Complete Game Notes (32-page PDF)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The ninth ranked Slippery Rock University football team will host No. 3 Indiana University (Pa.) in battle of unbeaten first place teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division this Saturday for The Rock's annual Homecoming game. The game was also selected by the NCAA for the Division II Showcase and will air on ESPN 3. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information regarding the events surrounding Homecoming, live coverage options, tickets, parking and tailgating, along with complete game notes.
 
LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU athletic communication office.
• Live Streaming Video  |  Only available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler).
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.

WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand through the Watch ESPN app on multiple streaming devices, including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV.
• This game will NOT be on the Rock Athletics Digital Network due to the TV contract between the NCAA and ESPN.

TICKETS (For advance tickets, Call 724-738-2021 or stop by the Athletic Office in Morrow Field House )
• Tickets can be purchased on game day. The stadium gates will open at 12:30 p.m.
• Chair-back Reserved Seat - $10
• Reserved Bench Seat - $10
• Adult General Admission - $8
• Ages 6-High School - $3
• Children Under 6 - FREE
• SRU Students – FREE with valid student ID
• Indiana Students – $5 with valid student ID
 
PARKING
• Parking is available in the lots surrounding the stadium
• Parking spaces are $5 in all tailgating lots (directly below stadium)
• Campus Map  |  Stadium is #53 on Map
 
TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed in paid lots three hours before kickoff (lots open at 11 a.m.)
• No Tailgating at halftime
• All Tailgaters must enter game at kickoff
• Tailgating is open for two hours after game ends
• No hard liquor or glass bottles
• Adhere to all campus tailgating rules found HERE.

HOMECOMING
• View the complete schedule of events for Homecoming weekend HERE
• Pep rally will take place Friday night at 8 p.m. at Morrow Field House.
• Fireworks show will take place Friday night at 9 p.m. Viewing party is in the quad.
• Homecoming Parade begins at 10 a.m. Saturday on Main Street.
• Alumni Tailgate Tent opens at 11 a.m. Saturday near the stadium parking lots. Free food and drink for SRU alumni.
 

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THE GAME
No. 9 Slippery Rock hosts No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) in a battle of unbeaten first place teams in the PSAC Western Division. The game marks just the third time in the storied rivalry that both teams are ranked in the top 10. The only other times were a 27-21 win by No. 10 Slippery Rock over No. 2 Indiana in 1998 and a 52-14 win by No. 4 Slippery Rock over No. 10 Indiana in 1999.
 


GAME SET FOR ESPN 3 / NCAA DIVISION II SHOWCASE
The NCAA selected this game for its Division II Showcase, a fitting decision given it is the only Division II game this week that features two top 10 teams and is one of just two games in the country that features two ranked teams. The game will be produced by a television crew and will stream worldwide on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. This marks the second time in the last three seasons that SRU has been chosen as a host site for the NCAA's Showcase (2015 vs. East Stroudsburg). Due to the television contract between the NCAA and ESPN, the game will only be available through ESPN platforms and cannot be streamed on the Rock Athletics Digital Network. It will be archived on our network one week after the game, once the contract allows.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Indiana owns a 50-39-2 edge in the all-time series dating back to 1907 and snapped a three-game losing skid to The Rock last year with a 48-19 win at home. SRU won the three previous meetings and has won the last four games played at home, with the last Indiana road win at SRU coming back in 2007.
 
• First Meeting: 1907 (SRU won 44-0)
• Last Meeting: 2016 (IUP won 48-19)
• Current Streak: Indiana +1
• at Indiana (since '59): IUP leads 16-12
• at SRU (since '59): IUP leads 17-14-1
• Most Points Scored (IUP): 62 ('90, '94)
• Biggest Win Margin (IUP): 54-0 (1912)
• Most Points Scored (SRU): 52 (1999)
• Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 44-0 (1907)
• Last SRU Win: 2015 at SRU (40-39)
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz is in his 22nd overall season at The Rock and his second as head coach, where he owns a 13-4 record after posting a 7-4 mark in his first season. Prior to that, he served four years as the associate head coach and eight as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. Lutz has been a member of the coaching staff for eight of SRU's PSAC West titles. He played tight end at West Virginia University, graduating in 1996, and earned a master's degree in sport management from SRU in 2003.
 
Indiana's acting head coach Paul Tortorella is a 1985 Slippery Rock graduate, giving both of this week's head coaches degrees from The Rock. Tortorella's path to the head coaching position is similar to SRU coach Shawn Lutz. He served 22 seasons as the defensive coordinator and spent a number of years as the associate head coach before taking over the program this fall as acting head coach after the spring departure of former coach Curt Cignetti. Tortorella is off to a 6-0 start.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Rock football teams have compiled a 159-65 (.710) record the last 42 seasons in games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium). The Rock own a 60-20 (.750) home record since artificial turf was installed in the summer of 2003 and are 56-13 (.812) in home games since 2005.
 
The numbers get even better in recent years, as The Rock are 25-1 (.962) since the beginning of 2013 and have posted a 38-5 (.884) record at home since the beginning of the 2010 season. SRU has posted four flawless home seasons since 2010, including a 7-0 mark in 2015 that included a pair of NCAA playoff wins, which were the first home NCAA playoff wins since the 1999 season.
 
NIGHT GAMES LEAD TO HIGH ATTENDANCE
This game marks the first day game that Slippery Rock will play at home this year as The Rock's first three home games were all 6 p.m. kickoffs. The Rock have won 13 straight night games at home since 2012. SRU's average attendance for the first three home games was 6,811, which ranks 10th in the nation in Division II and is tops in the PSAC by more than 2,300 over the second best attendance at West Chester (4,486).
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Both teams moved up this week in both national polls, with Indiana moving up to No. 3 in the official AFCA coaches' rankings and up to No. 2 in the D2football.com poll. Slippery Rock moved up to No. 9 in the AFCA poll and No. 13 in the D2football.com poll. This game will mark the third game of the season against a ranked opponent for SRU after The Rock previously defeated No. 24 West Chester and No. 5 California (Pa.). Indiana has officially played one ranked a team, a win last week over No. 16 California (Pa.), but the Crimson Hawks opened the year with a 26-23 win over Ashland, which was unranked at the time and has moved up to No. 16 in this week's AFCA poll. The complete polls are on page 10 of the PDF notes linked above.
 
LAST MEETING WITH INDIANA - 10/15/16  |  Box Score
No. 13 Indiana jumped out to an early lead and took advantage of an injury-depleted 16th ranked Slippery Rock team in rolling to a 48-19 win last fall in Indiana.
 
The Hawks scored on an 89-yard pass on their first offensive possession and then returned a fumble 49 yards for a touchdown on the next SRU series to take the momentum early in the game.
 
Indiana posted a 462-365 edge in total offense after throwing for 295 yards and rushing for 167. Slippery Rock threw for 245 yards and ran for 120.
 
Marcus Johnson caught four passes for 69 yards and two scores and Milly Raye caught four passes for 54 yards, while Don King III threw for 179 yards and ran for 58 yards for SRU.
 
Lenny Williams threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 completions to lead Indiana. Allen Wright caught six passes for 185 yards and two scores. Samir Bullock rushed for 120 yards on 21 carries.
 
LAST WEEK FOR SLIPPERY ROCK
No. 12 Slippery Rock won its third straight one-possession game after battling through a series of injuries to key offensive players in a 31-28 road win at Mercyhurst. The Rock led by 10 in the fourth quarter before a late Laker touchdown, but the offense controlled the ball with a long drive in the final four minutes to seal the game.
 
SRU posted 449 yards of total offense after throwing for 335 yards and rushing for 114, while Mercyhurst threw for 326 yards and ran for 66 yards and 30 carries, a season-low for the SRU defense.
 
Tanner Garry left the game in the first half, but returned to lead SRU with a 26-of-38 passing effort for 335 yards with four TDs and no INT. Milly Raye caught 10 passes for 121 yards and one TD and Marcus Johnson caught four passes for 108 yards and one TD. Dylan Stapleton, who is from Indiana, Pa., caught his first career TD pass. Isiah Neely paced the ground game with 88 yards on 19 carries and also caught three passes for 44 yards.
 
Jake Chapla was perfect in the kicking game, going 4-for-4 on PAT kicks and booting a 45-yard field goal.
 
LAST WEEK FOR INDIANA
No. 4 Indiana improved to 6-0 with a 26-10 win at home over No. 16 California (Pa.). The Crimson Hawks got away with four turnovers, including three lost fumbles, in part thanks to a shutdown defensive effort. California trailed 12-10 at halftime, but was held scoreless in the final 30 minutes as Indiana comfortably controlled the game with a 14-point showing in the third quarter.
 
The Hawks posted a 445-283 edge in total offense after passing for 268 yards and rushing for 177 yards. California threw for 283 yards and rushed for just 51 yards on 23 carries.
 
Lenny Williams threw for 268 yards with three TDs and one INT, while also rushing for 29 yards. Nine players caught at least one pass and five players had at least six carries in the game after starting tailback Samir Bullock left the game early with an injury. Kolbe Hughes caught three passes for 80 yards and one score. Swahneek Brown caught three passes for 48 yards and one score. Allen Wright caught two passes for 65 yards and Walt Pegues made his season-debut with one catch for 22 yards. Justice Evans rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries.
 
Special teams wasn't quite as sharp as the offensive and defensive dominance, as the hosts missed two extra points, had one kickoff out of bounds and averaged 31.0 yards per punt.
 
HOMECOMING HISTORY
Slippery Rock is 24-5 on Homecoming in the last 29 years. The Rock had a streak of seven straight Homecoming wins snapped last year when Edinboro scored on an untimed down after a penalty was called with no time on the clock, awarding an extra play. The Rock have won 10 of the last 12 Homecoming games. This is the first time SRU has hosted Indiana (Pa.) on Homecoming since 1994 and just the third time since 1982. The Rock are 6-6-1 against Indiana in Homecoming games at SRU dating back to their first Homecoming meeting way back in 1936.

RECENT HISTORY AGAINST TOP FIVE TEAMS
This game will mark the second time Slippery Rock will face a top five team in the last three weeks. The Rock's win two weeks ago over No. 5 California (Pa.) marked the first win over a top five team since The Rock upset No. 5 Bloomsburg in the PSAC title game at SRU in 2014. Before that, the last victory for SRU over a top five team and the last regular season win over a top five team was the 1998 season against No. 2 Indiana (Pa.). SRU's last game against a top five before two weeks ago was a loss in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2015 at No. 5 Shepherd, which was The Rock's most recent NCAA game appearance.
 
WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS
SRU is 2-0 this season against ranked teams with both wins coming at home by one possession. The Rock defeated No. 24 West Chester 49-42 in week two and defeated No. 5 California (Pa.) 47-44 in overtime in week five. West Chester is 5-1 with its only loss this season coming to SRU. California is 4-2 now with its only losses coming to SRU and IUP.
 


ROCK LEADS NATION ON THIRD DOWN
One of the biggest differences between the 2016 Slippery Rock offense and the 2017 offense has been the third down conversion success. Slippery Rock ranked 127th in the country in 3rd down conversions on offense in 2016. Through six games this year, SRU ranks first in the nation in Division II in converting on third down at 54.6 percent (47-of-86). The Rock are also 4-of-6 (67%) on fourth down this season.
 
CARDIAC KIDS
Just call them the cardiac kids. For three weeks in a row Slippery Rock has needed to score in the fourth quarter to come away with one possession wins. The Rock took the lead at Gannon with two minutes to play and had to come up with a defensive stop to win the game, scored with 42 seconds left to tie the game against California before winning it in overtime, and scored 10 points in the fourth quarter before needing to put together a long drive to kill the clock at Mercyhurst in a 31-28 win. SRU also scored with just 2:53 left to provide the winning points in a 49-42 win over West Chester in week two to account for four one-possession wins where The Rock have scored the tying or winning points inside the final nine minutes.
 
MIGHT NEED THAT LATE SCORING
If SRU has hopes of knocking off what appears to be the top team in Super Region One this year, it will likely have to continue to have success late in the game. That won't be an easy task, as Indiana (Pa.) hasn't allowed a single point in the fourth quarter yet this year and has only allowed a total of 14 second half points through six games.
 
SLOW STARTS
Both teams in this game have come out of the gates slowly in the opening quarters of games. Slippery Rock has scored just 27 points through six games in the opening period, while opponents have scored 31. The Rock then explode for 86 points in the second quarter and have finished the second half with totals of 64 points in the third quarter and 71 points in the fourth quarter. Indiana is outscoring opponents 61-30 in the first quarter and 94-40 in the second quarter before dominating the second half, outscoring opponents 95-14.
 
CHAPLA REPEATS AS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Rock kicker and punter Jake Chapla was named the PSAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for the second straight week after booting a 45-yard field goal, going 4-for-4 on PAT kicks and averaging 44.2 yards per punt at Mercyhurst. Chapla ranks 10th in SRU history in field goals with 17 makes just six games into his sophomore year. He has hit six of his last seven attempts with the only miss coming from 52 yards. Included in those makes are three kicks of more than 40 yards and the overtime game-winner against No. 5 California (Pa.).
 
MARCUS MARTIN AMONG THE NATIONAL RANKS
• Marcus Martin broke the NCAA Division II career records for sacks and tackles for loss in the third game of the season and now has 83.5 TFL and 50.0 sacks to his name.
• Martin's 50.0 career sacks are 15 more than any other current player at any level of NCAA football. P.J. Hall (Sam Houston St., FCS) is second with 35.0.
• Martin leads all active college players at all NCAA levels in career sacks per game at 1.16. No other players in the nation at any level are above 1.00 sack per game over their careers.
• Martin leads all active players at all levels of NCAA football in career tackles for loss with 83.5. The second highest tally in the country at any level is P.J. Hall from Sam Houston State (Division I FCS) with 73.5.  Martin is 26 TFL better than the next best player in Division II, Myles Humphrey (57.5) of Shepherd.
• Martin ranks second among all active players at all levels of NCAA football in tackles for loss per game. Martin is averaging an incredible 1.94 tackles for loss over his 43-game career. No other player in the country with more than 36 games played averages 1.7 per game.
• Martin ranks first in Division II this season in tackles for loss (17.5) and tackles for loss per game (2.9). Only seven players in the country this year have 12 or more tackles for loss and only one other player is averaging 2.5 tackles for loss or more per game. Martin also ranks first in the nation in total sacks (9.5) this fall. More notes and info, along with records charts for Martin's career tracking are in the PDF notes linked above.
 
GARRY AMONG BEST IN THE NATION
Rock QB Tanner Garry hadn't started or played a full football game at quarterback since his senior year of high school in 2011-12 before the season opener at Kentucky State. You wouldn't know it, as the redshirt senior is off to the best statistical start for an SRU QB through his first six games. Garry ranks second in the nation in passing yards with 2,028 and passing TDs with 22. His 3.7 passing TDs per game average is on pace to shatter the SRU single-season record of 32, which was set by Dante Nania over 14 games in 2015. He already ranks 10th in passing yards and fifth in touchdown passes on the SRU single-season ledgers through just six games.
 
MILLY RAYE STREAK UP TO 33 GAMES
SRU WR Milly Raye has now caught at least one pass in 33 consecutive Slippery Rock games, the longest active streak in the PSAC West. No other player in the division has caught a pass in more than 18 straight games for their team. Kevin Wiggins from Millersville has a catch in 37 straight games he has played in for the longest streak in the entire PSAC. The next highest active streak in the PSAC Western Division is Luke Smorey of California (Pa.) at 18 straight games. Raye has at least one TD catch in every game this season.
 
RAYE CLIMBING CAREER LISTS
Milly Raye is up to third all-time at Slippery Rock in receiving touchdowns (22) fourth in receptions (160) and sixth in receiving yards (2,021). He needs 14 more catches to move up to second all-time in receptions, needs 138 yards to move up to second in receiving yards and needs six more TD catches to tie the all-time record.
 
JOHNSON CLIMBING LISTS TOO
Marcus Johnson is off to a scorching start to his senior season. He is first in the nation in receiving touchdowns (9), third in the country in all-purpose yardage (216 yards per game), fourth in scoring (72 pts) and total touchdowns (12) and seventh in receiving yards (700). He is one of only two players in Division II with two kickoff return touchdowns this year and is the first SRU player to have two kick return TDs in the same year since DJ Flick had three back in 2000. While really only being a featured receiver over the last two seasons, Johnson is already up to eighth all-time in receiving yards at SRU with 1,724 and second in receiving TDs with 23, five off the record of 28, owned by Greg Hopkins.
 
ROCK ON SPORTSCENTER SIX WEEKS IN A ROW
Thanks to some highlight reel moves from Milly Raye in the first few weeks of the season, ESPN's flagship program has caught the Slippery Rock bug. The Sunday morning edition of SportsCenter has featured Slippery Rock and Milly Raye for six straight weeks. SportsCenter also included SRU in last Saturday's "Gear Up" segment on the Saturday morning edition that airs before College Gameday.

 

DEFENSE IMPROVING AGAINST THE RUN
The Rock defense welcomed four players back on the defensive side of the ball last week in LB Tim Vernick, DB Kyle Hall, DB EJ Jackson and DL Trey Blandford. That boost helped the defense to limit Mercyhurst to just 66 rushing yards on 30 carries, a season-low for the SRU defense. The Rock had ranked in the top 10 in the nation in each of the last three years against the run, holding opponents well under 100 rushing yards per game, but gave up 897 rushing yards in the first four weeks of this season (224.5 yards per game). Since then, SRU has limited opponents to 147 total rushing yards on 60 carries in the last two games combined, for averages of 2.45 yards per carry and 73.5 yards per game. That trend will need to continue against an Indiana (Pa.) team that averages 265.8 yards per game on the ground.
 
NEELY CONSISTENT IN BACKFIELD
Rock RB Isiah Neely has rushed for at least 40 yards in every game this season and has scored six touchdowns on the ground to lead the rushing attack. Neely has the only 100+ yard rushing effort of the season for SRU when he ran for 111 yards against Lock Haven. He rushed for three scores against California (Pa.) and tallied 132 yards of total offense last week with 88 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards.
 
RECEIVERS MAKE SWITCH TO DEFENSE
Safety Tavarus Sample was a wide receiver the last two years, moving to defense this year for the first time. He is tied with Marcus Martin for the team lead in tackles with 50, has one interception, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He isn't the only receiver that has made the move. Henry Litwin and Trey Douyon have also been practicing with the secondary. Litwin has moved onto The Rock's two-deep this week as a backup to Sample at strong safety.
 
NEED MORE TAKEAWAYS
Two years ago Slippery Rock led the nation in total takeaways and in interceptions. Last season, The Rock ranked ninth in the nation in interceptions with 21 on the year. Through six games this year, The Rock have just two interceptions and have come up with just eight takeaways, with six coming on fumbles. Dylan Whiteman, Marcus Martin, Tim Soave, Andrew Bridgeforth, Tavarus Sample and De'Vijan Franklin have forced fumbles that resulted in turnovers and Sample and Tim Vernick each have one interception.
 
PENALTY YARDS STACKING UP BOTH WAYS
Slippery Rock was penalized just twice in the Lock Haven game, but has been penalized 49 times in the other five games of the year. The LHU game helps the average down to 70.5 yards per game overall, but in those other five games, SRU is being called for 9.8 penalties per game for an average of 82.6 yards per game. On the other side of that, SRU opponents have been called for 9.7 penalties per game for an average of 88.2 yards per game.

 

STARTERS NOTES
A total of 18 players have made their first career start in the Green and White in one of the first six games, including 13 on the defensive side of the ball and five on offense. Of those 18, eight are freshmen or redshirt freshmen.
 
Marcus Martin has started 21 more games than any other player on the SRU roster and enters week seven of the season with 43 straight starts, the most of any player in the PSAC.  The next highest number of starts on the SRU roster is Milly Raye's 22, followed by Marcus Johnson's 17. Johnson's streak of consecutive starts ended last week at Mercyhurst, though he did play. Austin Fields and Jim Popa have started the last 17 straight games and Steve Gaviglia only missed one start in the last 17 games to allow a senior to start in the final game of 2016.
 
Ian Park started 16 games at Northwestern University. He missed his first start at SRU last week at Mercyhurst, but could return to the lineup this week.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Rock's opponents in weeks 1-4 in 2017 have combined to post a 10-14 record with West Chester (5-1) being the only team above .500 in that stretch. The Rock's week 5-8 opponents are all at least .500 with a combined record of 16-8 through six weeks. Those opponents include nationally ranked Indiana (6-0), California (4-2 after losses to SRU and IUP), Mercyhurst and Edinboro, which are both 3-3. SRU's week 9-10 opponents are a combined 1-11.
 
INDIANA QUICK HITS
• Indiana was picked to win the PSAC West in the preseason coaches' poll after reaching the NCAA playoffs last year and posting a 10-2 overall record. The Crimson Hawks have been ranked in the top 10 in every poll this season.
• Indiana has played five home games in the first six weeks this year with its only road game coming at winless Seton Hill.
• The Hawks rank in the top half of the PSAC in every statistical category this year and rank in the top 20 nationally in most of the major statistical categories. They rank third in the nation in total offense (504.7 YPG), eighth in rushing offense (265.8 YPG) and 12th in scoring offense (41.7 PPG). Defensively, they rank 10th in the nation in scoring defense (14.0 PPG), 16th in total defense (295.3 YPG) and eighth in rushing defense (80.5 YPG). They also rank 11th in total turnovers gained with 16 and haven't allowed a single point in the fourth quarter this year. In fact, they've allowed just 14 total second half points in six games.
• Lenny Williams is the most efficient passer in the league, completing 67.4 percent of his passes for 1,433 yards with 14 TD and three INT. He also averages 4.9 yards per carry on the ground. His top targets this season have been Allen Wright (28 rec., 366 yds, 2 TD), Dom McNeil (19-396-3) and JoJo Gause (14-189-4). Dynamic slot receiver Walt Pegues missed the first five games this year but did play last week.
• RB Samir Bullock is one of the best in the region, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and rushing for 708 yards and nine TD already, but he left last week's game early with an injury. His status for this week won't be known until pregame. Justice Evans, Malik Anderson and Duane Brown all average more than 4.0 yards per carry in relief of Bullock in a stacked backfield.
• DB Max Redfield was a two-year starter at Notre Dame before leaving the program. He projects as an NFL draft pick and leads the defense with 41 tackles, three INT and seven breakups. The secondary and linebackers have pulled down 11 of the team's 12 total INT on the year. The front four is equally dominant as the defense has tallied 36 tackles for loss, led by Jemal Averette and Dondrea Tillman with 7.0 TFL and 3.0 sacks each.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will travel to Edinboro next Saturday for a noon kickoff before returning home to host Clarion Oct. 28 in the final regular season home game of the year. The Rock will honor their senior class before the 1 p.m. kickoff against the Golden Eagles. SRU will then close the PSAC West schedule on the road at Seton Hill Nov. 4.
 
 
 
 
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