THE IUP Football Thread

[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.

[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]

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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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.

[IUPNation]

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.

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

[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.