THE IUP Football Thread

[EyeoftheHawk]

I'm saying if Tort screws up this team he may be on TV next year in the PAC.

No idea where all this coin came from ... But, be thankful.

I’m still in a wait and see mode. There are an awful lot of new faces in town and football in particular doesn’t suit itself well to plug and play at this scale. The offensive line in particular is challenging. There’s knowing the plays and where you’re supposed to be and then there’s knowing each other and how to adjust on the fly working in unison. The way teams play defense these days, where a defender starts a play and where he moves to on the snap isn’t the same place. It’s not like the old days of teams playing a 4-3 and occasionally bringing a linebacker. This unit will need a lot of reps together regardless of the talent coming in. There’s also the change of scenery. These are still kids that need to adjust to living in a new place, working with new coaches and teammates, etc. That’s a lot to figure out in a short period of time.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

So you are saying we may have a chance?

:-)

I'm saying if Tort screws up this team he may be on TV next year in the PAC.

No idea where all this coin came from ... But, be thankful.

[IUPNation]

As IUPAlum just notified me ... Concord OL transfer is now Twitter official.

Massive get for Mr. CO-OP Store.

Concord plus UVA-Wise, plus what they had coming back ... The OL should be very strong.

So you are saying we may have a chance?

:-)

[IUPbigINDIANS]

As IUPAlum just notified me ... Concord OL transfer is now Twitter official.

Massive get for Mr. CO-OP Store.

Concord plus UVA-Wise, plus what they had coming back ... The OL should be very strong.

[IUPNation]

If you go back in time, then-President Tony Atwater wanted a squeaky-clean HC to clean up the mess and rid the program of off-field embarrassments. He did get that in TLT.

But, you better win here or else you'll be gone pretty quickly.

TLT's latter teams didn't even resemble IUP Football. He served his purpose for a quick transition.

He had 16 losses in 4 years.

Frank didn't record his 16th loss at IUP until the 1994 season..his 9th season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

In a sense, it was because Frank had become synonymous with IUP football. On the other hand, I would argue that when Tepper came to IUP from Boro he actually had a higher profile than Cignetti in the football world. Tepper was well-known, had a lot of big-time experience, and had been a HC in the Big 10. He was the successor to the line of high-profile IUP head coaches, starting with Chaump and then Cignetti. Later, Curt Cignetti fit that mold. A lot of people had reservations about Tort because he did not fit that mold. Of course, those people, including myself, were wrong.

Tepper's HC record is what it is but his greater legacy is probably as a defensive coach.

If you go back in time, then-President Tony Atwater wanted a squeaky-clean HC to clean up the mess and rid the program of off-field embarrassments. He did get that in TLT.

But, you better win here or else you'll be gone pretty quickly.

TLT's latter teams didn't even resemble IUP Football. He served his purpose for a quick transition.

[iupgroundhog]

I imagine it wasn't exactly easy to follow Frank Sr. too. It might have also been during his tenure that IUP became the Crimson Hawks and that wasn't exactly smooth either.

In a sense, it was because Frank had become synonymous with IUP football. On the other hand, I would argue that when Tepper came to IUP from Boro he actually had a higher profile than Cignetti in the football world. Tepper was well-known, had a lot of big-time experience, and had been a HC in the Big 10. He was the successor to the line of high-profile IUP head coaches, starting with Chaump and then Cignetti. Later, Curt Cignetti fit that mold. A lot of people had reservations about Tort because he did not fit that mold. Of course, those people, including myself, were wrong.

Tepper's HC record is what it is but his greater legacy is probably as a defensive coach.

[Fightingscot82]

I think he crawled to the finish line of his career. His best work was at Boro in DII. He was probably excited about the IUP opportunity out of the gate but then lacked the desire to do all the things you have to do to stay on top. I’ve seen it happen many times in my industry as well. He wasn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore by the time he got here.

I imagine it wasn't exactly easy to follow Frank Sr. too. It might have also been during his tenure that IUP became the Crimson Hawks and that wasn't exactly smooth either.

[EyeoftheHawk]

FWIW, Tepper coached Edinboro to 3 straight western division championships prior to taking the IUP job, His first year at IUP, he won the west again. The next year IUP was second, then tied for 2nd the following year, then it all fell apart. It's kind of a hard to understand record.

I think he crawled to the finish line of his career. His best work was at Boro in DII. He was probably excited about the IUP opportunity out of the gate but then lacked the desire to do all the things you have to do to stay on top. I’ve seen it happen many times in my industry as well. He wasn’t exactly a spring chicken anymore by the time he got here.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Even the uniforms were the worst ever. The bird head on the helmet was the worst. Even the now Un PC helmet from the 80’s with the Indian on horseback carrying the spear was better than that…

Tepper was also horrible with the brass. Kissing booster tail wasn't his strong suit.

Curt wasn't good at it either (personality of a door most of the time) but after Tepper about drove the program off a cliff nobody cared so long as Curt starting winning again.

Tort is very good at the social aspects of the job -- and, when you live an die by donors, that's a REAL big part of the job.

[IUPNation]

FWIW, Tepper coached Edinboro to 3 straight western division championships prior to taking the IUP job, His first year at IUP, he won the west again. The next year IUP was second, then tied for 2nd the following year, then it all fell apart. It's kind of a hard to understand record.

He got jobbed out of playoff spot in 2006.

[iupgroundhog]

It was the worst period of time over my lifetime following IUP football. Tepper was a shadow of his best self by the time he got here and I don’t think I can agree that he was the right guy. I’m sure he wasn’t the only coach that could have cleaned up some messes within the program. I think Atwater was a little enamored with the resume and thought he might be able to squeeze a little more out of it. All that said, hiring is always a gamble and I don’t necessarily fault the decision at the time. It didn’t work out though and I really hate to give Tepper credit for much at all as it relates to his time at IUP.

FWIW, Tepper coached Edinboro to 3 straight western division championships prior to taking the IUP job, His first year at IUP, he won the west again. The next year IUP was second, then tied for 2nd the following year, then it all fell apart. It's kind of a hard to understand record.

[IUPNation]

Correct. The Tepper Era was a total disaster.

Even the uniforms were the worst ever. The bird head on the helmet was the worst. Even the now Un PC helmet from the 80’s with the Indian on horseback carrying the spear was better than that…

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Boy I don’t know that, the 2018 team that entered Ashland after a regional championship was pretty loaded with a 4 year starter at QB and 2 feature backs. This team may have football card star power and several Oline to boast…Then the expectations went higher in 2018 with solid road win in opener. I still say that rob job loss at Cal knocked the season off more than anyone will ever know.

Ironically the '18 team was the hardest to watch (sans the opener) in the past decade. I still think that team had major locker room issues.

That season finale debacle was hard to stomach.

[Iupgh]

Nice post!

You didn't miss a thing during The Lou Tepper years. It was like watching an older Ferrari that was running great rust quickly...

The affect of the Portal needs to be in discussion. A real player and game changer to say the least.