Complete Game Notes (28-page PDF)
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The sixth-ranked Slippery Rock University football team will travel north on I-79 Saturday for a 2 p.m. Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division kickoff at Edinboro University.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information regarding tickets, parking and live coverage, along with complete game notes.
 
LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Streaming Video  |  Provided by Edinboro Student TV.
• 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.
 • 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 football games against PSAC opponents this season will be available on the app through the PSAC Sports Digital Network.
* This game will be produced and operated by the Edinboro Student TV station and will be simulcast on the Rock Athletics Digital Network

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
• Tickets can be purchased at the gates.
• General Admission - $10
• Students - $5
• Senior Citizens (65+) and Children Under 6 - Free
 
PARKING AND DIRECTIONS
• Campus Map/Directions  |  Stadium is marked 'SH' in top corner
• Parking is available in the lots surrounding the stadium
 

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THE GAME
No. 7 Slippery Rock will look to improve to 6-0 for the second season in a row and will look to win its 19th straight PSAC West game in its first day game this season. The Rock played five straight 6 p.m. games to open the year, including a 75-0 win over Clarion last week. Edinboro is coming off its first win of the season, 17-7 at Seton Hill last week, and brings a 1-3 overall record into the game.
 
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 44-11 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 44 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.
 
Jake Nulph took over as head coach at Edinboro in January of 2020 and had to wait more than 20 months to coach his first game this fall. Nulph is off to a 1-3 start at Edinboro. The 2005 Robert Morris alumnus spent one season as a defensive backs coach at Indiana (Pa.) before accepting the job at Edinboro. Prior to that, he had stints as a defensive coach at Duquesne, Westminster, Allegheny, St. Francis and Robert Morris.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock owns a 57-28-7 advantage in the all-time series against Edinboro that dates all the way back to 1916. The Rock went 25-1-1 in the first 27 meetings. SRU has won each of the last two meetings and eight of the last 10 games in the series, including a 41-30 win at Edinboro in 2019. The Fighting Scots' last win in the series was 48-38 in 2017 at home, which was also the last time any PSAC West team has beaten SRU. That game was played Oct. 21, 2017.
 
• First Meeting: 1916 (SRU won 6-0)
• Last Meeting: 2019 (SRU won 41-30)
• Current Streak: SRU +2 (8-2 in last 10)
• at Edinboro: SRU leads 23-17-3
• at SRU: SRU leads 34-11-4
• Most Points Scored by EU: 62 (1989)
• Largest Win Margin by EU: 55 (1989)
• Most Points Scored by SRU: 71 (1935)
• Largest Win Margin by SRU: 71 (1935)
• Last Edinboro Win: 2017 at Edinboro
 
LAST MEETING WITH EDINBORO  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock and Edinboro combined to go 10-for-10 in scoring in the red zone while joining together to produce 879 yards of total offense in the last meeting between the teams back on Oct. 19, 2019. Edinboro held three early leads before Slippery Rock went on a 27-6 run to put the game out of reach. The Scots tallied a late touchdown to account for the final 41-30 score. SRU went 6-for-6 in red zone touchdowns and converted drives of 95 yards, 84 yards, 75 yards, 66 yards, 65 yards and 57 yards. The Rock posted a 540-339 edge in total offense with 391 passing yards and 149 rushing yards to Edinboro's 232 passing yards and 107 rushing yards. Roland Rivers III was 33-of-41 for 391 yards with one touchdown and one rushing score. Henry Litwin caught 13 passes for 131 yards and one score. Ta'Nauz Gregory led Edinboro with 280 all-purpose yards with 111 kick return yards and 169 receiving yards. Vicente Arriagada kicked field goals of 23, 34 and 44 yards.
 
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 after moving up one spot this 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 eight 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 18 straight PSAC Western Division games dating back to Oct. 21, 2017, when Edinboro upset SRU 48-38 at Edinboro. The Rock are 22-2 against the PSAC West in their last 24 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 six of the season without a loss. The Rock and Cal U are both 5-0 in the Western Division, while no teams in the Eastern Division remain undefeated.
 
ONLY NINE 5-0 TEAMS IN THE NATION
Slippery Rock is one of just nine teams in all of Division II that enter this week with a 5-0 record. A total of 15 teams are unbeaten this fall still, but six of those teams have either played three or four games instead of playing all five weeks. Four of those 5-0 teams come from Super Region One with The Rock and Cal U representing the PSAC, Bentley representing the Northeast-10 and Frostburg State representing the Mountain East (Frostburg is completing its transition to Division II and is ineligible for NCAA playoff consideration this year).
 
SUCCESS ON THE ROAD
Slippery Rock won its eighth straight road game two weeks ago with a 41-17 win at Seton Hill. 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 18-4 in their last 22 road games dating back to the start of the 2017 season and are 10-0 in their last 10 road games in PSAC West play. The last time SRU lost a PSAC West game on the road was Oct. 21, 2017, at Edinboro.
 
WE LOVE NIGHT GAMES
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.
 
FIRST DAY GAME IN A LONG TIME
Slippery Rock will play its first day game of the season this week with a 2 p.m. kickoff at Edinboro. The Rock have not played a day game since the NCAA semifinals in December of 2019. SRU's remaining regular season games will all be either noon, 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. kickoffs. 
 
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 benefitted 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.
 
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 improved to 5-0, won its 18th straight PSAC West game and its 25th straight night game in dominant fashion with a 75-0 victory over Clarion. The Rock led 55-0 at halftime and took their foot off the gas with the starters sitting the second half. SRU quarterbacks Andrew Koester and Noah Grover combined for just four incompletions in the game, going 31-of-35 for 442 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Koester was nearly perfect in the first half, going 20-of-22 for 328 yards with five scores. A total of 10 players caught passes in the game and eight different players scored touchdowns for SRU. Chris D'Or had two receiving scores and 124 total yards. Jermaine Wynn Jr. caught one TD and returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown. SRU went for 588 yards of offense and limited Clarion to just 81 total yards and seven first downs, three of which came via penalty. Watch highlights below.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST WEEK
 

LAST WEEK FOR EDINBORO
Edinboro scored 10 points on special teams to pick up its first win of the season with a 17-7 victory on the road at Seton Hill. The Scots got a 27-yard field goal from Vicente Arriagada and Nick Cunningham returned a blocked field goal 56 yards for a touchdown. The offense also connected on its first passing touchdown of the season with a 22-yard TD pass from Jordan Castelli to Mike Watkins. Both teams finished with under 150 passing yards in a defensive battle. Edinboro went for 229 total yards of offense with 111 passing yards and 118 rushing yards, while Seton Hill went for 274 yards of total offense with 135 passing yards and 139 rushing yards. Castelli was 12-of-20 for 112 yards with one touchdown in his first career start. He also rushed for a team-high 44 yards. Watkins caught six passes for 76 yards and one score.
 
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 three weeks however, as SRU has put up 173 points in the last three games and has seen the scoring average climb to 43.8 points per game. The Rock now sit sixth in the nation in scoring offense and seventh in the nation in total offense at 491.2 total yards per game.
 
75 BURGER
Slippery Rock 's 75-0 win last week was its second victory of that same score since 2015 after also beating Millersville 75-0 in 2015. It marked The Rock's third shutout since 2015 to go along with a pair of shutouts over Millersville in 2015 and 2019. The 75-point margin of victory was one-point shy of the modern era (1945-present) record for SRU, which was a 76-0 win over Lock Haven in 1973. The 75 points are tied for the seventh most in a single-game in program history and marked the most scored against Clarion and the largest margin of victory in the SRU-Clarion series.
 
KOESTER REPEATS PSAC WEEKLY HONOR
Slippery Rock QB Andrew Koester was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week this week for the second straight week after his performance against Clarion. He completed 20-of-22 passes for 328 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions, which equals out to a perfect NFL passer rating of 158.3. It is also the highest NCAA QB efficiency rating in a single-game by any Division I or Division II QB with 20+ attempts in a game this season. Koester didn't take a single snap in the second half last week.
 
JERMAINE WYNN JR. EARNS PSAC WEEKLY HONOR
Jermaine Wynn Jr. was named the PSAC West Special Teams Athlete of the Week this week after returning a punt 77 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against Clarion last week. Wynn had 115 punt return yards on three punts and grabbed four passes for 66 yards and another score to finish with 181 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the first half last week.
 
KOESTER GETTING BETTER EVERY WEEK
Andrew Koester's performance last week is more proof that the senior is getting comfortable with the offense and developing more chemistry with his targets each week. After not playing meaningful snaps for almost three years and watching his teammate, Roland Rivers III, win the Harlon Hill Trophy last year, Koester has shaken off the rust and is lighting up the box scores. In five 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 five games with SRU comfortably leading. He has completed 64.7 percent of his passes (97-of-150) for 1,597 yards with 16 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 third in the nation in passing efficiency and yards per attempt (10.7), fifth in passing touchdowns (16) and points responsible for (114), sixth in passing yards (1,597), seventh in passing yards per completion (16.5), eighth in passing yards per game (319.4) and ninth in total offense (326.8 yards per game).
 
KOESTER IMPROVES TO 6-1 AS STARTER
Andrew Koester improved to 6-1 as the SRU starting QB last week and 6-0 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.
 
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 359.4 yards per game and perhaps even more impressively rank second in passing defense allowing just 89.0 passing yards per game. SRU has held four of its five opponents under 100 passing yards so far this fall and has given up just two passing touchdowns.
 
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE DEFENSE
Slippery Rock enters this week ranked sixth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 10.4 points per game. The Rock are also fourth in total defense with opponents averaging just 213.4 yards per game. SRU has allowed a total of 52 points through five 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 31 total points through five games for an average of 6.2 points per game.
 
RUN DEFENSE GETTING BETTER
Slippery Rock allowed 247 rushing yards on 55 carries in the opener at Wayne State and the lack of live tackling for nearly two years was hard to deny. Since that game, SRU has limited opponents to 378 rushing yards over the last four weeks for an average of 94.5 rushing yards per game. That has lowered the season average for opponent rushing from nearly 250 after the first week to 125.0 entering week six.
 
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 Max 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 last week and made his first career start. The 6-4, 235-pound tight end caught a 38-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage and went on to finish with five catches for 100 yards and one touchdown in the first half. Maciejewski gives SRU a huge 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 caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season last week and pulled in all three of his targets on a night when he wasn't really needed. Litwin was content to let his teammates have some fun last week and finished with 57 yards and one score, marking his lowest output of the season. Litwin has at least one touchdown in four of five games this season and has at least one score in three straight games. He has been over 100 yards in three of five games this fall and enters this week ranked ninth in the nation with 554 receiving yards. Litwin's six TD grabs rank 12th nationally.
 
LITWIN BY THE NUMBERS
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 183 catches for 2,904 yards with 35 touchdowns over his last 33 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 33 catches and 479 yards to break Greg Hopkins' career records at The Rock.
 
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 last week 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.
 
YOU DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT JERMAINE WYNN JR., RIGHT?
Slot receiver Jermaine Wynn Jr. had a slow start to the season, by his standards, but has returned to form over the last two weeks in a big way. Wynn went for 181 all-purpose yards and scored a receiving touchdown and on a 77-yard punt return last week. That effort followed 211 all-purpose yards and two receiving touchdowns against Seton Hill the week before. Over the last two weeks, Wynn has gone for 392 all-purpose yards with 200 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns and an average of 23.8 yards per punt return. He enters this week ranked eighth in the nation in all-purpose yards per game at 165.5 and 14th in combined kick return yardage at 327.
 
WYNN JR. BY THE NUMBERS
In 32 games in the SRU lineup, Jermaine Wynn Jr. has pulled down 169 passes for 2,399 yards and 27 touchdowns. He needs 47 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 194 catches for 2,961 yards and 33 touchdowns at the Division II level.
 
LIT-WYNN COMBINED
Through 33 games in the same lineup, Henry Litwin and Jermaine Wynn Jr. have put up almost identical numbers. They have combined for 352 catches for 5,302 yards and 62 receiving touchdowns. Since they stepped on the field together for the first time in 2018, the duo are collectively averaging 10.7 catches for 160.7 yards and 1.9 touchdowns per game. They are on pace to become the second and third SRU players to ever top 2,500 receiving yards in a career and already are the first 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 2,961 yards when also counting his one year at Alderson Broaddus. Litwin is close behind in third with 2,904 yards. They are separated by Chad Gailliard from Saginaw Valley (2,918 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
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 20 grabs for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Sheets has started at the opposite outside spot from Litwin and has 12 catches for 162 yards and two scores. Slippery Rock also still plans to see the return of outside receivers Izzy Adeoti and Qaadir Dixon this fall, who have not yet played. Adeoti transferred in from North Dakota and was the top receiver in SRU's spring game in April. Dixon 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 rushed for two scores last week and has four touchdowns and is averaging 51.6 yards per game this fall, while D'Or scored two touchdowns last week on screen passes. The speedy D'Or is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and 31.6 yards per game on the ground, but also has eight catches for 202 yards and three touchdowns for 40.4 receiving yards per game.
 
SWITCHING POSITIONS
With injuries among the running backs, SRU moved two defensive players to the running back spot and they both debuted last week. Like Smith and D'Or, the combo is another thunder and lightning pair. Reis Watkins, who is likely to be a starting defensive end at SRU next year, was the leading rusher for SRU last week with 57 yards on nine carries. The 6-foot-3, 235-pounder rushed for over 3,000 yards in high school and gives SRU a bruising back that the program hasn't had in recent years. Opposite Watkins is defensive back Devin Sims, who averaged 12.7 yards per carry and rushed for 38 yards and his first career touchdown last week.
 
QUICK STARTS
The Rock defense has allowed a total of 24 points in the first half through five weeks this season for an average of just 4.8 points per game over the opening 30 minutes. On the flip side, SRU has scored a total of 131 points in the first half for an average of 26.2 points per game on the offensive side.
 
DOMINANT MIDDLE FRAMES
Slippery Rock has allowed a total of 15 points in the second and third quarters combined through five weeks. The Rock have given up a single touchdown in each of those quarters and are outscoring opponents 144-15 in the second and third quarters.
 
THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE
Coming out of halftime, Slippery Rock has outscored opponents 74-7 in the third quarter through five weeks, allowing just one total touchdown in the first period after the halftime intermission.
 
KUHN'S STORY STILL BEING WRITTEN
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 24.0 career sacks and 39.0 tackles for loss.
 
KUHN MOVING UP CAREER LISTS
Chad Kuhn ranks fourth among all active players in Division II in career sacks (24.0) and has moved up to sixth all-time at SRU in sacks and seventh all-time at SRU in tackles for loss (39.0). 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 five 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 carer-high in sacks. He and Kuhn have combined for 13.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks already this year.
 
MANNING MAKING HIS MARK
Linebacker Isaiah Manning made his first career start in the opener this season and has proved he earned that spot. Through five weeks this season, Manning leads The Rock defense with 31 total tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and a half-sack.
 
HOLT LEADS TEAM IN SOLO STOPS
Safety Dalton Holt had just one tackle last week, mostly because Clarion never really reached the secondary level of the defense. Still, he ranks third on the team with 29 total tackles and leads all players on the roster in solo tackles with 19 individual stops. Holt also has three pass breakups and has teamed with Selvin Haynes as a shutdown pair of safeties on the back end of The Rock defense.
 
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 19 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 456 total tackles, 49.5 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: 213 total tackles, 26.5 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 74 wins and counting. SRU is 74-19 with a Vernick brother in the lineup.
 
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 39 starts. Jeff Marx and Austin Wayt have both started the last 33 consecutive games. Khadir Roberts has started 36 games and retrned last week after missing three weeks. Trysten McDonald has started 31 games but missed the last three weeks. Henry Litwin has started 31 games to give The Rock seven players with 30+ career starts.
 
EDINBORO QUICK HITS
• This week's game will serve a Edinboro's annual Homecoming game.
• Former IUP assistant and Robert Morris graduate Jake Nulph was hired in 2020 and is four games into his first season at Edinboro, where he is off to a 1-3 start.
•  Edinboro has three coaches with SRU connections on its staff, including defensive coordinator Tony Papley and special teams coordinator Jayson Nickson, as well as former SRU assistant coach Keith Willis. Papley and Nickson were both All-PSAC defensive players at SRU with Papley graduating in 2013 and Nickson graduating in 2011. Former NFL player Willis coached the defensive line at SRU from 1995-98.
•  Edinboro is coming off its first win of the season with a 17-7 road victory at Seton Hill last week.
•  Edinboro boasts one of the best special teams units in the nation and has blocked six kicks in four games this year. The Scots have returned two blocked field goals for touchdowns this year, accounting for two of the team's 10 total touchdowns.
•  Edinboro is scoring 18.8 points per game and allowing 24.5 points per game. The Scots throw for 137.8 yards per game and rush for 73.3 yards for 211.0 yards of total offense per game, while the defense allows 136.0 rushing yards and 204.0 passing yards for 340.0 total yards per game.
•  QB Jordan Castelli started last week and has played in two games. He has attempted just 22 total passes and has thrown for 116 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His one TD pass is the lone TD pass for Edinboro this season.
• RB Anfreenee Williams has four rushing TDs this year.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock returns home for its annual Homecoming weekend and will host rival Indiana University (Pa.) at 1 p.m. Oct. 16.
 

 
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