THE IUP Football Thread

[Iupgh]

So, an honest question. You guys seem to have something medical going on to start every season to a key player and/or position. What is the deal with that? Poor preparation or conditioning? Just plain old bad luck? A combination of the two or something else?

I know all of our teams have health issues at times, but you all seem to get them earlier than most.

It’s called football and bad luck, do u understand, geez.

[jrshooter]

I'd like to think differently, but I think Ship will be little more than a speed bump for you guys if they don't get their offense together. Their best weapon actually has been the kickoff return. O-line is as bad as I've seen it in many years. I also don't think we have anybody who can cover Brown. This might be a year I actually worry about the Millersville and Lock Haven games, let alone IUP.

What Ship said. We don't have the horses for your second team.

[Ram040506]

I tell you something that crossed my mind as I was reading your reply. Maybe it's just me thinking you have it more than most. I mean, we don't hear about this stuff from most schools because they don't have the fan base that you all do.

Yea, Shepherd lost 2 starters during preseason from what I heard too. Just part of the game.

[Ship69]

Yes. He’s not one of the issues.

Now what worries me is last night was the same insanity as last years opener and what followed the next week…a smack down. Shippensburg has to have some confidence a wounded bird is coming to town.

I'd like to think differently, but I think Ship will be little more than a speed bump for you guys if they don't get their offense together. Their best weapon actually has been the kickoff return. O-line is as bad as I've seen it in many years. I also don't think we have anybody who can cover Brown. This might be a year I actually worry about the Millersville and Lock Haven games, let alone IUP.

[iupgroundhog]

Not to sound condescending to the doomsayers on here but football, like everything else, is about growth and development. Injuries notwithstanding, they are still the same team as they are on paper. First game jitters, long bus ride, new coaches, and unfortunate injuries. The coaches and the players have to step up. No doubt about that. We'll see what happens with the injuries, but by the time they play SRU, they can be a different team than we saw yesterday.

I don't know Moore's status on the DL. The boxscore says he started. If he was in there, he probably isn't 100%. Healthy starters on the DL can make a big difference. I think the LB's are strong, regardless of how they looked yesterday. The secondary will get better. Cirillo and his unit were good yesterday. I don't think they were the previous week.

Aside from the OL, IUP actually played a lot of young players yesterday. The OL will get it together.

I might be the eternal optimist when it comes to IUP football (and the Phillies) but I am hopeful for this team.

Lockhardt being carried off of the field reminded me of the Phillies' new CF Marsh a couple weeks ago who hit the wall in CF and crumbled to the ground writhing in pain and clutching his knee. What appeared to be season-ending for him turned out not to be and he is now back to 100%. I wish the same for Lockhart. I guess we'll know the prognosis soon. Nevertheless, what Tort said in the halftime interview about having a lot of players is true. They are deep at WR.

[ironmaniup]

I disagree with a lot of what you are saying.

1) Sexton was average at best. He made a lot of poor decisions in that game and should've had more ints had the DB's held on. - Naw, 26-37-2 and 3 TDs - see BigIndians post below.
2) The offensive gameplan had a few moments but sure did nothing for the run game and they sure didn't use the middle of the field much. -- the running schemes are a big improvement. you'll see when Stewarts back. The pass call on 3rd and 2 on IUP's 47 in the 4th that was picked I might question.
3) The defense was atrocious on all levels: game plan, adjustments and the personnel. They stopped them the last series when it counted.
4) Mental mistakes were costly the whole game from false starts to the terrible taunting by Sexton at the end of the game. Depends on whether it was a legit call or not. If the same stuff had been happening all game, and they called this one, well . . .
5) The injuries, yikes! Adam Houser is brittle/soft. Lockhart is just bad luck. All the injuries are worrisome. Tort is the unluckiest coach I've seen with players missing games. Houser soft, naw.
6) They better get Duane Brown hydrated. Absolutely
7) The freshman kicker showed poise after the first miss. (suspect snap/hold) - best part of the game.

..

[IUPNation]

Mediocre results? The guy was 26-36 (72%) for 360 yards. He led the team to victory under the most unfortunate circumstances. He was as advertised from what I saw. Some of those throws were masterful. Confidence? I thought he showed a ton of experience back there. He's played a lot of football in his life. He had poise and he went home a winner.

Yes. He’s not one of the issues.

Now what worries me is last night was the same insanity as last years opener and what followed the next week…a smack down. Shippensburg has to have some confidence a wounded bird is coming to town.

[iupgroundhog]

Sexton kind of reminds me of Chase Haslett. Lots of talent, a little too much confidence, and mediocre results. But it was just the first game. Another downside of the 10 game schedule: you're still shaking off the rust but your opponent isn't. I imagine IUP will finish 8-2. They'll probably drop Slip plus one annual bone head loss.

Mediocre results? The guy was 26-36 (72%) for 360 yards. He led the team to victory under the most unfortunate circumstances. He was as advertised from what I saw. Some of those throws were masterful. Confidence? I thought he showed a ton of experience back there. He's played a lot of football in his life. He had poise and he went home a winner.

[IUPNation]

You know I only watched when the second quarter implosion started until the half but what was the most absurd thing I saw on my screen that summed up this whole game to me was when ESU tossed the screen pass to that tiny receiver running behind that tall 410 pound lineman. I’m like this is what is going to beat us…

[EyeoftheHawk]

Sexton kind of reminds me of Chase Haslett. Lots of talent, a little too much confidence, and mediocre results. But it was just the first game. Another downside of the 10 game schedule: you're still shaking off the rust but your opponent isn't. I imagine IUP will finish 8-2. They'll probably drop Slip plus one annual bone head loss.

You lost me on that one. Sexton was 26-36 for 360 yards and three touchdowns. In what world is that considered mediocre results?! He did have two picks but one of them was a great throw that the receiver inexplicably handed to the DB when he was falling to the ground. There’s no comparison between Chase Haslett and Mak Sexton in terms of talent. Haslett didn’t have it and Sexton does. Sexton is probably better than I thought he was and made some big league throws last night. That said, I do worry he is prone to interceptions because he’s so confident in his arm. The big TD to Brown late was into triple coverage. That said, he put it where only Brown could get it. I also liked his competitiveness. He’s clearly a tough kid that’s not going to be afraid to mix it up out there.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Sexton kind of reminds me of Chase Haslett. Lots of talent, a little too much confidence, and mediocre results. But it was just the first game. Another downside of the 10 game schedule: you're still shaking off the rust but your opponent isn't. I imagine IUP will finish 8-2. They'll probably drop Slip plus one annual bone head loss.

26-36 for 360 yds and 3 TDs

He did so with three of his top weapons knocked out of the game (WR2, WR3 and RB1). His other starting RB didn't dress.

He led the comeback and hit the big 2-pt conversion. He also led the game-winning drive.

He did all this while being under heavy heat for the final 3 quarters and his OL getting 6 flags for pre-snap items.

He's a gunslinger. He's going to throw picks. He made some incredible plays last night.

He was far from mediocre in my opinion.

Hopefully Dayjure Stewart and Gregory Moore return this week. Moore was their top defensive player the second half of last year and is a huge loss.

I doubt we see Houser before SRU week. Lockhart's injury looked awful. Perhaps a sprain but it looked like an ACL. I'd assume Carter is also out for awhile.

[Fightingscot82]

Sexton kind of reminds me of Chase Haslett. Lots of talent, a little too much confidence, and mediocre results. But it was just the first game. Another downside of the 10 game schedule: you're still shaking off the rust but your opponent isn't. I imagine IUP will finish 8-2. They'll probably drop Slip plus one annual bone head loss.

[IUPalum]

I agree about the defense. Given they were missing a starting DT, and had a few injuries, biggest one being Howard. Terwilliger figured out the defensive scheme halfway through the 2nd quarter, and IUP stuck with it until the 4th Q, not good. Taylor really underpreformed, lets hope it was just a bad day, and they will improve - but they have a long way to go. Losing houser seemed to hurt the run game, ESU's best players are D-lineman, So I'm not too concerned about the line - but all those false starts for such a senior group was not good.

There are some pluses though

1 -they won
2 - Sexton to Brown is all that we expected and more. they are able to carry the offense against a pretty good ESU defense, the depth at WR is really good. If they have a running game at all they will be hard for anyone to stop.
3 - The Offensive game plan was solid, The new OC did well
4 - The kicking game did well, should be OK
5. ESU is much better than its loss to Pace - someone said they were looking past Pace - might be true
6. They fought back after they were down, and beat up.

The last unsportsmanlike call was really bad. I think the distraction call after that was a bit of a makeup call - never have I seen that called before.

I disagree with a lot of what you are saying.

1) Sexton was average at best. He made a lot of poor decisions in that game and should've had more ints had the DB's held on.
2) The offensive gameplan had a few moments but sure did nothing for the run game and they sure didn't use the middle of the field much.
3) The defense was atrocious on all levels: game plan, adjustments and the personnel.
4) Mental mistakes were costly the whole game from false starts to the terrible taunting by Sexton at the end of the game.
5) The injuries, yikes! Adam Houser is brittle/soft. Lockhart is just bad luck.
6) They better get Duane Brown hydrated.
7) The freshman kicker showed poise after the first miss. (suspect snap/hold)

[Ram Tough]

You know, that crossed my mind. Then I figured every team has some form of this and maybe it wasn’t a problem here more than most places.

It’s hard to blame preparation. Maybe if IUP had an opening week game they would have prepared in some different way, but that’s pretty a pretty deep dive. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t as a coaching staff. If you go full pads more often than not, you’re risking injury. If you don’t go full pads very often, you’re risking injury in games because the bodies aren’t ready. I’d say it’s probably more bad luck than anything.

I tell you something that crossed my mind as I was reading your reply. Maybe it's just me thinking you have it more than most. I mean, we don't hear about this stuff from most schools because they don't have the fan base that you all do.

[EyeoftheHawk]

So, an honest question. You guys seem to have something medical going on to start every season to a key player and/or position. What is the deal with that? Poor preparation or conditioning? Just plain old bad luck? A combination of the two or something else?

I know all of our teams have health issues at times, but you all seem to get them earlier than most.

You know, that crossed my mind. Then I figured every team has some form of this and maybe it wasn’t a problem here more than most places.

It’s hard to blame preparation. Maybe if IUP had an opening week game they would have prepared in some different way, but that’s pretty a pretty deep dive. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t as a coaching staff. If you go full pads more often than not, you’re risking injury. If you don’t go full pads very often, you’re risking injury in games because the bodies aren’t ready. I’d say it’s probably more bad luck than anything.