Complete Game Notes (PDF)
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 15th-ranked Slippery Rock University football team will travel to Tiffin, Ohio to face No. 9 Tiffin University in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs Saturday at noon at Frost-Kalnow Stadium.

Below you will find all pertinent information regarding tickets, parking, tailgating and live coverage, along with complete game notes.
 

Week 13: Slippery Rock at Tiffin
The Rock (11-1)	Tiffin Dragons (11-0)
Complete Game Notes (PDF)	Game Notes
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach: Shawn Lutz	Coach: Cris Reisert
Program Records	Program Records
DII Bracket  |  DII Football Championship Game Program

 
PAY-PER-VIEW LIVE VIDEO UPDATE
There will be no free video broadcast available for NCAA Playoff games this year. The NCAA is requiring all schools to stream games behind a paywall beginning this year. Each game will cost $9.95 OR fans can get access to all Division II football playoff games in the first three rounds for $19.95 total. Fans can still access the game via the Rock Athletics Digital Network where you watched all year, but you will be prompted to create a login and pay to watch NCAA Playoff games. Fans can also watch all DII Playoff games at the Championships Pass Page or via the Championships Pass TV apps. You can click on the game HERE and purchase access. If you purchased the $19.95 package for the first round, you will not need to make another purchase.

LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by Tiffin
• Live Streaming Video ($$)  |  Provided by Tiffin
• Live Audio (FREE)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler County)
• X (formerly Twitter)  |  In-game updates and highlights
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand 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.
• Fans can also download the "NCAA Championships Pass" app on those app stores to watch all Division II playoff games.

TICKETS AND ENTRY
• BUY TICKETS HERE
• Adult General Admission - $10
• Children and Students – $5
 
SRU FAN PARKING AND TAILGATING
• SRU Parking & Tailgate Map (PDF)
• SRU fans can park together and tailgate in a lot at the corner of 2nd Street and Union Street
• GPS Address: 18 2nd St, Tiffin, OH
• No fee for parking in visitor lot
 

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THE GAME
No. 15 Slippery Rock, the No. 4 seed in Super Region One, travels to No. 9 Tiffin, the top seed in the region, for the second round of the NCAA Playoffs for a game that features two of the highest-scoring offenses in the country. The Dragons are hosting their first-ever NCAA Division II Playoff game and will face The Rock for just the second time in the history of the two programs.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Slippery Rock owns a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series with the only meeting between these two teams coming more than 20 years ago when Tiffin traveled to SRU on Sept. 8, 2001. Then ranked No. 19, Slippery Rock scored 28 points in the third quarter to pull away for a 45-13 victory to improve to 2-0 on the year after opening the year with a 40-7 victory over Florida Atlantic in FAU's first-ever game, which was played in the Miami Dolphins' stadium.
 
• First Meeting: 2001 (SRU won 45-13)
• Last Meeting: 2001 (SRU won 45-13)
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +1
• at TU: First Meeting
• at SRU: SRU leads 1-0
• Most Points Scored (TU): 13 (2001)
• Biggest Win Margin (TU): No Wins
• Most Points Scored (SRU): 45 (2001)
• Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 32 (2001)
• Last TU Win: NA
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz is in his 28th overall year at The Rock and his eighth year (seventh season) as head coach, where he owns a 69-18 record with five PSAC West titles and five trips to the NCAA playoffs. Lutz was named PSAC West Coach of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2023 and was the Don Hansen Football Gazette Division II National Coach of the Year in 2019. The 69 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 has been a member of the coaching staff for 13 of SRU's 20 PSAC West titles. Lutz played tight end at West Virginia University, graduating in 1996, and earned a master's degree in sport management from SRU in 2003.
 
Cris Reisert is in his fifth year as the head coach at Tiffin, where he has led the Dragons to an overall record of 40-10 and is in the midst of the best season in program history. Reisert is a three-time GMAC Coach of the Year (2019, 2020, 2023) and has led the Dragons to two trips to the NCAA Division II Playoffs (2019, 2023). Prior to Tiffin, he spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Ohio Dominican and three seasons as a tight ends coach at Elon University. Reisert is a graduate of Ohio Dominican, where he was an NAIA All-American quarterback.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock entered the postseason ranked No. 15 in the AFCA poll and No. 13 in the D2football poll. Tiffin is No. 9 in the AFCA poll and No. 18 in the D2football poll. SRU has been ranked in every AFCA poll since the final poll of 2018. Both updated polls are available on page nine of the PDF notes linked above.
 
TIFFIN QUICK NOTES
• Tiffin is making its second Division II Playoff appearance (2019) and is 0-1 all-time in Division II Playoff games. The Dragons are hosting their first DII Playoff game.
• Tiffin ran through the GMAC this year with an 11-0 record to earn the top seed in the region.
• The Dragons rank in the top 15 in most of the key stat categories nationally, including owning the No. 4 total offense in Division II (482.4 ypg), the No. 5 rushing offense (264.0 ypg) and the No. 6 scoring offense (44.5 ppg).
• The team lost its starting QB Kason Martin in the ninth game of the season, but has not missed a beat with backup Keegan Ray taking over. Ray is completing 65.8% of his passes for 731 yards with six TD and just one INT on 76 pass attempts.
• Tiffin has strong receivers, but does most of its damage on the ground with a four-headed running back attack. Ronald Blackman (862 yds, 7 TD), Devin Nelson (752 yds, 6 TD), Tyrese Banks-Dorn (657 yds, 11 TD) and Carson Gresock (497 yds, 10 TD) have combined for 2,768 rushing yards and 34 TD.
• TU has run the ball 506 times while attempting 286 passes on the year.
• Defensively, Tiffin ranks first in the nation in turnover margin at +1.91 turnovers per game, second in defensive touchdowns (6) and eighth in passing defense (142.8 ypg) while pulling down 18 interceptions.
• TU allows 122.4 rushing yards per game and gives up just 13.6 points per game.
• The Dragons have not given up more than 13 points in each of their last five games dating back to a 35-21 win over Hillsdale Oct. 7.
 
SUPER REGION ONE BRACKET  |  Full Bracket
Tiffin (11-0) earned the No. 1 seed and the first round bye and had the luxury of taking last week off. No. 4 seed Slippery Rock defeated East Stroudsburg 45-14 to advance to play Tiffin. No. 3 seed Kutztown defeated Virginia Union 38-14 to advance and will travel to No. 2 seed Charleston this week after Charleston defeated New Haven 52-44. The teams seeded 2-3-4 won 10 of the 12 first round games across the nation with only two unseeded teams, Bemidji State and Central Washington both in Super Region Four, picking up first round wins.
 
PSAC DOWN TO TWO TEAMS
The PSAC was the only conference of the four in Super Region One to get more than one team into the playoffs this year with four selections. After the opening round, just two PSAC teams remain in PSAC West champion Slippery Rock and PSAC East champion Kutztown. East Stroudsburg and Shepherd were eliminated last week.
 
ACTIVE PLAYOFF STREAKS
Slippery Rock is making its fifth straight appearance in the national playoffs. The five straight trips to the playoffs are tied with Colorado School of Mines for the second longest active streak among all Division II teams in the country, trailing only the nine straight appearances by Ferris State.
 
TIFFIN LOOKING FOR FIRST DII PLAYOFF WIN
Tiffin is making its second trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs with the first appearance in 2019. The Dragons are still looking for their first Division II Playoff win. This week's game will mark the first home postseason game for Tiffin in nearly 30 years and the first Division II home playoff game in program history.
 
SRU'S NCAA PLAYOFF HISTORY  |  SRU Playoff Record Book
Slippery Rock is making its 11th overall appearance in the Division II Playoffs, including its fifth straight and eighth postseason trip in the last 10 seasons. The Rock own an 11-10 record all-time in Division II Playoff games and have advanced to at least the second round in four of the last five years. SRU reached the quarterfinals in 2018, the national semifinals in 2019 and the second round a year ago in 2022. In total, SRU has reached the quarterfinals five times (1997, 1998, 2015, 2018, 2019) and the Division II semifinals twice (1998, 2019).
 
11-WIN TEAMS IN DIVISION II
Slippery Rock and Tiffin enter this week as two of the 10 teams in Division II tied for the most wins this season with 11 wins. Four of the second round playoff games this week will feature two teams that have won at least 11 games. Tiffin is one of only four unbeaten teams left in Division II, joining Colorado School of Mines, Benedict and Harding, the top seeds in the other three regions.
 
ANOTHER 10-WIN SEASON FOR SRU
Slippery Rock has won at least 10 games in each of the last two seasons, four of the last five seasons and five times since the 2015 season. SRU has had a total of eight seasons in program history with 10 or more wins, all of them coming since 1997.
 
LAST WEEK FOR SRU
Slippery Rock ran away from East Stroudsburg for a convincing 45-14 win in the opening round of the playoffs last week. After the Warriors scored the first TD of the game, The Rock scored 21 straight points and never looked back. ESU's only other points were a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown, after which the SRU defense pitched a shutout for the final 39 minutes of the game and SRU closed the game on a 24-0 run. The Rock put up 521 yards of offense with 287 rushing yards and 234 passing yards while limiting ESU to 220 total yards on 105 passing yards and 115 rushing yards. Brayden Long was 21-of-30 for 234 yards with one TD and no INT and Chris D'Or, Khalid Dorsey and Isaiah Edwards all scored in the ground game as SRU ran for five TD and 287 yards against the No. 10 rushing defense in the country.  
 
SRU PASSING O AGAINST TIFFIN PASSING D
This game features one of the top passing offenses in the nation and one of the top passing defenses in the nation. Slippery Rock enters this game ranked 10th in Division II in passing offense at 281.5 yards per game. The Rock rank fourth in the nation in completion percentage (69%) and fifth in passing efficiency (169.0) while ranking 10th in the fewest interceptions thrown this season (5). On the flip side, Tiffin enters the game ranked eighth in Division II in passing defense allowing just 142.8 yards per game. The Dragons are fourth in the nation in pass efficiency defense with opponents owning a passer rating of just 87.55. They rank first in the nation in turnovers gained with 31 and rank seventh in the nation in interceptions with 18 picks.
 
RUNNING GAME MISMATCH ON PAPER
Tiffin enters the game ranked fifth in the nation in rushing offense, averaging a whopping 264.0 yards per game on the ground. That comes in part from a foursome of exceptional running backs, but also from a big, athletic offensive line. SRU has struggled against the run for most of the season and enters the game ranked 111th in Division II in rushing defense, allowing 166.2 rushing yards per game. Establishing the run on offense and limiting the run on defense will be in both teams' keys to win this week.
 
A LOT OF POINTS BY THESE TEAMS
Tiffin enters the game ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 44.5 points per game, while Slippery Rock enters the game ranked eighth in the nation, averaging 42.7 points per game. These two teams have combined to score 1,001 points and 140 total touchdowns so far this year.
 
TEAMS HAVE COMBINED FOR 35 INT
These two teams have two of the most active secondary units in the country and enter this week both ranked in the top 11 in Division II in interceptions. Tiffin ranks seventh in the nation with 18 interceptions on the year, while Slippery Rock is just one back and ranks 11th in the nation with 17 picks.
 
ROCK LOSES TURNOVER BATTLE LAST TWO WEEKS
Slippery Rock entered week 11 of the season ranked No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin, averaging just shy of +2.0 turnovers per game. The Rock are -5 in turnovers the last two weeks with three interceptions at Kutztown and two lost fumbles against ESU, while failing to record a single takeaway for two straight games. That shift has dropped SRU to 15th in Division II in turnover margin at +1.08 turnovers per game.
 
LONG, LUTZ WIN PSAC MAJOR AWARDS
Slippery Rock QB Brayden Long was named the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year and head coach Shawn Lutz was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year when the league announced the All-PSAC teams last week. Long led the PSAC in every passing category this year on his way to becoming the second SRU QB in the last four seasons to be named Athlete of the Year. He joins Roland Rivers III (2019), Nigel Barksdale (2013) and Randy McKavish (1997, 1998, 2000) as SRU QBs that were named PSAC Athletes of the Year. Shawn Lutz picks up his third Coach of the Year award since 2018.
 
LONG IS ONLY PSAC PLAYER TO BE CHAMPION SCHOLAR & AOY
Brayden Long is the only PSAC football player to ever be named the PSAC Champion Scholar Award winner (highest GPA in PSAC title game) and be named as one of the conference's Athletes of the Year in the same season. Long owns a perfect 4.0 GPA after 102 credits in the SRU sport management major.
 
52ND STRAIGHT RANKED GAME
Slippery Rock will play its 52nd consecutive game as a ranked team this week. The Rock have appeared in every AFCA national poll since the final poll of the 2018 season. The last poll released that did not include SRU in the top 25 was Nov. 13, 2018.
 
PSAC WEST CHAMPIONS AGAIN
Slippery Rock won a fifth straight PSAC West title this year after posting a 7-0 record in the division and has lost just two PSAC Western Division games since Oct. 21, 2017. The Rock are 35-2 against the Division since then, including 33-2 since the beginning of 2018. The last time SRU didn't claim at least a share of the PSAC West title was 2017. The Rock have won or at least shared nine of the 12 PSAC West titles dating back to 2011, easily leading all programs in the Division.
 
NO CLOSE GAMES
Every game SRU has played in this year has been decided by at least two possessions. The closest final score all year was the opener, when SRU beat Wayne State 28-17. After that, The Rock won nine straight games by at least 21 points before losing in the PSAC title game by 24 points and bouncing back to beat ESU by 31 points last week. SRU has scored at least 42 points in nine of 12 games this season.
 
THIRD QUARTERS HAVE BEEN KEY
Slippery Rock is outscoring opponents 146-20 in the third quarter this year, scoring an average of 12.2 points per game in the third period and limiting opponents to just 1.7 points.
 
MIDDLE OF GAMES BELONG TO SRU
Slippery Rock is outscoring opponents 157-68 in the second quarter and 146-20 in the third quarter for a combined advantage of 302-88 over the second and third quarters this season. 
 
FINALLY MADE A FIELD GOAL!
Entering last week, Slippery Rock was one of only two total Division II teams and the only playoff team that had not made a single field goal all season. The Rock had only attempted three field goals the first 11 weeks and had two of those blocked. SRU made a switch last week at kicker and inserted Mason Yohn as the placekicker for the first time all season. Yohn knocked home a 28-yarder in the first half and went 6-for-6 on PAT kicks to score nine points in the game.
 
HUGE POINT SWINGS FOR 10 STRAIGHT GAMES
Each of the last 10 games SRU has played in have featured a scoring run of at least 24-0. SRU put together runs of at least 25-0 in eight consecutive games on the way to a 10-0 start to the season before Kutztown opened week 11 on a 31-0 run. The Rock bounced back last week and closed the game against ESU on a 24-0 run.
 
THIRD DOWN OFFENSE
Slippery Rock enters this week ranked No. 3 in all of Division II in terms of third down offense, converting on 56.7 percent of its third down attempts on the season. The Rock are 80-of-141 on third down this year. SRU also ranks fifth nationally in total first downs with 287.
 
ROCK OFFENSE IN THE NATIONAL RANKS
Slippery Rock enters this week with one of the highest-ranked offensive units in the nation. The Rock rank third in Division II in third down conversions (57%), third in fewest tackles for loss allowed (3.3 per game), fourth in completion percentage (69%), fifth in passing efficiency (169.0), eighth in scoring offense (42.7 ppg), ninth in total offense (464.1 ypg), 10th in passing offense (281.5 ypg), 10th in fewest sacks allowed (10) and 10th in fewest interceptions thrown (5).
 
PASS COVERAGE AMONG NATION'S BEST
SRU enters this week ranked 11th in Division II in passing defense, allowing 147.0 passing yards per game. Opponents have a QB efficiency rating of 100.3, which ranks as the 12th lowest among all defenses in Division II. SRU also ranks 11th in interceptions with 17 and 14th in total turnovers gained with 25. Opponents have thrown just nine total TD passes against the SRU defense through the first 12 weeks.
 
SCORING DRIVE FACTS AND FIGURES
The Rock have scored 32 touchdowns this season on drives that lasted 2:04 or less, including 23 touchdown drives that took 80 seconds or less. SRU has scored touchdowns on 29 different drives that were at least 75 yards and six different drives that went more than 90 yards.
 
LONG AMONG BEST QUARTERBACKS IN NATION
QB Brayden Long leads Super Region One in every notable passing category and ranks among the national leaders in Division II in several passing categories. He ranks fifth in Division II in points responsible for (234), fifth in passing yards (3,295), fifth in touchdown passes (34), seventh in passing efficiency (167.2), seventh in completion percentage (68.5%) and 15th in total offense (279.4 ypg). 
 
LONG MOVING UP SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK
Brayden Long's numbers this season rank second in SRU single-season history in TD passes (34), third in completions (263), fourth in passing yards (3,295) and fifth in total offense (3,353). He is the sixth SRU QB in program history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season and the fifth QB in program history to throw 30 or more TD passes in a season. 
 
LONG IN CAREER RECORD BOOK ALREADY
Brayden Long has only started 13 games at SRU and already has his sights set on the career top 10 lists at SRU. He enters this week ranked 10th all-time at The Rock in passing yards (3,544) and seventh in passing touchdowns (35). Long is also the most accurate passer in SRU history among any players with at least 10 starts at the QB position, completing 67.4 percent (289-of-429) of his passes with just five interceptions on 429 career attempts.
 
SHEETS HITS 1,000 – RUSSELL CLOSING IN
Kyle Sheets has 1,076 yards in his last 11 games, averaging 97.8 receiving yards per game since week two of this season. He is the 10th player in program history to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Teammate Cohen Russell enters this week with 946 yards on the season, needing 54 yards to become the 11th player at SRU to hit 1,000 yards in a season. They could become the second duo in SRU history to top 1,000 yards in the same season after Henry Litwin (1,509) and Jermaine Wynn Jr. (1,339) both went over 1,000 yards in 2019.
 
SHEETS AMONG BEST RECEIVERS IN NATION
Kyle Sheets was injured on the third play in week one and did not return, finishing with no catches and missing the entire game. He returned in week two and since then has caught 66 passes for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games. His 16 TD catches are the second most among all players in Division II and rank second all-time at SRU, behind only the 21 by his former high school teammate Henry Litwin in 2019. Sheets is averaging 97.8 yards per game over the last 11 weeks. Despite missing that first game, he still ranks second in the nation in TD catches (16), eighth in receiving yards (1,076), 14th in total touchdowns scored (16) and 14th in receiving yards per game (89.7), even with his per-game averages reflecting the first game.
 
SHEETS CLIMBING SRU RECORD BOOKS
Kyle Sheets enters this week ranked third all-time at SRU in touchdown catches (28), fifth in receiving yards (2,330) and seventh in receptions (144). His numbers this fall, all of which came in the last 10 games, already rank No. 2 in single-season history at SRU in TD catches (16) and No. 7 in yards (1,076).
 
RUSSELL WITH CATCHES IN 25 STRAIGHT GAMES
Slot receiver Cohen Russell has at least one catch in every game since the opener in 2022 for a streak of 25 straight games with a catch entering this week. He enters this week ranked 12th in single-season history at SRU with 946 yards this fall. His 1,643 career receiving yards rank 13th all-time at SRU.
 
50TH CAREER GAMES THIS WEEK
Slippery Rock seniors Kyle Sheets and Selvin Haynes are the two most experienced players on the roster and will play in their 50th career college football game this week. Kyle Kudla is close behind and will make his 48th career appearance this week.
 
KUDLA TOPS 300 CAREER TACKLES
LB Kyle Kudla's 11 tackles last week brought his career total to 304 counting his three years at Hillsdale and this season at SRU, where he leads the team with 83 total tackles to go along with 8.5 TFL. Kudla enters this week ranked 10th among all active players in Division II in career tackles with all nine of the athletes ahead of him already done for the season.
 
DORSEY AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
RB Khalid Dorsey enters this week ranked ninth in Division II in average yards per carry at 6.78 yards per rush. Dorsey leads SRU with 861 rushing yards and 10 TD on just 127 carries. His 6.8 yards per carry are the highest average in the PSAC of any runners with at least 100 carries on the year.
 
THREE-HEADED MONSTER IN BACKFIELD
Slippery Rock has one of the deepest running back stables in the region with Khalid Dorsey, Chris D'Or and Isaiah Edwards. The three running backs all average at least 5.7 yards per carry. Dorsey has 861 yards and averages 6.8 yards per touch, while Edwards has 460 yards and averages 6.1 yards per touch and D'Or has 599 yards and averages 5.7 yards per touch. The trio have combined for 1,920 rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns this fall.
 
EXPERIENCED OFFENSIVE LINE
All five of Slippery Rock's starting offensive linemen, Yuriy Hryckowian, Colton Rossi, Jeff Burkhart, Nick Stazer and Joe Cooper, have been honored as All-PSAC selections in their career, including four of them being named to this year's team. That unit has combined for a total of 128 career starts.
 
BALL HAWKS ON DEFENSE
The Rock defense has come down with 17 interceptions to rank 11th in Division II this fall. Josh Stokes leads the way with five picks to rank 14th in single-season history at SRU, while Eddie Faulkner IV is second on the team with four, Ali Abdul-Hakim has two and Selvin Haynes, Max Heckert, Savion Harrison, Jalen Dangerfield, Munchie Johnson and Donnell Henriquez each have one. In addition to the 17 picks, The Rock have recorded 36 pass breakups for a total of 53 passes defended.
 
WE'VE PLAYED A LOT OF FOOTBALL
Slippery Rock will play its 66th game since the start of the 2018 season this week, which is more than any other Super Region One school. The Rock are averaging an impressive 10.8 wins per year over the last five seasons, all of which have resulted in trips to the NCAA Playoffs.
 
WINNING SEASONS STREAK
Slippery Rock has put together a winning season in each of the last 14 years, which ranks ninth among all Division II programs for the longest active winning seasons streak in the country. California (Pa.) (19) is the only Super Region One team with a longer active streak.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of this week's game will face the winner of No. 2 Charleston and No. 3 Kutztown at the highest remaining seed in the Super Region One final next Saturday.




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