• Game Notes (.pdf)

#4/5 CAL U (5-0, 2-0) at GANNON (3-2, 1-1)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 18
• Where: Erie, Pa.
• Stadium: Gannon University Field
• Kickoff: 12 p.m.
• TV: CUTV (tape delayed)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM)
• Live Video: Click here
• Live Stats: Click here

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 2-0
• First Meeting: Oct. 18, 2008 @ Gannon – Cal U won 42-24
• Last Meeting: Sept. 19, 2009 @ Cal U – Cal U won 52-10
• Streak: Cal U +2

CAL U NOTES
• Cal U remains undefeated after five weeks following its 58-0 victory against Lock Haven on Family Day last weekend. Meanwhile, Gannon posted a 14-10 comeback win against city-rival Mercyhurst last Saturday to regain the Niagara Cup.

• The Vulcans totaled nearly 500 yards of total offense, forced three turnovers and allowed negative-52 rushing yards against Lock Haven in last week's 58-0 victory on Family Day. Sophomore running back #Lamont Smith# finished with 112 yards on the ground and four touchdowns in the first half, while as a team Cal U posted 245 rushing yards and five scores. The Vulcan defense allowed only 84 yards of total offense and six first downs on 59 plays. As a unit, Cal U collected eight sacks and forced three turnovers (two interceptions).

• The Vulcans and Golden Knights are facing each other in only the third all-time meeting between the two schools. Cal U has won each of the previous two games against Gannon, including a 52-10 win last year.

• In his fourth season as head coach, Jim Kiernan has posted a 14-24 mark with the Golden Knights and increased their win total each year. Prior to his stint at Gannon, he spent eight years as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Saginaw Valley. Kiernan also has had coaching stints at Mercyhurst, Alabama A&M, Kentucky Wesleyan and Lakeland (Wis.).

• Gannon returns 45 lettermen and 18 starters from last year's team that posted a two-win improvement from 2008. Offensively, the Golden Knights are averaging only 17.6 points and 290.0 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Zach Boedicker returns for his second year as the starter and is among the league leaders in passing efficiency at 131.5, while also rushing for over 250 yards and a team-high four touchdowns. Senior running back Tyler Batts leads the ground game with 324 yards after serving as the Golden Knights' return specialist in 2009. Batts (12) has also been one of Boedicker's favorite targets, as he ranks behind only senior Levar Goff (14) for receptions. After leading the team and ranking fifth in the PSAC in tackles last season, senior Matthew Neal-Mink again tops Gannon in stops in 2010. Through five games, he has made 39 stops (20 solo) with 5.5 tackles for loss (TFL). Junior defensive lineman Randy Colling, an All-PSAC West First-Team pick last year, anchors the pass rush with a team-high 2.5 sacks. On special teams, senior Jeremy Ditzler has made only two field goals this year, but is the program's all-time leader with 29 field goals. Goff leads the team with 176 return yards after handling both the kickoff and punt return duties.

• Cal U continues to defend its fifth-straight PSAC West title this weekend when it travels to Gannon. The Vulcans have won 22-straight games against PSAC West opponents with its last divisional loss coming in 2006. Cal U also enters the weekend with a 16-game win streak in road divisional games with its last defeat coming at Slippery Rock in October 2005.

• Since the PSAC expanded with the addition Gannon and Mercyhurst in 2008, Cal U has posted a 4-0 combined record against the two 'new' teams. Versus the Golden Knights, the Vulcans have won both meetings by a combined 60 points following a 52-10 victory last season.

• Cal U has won 57 of its last 67 games (.851) overall, dating back to the start of the 2005 season. The Vulcans have posted a 37-4 (.902) record in regular season games dating back to the 2006 campaign.

• The Vulcans are off to their second 5-0 start in the last four years. Prior to posting an undefeated regular season in 2007, the last time Cal U won its first five games of the year was in 1986. Overall, the Vulcans have opened the year at 5-0 only six times since 1916.

• In the fourth quarter of last week's victory at Lock Haven, a trio of Vulcans scored their first career touchdowns. Redshirt freshman wide receiver #Mike Williams# and junior tight end #Justin Shaffer# each found the end zone on lengthy pass receptions, while freshman running back #Bryan Stefanik# scampered 39 yards for his first touchdown since joining Cal U.

• Through the first five games, the Cal U defense has made the end zone foreign territory after halftime for opponents. Including the overtime game in the season-opener, the Vulcans have allowed only a combined 22 points after halftime this year. Meanwhile, the Cal U offense has been a juggernaut by scoring 118 points in the second half and overtime.

• Following a redshirt last season, linebacker #Darnell Harding# has made significant contributions to the Vulcan defense in 2010. Despite playing as a reserve, the McKeesport native leads the team with 7.5 TFL and is tied for the team lead with 4.0 sacks. Harding, whose older brother Quentin is on the Cal U men's basketball team, registered season highs with five tackles (two solo), 2.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks last week versus Lock Haven.

• The Vulcans feature a group of 24 seniors in 2010. The senior class has compiled a record of 41-7 and started a combined 244 games.

• True freshman return specialist #Trey Johnson# is developing into a premier playmaker for Cal U. He established season highs in both yards and returns last week, finishing 102 yards on seven returns. A native of Rochester, Pa., Johnson's 100-yard performance as a punt returner is the first for the Vulcans since Marc Huddleston had 116 yards at Mansfield in 2005, highlighted by an 80-yard score. With his performance last week alone, Johnson had more punt return yards then 10 of the 16 schools in the PSAC.

• After suffering an injury in Week 3 of the NFL season, former Cal U special teams standout and St. Louis Rams wide receiver #Dominique Curry# was placed on injured reserve last week. Playing mostly on special teams, he blocked a punt and made a tackle against the Washington Redskins on Sept. 26. Curry became the first Vulcan to play in a NFL regular-season game since Perry Kemp in 1991.

• The Cal U rushing defense is again among the national leaders in 2010. In last week's shutout against Lock Haven, the Vulcans allowed negative-52 rushing yards on 39 attempts behind eight sacks. It marked the first time since 2007 in which Cal U forced an opponent into negative rushing yards. During that season, the Vulcans held both Cheyney (minus-4) and East Stroudsburg (minus-38) to negative yards on the ground en route to leading the nation in rushing defense.

• Sophomore running back #Lamont Smith# has made an instant impact for the Vulcans this year after transferring from Phoenix. After five weeks, he ranks among the nation's elite in both rushing and scoring per game. Against Lock Haven last week, he scored four rushing touchdowns in the first half and posted his fifth-consecutive 100-yard game. The last running back to post a longer 100-yard stretch was #Brandon Lombardy# in 2006 when he led the PSAC in rushing with 1,595 rushing yards after finishing the year with eight-straight 100-yard games. Lombardy is also the last running back to score at least four times in a game, finishing with five touchdowns at Clarion in 2006.