Our panel of Pick 'Em experts -- thus far -- likes IUP this Saturday. The Crimson Hawks have received 16 of 25 votes.
Thinking about this game all week, ... some comments/questions:
* Tort downplayed the back-to-back, hard-core, on his show Monday night. But, what's he really going to say. This is a very tall task. And, depending who you ask, many think Cal is actually better than SRU. Just about every coach around will tell you it's very hard to get a team up two weeks in a row. That's the biggest challenge facing Tort this week.
* SRU entered last weeks game with a lot of hype, but was largely untested. Their best opponent pre-IUP was a wobbly-at-best West Chester. Conversely, Cal is battle-tested, and, quite frankly, most in the Mon Valley would probably say should be 5-0. SRU is a very good team and will likely come out of last week much better moving forward.
* IUP QB Sexton wasn't touched in the SRU game. He's likely going to get touched this week. Cal loves to bring heat from all over -- over and over. What could work to IUP's advantage is Sexton has an incredibly quick release. All that heat incoming leaves holes elsewhere -- in particular in the short routes. Cole Laney could play a big role in this game.
* While IUP got the famous punt off last week ... it barely got it off. Cal certainly took notice. The Vulcans defense is no joke so expect IUP to punt some this week.
* Heavy heat on Noah Mitchell. They love deep balls but they take longer to set up. Vulcans fans say he tends to vanish in big games. Well, he's usually showed up against IUP.
* What do the Cal imports and Larry Wilson bring to the table this week in regard to inside information?
* This will be the biggest crowd of the year at Adamson. Can IUP get off to a fast start and keep them quiet?
* Can IUP finally win in Adamson ... 2006 to 2022 is a real long time. I'm sure the players are tired of hearing about it.
* I suspect IUP will have an engaged crowd. IUP visiting crowds are typically pretty good. Those who travel have a vested interest. Cram them all together and they typically feed off each other.
Thinking about this game all week, ... some comments/questions:
* Tort downplayed the back-to-back, hard-core, on his show Monday night. But, what's he really going to say. This is a very tall task. And, depending who you ask, many think Cal is actually better than SRU. Just about every coach around will tell you it's very hard to get a team up two weeks in a row. That's the biggest challenge facing Tort this week.
* SRU entered last weeks game with a lot of hype, but was largely untested. Their best opponent pre-IUP was a wobbly-at-best West Chester. Conversely, Cal is battle-tested, and, quite frankly, most in the Mon Valley would probably say should be 5-0. SRU is a very good team and will likely come out of last week much better moving forward.
* IUP QB Sexton wasn't touched in the SRU game. He's likely going to get touched this week. Cal loves to bring heat from all over -- over and over. What could work to IUP's advantage is Sexton has an incredibly quick release. All that heat incoming leaves holes elsewhere -- in particular in the short routes. Cole Laney could play a big role in this game.
* While IUP got the famous punt off last week ... it barely got it off. Cal certainly took notice. The Vulcans defense is no joke so expect IUP to punt some this week.
* Heavy heat on Noah Mitchell. They love deep balls but they take longer to set up. Vulcans fans say he tends to vanish in big games. Well, he's usually showed up against IUP.
* What do the Cal imports and Larry Wilson bring to the table this week in regard to inside information?
* This will be the biggest crowd of the year at Adamson. Can IUP get off to a fast start and keep them quiet?
* Can IUP finally win in Adamson ... 2006 to 2022 is a real long time. I'm sure the players are tired of hearing about it.
* I suspect IUP will have an engaged crowd. IUP visiting crowds are typically pretty good. Those who travel have a vested interest. Cram them all together and they typically feed off each other.
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