THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That lack of explosion all starts with the RB's. The O-line opened holes but those two just don't hit them and when they did, they certainly didn't explode through them. They better find some RBs quickly! Karst is what we thought he was. He's an athlete that can throw. His legs are what got him here.

Kaleb Monaco likely returns next week. He's close. Amir Major is also a home run guy but he wasn't going to debut on the road in that big of a game.

Younger and Houser are both (now) bigger, more power backs. Neither is a 'home run' hitter.

Ashland also has a pretty strong defense.

IUP could have really busted that game open. The two FG drives ending up in just FGs really kept Ashland alive.

That's one of the better teams they'll see this season -- certainly for the next month. So, they have some time.

No preseason in college. IUP also didn't play starters in their scrimmages (very few, anyway) so that was their first real action this year.

That was a really packed stadium. IUP sucked the life out of it almost immediately.


People at Ashland have to be getting real tired of playing IUP and Ferris State back to back in non-conference to start the season. They'll be 0-2 - again.

Details-wise, IUP was way cleaner than usual. They got hit with some real bailout flags in the second half. But, none of the usual suspects (no taunting, personal fouls, etc.).

The OL was night and day from a year ago - and that was against a very formidable DL.

Ashland was held to negative rushing yards.

Karst was pretty good overall. He's not a drop-back passer. He's not going to be, either. His strength is when he's on the go. He made some big plays last night. They also dropped a few. That wheel route Houser dropped on the first possession was easily going for 25 yards (or more).

Regardless how we'll nitpick some things, that was a huge road win.

[IUP24]

That lack of explosion all starts with the RB's. The O-line opened holes but those two just don't hit them and when they did, they certainly didn't explode through them. They better find some RBs quickly! Karst is what we thought he was. He's an athlete that can throw. His legs are what got him here.

I thought those guys looked fine overall last night. I think they both had some nice runs. 2nd half they were running for 4-5 yards a carry it seemed. The offensive line looked really good in the run game, which bodes well.

[IUPalum]

Negative is that I think this team lacks explosion on offense and I don’t think they are built to play from behind. Maybe depth and injuries play a part of that, maybe they don’t.

I just don’t think Karst Hunter is that good to be completely honest. He made a few throws in the 2nd half, but a lot of those were him scrambling holding the ball too long and somebody came open. I felt like a lot of his issues last year were OL related. In a game tonight where the OL set a tone, it appeared like he was the problem. Throws were late, he was throwing behind guys, he never threw to guys coming open, seemed to lack presence in the pocket, etc. Maybe some jitters in game one, but from being there in person, I sensed he’s not going to win you many games with his arm.

That lack of explosion all starts with the RB's. The O-line opened holes but those two just don't hit them and when they did, they certainly didn't explode through them. They better find some RBs quickly! Karst is what we thought he was. He's an athlete that can throw. His legs are what got him here.

[IUP24]

Negative is that I think this team lacks explosion on offense and I don’t think they are built to play from behind. Maybe depth and injuries play a part of that, maybe they don’t.

I just don’t think Karst Hunter is that good to be completely honest. He made a few throws in the 2nd half, but a lot of those were him scrambling holding the ball too long and somebody came open. I felt like a lot of his issues last year were OL related. In a game tonight where the OL set a tone, it appeared like he was the problem. Throws were late, he was throwing behind guys, he never threw to guys coming open, seemed to lack presence in the pocket, etc. Maybe some jitters in game one, but from being there in person, I sensed he’s not going to win you many games with his arm.

[IUP24]

Immediate takeaways is that the OL looked really good and the defense did too. I have not looked at the stat sheet, but I felt like IUP really controlled the game and set a tone with their defense and OL in the run game. Some things to clean up on D, but they will.

I think IUP as a program is just a step faster than Ashland overall. This is 5 straight in the series, and I feel like the last few have not really been in much doubt despite what the final score says. Some boneheaded unforced errors swung the pendulum of momentum early and that was the story. The difference on the scoreboard was really that snap over the punters head. But I felt IUP was in control otherwise.

[iupgroundhog]

I agree with two things you say here:

1. The increase in scholarships will impact D2 negatively. When the stuff was getting settled, the original number which was agreed to was 95. That would have resulted in players 96-105 all finding a new home (likely in FCS or D2).

2. Yeah, it probably will make it harder for the schools you mentioned to compete. But I'll call out D2 programs like UMD and Mankato which are extremely successful D1 hockey programs and have taken down numerous national powerhouses in the NCAA Tournament. Those schools just need to evaluate where they want to focus their attention.

I had this same conversation with my father over the weekend. He is probably around your age and expressed the same concerns. I know you rarely ever have agreed with a thing I have posted in my 14 years on this message board, and that's fine. I'll keep my thoughts brief and high level (I've been told it's a bullet point world). My ask is to just be open minded to everything going on:

1. Schools now just have to evaluate where they want to be "good." It's likely that most schools will focus on the sports they already excel at. Boston College won't want to spend dollars to keep up with Clemson, FSU, and Miami in the ACC for football. But they'll want to spend as much or more than Notre Dame or Wisconsin to remain elite in hockey. Northwestern isn't going to outspend Ohio State to close the gap in football (and they shouldn't try to). But I'm sure they will do everything to continue being a dynasty in women's lacrosse.

2. There will be hard decisions. I'm sure some sports will be casualties in this process. I'm not happy about that either. I think that sucks. But we as the consumers were part of creating the demand for football, which helped to lead to the business and money getting so big that it's gotten to this point. And yeah, there were a ton of greedy people at all levels that contributed to this too.

3. In theory this is going to actually create an opportunity for more student athletes to get aid, not less. So yeah, increasing the scholarship limit from 9.9 to 30 for wrestling may make things harder for schools like Edinboro or Clarion, but based on what you are saying, I think you are probably in favor of more kids getting scholarship money. Student athletes in a sport like track and field were getting pennies of aid. They have the opportunity now to get far more than they ever did before in scholarship money. That's a good thing.

4. Ohio State's president had interesting comments on this a week or so ago. He wasn't shying away from the fact that OSU is going to put most of their eggs in the football basket. I don't think that will surprise anyone. He didn't say other sports will get eliminated or that student athletes will have scholarships cut. However, said that things may look closer to a club sport in some aspects. Rather than chartered flights for the lacrosse team, they are on a bus or flying commercially. Instead of an Olympic sport getting a brand new multi-million dollar weight room for their own use, maybe 3-4 sports just share time in an existing facility like exists everywhere else. Will there be more difficult financial decisions than that? Yes.

This will be my only statement on the matter in this thread. Just encouraging folks to be open minded. I didn't want this reality of college sports. But this is what we have.

I care a lot about our D2 football and about the D1 PSAC wrestling schools. So, the impact of this is my concern.

I see the 9.9 scholarship limit in wrestling as an equalizer. Lock Haven and Clarion can't even get to the 9.9. I will not be surprised if PSU, OSU. Iowa, Oklahoma State go up to 30 which will create an elite level. The disparity is already huge and this will make it much bigger in a sport like wrestling. I think it will change everything and things will have to be restructured.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

All I can say is good teams win. Great teams cover.

IUP +7.5 tonight.

Hawk Nation.... Let's Ride...

Safe travels to all coming to Ohio tonight. Shorter drive for me than others. Glad football is back.

Yep.

F the points. IUP needs to win outright.

[IUP24]

I'm just saying IUP is still IUP. Tort had a catastrophic year last year - on the field, off the field, in the press box, etc. It was a perfect storm.

You know when Tort has his best teams? Every time they get written off.

Sure, they've had some issues in camp. But, so has every other team. Ours just get talked about on here.

I've also seen four other times everybody pick Ashland in this game. IUP's won each time.

Tort could very easily lose a close game tonight. That's the risk of playing a real team in non-conference.

IUP has beat Ashland (4) times by like a combined 14 points or something. They are both good.

What I'm saying is the "IUP is down" crowd has a surprise coming.

As for injuries, I think the majority of 'questionable' players will play tonight. I do think Tort was very vague (intentionally) in creating a narrative.

Go back in time to last year same night. You had an OL that had never played together. Four of those starters are back. You had a QB that had three weeks of camp and a staff that wasn't sure how to use him. The WR core is much better and deeper. The defense is a year older and loaded with upperclassmen (and imports).

I think they liked the doom and gloom mantra coming out of Miller. Trust me, this team is ready to roll.

All I can say is good teams win. Great teams cover.

IUP +7.5 tonight.

Hawk Nation.... Let's Ride...

Safe travels to all coming to Ohio tonight. Shorter drive for me than others. Glad football is back.

[IUP24]

Another article in the IG by Matt is about increasing scholarship limits in college FBS football from 85 to 105 next year. This is going to be devastating for D2 football during the transition and water down the talent pool thereafter.

The changes are even more pronounced in minor sports. For example in college wrestling the NCAA has limited roster size to 30 athletes but increased the scholarship limit from 9.9 to 30. Yes, 30. In a sport already dominated by the Big 10 and Big 12, it's likely going to make it nearly impossible for other schools to compete, particularly the D1 PSAC wrestling schools (Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, and Clarion).

As I think everybody on here realizes, we are witnessing the professionalization of college sports. Sad, IMO.

I agree with two things you say here:

1. The increase in scholarships will impact D2 negatively. When the stuff was getting settled, the original number which was agreed to was 95. That would have resulted in players 96-105 all finding a new home (likely in FCS or D2).

2. Yeah, it probably will make it harder for the schools you mentioned to compete. But I'll call out D2 programs like UMD and Mankato which are extremely successful D1 hockey programs and have taken down numerous national powerhouses in the NCAA Tournament. Those schools just need to evaluate where they want to focus their attention.

I had this same conversation with my father over the weekend. He is probably around your age and expressed the same concerns. I know you rarely ever have agreed with a thing I have posted in my 14 years on this message board, and that's fine. I'll keep my thoughts brief and high level (I've been told it's a bullet point world). My ask is to just be open minded to everything going on:

1. Schools now just have to evaluate where they want to be "good." It's likely that most schools will focus on the sports they already excel at. Boston College won't want to spend dollars to keep up with Clemson, FSU, and Miami in the ACC for football. But they'll want to spend as much or more than Notre Dame or Wisconsin to remain elite in hockey. Northwestern isn't going to outspend Ohio State to close the gap in football (and they shouldn't try to). But I'm sure they will do everything to continue being a dynasty in women's lacrosse.

2. There will be hard decisions. I'm sure some sports will be casualties in this process. I'm not happy about that either. I think that sucks. But we as the consumers were part of creating the demand for football, which helped to lead to the business and money getting so big that it's gotten to this point. And yeah, there were a ton of greedy people at all levels that contributed to this too.

3. In theory this is going to actually create an opportunity for more student athletes to get aid, not less. So yeah, increasing the scholarship limit from 9.9 to 30 for wrestling may make things harder for schools like Edinboro or Clarion, but based on what you are saying, I think you are probably in favor of more kids getting scholarship money. Student athletes in a sport like track and field were getting pennies of aid. They have the opportunity now to get far more than they ever did before in scholarship money. That's a good thing.

4. Ohio State's president had interesting comments on this a week or so ago. He wasn't shying away from the fact that OSU is going to put most of their eggs in the football basket. I don't think that will surprise anyone. He didn't say other sports will get eliminated or that student athletes will have scholarships cut. However, said that things may look closer to a club sport in some aspects. Rather than chartered flights for the lacrosse team, they are on a bus or flying commercially. Instead of an Olympic sport getting a brand new multi-million dollar weight room for their own use, maybe 3-4 sports just share time in an existing facility like exists everywhere else. Will there be more difficult financial decisions than that? Yes.

This will be my only statement on the matter in this thread. Just encouraging folks to be open minded. I didn't want this reality of college sports. But this is what we have.

[Ship69]

I'm just saying IUP is still IUP. Tort had a catastrophic year last year - on the field, off the field, in the press box, etc. It was a perfect storm.

You know when Tort has his best teams? Every time they get written off.

Sure, they've had some issues in camp. But, so has every other team. Ours just get talked about on here.

I've also seen four other times everybody pick Ashland in this game. IUP's won each time.

Tort could very easily lose a close game tonight. That's the risk of playing a real team in non-conference.

IUP has beat Ashland (4) times by like a combined 14 points or something. They are both good.

What I'm saying is the "IUP is down" crowd has a surprise coming.

As for injuries, I think the majority of 'questionable' players will play tonight. I do think Tort was very vague (intentionally) in creating a narrative.

Go back in time to last year same night. You had an OL that had never played together. Four of those starters are back. You had a QB that had three weeks of camp and a staff that wasn't sure how to use him. The WR core is much better and deeper. The defense is a year older and loaded with upperclassmen (and imports).

I think they liked the doom and gloom mantra coming out of Miller. Trust me, this team is ready to roll.

You are right in that it's all relative. Very few of us at other PSAC schools will buy an "IUP is down" narrative in football unless we see some proof. And most of us also know the issues our own teams are facing.

[IUP24]

Yep. Its like how football players will pick up a season of basketball. As long as they're NCAA eligible. JV & freshman teams don't exist in the eyes of the NCAA.

All these extra scholarship players at P4 schools are going to become glorified practice players. Good enough to run plays against first stringers but when your all american linebacker gets in his hits, he's not threatening your QB of the future.

This. The only real change now compared to when these court cases were being settled is the roster cap/scholarship limit for football. The discussed number in the hearings was 95, but it got raised to 105. People heard the NCAA is eliminating walk ons and everybody freaked out. Massively. Baker Mayfield and Johnny Football are the 2 in a million exceptions, not the norm.

The 20 extra guys who were already walk ons may get scholarship money now (partial scholarship money at least). So I suppose that's good. There was a real opportunity though, with a hard cap of a lower number (like the discussed 95) to create an environment where fringe guys would have ended up playing at an FCS or a D2 on scholarship and actually contributing. I think that would have been far better than getting your head beat in during practice for 4-5 years. Raising the roster cap and scholarship limit doesn't really change competitive edges at the FBS level. This likely won't result in one school stock piling more high end guys to bury on their depth chart. The revenue sharing model and what players can be offered to play elsewhere will likely prevent that in theory. On the same token, you aren't going to be able to pay a guy a ridiculous sum of money on a non-existent fake NIL deal anymore either, since that's being regulated and monitored now.

The reality is that this will look more like it does now with walk ons just getting some scholarship money. Like you said, players 86-105 aren't actually getting on the field or being considered as difference makers in the program. I had hoped the 95 number held though, because that likely would have helped D2 programs.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

He must have been hanging out on the Northwest Misery forum..they are expert sandbaggers.

I'm just saying IUP is still IUP. Tort had a catastrophic year last year - on the field, off the field, in the press box, etc. It was a perfect storm.

You know when Tort has his best teams? Every time they get written off.

Sure, they've had some issues in camp. But, so has every other team. Ours just get talked about on here.

I've also seen four other times everybody pick Ashland in this game. IUP's won each time.

Tort could very easily lose a close game tonight. That's the risk of playing a real team in non-conference.

IUP has beat Ashland (4) times by like a combined 14 points or something. They are both good.

What I'm saying is the "IUP is down" crowd has a surprise coming.

As for injuries, I think the majority of 'questionable' players will play tonight. I do think Tort was very vague (intentionally) in creating a narrative.

Go back in time to last year same night. You had an OL that had never played together. Four of those starters are back. You had a QB that had three weeks of camp and a staff that wasn't sure how to use him. The WR core is much better and deeper. The defense is a year older and loaded with upperclassmen (and imports).

I think they liked the doom and gloom mantra coming out of Miller. Trust me, this team is ready to roll.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Do they put the freshman that are definitely redshirting on the JV to get some game experience? I'd assume in their year to year recruiting they know generally of the handful of kids who may contribute to the varsity team, but would the rest go to JV at that point?

It was just very interesting to me last time I was at Ashland. We don't have those types of massive rosters in the PSAC. I went to get a Pepsi pre-game and saw like 75 dudes in game jerseys and it didn't hit me those were the JV players walking around the stadium.

I get the economics. Dangle the carrot. Pay tuition. Tell your friends you're on the team. Leave. Next batch enters. A couple may get promoted.

Lot of extra coin.

[Ram040506]

While this is true...I don't remember a time in which a "JV" team player was called up during the middle of the season at Ashland. In fact I would say about less than 1% of those players over the years actually make the varsity roster at some point. It does happen, but very very rare. I would say the turnover rate for those players is very high.

Do they put the freshman that are definitely redshirting on the JV to get some game experience? I'd assume in their year to year recruiting they know generally of the handful of kids who may contribute to the varsity team, but would the rest go to JV at that point?

[unc4life]

Yep. Its like how football players will pick up a season of basketball. As long as they're NCAA eligible. JV & freshman teams don't exist in the eyes of the NCAA.

All these extra scholarship players at P4 schools are going to become glorified practice players. Good enough to run plays against first stringers but when your all american linebacker gets in his hits, he's not threatening your QB of the future.

While this is true...I don't remember a time in which a "JV" team player was called up during the middle of the season at Ashland. In fact I would say about less than 1% of those players over the years actually make the varsity roster at some point. It does happen, but very very rare. I would say the turnover rate for those players is very high.