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The 24th-ranked Slippery Rock University football team goes in search of its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship since 1974 when it travels to eighth-ranked Kutztown University for Saturday's “State Game.”

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Both The Rock (8-2) and Kutztown (9-1) earned their title-game berths by securing a share of their respective PSAC divisional championships. SRU shared the Western Division crown with California, while Kutztown shared the Eastern Division title with C.W. Post.

BEEN HERE BEFORE
The Rock is making its seventh appearance in the PSAC championship game and seeks its fifth on-field conference championship. SRU won titles in 1962, 1972, 1973 and 1974 and lost in the title game in 1961 and 1963. The Rock defeated West Chester three straight years (29-27, 28-14 and 20-7) in the 1972 through 1974 title games after they beat East Stroudsburg 13-6 in the 1962 game. SRU lost 21-0 and 36-7 decisions to West Chester in the 1961 and 1963 title games, respectively.

Had the State Game not been discontinued from 1988-2008, SRU would have made three, possibly four, other appearances in the title game. The Rock won the outright Western Division title three consecutive seasons, 1997-99, and shared the 2000 crown with Clarion and Indiana. In addition to the on-field state championships won by The Rock, the 1939 team was declared as state champions in voting by sportswriters.

Kutztown is making its second appearance in a PSAC title game and first since it dropped a 15-14 decision to Clarion in 1980.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Rock dropped 10 spots to 24th in the American Football Coaches Association Division II national poll in the wake of their 33-27 loss last Saturday at Gannon. SRU also dropped out of the D2Football.com top 25 after being ranked 22nd last week.

Kutztown is the No. 8 team in the AFCA national poll and is ranked 11th in the D2FB.com poll.

REGIONAL RAMIFICATIONS
The winner of the PSAC championship game will most assuredly earn a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs, while the loser will probably find itself on the sidelines for this year's national championship. SRU enters the game as the No. 9 team in the Super Region One rankings, while Kutztown is the No. 5 team. The top six teams in the final Super Region One ranking Sunday, Nov. 13, will earn invitations to the NCAA playoffs.

THE ROCK-KUTZTOWN SERIES
The Rock has never lost to Kutztown in eight head-to-head meetings dating back to 1984.

ROCK VS. PSAC-EAST
The Rock owns a 31-15-1 all-time record against PSAC-Eastern Division teams since 1988 when George Mihalik assumed the head coaching reins. The Rock has now won 13 of its last 18 games against PSAC-East teams.

MIHALIK RETURNS TO TITLE GAME
Coach Mihalik will make his fourth trip to a PSAC state championship game. He was the starting quarterback on SRU's 1972 and 1973 title-winning teams and served as graduate assistant for the 1974 championship team. In his final collegiate game, the 1973 state-title game, he rushed for three touchdowns to lead The Rock past West Chester.

ROCK STARS
Senior free safety Brandon Watters leads the conference in passes defended with 17 (10 passes broken up, 7 interceptions) and ranks second in INTs ... Sophomore James McCombie is the No. 2-ranked punter with a 40.6 yards/punt average ... Senior wide receiver Devin Goda ranks second in the PSAC in pass receptions per game (6.9) and third in pass receiving yards per game (96.1) ... Junior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman is third in field goals per game (1.3), field goal percentage (81.2) and kicker scoring (7.5 points/game), sixth in overall scoring and eighth in extra-point kicking percentage (92.3) ... Redshirt sophomore cornerback Brandon Burley is fifth in passes defended with 13 (11 PBU, 2 INT) ... Senior quarterback Cody Endres ranks fifth in passing yards per game (231.8), sixth in total offense (231.0 yards/game) and 10th in pass efficiency (128.3) ... Redshirt sophomore John Schademan ranks fifth in punt returns (7.3 yards/return) and eighth in kickoff returns (21.0/return) ... Senior linebacker Jake Wickline is ranked eighth in tackles in the PSAC (8.0/game) and 20th in tackles for loss (0.95/game) ... Junior defensive end Jeff Thompson ranks eighth in the PSAC in tackles for loss (1.45/game) and 41st in tackles (5.8/game) ... Senior defensive end Josh Smith is 12th in quarterback sacks (0.5/game) ... Senior linebacker Zach Sheridan is tied for 13th in tackles (7.6).

GOLDEN BEARS TO WATCH
Junior quarterback Kevin Morton, who has not thrown an interception in his last 140 attempts, a string that stretches back five games, leads the PSAC in pass efficiency (164.6) and ranks third in both passing yards (262.0 yards/game) and total offense (280.4 yards/game) ... Junior multi-purpose back Josh Mastromatto leads the PSAC in kickoff returns (31.7 yards/return) and is tied for seventh in pass receptions (4.3/game) ... Junior defensive end Brett Moss leads the PSAC with 11.5 quarterback sacks and ranks sixth in tackles for loss with 17.5 ... Junior defensive back Alex DiNolfi has a conference-best eight interceptions ... Senior running back Robbie Frey ranks third in the PSAC in rushing (103.1 yards/game), fifth in all purpose yards (135.8/game) and 10th in scoring (6.7 points/game) ... Freshman defensive back English Peay is third in passes defended with 14 (12 PBU, 2 INT) ... Senior Erik Frazier ranks fifth in pass receptions (4.6/game) and eighth in receiving yards (68.3/game) ... Freshman kicking specialist Jack Ruggieri is a perfect 58-for-58 on extra points, which is a KU single-season record ... Junior linebacker Andrew Hodges is tied for fifth in the PSAC in tackles with an 8.6/game average.