THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPNation]

I feel like you’re stirring up a frenzy in your mind so you can hate us forever lol.

The irony!

Yes I hate your team. They are in our way.

[ShoNuff]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

"You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast" IUPbigINDIANS , when it comes to the football announcers, I would welcome pauses, because you have pauses in other colleges and NFL football games. However, the IUP football announcers just keep talking and trying to analyze EVERY play, as if there should not be any pauses during their broadcast. Sometimes, a tackle is just a tackle. However, they attempt to make every play something very big. Just say whomever the ball carrier is has gained how many yards to what yard line and who he was tackled by....and that is it, especially if its a 2-4 yard play.And they EVERYBODY on IUP's team was "unstoppable" ALL year. Stuff like that. Too much "over The Top" play-calling.

"Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving." Now I think THIS is the actual problem. I do not believe the students are getting any feedback from their professors. That is why they continue with the same mistakes, week after week, year after year. Hopefully these young students can get some real feedback.

[Ram040506]

Yet if we criticized anything about Shepherd you’d write another revenge song…I mean post.

:-)

I feel like your stirring up a frenzy in your mind so you can hate us forever lol.

[IUPNation]

I have done that job. I'm just saying that they need to work harder on learning the game.

Yet if we criticized anything about Shepherd you’d write another revenge song…I mean post.

:-)

[Ship69]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

Getting names wrong is one of the biggest no-nos in journalism, whether it be print or not. When they're your own players, it's doubly bad. For the opposing teams, they need to talk to a coach, a student manager or someone else connected to the team and maker sure they get phonetic pronunciations for difficult names. Not that hard to do. My print journalism teacher at Ship used to dock us a letter grade for every misspelled word we had in a story. In other words, one misspelling meant you got no higher than a "B," two no higher than a "C," and so on. You learned quickly to go over your work.

[IUP24]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

IUP's best student play by play man was Josh Hill. He did it for 2-3 years. Football and basketball. Josh is now the Director of Strategic Communications and Ideas at IUP. He was hired a few months ago and took over the vacancy left by Ryan Rebholz . He was a good friend of mine in college and still to this day. I promise that I'm not allowing my personal relationship with Josh to formulate my opinion of the way in which he conducted himself in the broadcast booth. Go back and watch some basketball and football videos from 2014, 2015, and 2016. Totally different level of knowledge and preparation. I think the big difference with Josh actually had a devoted and vested interest in IUP athletics, and Division 2 sports as whole, namely football and basketball.

But the overall cadence at which he spoke was proper. His speed, technique, and tone fit the flow of the game. He knew when to get excited and when not. He knew how to be objective and professional. He knew he was calling a game; not being a fan. I put the manner in which he called a game up against some of the best D2 broadcasts I've heard.

The thing with most student broadcasters, and this isn't just limited to IUP, is that they do not understand the D2 landscape. It's hard when you hear things like, "Shepherd is going to be have be very careful playing against IUP to be able to keep it close as the #2 seed." Do they understand how good Shepherd is? Or how good Bagent is? I'm not saying that to be critical. It's just part of the conversation. You have 8 teams left playing in the country. They all are good. They all have guys on scholarship. Teams are 3 wins away from winning a national championship. Nobody is playing careful to keep it close.

Had Josh been on the call, he would've had every piece of information imaginable to offer viewers pre-game, in-game, and during stoppages. It was just a different level of preparation. And maybe it's why he's been very successful in his field. Josh reads this board. And I think these are things he can likely get involved in at IUP. He's an alum, he's local to the area, and he has a vested interest in the devoted fans of the athletic program.

And it's not just student broadcasters either, as you mentioned. Hell.. A couple weeks ago, on the broadcast of when IUP played Walsh in basketball, the play by play guy said during the game that, "This team is really good, I wonder if they are ranked." They are ranked #2 in the country and are one of the biggest names in Division 2 basketball. So, it's a systemic problem across the board at this level.

I'm with everyone in supporting the opportunity to get students "tape," if you will, for their resume. Sometimes I question the coaching they get, or don't, to your point. Sometimes I wonder if the ones on air are the only ones that want to do it. There have been some real doozies over the years. A couple years back, a former IUP football player called basketball games, who I will not say the name of. It was horrifyingly bad. He was the color commentator. The broadcast would've been better by simply having the less than stellar play by play man. It's things like that which frustrate me. It's not that they are imperfect, it's that somebody is not telling them the things they need to be doing differently to improve. Treat this as a job, or an internship, so to speak. If this your craft and what you want in your profession, this is what you need to do to improve yourself and grow. That's what should be asking out of our faculty in that department. I'm not putting all of it on the students. The prep and knowledge is on them. The other things is on the paid adults not helping them grow.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think that's what's kind of been said here to this point. IUP probably was mentally fragile. I think both teams are pretty even. If they played 10 times, the series may be an even split. Maybe Shepherd is a little bit better, but to EyeOfTheHawk's point, they aren't that many points better.

I think this played out very similar to the PSAC Championship, just the script was flipped.

That 10 games would all be contingent on weather. Dry field Shepherd wins 9 of 10 this year.

[Ram Tough]

The visual aspect is really good. You can really see what's going on. I watched all of IUP's games on the internet. At times, when I see some comments by actual game attendees it's clear that you have a really good angle on things watching the webcast, things that can be missed when you watch from a position within the stadium.

I agree with that. There were some replays that changed my views on a few plays or calls.

[iupgroundhog]

The visual aspect is really good. You can really see what's going on. I watched all of IUP's games on the internet. At times, when I see some comments by actual game attendees it's clear that you have a really good angle on things watching the webcast, things that can be missed when you watch from a position within the stadium.

[IUP24]

My whole thing is this. Yes, it was a big play, but if Shepherd won the game by making a big play that early, IUP is mentally fragile. But you do bring up a point that IUP seemed to panic a bit after that play.

I think that's what's kind of been said here to this point. IUP probably was mentally fragile. I think both teams are pretty even. If they played 10 times, the series may be an even split. Maybe Shepherd is a little bit better, but to EyeOfTheHawk's point, they aren't that many points better.

I think this played out very similar to the PSAC Championship, just the script was flipped.

[Ram Tough]

I’d like to see any of you critics step in and do the play by play and color commentary see how well you all do. It’s easy to criticize until you actually do the job.

They were much better this year. The play by play guy really improved.

I miss the students from a few years ago who had the really heavy yinzer accents..made me laugh every game.

I have done that job. I'm just saying that they need to work harder on learning the game.

[Ram Tough]

Although very early, Shepherd's second offensive drive of the game was a massive swing in the football game. IUP goes on a very good drive to make is 7-0 after their first drive. They have Shepherd in a 3rd and long, appear to be ready to force another 3 and out, and will get the football back in likely good field position. Get decent pressure in on Bagent, he stepped up in the pocket, avoided a blitz, and found a guy standing wide open behind the linebackers and in a hole in the secondary. You go from seizing big momentum as the home team to it being 7-7 in a blink like that. I felt like that was a massive play in the football game, on just the 3rd drive of the game.

I think once it became 7-7, I feel like IUP got out of what they wanted to do. They did not try to dictate the terms. They struggled running the ball. And they were running low percentage passing plays. Even if IUP doesn't score on the next drive had they stopped Shepherd, I felt like that response, that quickly, won the football game right there.

IUP should've recovered. It was early. And it's not like you were going to win a game 7-0 anyways. Shepherd has a good team; they were always going to score. The question is why did the players and staff melt down like that once the game was tied.

My whole thing is this. Yes, it was a big play, but if Shepherd won the game by making a big play that early, IUP is mentally fragile. But you do bring up a point that IUP seemed to panic a bit after that play.

[IUP24]

It happens. They are asking the same things at USC, TCU, and Grand Valley State. The score obviously doesn't reflect the difference between the teams. In fact, if they played a rubber match I would still put my money on IUP. Things just sort of snowballed in that game to the point of being out of reach. Once Shepherd got that momentum they took over.

The long pass before Shep's first TD was almost a sack in the backfield. That gave Shep life because until that point IUP was in control. I will say that in the first game IUP had both pressure on Bagent and good coverage, but they lacked the good coverage part this time. IUP had a lot of dropped passes. I recall the punt into the wind that set up Shep's 2nd TD. I didn't see Houser's fumble at the beginning of the 3rd quarter but that obviously was the icing on the cake.

It is what it is. There were a lot of question marks at the beginning of the year. There aren't many question marks looking ahead. They should be able to fill the holes they have. We'll see how Shep does in the post-Bagent era.

I agree on the first TD for Shepherd. It seemed like that was a massive swing play in the game. Shep was facing a 3rd and long. They had guys in the backfield. He avoided the blitz, evaded the sack, and found the breakdown in coverage. If IUP stops them there, it may be a different game. That was really early in the football game, but I agree totally. That was a huge swing.

[Ram Tough]

They aren't kids. They are college students. Not being able to pronounce names on a live broadcast is completely unacceptable. That's the easy part of their job. I'm not talking a slip of the tongue but to mispronounce the same name 14 times.

You expect the long gaps and pauses in a student broadcast. But, the simple stuff is ridiculous.

It's a great opportunity provided to them. Many schools use professional announcers.

IUP's announcers called Jacabo Diaz something different every game for four years. He was only the star on campus and an All-American.

Again, we aren't expecting Joe Buck on the call. But, the names are absurd.

The other thing -- my biggest pet peeve -- is student broadcasters tend to do zero research. They have such long pauses and gaps because they dont have any backstory to fill time.

Last night, perfect example, Bloomsburg's announcers said IUP looked like a good team and "they may be able to contend for the PSAC playoffs."

They've won three PSAC titles in a row and are ranked No. 2 in the country. It's just easy stuff and it shows they are not preparing at all.

Yes, they are students. Which, of course, terrifies me to think the level of faculty support and coaching they are (not) receiving.

I fully support having students go live on the mic for a broadcast. But, it doesn't have to be the live feed. I'd much prefer professional announcers actually get the air time. A shaky broadcast offsets a really strong production (for D2).

Now, we have some doozies in the league. Some of our 'pro' broadcasters are just cheerleaders. The color guy at SRU about cries on air every time SRU loses. The Gannon basketball color guy openly cheers on the air and is the worst homer in the PSAC.

Listen to some MEC basketball broadcasts. They are superb. It really elevates the fan viewing experience.

I do feel like certain crews are better than others. And I agree that a lot of students just don't do prep work. I used to work for another school and the women's basketball team started 4 ladies from Romania. They got a student to do PA, and you could just see the look on his face when he saw the names. Yeah, he butchered them horribly.

[IUP24]

I honestly felt like Shepherd starting to find success rushing the football on its second scoring drive was huge.

Although very early, Shepherd's second offensive drive of the game was a massive swing in the football game. IUP goes on a very good drive to make is 7-0 after their first drive. They have Shepherd in a 3rd and long, appear to be ready to force another 3 and out, and will get the football back in likely good field position. Get decent pressure in on Bagent, he stepped up in the pocket, avoided a blitz, and found a guy standing wide open behind the linebackers and in a hole in the secondary. You go from seizing big momentum as the home team to it being 7-7 in a blink like that. I felt like that was a massive play in the football game, on just the 3rd drive of the game.

I think once it became 7-7, I feel like IUP got out of what they wanted to do. They did not try to dictate the terms. They struggled running the ball. And they were running low percentage passing plays. Even if IUP doesn't score on the next drive had they stopped Shepherd, I felt like that response, that quickly, won the football game right there.

IUP should've recovered. It was early. And it's not like you were going to win a game 7-0 anyways. Shepherd has a good team; they were always going to score. The question is why did the players and staff melt down like that once the game was tied.