THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I watched the game with no sound because it was just constant drums coming through the feed.

That's funny because the Ashland band is the smallest I've ever seen.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Not a whole lot to add to what has already been said. Ashland is such a nice place to watch a game. They have a great stadium and vibe there in a town about the size of Indiana. Everyone is friendly and IUP had a pretty nice following. I put on a lot of miles yesterday starting the day in Tallahassee and eventually driving up from Pittsburgh International. It was a little over two hours from there but a little over three hours to get home. Long day. Having gone to the 2018 game there, I really wanted to get back.

The offensive line was the biggest question mark I had going in. I’d give them a B and think it will be a really good group after a few games. That’s a sigh of relief. Hunter is Hunter. You take the good with the bad. He didn’t have a good first half but he had pretty solid second half. It was everyone’s first game so I don’t want to be too critical. His decision making at times wasn’t stellar (receivers running wide open down the field and not seen) and he missed a couple passes early, but he had command of the offense and his legs got IUP a big first down late in the game that basically iced it. I’ll say I’m cautiously optimistic.

The defense was awesome in the first half but didn’t play very well in the second. Ashland obviously made some adjustments. You could argue that Ashland was the better team in the second half last night. If they don’t gift IUP a touchdown early who knows how the game goes. For whatever reason they seem to have a special teams miscue that helps IUP every time they play. At one point in the first half I though IUP might blow them out, but credit to Ashland for fighting hard for 60 minutes.

Now let’s hope IUP gets healthy over the next few weeks. It was an opening night win on the road over a quality (not great) opponent, and that’s all that matters.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not a whole lot to add to what has already been said. Ashland is such a nice place to watch a game. They have a great stadium and vibe there in a town about the size of Indiana. Everyone is friendly and IUP had a pretty nice following. I put on a lot of miles yesterday starting the day in Tallahassee and eventually driving up from Pittsburgh International. It was a little over two hours from there but a little over three hours to get home. Long day. Having gone to the 2018 game there, I really wanted to get back.

The offensive line was the biggest question mark I had going in. I’d give them a B and think it will be a really good group after a few games. That’s a sigh of relief. Hunter is Hunter. You take the good with the bad. He didn’t have a good first half but he had pretty solid second half. It was everyone’s first game so I don’t want to be too critical. His decision making at times wasn’t stellar (receivers running wide open down the field and not seen) and he missed a couple passes early, but he had command of the offense and his legs got IUP a big first down late in the game that basically iced it. I’ll say I’m cautiously optimistic.

The defense was awesome in the first half but didn’t play very well in the second. Ashland obviously made some adjustments. You could argue that Ashland was the better team in the second half last night. If they don’t gift IUP a touchdown early who knows how the game goes. For whatever reason they seem to have a special teams miscue that helps IUP every time they play. At one point in the first half I though IUP might blow them out, but credit to Ashland for fighting hard for 60 minutes.

Now let’s hope IUP gets healthy over the next few weeks. It was an opening night win on the road over a quality (not great) opponent, and that’s all that matters.

They found something for sure. They really targeted one side of the IUP secondary the whole second half.

[iupgroundhog]

I watched the game with no sound because it was just constant drums coming through the feed.

I watched and listened to the whole game. I thought the Ashland broadcast team was very good and they weren't homers. Their overall production, camera work, replays, etc., was excellent.

[IUPNation]

I watched and listened to the whole game. I thought the Ashland broadcast team was very good and they weren't homers. Their overall production, camera work, replays, etc., was excellent.

The video was pretty good. It just was easier to watch without the background noise.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The video was pretty good. It just was easier to watch without the background noise.

That was one of the most quiet 'big crowds' you'll ever see.

Granted, they didn't have much to cheer about much of the night.

[IUPNation]

That was one of the most quiet 'big crowds' you'll ever see.

Granted, they didn't have much to cheer about much of the night.

It wasn't the crowd noise...the band must have sat near the booth because that is what I was hearing early so I muted the audio...so if it got quiet I wouldn't have known.

So I guess IUP and Ashland have something in common....dead big crowds.

[Wallst]

Nice road win by IUP. Whenever you get those wins that should help your SOS come playoff time, you relish those.

Across D2 last night all the big boys won: Mines, Grand Valley, Harding, West Florida.

[IUPNation]

Nice road win by IUP. Whenever you get those wins that should help your SOS come playoff time, you relish those.

Across D2 last night all the big boys won: Mines, Grand Valley, Harding, West Florida.

We have to hope they run their GMAC slate...because they go to Ferris Bueller State next week so they are staring 0-2 in the face.

[unc4life]

We have to hope they run their GMAC slate...because they go to Ferris Bueller State next week so they are staring 0-2 in the face.

Unfortunately that's not going to happen. As I said over on the GMAC preview page this AU team is not very good. They will beat the bad teams in the GMAC and there are enough of those to make it look good, but AU has a long way to go to get back to where they think they should be. The hard part is it's not going to be under this current coaching staff. Defensively they will be ok, but offensively they weren't great last year and they had multiple elite skill players. This year those guys are gone and what is left is rough. Personally I don't think they have a starting level WR on the entire roster. Big changes need to be made, Ashland has everything they need to be a great D2 football schools. Great facilities, large donor base. They need to get a young coach that can recruit and is willing to adapt to the changes that have and will continue to have in this new world of college athletics.

[Fightingscot82]

Unfortunately that's not going to happen. As I said over on the GMAC preview page this AU team is not very good. They will beat the bad teams in the GMAC and there are enough of those to make it look good, but AU has a long way to go to get back to where they think they should be. The hard part is it's not going to be under this current coaching staff. Defensively they will be ok, but offensively they weren't great last year and they had multiple elite skill players. This year those guys are gone and what is left is rough. Personally I don't think they have a starting level WR on the entire roster. Big changes need to be made, Ashland has everything they need to be a great D2 football schools. Great facilities, large donor base. They need to get a young coach that can recruit and is willing to adapt to the changes that have and will continue to have in this new world of college athletics.

Have you met our friend in Lock Haven?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Have you met our friend in Lock Haven?

That dude is going to quickly be poached.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Couple notes from last night:

* WR T'Mahdae Penn didn't play. I'm guessing he's not quite ready. He will be another big target.

* Where was Cole Laney? They have to get him involved. He's listed in the 'participation' chart but I can't recall even seeing him. He's too good of an athlete (at 6'6", 240 lbs) to not be a part of the offense. He creates giant mismatches.

* Rosario-Santos (the import LB from Notre Dame) didn't start as he's slowly coming back from a camp injury but did play. He was very solid on the kick cover team. He's going to be very good once he's fully ready. Ingram had a solid game in his place.

* Okungu and Cox are the real deal. They both had strong debuts. Cox laid some people out and Okungu is a handful.

* Always lost in the shuffle is the lonely kicker. Andrasi looked fantastic last night. He easily hit both FGs and his distance is much better on kickoffs. The punter (forgive me as his name slips) also had an excellent night. The notorious IUP kick coverage team also was very well-behaved -- rare for that unit under Tort. There was nothing dumb after the whistle.

* IUP should be masterful in 2nd-and-8 situations. I think they ran a 2nd-and-8 play at least 12 times last night.

* Ashland was really que'd up for any Karst runs. It was clear immediately they were overly ready for him taking off. I thought they also smothered Ridley most of the game.

* The return of Kaleb Monaco will make a big difference. As discussed earlier, Younger and Houser (now) are very similar backs. Monaco will give them more of a home run threat while the other two will be very effective in the grind. I think we will eventually see the two freshmen RBs, also.

* Other than some typical Game 1 cramping, I think they left town healthy.

* The offense has some work to do. Hopefully they get up to (near) full strength soon.

* I'd have to watch the film closely but Ashland found something in the IUP secondary. They attacked the same side the whole second half. We also can't forget Ashland dropped a sure TD in the end zone in the second half. They then settled for the FG.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Unfortunately that's not going to happen. As I said over on the GMAC preview page this AU team is not very good. They will beat the bad teams in the GMAC and there are enough of those to make it look good, but AU has a long way to go to get back to where they think they should be. The hard part is it's not going to be under this current coaching staff. Defensively they will be ok, but offensively they weren't great last year and they had multiple elite skill players. This year those guys are gone and what is left is rough. Personally I don't think they have a starting level WR on the entire roster. Big changes need to be made, Ashland has everything they need to be a great D2 football schools. Great facilities, large donor base. They need to get a young coach that can recruit and is willing to adapt to the changes that have and will continue to have in this new world of college athletics.

Incredible facility.

[iupgroundhog]

Couple notes from last night:

* WR T'Mahdae Penn didn't play. I'm guessing he's not quite ready. He will be another big target.

* Where was Cole Laney? They have to get him involved. He's listed in the 'participation' chart but I can't recall even seeing him. He's too good of an athlete (at 6'6", 240 lbs) to not be a part of the offense. He creates giant mismatches.

* Rosario-Santos (the import LB from Notre Dame) didn't start as he's slowly coming back from a camp injury but did play. He was very solid on the kick cover team. He's going to be very good once he's fully ready. Ingram had a solid game in his place.

* Okungu and Cox are the real deal. They both had strong debuts. Cox laid some people out and Okungu is a handful.

* Always lost in the shuffle is the lonely kicker. Andrasi looked fantastic last night. He easily hit both FGs and his distance is much better on kickoffs. The punter (forgive me as his name slips) also had an excellent night. The notorious IUP kick coverage team also was very well-behaved -- rare for that unit under Tort. There was nothing dumb after the whistle.

* IUP should be masterful in 2nd-and-8 situations. I think they ran a 2nd-and-8 play at least 12 times last night.

* Ashland was really que'd up for any Karst runs. It was clear immediately they were overly ready for him taking off. I thought they also smothered Ridley most of the game.

* The return of Kaleb Monaco will make a big difference. As discussed earlier, Younger and Houser (now) are very similar backs. Monaco will give them more of a home run threat while the other two will be very effective in the grind. I think we will eventually see the two freshmen RBs, also.

* Other than some typical Game 1 cramping, I think they left town healthy.

* The offense has some work to do. Hopefully they get up to (near) full strength soon.

* I'd have to watch the film closely but Ashland found something in the IUP secondary. They attacked the same side the whole second half. We also can't forget Ashland dropped a sure TD in the end zone in the second half. They then settled for the FG.

I think Massey's playing time will increase, too. What about Washington? I assume when Rosario-Santos is the starter they would move Ingram back to the secondary.