer. I see he didn’t participate yesterday. The defensive backs were supposed to be a strength of this team and they turned out to be a weakness. On top of that they lose Taylor and Cobb. IUP is currently 5th in overall defense, which isn’t bad, but 10th in passing defense giving up 200 yds./ game, which is awful. They also only have five interceptions.

Special teams…ugh. Somehow the kicker is 6-7 on field goals but just 21-27 on extra points, which is dead last in the league. In my view that’s a weakness on this team that needs to be addressed. Punting is acceptable as Spitler ranks third in the PSAC at 40.8 per kick. He doesn’t know how to put on eye black though according to Tort so maybe he can work on that during eye off season. You can’t win championships with an average kicking game.

I’d be more excited if this was an 8-3 team coming back with mostly the same players, but now it’s looking like 4-7 is a real possibility with 6-5 being the high water mark. You have to ask yourself if this group has the intangibles to get into the playoffs. I know we like to pick on the coaching staff but the players still have the responsibility of competing, and they didn’t do that when the going got tough.

[Fightingscot82]

Some social media commentary on IUP posts:

"All those transfers are doing great..."

"Fire Torterella"

"Yinz suck"

"I am not sure what the issues are internally but they need to be fixed. It started with the timeout debacle."

"Oh come on"

[iupgroundhog]

This crossed my mind. Despite that though, there are A LOT of holes to fill if they want to have a team that can compete for the PSAC and SR1.

If we’re being honest, QB is still a question mark. They should be very good at RB and the O-line should be better with only losing Djouha. I’m guessing they’ll be shopping for a spot or two though. At least one good WR is needed. In some ways maybe IUP had too many good ones this year.

On defense they have to replace both starting LBs. Holmes is gone and Di-Nunzio Biss is leaving to take a job in Texas. D-Line needs help. That’s a pretty average group as it is and there’s no depth. Who knows what’s going to happen with Folwer. I see he didn’t participate yesterday. The defensive backs were supposed to be a strength of this team and they turned out to be a weakness. On top of that they lose Taylor and Cobb. IUP is currently 5th in overall defense, which isn’t bad, but 10th in passing defense giving up 200 yds./ game, which is awful. They also only have five interceptions.

Special teams…ugh. Somehow the kicker is 6-7 on field goals but just 21-27 on extra points, which is dead last in the league. In my view that’s a weakness on this team that needs to be addressed. Punting is acceptable as Spitler ranks third in the PSAC at 40.8 per kick. He doesn’t know how to put on eye black though according to Tort so maybe he can work on that during eye off season. You can’t win championships with an average kicking game.

I’d be more excited if this was an 8-3 team coming back with mostly the same players, but now it’s looking like 4-7 is a real possibility with 6-5 being the high water mark. You have to ask yourself if this group has the intangibles to get into the playoffs. I know we like to pick on the coaching staff but the players still have the responsibility of competing, and they didn’t do that when the going got tough.

I'll write more thoughts on this later but what hits me in your post is DiNunzio Biss leaving. That hurts. Nobody can complain about his performance. I think he has done more than his part to hold things together. I do think LB is a position where you can plug in a transfer, especially if they start in the spring.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Some social media commentary on IUP posts:

"All those transfers are doing great..."

"Fire Torterella"

"Yinz suck"

"I am not sure what the issues are internally but they need to be fixed. It started with the timeout debacle."

"Oh come on"

I have to admit, this made me laugh. A little levity I suppose.

It’s very hard to win consistently, especially championships. When you get used to it, it’s hard to take such a colossal crash. The casual fan base is just shocked but probably doesn’t care all that much. The diehards want to see heads roll. What really matters is what the people pumping in the money want. My best guess is this football administration gets a year to turn it around, but not two. Lou Tepper got a second year after a really bad season, but didn’t get a third. Different AD so we’re about to learn about the patience of the current one. There’s always more to a story too, which most of us won’t know about. The combination of “that story”, the most recent results, and overall track record will make up the equation that equals the decision.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'll write more thoughts on this later but what hits me in your post is DiNunzio Biss leaving. That hurts. Nobody can complain about his performance. I think he has done more than his part to hold things together. I do think LB is a position where you can plug in a transfer, especially if they start in the spring.

Not a big surprise. Consider he was a redshirt, then the Covid cancelled year. He's been here a long time.

I'm guessing this is a heavy portal class. He's going to have pressure to win next year, job-wise.


12 days to hoops

[IUPNation]

I have to admit, this made me laugh. A little levity I suppose.

It’s very hard to win consistently, especially championships. When you get used to it, it’s hard to take such a colossal crash. The casual fan base is just shocked but probably doesn’t care all that much. The diehards want to see heads roll. What really matters is what the people pumping in the money want. My best guess is this football administration gets a year to turn it around, but not two. Lou Tepper got a second year after a really bad season, but didn’t get a third. Different AD so we’re about to learn about the patience of the current one. There’s always more to a story too, which most of us won’t know about. The combination of “that story”, the most recent results, and overall track record will make up the equation that equals the decision.

There should be pay cuts to the staff for a piss poor job performance.

[IUPalum]

I just saw a few of the Personalities on the side of a milk carton.

Where is IUPgh? That turd disappeared weeks ago.

[IUPMonk]

I'll bet the IUP Angry Mob is getting the implements of destruction and torches stored inside the tool shed behind the Fleming Street aparaments ready for a march on the field house.

[WarriorVoice]

I'll bet the IUP Angry Mob is getting the implements of destruction and torches stored inside the tool shed behind the Fleming Street aparaments ready for a march on the field house.

Remember, no negative scoreboard messages... :)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Officer-involved shooting near Miller Stadium last night at around 9:30pm. Story on WCCS.

Sounds like there was an attempted robbery.

Many use the track in the evenings.

Edit: And now it's a nice headline on the Pittsburgh sites.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Where is IUPgh? That turd disappeared weeks ago.

Tort said in the Gazette today the team is 'snake bit'.

Saturday had nothing to do with being snake bit. They could have sealed that game 15 different times.

Gazette also said Fowler is suspended 'indefinitely'

Two more to go and it's finally over.

[IUPNation]

Remember, no negative scoreboard messages... :)

That is your school’s thing.

[IUPNation]

Officer-involved shooting near Miller Stadium last night at around 9:30pm. Story on WCCS.

Sounds like there was an attempted robbery.

Many use the track in the evenings.

Edit: And now it's a nice headline on the Pittsburgh sites.

The robber showed more effort than our offense or defense in that stadium.

So what that it’s in the Yinzerburgh media. **** happens everywhere. If campus crime was a top issue then Temple would have 10 students…