THE IUP Football Thread

[EyeoftheHawk]

He's likely going to finish 4-7. They may get walloped on Saturday.

They'll (admin) chalk this up to 'one bad year' and start over this Spring.

The upside (if any) is they'll get a big jump in the portal and hopefully get the new guys here for second semester (Spring Ball).

Although if he loses by 35 at home this weekend I can promise it's not going to sit well with some very important donors.

Regarding the upside…I imagine the sell gets incrementally tougher the worse the season and off-the-field nonsense pops up. If I’m a talented young kid looking for a new home and I want to win, I’d certainly be looking at Slippery Rock, Shepherd, Kutztown, Cal, and even ESU before IUP. They all currently have more upside, better facilities, and equally quality education (cue IUPNation and the gym teacher comments, LOL).

[IUP24]

This is the third Tort team that has quit. That's the problem.

Blown out by Ship at home in 2018

Lost to a (then) 1-6 Edinboro at home in 2021

Lost at Seton Hill in 2023

Are those flukes or are we seeing a pattern? Having seen all three of those debacles live, well, I wouldn't say the 'all in' was very 'all in'

I haven't seen SRU and Shepherd losing games to perceived much lesser competition.

This team this year was plenty good enough. All this rebuilding year crap is just a cop-out.


And, it's going to get a lot worse the next three weeks. Just wait until might IUP loses at Clarion.

The excuses are running out.

​​​​​

You mostly proved my point. "The bigger question to ask is what are you doing in the years where your program isn't in position to go on a run?" If the answer is "nothing," then that's a problem.

I'll continue to say...

1) I don't expect them to beat SRU, Cal, and Shepherd every year. There are some here who do.
2) I don't expect them to play in the SR1 championship every year. There are some here who do.
3) I don't expect them to win the PSAC every year. There are some here who do.

Set realistic expectations. If you're program plays in a regional championship 3 years out of 10, in reality, that's pretty good. But what are you doing on the off years? That's my overall point. Curt's team in 2014 took a lot of lumps because they were young, but there was clear and natural progression. This team quit when they had a lot of returning talent. I would say they are different circumstances.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That's an observation for sure. It's also why, in my opinion, you rarely see teams at any level immediately match success from year to year. Typically that leadership comes with time and experience. IUP's last 3 great teams were all followed up immediately by a bad year, or at the least, a disappointing one that didn't match expectations. 2012, 2017, and 2022 they reached the SR1 championship game or beyond. Nearly all of those teams were senior laden and had clear "alphas" on their team.

I'm not making excuses whatsoever for the team, staff, program, etc. It's hard to say there's no leadership when so many of the individuals playing were key players on a team that reached the SR1 championship.

I do believe it's human nature to "let your foot off the gas" some when you reach a specific level of success. You got there, you figure it's easy to sustain that level, then there's a downward motion into a valley before you build back up again. We see that in sports all the time. It's very hard to sustain success year over year. It's why when you look at the D1 level, outside of the 5-10 teams with all of the resources and support to do it annually (Bama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc.), there's a ton of parity.

I think in recent history, the best rendition of IUP football was 2015-2017 under Cignetti. There was a clear growth and progression within the program building up to that National Semifinal run. They had a young team in 2014 and took lumps. Saw a ton of growth in 2015. And again in 2016. It led to the run they went on in 2017. It was natural to expect a step back in 2018. They graduated and lost a ton due to just program attrition. I saw all the time that I don't expect IUP to reach the Regional Championship every year. In a ten year stretch from 2012-2022, they played for the SR1 crown three times. That's pretty good. I also say that I don't expect them to win 8-9 games out of 10 against the likes of Cal, Shepherd, or SRU. Those are proud programs, well-coached, well-run, and they have players who also want to win. To expect to win 80-90% of those games like many IUP posters believe simply isn't realistic. Nor should fans of the schools I mentioned expect that against each other either.

The bigger question to ask is what are you doing in the years where your program isn't in position to go on a run? Is there a clear plan and progression towards something 2-3 seasons down the road, or is just an empty, lost season? That's the question the administration should be asking.

This is the third Tort team that has quit. That's the problem.

Blown out by Ship at home in 2018

Lost to a (then) 1-6 Edinboro at home in 2021

Lost at Seton Hill in 2023

Are those flukes or are we seeing a pattern? Having seen all three of those debacles live, well, I wouldn't say the 'all in' was very 'all in'

I haven't seen SRU and Shepherd losing games to perceived much lesser competition.

This team this year was plenty good enough. All this rebuilding year crap is just a cop-out.


And, it's going to get a lot worse the next three weeks. Just wait until might IUP loses at Clarion.

The excuses are running out.



​​​​​

[IUP24]

You can sometimes tell who is the "alpha" on a team, even when you aren't a ardent follower. I watch some IUP if it doesn't conflict with Shepherd, some of their bigger games at times. I haven't seen anyone of that kind of ilk since #50 MLB from 2019 Lloyd I think his name was. Clearly the leader of that defense, maybe even the whole team. Just haven't seen that type of guy since he's left your program.

Now 2 years in a row where, one of the top players on your team doing something stupid off the field. Just screams no locker room control, which with the talent you guys have year in and year out... it's the reason seasons go haywire at times.

That's an observation for sure. It's also why, in my opinion, you rarely see teams at any level immediately match success from year to year. Typically that leadership comes with time and experience. IUP's last 3 great teams were all followed up immediately by a bad year, or at the least, a disappointing one that didn't match expectations. 2012, 2017, and 2022 they reached the SR1 championship game or beyond. Nearly all of those teams were senior laden and had clear "alphas" on their team.

I'm not making excuses whatsoever for the team, staff, program, etc. It's hard to say there's no leadership when so many of the individuals playing were key players on a team that reached the SR1 championship.

I do believe it's human nature to "let your foot off the gas" some when you reach a specific level of success. You got there, you figure it's easy to sustain that level, then there's a downward motion into a valley before you build back up again. We see that in sports all the time. It's very hard to sustain success year over year. It's why when you look at the D1 level, outside of the 5-10 teams with all of the resources and support to do it annually (Bama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc.), there's a ton of parity.

I think in recent history, the best rendition of IUP football was 2015-2017 under Cignetti. There was a clear growth and progression within the program building up to that National Semifinal run. They had a young team in 2014 and took lumps. Saw a ton of growth in 2015. And again in 2016. It led to the run they went on in 2017. It was natural to expect a step back in 2018. They graduated and lost a ton due to just program attrition. I saw all the time that I don't expect IUP to reach the Regional Championship every year. In a ten year stretch from 2012-2022, they played for the SR1 crown three times. That's pretty good. I also say that I don't expect them to win 8-9 games out of 10 against the likes of Cal, Shepherd, or SRU. Those are proud programs, well-coached, well-run, and they have players who also want to win. To expect to win 80-90% of those games like many IUP posters believe simply isn't realistic. Nor should fans of the schools I mentioned expect that against each other either.

The bigger question to ask is what are you doing in the years where your program isn't in position to go on a run? Is there a clear plan and progression towards something 2-3 seasons down the road, or is just an empty, lost season? That's the question the administration should be asking.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'll give you Gannon... if they lose to Clarion or Bloomsburg though, man that is hard to believe.

I'd bet coin they finish 0-3. This team checked out long ago.

[Ram040506]

He's likely going to finish 4-7. They may get walloped on Saturday.

They'll (admin) chalk this up to 'one bad year' and start over this Spring.

The upside (if any) is they'll get a big jump in the portal and hopefully get the new guys here for second semester (Spring Ball).

Although if he loses by 35 at home this weekend I can promise it's not going to sit well with some very important donors.

I'll give you Gannon... if they lose to Clarion or Bloomsburg though, man that is hard to believe.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Two players in two years committed felonies could get Tort axed. Not to mention hiring a coach who committed a crime.

He's likely going to finish 4-7. They may get walloped on Saturday.

They'll (admin) chalk this up to 'one bad year' and start over this Spring.

The upside (if any) is they'll get a big jump in the portal and hopefully get the new guys here for second semester (Spring Ball).

Although if he loses by 35 at home this weekend I can promise it's not going to sit well with some very important donors.

[Ram040506]

But IUPbigINDIANS , when has IUP have good locker room leadership ?

You can sometimes tell who is the "alpha" on a team, even when you aren't a ardent follower. I watch some IUP if it doesn't conflict with Shepherd, some of their bigger games at times. I haven't seen anyone of that kind of ilk since #50 MLB from 2019 Lloyd I think his name was. Clearly the leader of that defense, maybe even the whole team. Just haven't seen that type of guy since he's left your program.

Now 2 years in a row where, one of the top players on your team doing something stupid off the field. Just screams no locker room control, which with the talent you guys have year in and year out... it's the reason seasons go haywire at times.

[IUPNation]

Two players in two years committed felonies could get Tort axed. Not to mention hiring a coach who committed a crime.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some players respond to bad losses by spending a little extra time in the film room, or maybe taking out their frustration by throwing around some weights or doing drills well into the night. Others relieve the pressure by breaking and entering. From the Indiana Gazette:

On Sunday at 2:22 a.m., according to Indiana Borough Police, a [prominent IUP football player], of Indiana, broke into an occupied residence along the 200 block of South Seventh Street. [The player] was arraigned Sunday morning before Blairsville Magisterial District Judge Robert Steele Bell Sr. on criminal trespass and criminal mischief charges and released on $20,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.

I excluded the name in the 1% chance it’s someone else with the same name and age, but you can find it in today’s crime and punishment section. Must have been pretty serious to require $20,000 bond. Innocent until proven guilty, of course.

Well, an already bad defense just got a lot worse.

I'd assume they've already hired him the de facto team attorney, and that he's done for this season.

If he has a clean record they'll likely be able to plea the charges down.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some players respond to bad losses by spending a little extra time in the film room, or maybe taking out their frustration by throwing around some weights or doing drills well into the night. Others relieve the pressure by breaking and entering. From the Indiana Gazette:

On Sunday at 2:22 a.m., according to Indiana Borough Police, a [prominent IUP football player], of Indiana, broke into an occupied residence along the 200 block of South Seventh Street. [The player] was arraigned Sunday morning before Blairsville Magisterial District Judge Robert Steele Bell Sr. on criminal trespass and criminal mischief charges and released on $20,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.

I excluded the name in the 1% chance it’s someone else with the same name and age, but you can find it in today’s crime and punishment section. Must have been pretty serious to require $20,000 bond. Innocent until proven guilty, of course.

Season keeps getting better.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Some players respond to bad losses by spending a little extra time in the film room, or maybe taking out their frustration by throwing around some weights or doing drills well into the night. Others relieve the pressure by breaking and entering. From the Indiana Gazette:

On Sunday at 2:22 a.m., according to Indiana Borough Police, a [prominent IUP football player], of Indiana, broke into an occupied residence along the 200 block of South Seventh Street. [The player] was arraigned Sunday morning before Blairsville Magisterial District Judge Robert Steele Bell Sr. on criminal trespass and criminal mischief charges and released on $20,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.

I excluded the name in the 1% chance it’s someone else with the same name and age, but you can find it in today’s crime and punishment section. Must have been pretty serious to require $20,000 bond. Innocent until proven guilty, of course.

[ShoNuff]

That's not easy this year. From week to week they kind of fix one thing and then three other parts break.

Ironically, the hyped defense has been a total bust the past 4 games (aside from the second half against Edinboro). They don't even remotely look the same from the first four games. It could likely be pinned on effort, morale, motivation, etc.


One telling part of the show last night was a fan question. They asked if the team lacked leadership. Tort took that to ask if it lacked leadership from players. He didn't say yes or no, but sighted having just 7 seniors -- only two of which are start-to-finish IUP guys. I read his answer to say they don't have good player leadership this year.

When a team falls apart like this one has, it's pretty clear they do not.

There's no question they are a home dog this weekend.

But IUPbigINDIANS , when has IUP have good locker room leadership ?

[iupgroundhog]

One reason he might want to return as soon as possible would be to prove himself to other teams in the transfer market - however - I get the sense that Karst made a two-year commitment to IUP, not just for football but for the academic program. Having said that, I think Marchitelli is pretty good and would only get better. I only saw the 4th quarter of the SHU game but I saw Nico make a couple of passes that were on a quality level that Karst hasn't made in all of his starts and that includes the end zone one that Houser dropped on the last drive. As I recall, there were 3 defenders all over Houser and Nico laid it right into Houser's hands. I thought it was impressive but unfortunately, it was dropped.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

When something bad happes in anything, the first step is to identify the problem(s). Hopefully, that can be figured out.

That's not easy this year. From week to week they kind of fix one thing and then three other parts break.

Ironically, the hyped defense has been a total bust the past 4 games (aside from the second half against Edinboro). They don't even remotely look the same from the first four games. It could likely be pinned on effort, morale, motivation, etc.


One telling part of the show last night was a fan question. They asked if the team lacked leadership. Tort took that to ask if it lacked leadership from players. He didn't say yes or no, but sighted having just 7 seniors -- only two of which are start-to-finish IUP guys. I read his answer to say they don't have good player leadership this year.

When a team falls apart like this one has, it's pretty clear they do not.

There's no question they are a home dog this weekend.