Complete Game Notes (30-page PDF)
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Slippery Rock University football team returns to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium this Saturday to host rival Indiana University (Pa.) in a 1 p.m. kickoff in the annual Homecoming game.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information regarding Homecoming events, tickets, parking, tailgating and live coverage, along with complete game notes.
 
HOMECOMING EVENTS (Full Schedule Here)
• Pep Rally – Friday, 8 p.m. in the Quad (rain location is the ARC)
• Fireworks – Friday, 9 p.m. (viewing party in the Quad)
• Parade – Saturday, 10 a.m. (Main Street in Slippery Rock)
• Rock the Block Party – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (between soccer and football stadiums)
    - Free food and game vouchers for SRU students. Event is open to all comers.
    - This will shut down the normal flow of traffic on North Road. Traffic will be re-routed to certain parking areas. Signage will be posted.
• SRU Alumni Association Tent – Saturday, 11 a.m. (free to all SRU alumni)
• Tailgate Lots – Open Saturday at 10 a.m.
• SRU men's soccer home game – Saturday at noon (Egli Field)
• SRU volleyball home match – Saturday at 1 p.m. (Morrow Field House)
• SRU football home game – Saturday at 1 p.m. (Mihalik-Thompson Stadium)
• SRU women's soccer home game – Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Egli Field)
 
LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Streaming Video  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler County).
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU Athletic Communication Office.
 • Search for "Rock Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices to download the app. Each of the remaining regular season SRU football games will be available on the app.
 
MOBILE APP
• Fans can also watch all PSAC football games on the PSAC Sports Digital Network mobile app that is available for free in the app stores on Apple and Android devices.
 
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 11:30 a.m.
• Tickets can also be purchased in the SGA Bookstore during the week and Saturday morning.
• Chair-back Reserved Seat - $15
• Reserved Bench Seat - $15
• Adult General Admission - $10
• Students Ages 6-High School – $5
• Children Ages 6 and Under – FREE
• SRU Students – FREE with valid student ID
• Students from Other Colleges - $5 with valid student ID
 
COVID-19 FAN INFORMATION
• Fans should not attend any events if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or feeling ill.
• Masks are REQUIRED inside all buildings on the SRU campus, regardless of vaccination status.
• Fans are encouraged, but not currently required, to wear masks at SRU outdoor events.
• Fans are encouraged to social distance when possible at events.
 
PARKING
• Parking is available in the lots surrounding the stadium
• Parking spaces are $10 in all tailgating lots ($25 for motorhomes, large vehicles)
• Shuttles will circle the parking lots to assist with transportation to the gates
• Campus Map  |  Stadium is #52 on Map
 
VISITING FAN PARKING
• Visiting fans can park together and tailgate in the Stadium Lodge lot. Lot opens at 10 a.m.
• GPS Address: 246 Harmony Road, Slippery Rock, PA
• Visiting fans can enter the game through gate six, located at the field hockey/lacrosse building just below the lodge parking area, which provides direct access to the visiting bleachers.
• Campus Map  |  Visitor parking is at building #51. Entry gate is at building #53.
 
TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed in paid lots three hours before kickoff (lots open at 10 a.m.)
• No Tailgating at halftime
• All Tailgaters must enter game at kickoff
• Tailgaters must vacate the lots 90 minutes after the game ends
• No hard liquor or glass bottles
• Adhere to all campus tailgating rules found HERE.
 
STUDENT GATE PROCEDURES
Students should still bring their valid ID to enter the game through the student gate, but will also need to use the CORE application on their cell phones. Login to your CORE account to access the event QR code that will be scanned at the gate. Only CURRENT students will be allowed to enter through the student gate. To speed up entry into the game, students should download the app in advance and be prepared to scan their code at the entry gate.
 

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THE GAME
No. 6 Slippery Rock will look to improve to 7-0 for the second season in a row and will look to win its 20th straight PSAC West game, its 25th straight against an unranked opponent and its third straight over rival Indiana (Pa.). The Crimson Hawks (4-1) are looking to spoil Homecoming at SRU and stay in first place in the PSAC West as The Rock and IUP enter this week tied with Cal U with 3-0 records in the division.
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz is in his 26th overall year at The Rock and his fifth season as head coach, where he owns a 45-11 record. Lutz was the PSAC West Coach of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 and was the Don Hansen Football Gazette Division II National Coach of the Year in 2019. The 45 wins are the most among all PSAC head coaches since the 2016 season. Lutz was an assistant at SRU for 20 years before taking over the program in 2016. He served four years as the associate head coach and eight as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach before taking over. Lutz has been a member of the coaching staff for 11 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.
 
Paul Tortorella got his education from his employer's bitter rival, graduating with a physical education degree from Slippery Rock in 1985. He never played at The Rock. Tortorella, like Lutz, was a longtime assistant coach before taking over the reins of the program in 2017 after 22 seasons as an assistant. Now in his fourth season, Tortorella owns a 35-7 record as head coach.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Indiana owns a 51-41-2 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1907. The Rock won 45-42 at home in 2019 and have won two straight, five of the last seven overall and five of the last six games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. This marks the 16th time SRU will host IUP on Homecoming with the teams being an even 7-7-1 in the previous 15 of those meetings. This is also the fourth straight season the teams are meeting on one of their two Homecomings.
 
• First Meeting: 1907 (SRU won 44-0)
• Last Meeting: 2019 (SRU won 45-42)
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +2
• at IUP: IUP leads 26-21-1
• at SRU: IUP leads 25-20-1
• Most Points Scored (IUP): 62 ('90, '94)
• Biggest Win Margin (IUP): 54 (1912)
• Most Points Scored (SRU): 52 (1999)
• Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 44 (1907)
• Last IUP Win: 2017 at SRU (34-17)
 
LAST MEETING WITH INDIANA  |  Box Score
No. 9 Slippery Rock jumped out to a 17-0 lead and led 31-7 late in the first half on the way to a 45-42 win over No. 16 Indiana (Pa.) on SRU's Homecoming in 2019. The Crimson Hawks rallied in the second half, but never tied the game. Slippery Rock put together a decisive drive that took 7:05 off the clock and was capped with a rushing touchdown with just 1:30 left to take a 45-35 lead. IUP scored a late touchdown with nine seconds left to account for the final margin. The teams combined for 866 yards of offense with IUP going for 456 yards with 360 passing yards and 96 rushing yards and SRU going for 410 yards with 180 passing yards and 230 rushing yards. IUP threw 50 passes in the game and ran 22 times, while SRU ran 44 times and threw just 24 passes. Charles Snorweah rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown and Roland Rivers III rushed for 81 yards and one score while passing for 180 yards and one TD. Quinton Maxwell completed 26-of-50 passes for 360 yards with four touchdowns for IUP. Dom McNeil caught 10 passes for 141 yards and two scores.
 
HOMECOMING HISTORY
Slippery Rock is 26-6 in its last 32 Homecoming games and has won its Homecoming game in nine of the last 11 seasons. The most recent loss on Homecoming came in 2017 when No. 3 Indiana (Pa.) pulled away for a 34-17 win. This will mark the 16th time Slippery Rock has hosted IUP on Homecoming and the fourth straight year the two teams will meet on one of their respective Homecomings. SRU won its Homecoming game in 2019 and defeated the Crimson Hawks on their Homecoming in 2018, while IUP won at SRU in 2017. The teams first met on Slippery Rock's Homecoming in 1936 with SRU winning 10-0. The 2017 season marked the first time since 1994 that SRU and IUP met on The Rock's Homecoming. The teams are an even 7-7-1 at SRU on Homecoming with the tie coming in 1960.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock opened the 2021 season ranked fifth in the AFCA Division II national poll that is regarded as the official national ranking used by the NCAA. The Rock have been ranked no lower than eighth this season and enter this week at No. 6 for the second straight week. SRU has been ranked in the top 10 nationally for at least one week in five of the last six seasons. SRU is also ranked seventh by D2football.com this week and was ranked fourth on the NCAA.com Division II Power Rankings. Complete polls are on page nine of the PDF notes linked above.
 
KINGS OF THE PSAC WEST
Slippery Rock is looking to defend its back-to-back titles in the PSAC West. The Rock have gone unbeaten in the PSAC West in each of the last two plus seasons and have won 19 straight PSAC Western Division games dating back to Oct. 21, 2017, when Edinboro upset SRU 48-38 at Edinboro. The Rock are 23-2 against the PSAC West in their last 25 divisional games and have won six of the nine PSAC West titles dating back to 2011.
 
DEFENDING PSAC CHAMPIONS
Slippery Rock is the reigning PSAC champion after defeating Kutztown in a battle of 10-0 teams in the 2019 PSAC title game played at Kutztown. That title marked the 12th overall PSAC championship for SRU and its third since 2014. SRU is attempting to win the PSAC West and advance to the state title game for the third straight year, a feat it also accomplished from 2013-15.
 
TWO UNBEATEN TEAMS LEFT IN PSAC
Slippery Rock is one of just two teams in the PSAC that enter week seven of the season without a loss. The Rock and Cal U are both 6-0 in the Western Division, while no teams in the Eastern Division remain undefeated.
 
ONLY SIX 6-0 TEAMS IN THE NATION
Slippery Rock is one of just six teams in all of Division II that enter this week with a 6-0 record. A total of 13 teams are unbeaten this fall still, but seven of those teams have either played four or five games instead of playing all six weeks. Three of those 6-0 teams come from Super Region One with The Rock and Cal U representing the PSAC and Bentley representing the Northeast-10.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Rock football teams have compiled a 175-68 (.720) record the last 45+ seasons in games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium). The Rock own a 76-23 (.768) home record since artificial turf was installed in the summer of 2003 and are 72-16 (.818) in home games since 2005. The numbers get even better in recent years, as The Rock are 54-8 (.871) at home since the beginning of the 2010 season and 41-4 (.911) since the beginning of the 2013 season. SRU has won 16 straight regular season home games with the only two home losses since October of 2017 coming in the 2018 PSAC title game and the 2019 national semifinal.
 
STREAKING AGAINST UNRANKED OPPONENTS
Slippery Rock has won its last 25 consecutive games against unranked opponents dating back to week two of the 2018 season and a road loss at Shippensburg.
 
ON A ROLL LATELY
The Rock are 30-4 since the beginning of the 2018 season and three of those four losses came in postseason games against teams ranked in the top 11 nationally. The Rock have been beaten only once in regular season play since the beginning of the 2018 season (week two at Shippensburg) with the other three losses coming in the PSAC title game in 2018 (to No. 9 West Chester), the NCAA quarterfinals in 2018 (to No. 11 Notre Dame) and the NCAA semifinals in 2019 (to No. 4 Minnesota State).
 
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD
Slippery Rock won its ninth straight road game last week with a 49-13 win at Edinboro. SRU was a perfect 6-0 on the road in 2019 and has not lost a game away from Mihalik-Thompson Stadium since a 21-17 road loss in the 2018 NCAA quarterfinals at Notre Dame (Ohio). The Rock are 19-4 in their last 23 road games dating back to the start of the 2017 season and are 11-0 in their last 11 road games in PSAC West play. The last time SRU lost a PSAC West game on the road was Oct. 21, 2017, at Edinboro.
 
SECOND STRAIGHT DAY GAME
Last week marked SRU's first day game since December of 2019. Slippery Rock played five straight night games to open the season this fall with 6 p.m. kickoffs in each of the first five weeks. The Rock went unbeaten in those games to extend their streak of night game victories to 25 consecutive games that started at 4 p.m. or later. The Rock have not lost an evening game since Sept. 29, 2012 against Kutztown.
 
SRU GETS THROUGH PSAC CROSSOVERS UNBEATEN
Slippery Rock is one of only two teams from the PSAC West to make it through the two weeks of mandated PSAC crossover games against the Eastern Division without a loss. The Rock and Cal U both benefited from the schedule makers and emerged unblemished while every other PSAC West team lost at least one of their two crossover games against the Eastern Division. That could be a factor later in the year, as record in mandated PSAC games including crossovers is one of the tiebreaker criteria used to decide divisional winners if multiple teams are tied.
 
EARLY SEASON PSAC CROSSOVER SUCCESS
SRU is 16-1 against PSAC East opponents over the last seven seasons in the two mandated regular season crossover contests that take place early in the season. The only loss during that stretch in those games, which are typically played in weeks two and three, came on the road at Shippensburg in 2018 when SRU fumbled in their own end zone to hand the Red Raiders a late 25-21 win. SRU has scored at least 45 points in 11 of the last 17 early season PSAC crossover games, has tallied 50 or more points eight times, has posted two shutouts and has allowed 10 or fewer points in seven games during that stretch, including both crossovers this year against East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven.

LAST WEEK FOR SLIPPERY ROCK
Slippery Rock went on the road to Edinboro on the Fighting Scots' Homecoming and closed the game with a 27-0 run to pull away for a 49-13 victory to improve to 6-0 on the year. The Rock put up 529 yards of offense and limited Edinboro to 291 yards. SRU had its most balanced attack of the year with a season-high 263 rushing yards and 266 passing yards. Edinboro ran for 164 yards and threw for 127 yards. Cinque Sweeting rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns and had 47 receiving yards and another TD through the air. Andrew Koester threw for 266 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for one score. Jermaine Wynn Jr. caught five passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Munchie Johnson had a sack and two tackles for loss and Khadir Roberts had an interception.
 
LAST WEEK FOR INDIANA
IUP jumped out to a 37-7 halftime lead and cruised to a 58-21 win on the road at winless Clarion Saturday. The Crimson Hawks put up 500 yards of offense with 339 passing yards and 161 rushing yards, while Clarion went for 375 yards with 307 passing yards and 68 rushing yards. The Crimson Hawks only negative takeaway from the game was 13 penalties for 110 yards. Harry Woodberry completed 16-of-20 passes for 263 yards with two touchdowns. Duane Brown caught six passes for 137 yards and one score and Irvin Charles caught seven passes for 91 yards and one score. Malik Anderson and Dayjure Stewart both rushed for two touchdowns. Nazir Streater had seven tackles and one interception to lead the defense.
 
ANOTHER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
For the third straight week and the fourth time in six weeks, Slippery Rock had the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week this week with Cinque Sweeting picking up his first award. Sweeting had three touchdowns on nine total touches last week with 89 rushing yards and two scores on the ground and 47 receiving yards and one touchdown through the air. Andrew Koester won the offensive award after weeks four and five, Henry Litwin won it after week one and Jermaine Wynn Jr. won the special teams honor after week five to give SRU five total PSAC Athlete of the Week awards this fall.
 
ROCK OFFENSE HITTING ITS STRIDE
Slippery Rock was averaging just 23.0 points per game over the first two weeks, which was a far cry from the 2019 season when SRU had the best offense in the nation and averaged more than 46 points per game over a 14-game season. Things have started clicking over the last four weeks however, as SRU has put up 222 points in the last four games (55.5 points per game) and has seen the season scoring average climb to 44.7 points per game. The Rock now sit seventh in the nation in scoring offense and fifth in the nation in total offense at 497.5 total yards per game.
 
KOESTER COMMANDING THE OFFENSE
After not playing meaningful snaps for almost three years and watching his teammate, Roland Rivers III, win the Harlon Hill Trophy last year, Andrew Koester has quickly shaken off the rust and is lighting up the box scores. In six games this season, Koester has thrown for more than 300 yards four times and he has sat at least one quarter in three of those games with SRU comfortably leading. He has completed 63.8 percent of his passes (111-of-174) for 1,863 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions.
 
KOESTER AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Despite sitting for large stretches of the season with SRU comfortably leading games, Rock QB Andrew Koester currently ranks second in the nation in yards per pass attempt (10.7) and yards per completion (16.8), third in passing efficiency (187.1), fourth in passing touchdowns (20) and points responsible for (144) and ninth in total passing yards (1,863). He also ranks 12th in the nation in total offense at 316.7 yards per game.
 
KOESTER IMPROVES TO 7-1 AS STARTER
Andrew Koester improved to 7-1 as the SRU starting QB last week and 7-0 in games he has started and finished. His only loss as a starter was week two of the 2018 season at Shippensburg, when he left the game at halftime with an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
 
RUN GAME GETS GOING
Edinboro dropped six players into coverage and tried to double SRU's top receiver, Henry Litwin, on nearly every play last week in an attempt to slow down the passing offense. SRU took advantage of that and flipped the game plan from the first five weeks to a more ground heavy approach. The Rock rushed for a season-high 263 yards, marking their most rushing yards in a game since a 263-yard effort at New Haven in the second round of the 2018 NCAA playoffs. SRU averaged 6.7 yards per carry on 39 attempts and threw the ball just 24 times in the game. Tim Smith (95), Cinque Sweeting (89) and Chris D'Or (53) all topped 50 yards on the ground.
 
RUNNING BACK STABLE GETTING HEALTHIER
Slippery Rock entered this fall with Evyn Holtz as the projected starter in the backfield. Holtz was injured in preseason and has taken just one snap all year so far. Barring any setbacks, he is expected to be available Saturday to bolster a backfield that Tim Smith and Chris D'Or have done a great job with over the first six weeks of the season. Smith is averaging 4.4 yards per carry and has four touchdowns, while D'Or is averaging 5.7 yards per carry with one rushing score to go along with 217 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
  
EXCELLENT ON BOTH SIDES IN THE PASSING GAME
Slippery Rock has been exceptional on both sides of the ball in the passing game. The Rock rank fourth nationally in passing offense at 343.8 yards per game and even more impressively rank first among all Division II programs in passing defense allowing just 95.3 passing yards per game. SRU has held four of its six opponents under 100 passing yards so far this fall and has given up just three passing touchdowns.
 
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Slippery Rock enters this week ranked fifth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 10.8 points per game. The Rock are also fifth in total defense with opponents averaging just 226.3 yards per game. SRU has allowed a total of 65 points through six weeks, but those numbers only tell part of the story. The Rock have given up 21 fourth quarter points with its reserves on the field late in games that were already decided. The starting unit has allowed just 44 total points through six games for an average of 7.3 points per game.
 
MAX IS BACK
Slippery Rock has been desperately waiting for the arrival of tight end Max Maciejewski, who was expected to have a significant role in the passing game going into the 2019 season, but was injured in the final scrimmage before the season and missed almost the entire year. Entering this fall, it looked like he would again provide a huge boost to the SRU offense, but he was injured in the last scrimmage of preseason yet again. Maciejewski missed the first four weeks of the season, but returned to the lineup two weeks ago against Clarion. In two games as the starter, he has caught six passes for 114 yards with two touchdowns. Maciejewski gives SRU a huge 6-foot-4 target as a fifth option in a passing game that already features some of the most elite pass catchers in Division II.
 
SPEAKING OF ELITE PASS CATCHERS
Henry Litwin was double teamed nearly every play as Edinboro focused their efforts on shutting him down, which SRU capitalized on elsewhere. Litwin has been targeted just eight times in the last two weeks as The Rock have spread the ball around the offense while defenses focus on Litwin. Litwin has at least one touchdown in four of six games this season and has been over 100 yards in three of six games this fall. Despite only having 79 total yards in the last two weeks combined, Litwin enters this week leading all receivers in the PSAC with 576 yards to go along with six touchdown grabs.
 
LITWIN CLOSING IN ON 3,000 YARDS
Henry Litwin played primarily on special teams in his freshman season in 2017, finishing the year with no catches. After moving into a starting role in 2018, Litwin has racked up 186 catches for 2,926 yards with 35 touchdowns over his last 34 games. His 35 TD grabs are already a career record at SRU. He set single-season records at SRU last fall for catches (103), yards (1,509), touchdowns (21) and scoring (128 points) on his way to All-America honors. Litwin needs 30 catches and 457 yards to break Greg Hopkins' career records at The Rock. He is just 74 yards away from becoming the second SRU player to ever top 3,000 receiving yards in a career at SRU.
 
LITWIN A NATIONAL SEMIFINALIST FOR CAMPBELL TROPHY
Henry Litwin is also one of only four players in Division II to be named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American in each of the last two years. He was announced this month as a national semifinalist for the 2021 Campbell Trophy, known in college football as the Academic Heisman. Litwin is one of just 15 Division II players to make the semifinal list for the Campbell Trophy. He already graduated from SRU with a degree in safety management and is currently working on an MBA.
 
JERMAINE WYNN JR. STEPPING UP
Slot receiver Jermaine Wynn Jr. had a slow start to the season, by his standards, but has returned to form over the last three weeks in a big way. Wynn has gone for 516 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns over the last three weeks. He had 102 receiving yards and two scores last week and now has 302 receiving yards and five touchdowns in the last three weeks alone. Wynn also took a punt 77 yards for a touchdown two weeks ago and enters this week leading all players in the PSAC in all-purpose yardage at 157.2 yards per game. He ranks 16th nationally in combined kick return yards (349) and ranks seventh nationally in punt return average at 14.9 yards per return.
 
WYNN JR. BY THE NUMBERS
In 33 games in the SRU lineup, Jermaine Wynn Jr. has pulled down 174 passes for 2,501 yards and 29 touchdowns. He needs 42 catches to break Greg Hopkins' SRU career record. Wynn grabbed 95 passes for 1,339 yards and 15 touchdowns last year, ranking him second behind only Henry Litwin on the SRU single-season ledger in catches and touchdowns and third in yards. He also caught 26 passes for 562 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman at Alderson Broaddus in 2017 to bring his collegiate career totals to 199 catches for 3,063 yards and 35 touchdowns at the Division II level.
 
LIT-WYNN COMBINED
Through 34 games in the same lineup, Henry Litwin and Jermaine Wynn Jr. have put up almost identical numbers. They have combined for 360 catches for 5,426 yards and 64 receiving touchdowns. Since they stepped on the field together for the first time in 2018, the duo are collectively averaging 10.6 catches for 160.0 yards and 1.9 touchdowns per game. They are the second and third SRU players to ever top 2,500 receiving yards in a career and are the only SRU teammates to ever top 2,000 yards during the same seasons.
 
WYNN JR. AND LITWIN AMONG DII CAREER LEADERS
Jermaine Wynn Jr. and Henry Litwin currently rank first and third among all active Division II players in career receiving yards. Wynn leads all players in Division II with 3,063 yards when also counting his one year at Alderson Broaddus. Litwin is close behind in third with 2,926 yards. They are separated by Chad Gailliard from Saginaw Valley (2,937 yards) on the career receiving list among all active players and have a chance to conclude this season ranked first and second among all active Division II players.
 
WAIT, THERE'S MORE WEAPONS IN PASS GAME
While defenses are trying to solve Henry Litwin and Jermaine Wynn Jr., and now Max Maciejewski, they also have to figure out how to stop Cinque Sweeting and Kyle Sheets. Sweeting went for 839 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019 on 53 receptions and is off to another strong start this fall with 22 grabs for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Sheets has started at the opposite outside spot from Litwin and has 13 catches for 179 yards and two scores. Slippery Rock also welcomed Izzy Adeoti to the lineup last week. The transfer from North Dakota missed the first five weeks of the season with an injury but caught a 49-yard pass on his first play in an SRU uniform last week. The Rock will also be welcoming back Qaadir Dixon soon. Dixon has not played yet this fall while returning from injury, but started 12 games in 2019 and went for 421 yards and three touchdowns.
 
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
Slippery Rock has dealt with the injury bug at the running back position this fall, but has settled into a 1-2 punch of Tim Smith and Chris D'Or in the backfield. Smith has 353 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and four scores on the year as the early down back. D'Or is getting more snaps every week and has shown an explosive speed in the open field, which has made him a weapon in the screen passing game. D'Or has rushed for 211 yards (5.7 yards per carry) with one touchdown and also has nine catches for 217 yards (24.1 yards per catch) and three scores.
 
BIG MAN IN THE BACKFIELD
With injuries among the running backs, SRU moved 6-foot-3, 235-pound freshman defensive end Reis Watkins to the running back spot two weeks ago. Watkins, who rushed for more than 3,000 yards at Shenango High School, is a likely candidate to start at defensive end next fall, but gives SRU a bruising big back that the program hasn't had in recent years. In two games, Watkins has rushed for 84 yards on 13 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per carry.
 
QUICK STARTS
The Rock defense has allowed a total of 34 points in the first half through six weeks this season for an average of just 5.7 points per game over the opening 30 minutes. On the flip side, SRU has scored a total of 153 points in the first half for an average of 25.5 points per game on the offensive side.
 
DOMINANT MIDDLE FRAMES
Slippery Rock has allowed a total of 25 points in the second and third quarters combined through six weeks. The Rock have given up two touchdowns in the second quarter and just one in the third quarter and are outscoring opponents 177-25 in the second and third quarters.
 
THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE
Coming out of halftime, Slippery Rock has outscored opponents 88-10 in the third quarter through six weeks, allowing just one total touchdown in the first period after the halftime intermission.
 
NO FOURTH QUARTER POINTS ON THE STARTERS
Slippery Rock has allowed 21 total points in the fourth quarter this season, but all 21 were scored against SRU's reserves in the fourth quarter of games with the result already decided. The Rock's starting defensive unit has not allowed a single point in the fourth quarter through six weeks.
 
FROM QB TO ALL-AMERICAN DEFENSIVE END
All-American DE Chad Kuhn played quarterback in high school at Kiski Area. He didn't play a single defensive snap in his football career before coming to Slippery Rock and accepting the challenge of moving to the defensive side of the ball. Since then, Kuhn has racked up 25.0 career sacks and 40.0 tackles for loss and become one of the top defensive ends in the country.
 
KUHN MOVING UP CAREER LISTS
Chad Kuhn ranks second among all active players in Division II in career sacks (25.0) and has moved up to fourth all-time at SRU in sacks and seventh all-time at SRU in tackles for loss (40.0). Kuhn also has six career forced fumbles, which is sixth all-time at SRU and currently one shy of the most among all active players in Division II.
 
DE BIEN CONTINUES MONSTER START
Slippery Rock has a formidable combo at the DE position with Garrett de Bien opposite Chad Kuhn. De Bien is not-so-quietly off to the best start of his career with 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks already through six games. His career highs for a single-season were 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, which came over 14 games in 2019. De Bien has already passed that TFL number and is well on his way to a new career-high in sacks. He and Kuhn have combined for 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks already this year.
 
HOLT LEADS TEAM IN TACKLES
Safety Dalton Holt leads The Rock defense with 37 total tackles and has eight more solo stops than any other SRU player with 23 solo tackles. Holt has three pass breakups and has teamed with Selvin Haynes as a shutdown pair of safeties on the back end of The Rock defense. Haynes ranks fifth on the defense with 28 total tackles and leads SRU with two interceptions on the year.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS TACKLES
Not enough credit goes to the guys flying down the field making plays on special teams, but Slippery Rock has found a special one in Naiim Huff. Huff is routinely one of the first players down the field and has 10 tackles and one forced fumbles on the year while embracing his role as a special teams standout.
 
FIRST STARTS
SRU has had a total of 11 players make their first career start this season with five in week one: RB Tim Smith, LT Yuriy Hryckowian, DT Munchie Johnson, LB Isaiah Manning and LB Cody Ross, three more in week two: OL Anthony Rebar, WR Gavyn Barnes, CB Savion Harrison, two more in week three: OL Nick Stazer and WR Kyle Sheets and one in week five: TE Max Maciejewski.
 
FRESHMEN EVERYWHERE
Counting the players that redshirted in 2019, the recruits that joined the program for 2020 but had their season canceled and the true freshmen that joined the program in the fall of 2021, Slippery Rock has three classes of players that are listed as freshmen in terms of their football eligibility. All of those classes add up to a total of 17 freshmen that are listed on this week's depth chart as a starter or backup.
 
FIRST ZERO IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Middle linebacker and team captain Tim Vernick will be wearing the number zero on his jersey this year to become the first SRU player to ever wear the zero in an NCAA competition. The number was not previously allowed as a jersey number in football, but the NCAA changed that rule this year and will now allow the number zero.
 
END OF THE VERNICK ERA
This fall will mark linebacker and captain Tim Vernick's final season at SRU and with that the end of a streak of eight consecutive years where a member of the Vernick family has been the middle linebacker at SRU. Tim's older brother, Bob Vernick, was an All-Region selection and also served as team captain while playing from 2013-16. The Vernick brothers have contributed 463 total tackles, 51.0 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and eight interceptions to The Rock football defense over the last eight seasons. Tim's career numbers so far: 220 total tackles, 28.0 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 INT. Bob's career numbers: 243 total tackles, 23.0 TFL, 6.0 sacks, 6 INT. The Vernick's have been part of 75 wins and counting. SRU is 75-19 with a Vernick brother in the lineup over the last eight seasons.
 
CAPTAINS
Slippery Rock named its four team captains for the 2021 season back in April: Receiver Henry Litwin, center Austin Wayt, linebacker Tim Vernick and defensive end Chad Kuhn are the team captains.
 
GRADUATES PLAYING ONE MORE SEASON
With the 2020 season being canceled and players retaining their eligibility, this fall will see a large number of student-athletes that have already graduated playing collegiate football. Slippery Rock is no exception, as a total of 13 of The Rock's players have already earned their undegraduate degrees: D.J. Adediwura, Kyle Butts, Garrett de Bien, Andrew Koester, Chad Kuhn, Henry Litwin, Trysten McDonald, Hunter Merritt, Cinque Sweeting, Jake Tecak, Tim Vernick, Austin Wayt, Jahmal Wynter.
 
FEATURED EVENTS LEFT ON THE SCHEDULE
The Oct. 16 game against Indiana (Pa.) will be the annual Homecoming game and the Nov. 6 game against Cal U will serve as The Rock's Senior Day game.
 
PLAYOFF STAPLES
Slippery Rock has reached at least the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Playoffs in each of the last two seasons with a trip to the Super Region One final in 2018 and a Super Region title and a trip to the NCAA semifinals in 2019. The Rock have reached the NCAA Playoffs in five of the seven seasons dating back to 2013.
 
WINNING SEASONS STREAK
Slippery Rock has put together a winning season in each of the last 11 years, which ranks tied for the ninth best active streak in Division II. The only other program in the PSAC with more consecutive winning seasons (not counting teams that played 4-5 games in 2020) currently is Cal U, which has strung together 16 winning seasons entering 2021.
 
STARTERS NOTES
Tim Vernick and Chad Kuhn lead all players on the roster with 40 starts. Jeff Marx and Austin Wayt have both started the last 34 consecutive games. Khadir Roberts has started 37 games. Trysten McDonald has started 31 games but missed the last four weeks. Henry Litwin has started 32 games to give The Rock seven players with 30+ career starts.
 
INDIANA QUICK HITS
• IUP is coached by 1985 Slippery Rock alumnus Paul Tortorella, who earned a physical education degree from The Rock but did not play on the football team. Tortorella was an assistant for 22 years at IUP before taking over as head coach in 2017.
• IUP is the only school in the PSAC that elected not to schedule 11 games this year, taking the opening week of the season off.
• IUP will play its third ranked opponent in six weeks after opening the year with back-to-back home games against Eastern Division leaders Kutztown and Shepherd, going 1-1 in those games.
• IUP leads the PSAC in turnovers at +1.8 per game after turning the ball over just one time, a lost fumble, in five games. The Crimson Hawks have yet to throw an interception on offense and have come up with seven picks on defense to go along with three fumble recoveries for 10 total takeaways.
• IUP scores 36.8 points per game and goes for 367.4 yards per game on offense. Opponents are scoring 24.0 points per game and averaging 410.6 yards per game, including 310.2 passing yards per game.
• QB Harry Woodberry missed the first two games of the season but is 3-0 since starting in week three. He has thrown for 630 yards with nine touchdowns and no interceptions.
•IUP boasts the only other 1-2 receiving combo in the PSAC West that compares to SRU's combo with slot receiver Duane Brown and outside target Irvin Charles. Brown has 27 catches for 411 yards and three scores and also averages 18.5 yards on punt returns. Charles, who originally signed at Penn State in 2015, has 22 catches for 332 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.
•The IUP defense is led by cornerback Nazir Streater, who earned preseason All-America honors entering this year and is one of the top corners in the country. SRU is facing Streater for the third straight season after he also played for LIU Post against SRU in the 2018 NCAA playoffs.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will hit the road for back-to-back trips to Erie with noon kickoffs at Mercyhurst and Gannon on each of the next two Saturdays.
 


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