Originally posted by IUPbigINDIANS
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What is the definition of a 'regional power' ?
My guess would be if you'd ask people who actually follow D2 football to name the Top 5 programs in SR1 ... IUP would be included. I'm not a 'fan boy' and realize they've underachieved at times in the past decade. IUP has been winning big for a very long time -- back to the days when Cal was a yearly whipping boy on the schedule, etc. But, for purposes of this conversation, I'll just use the past decade as a reference.
IUP has gone 91-26 in the past 10 seasons. And, yes, that record should be better. For example, they threw away two games last season they had no business losing (Edinboro and Cal). They had a stretch years ago of back-to-back losses to SRU by a combined 6 points. They lost to Shepherd in the playoffs a couple years ago after giving up a 50-some yard pass with 20 seconds remaining on a totally blown coverage. There is the dysfunctional history of oddness in last-second losses at Adamson that has plagued the program the past 15 years. Also included in this stretch was the abysmal 6-5 record in 2014. Of course, losses are losses, and they don't get an asterisk for close ones.
Tort's had four seasons now. Two have been very good (2017 and 2019). Two have made many want to pull their hair out (2018 and 2021). The 2018 (8-3) and 2021 (7-3) teams were both very talented but had some mental lapses at very inopportune times (mostly all inside Miller Stadium).
Keep in mind, IUP has had some very good teams in the same years Cal and SRU have had very good teams. There's no dodging one another. Somebody is taking a loss. IUP also gets the luxury of 'randomly' playing Cal and SRU back-to-back. Every. Single. Year.
'Regional Power' is kind of a made-up phrase. Are they routinely in the Top 5 of SR1? I'd say yes (and realize like all teams they have an off year here and there). For us long-time D2 fans, we've seen many teams rise up for a bit and then fall back down. IUP has been winning pretty consistently since the early 90s. We'll never see the dominance from that time again, but they are on a heck of a 30-some year run of success.
I like many, many aspects of this 2022 edition. But, there are a couple question marks. These first two games are much scarier than I think many in the IUP universe realize. If they can get off to a 2-0 start (with quality road wins at ESU and Ship), they'll likely be in good shape. That should allow them to split the Cal/SRU back-to-back and be firmly in playoff contention. But, these first two are far from easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ1RNBfXuhw
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