• Game Notes (.pdf)

#6/6 CAL U (3-0, 1-0) vs. #14/21 IUP (3-0, 1-0)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.
• TV: Pittsburgh CW I Fox College Sports I CUTV (tape delay)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WQMU (92.5 FM) I WIUP (90.1 FM)
• Live Video: America One (PPV)
• Live Stats: Flash Stats I Media Stats

GAME INFORMATION
• General Admission: $8 adults
• Chairback Seats: $12 adults
• Parking: $3
• Directions to Adamson Stadium
• Promotions

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: IUP leads 59-23-2
• First Meeting: 1918 - IUP won 20-2
• Last Meeting: Oct. 29, 2011 @ IUP - Cal U won 28-10
• Streak: Cal U +5

CAL U NOTES
• Cal U returns to Adamson Stadium following two-straight road night games, including a 24-14 win at Edinboro in the PSAC West-opener last Saturday. Meanwhile, IUP posted its second-straight shutout last week with a 42-0 victory over Lock Haven.

• The Vulcans scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns last week to secure a 24-14 win at Edinboro. Senior quarterback Peter Lalich posted his second-straight and sixth career 300-yard game, finishing with 321 passing yards on 23-of-38 attempts and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Mike Williams registered his second career 100-yard game, posting six receptions for 123 yards with one touchdown. Cal U limited Edinboro to only 49 rushing yards after registering six sacks. Junior defensive lineman BJ Stevens set career highs with seven tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks while making his third career start.

• The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks are meeting for the 85th time this weekend in the fourth-annual Coal Bowl. Cal U has won six of the last seven games against IUP.

• After 25-plus years as an assistant coach, Curt Cignetti is in his second season as head coach at IUP.  He has posted a 10-3 record with the Crimson Hawks and has led the program to its first national ranking since 2008. Cignetti previously was the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Alabama (2007-10), serving on the coaching staff when the Crimson Tide won the 2009 BCS National Championship. He is the oldest son of former IUP head coach Frank Cignetti (1986-05), who holds the school record with 182 career wins.

• IUP returns 15 starters (seven offense, seven defense) from a team that finished 7-3 overall and third in the divisional standings with a 5-2 mark last year. The Crimson Hawks feature one of the most dominant rushing attacks in NCAA Division II, ranking fourth in the country with 325.3 yards per game. Senior Harvie Tuck was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week on Sunday after rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win over Lock Haven. An All-PSAC West First-Team selection, he ranks seventh in the country this year with 155.0 yards per game. Senior Pat Smith returns as the starter at quarterback after passing for 1,310 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Junior wide receiver Pat Brewer has averaged 19.8 yards per reception this season after totaling over 500 yards and four touchdowns in 2011. IUP boasts one of the top defenses in the country this season, ranking second in both rushing and scoring defense. Senior defensive back Johnny Franco leads the team with 14 tackles (eight solo) this season after ranking among the league leaders with five interceptions last year. Defensive lineman Greg and Shane Meisner have combined for 6.5 TFL this season. The special teams are led by sophomore All-PSAC West First-Team kicker Brett Ullman, who made 10-of-11 field goals and 33-of-34 PAT attempts last year.

• This weekend marks the fourth-annual Coal Bowl in the long-standing rivalry between Cal U and IUP. In the first-ever Coal Bowl, the Vulcans posted a 41-28 road victory in 2009 behind four touchdown passes by quarterback Josh Portis. In 2010, Cal U rallied from a 15-0 fourth-quarter deficit to earn an 18-15 victory in overtime. Portis connected with wide receiver Chedrick Cherry for a touchdown and two-point conversion before kicker Marc Domonkos made the game-winning field goal in overtime. Last season, quarterback Peter Lalich passed for three touchdowns in snowy conditions to help the Vulcans post a 28-10 win.

• With its second 3-0 start in the last three years, Cal U remained at No. 6 in both the AFCA and D2Football.com Top 25 polls. The Vulcans have been ranked in the top 10 of the AFCA poll for three-straight weeks. After its first 3-0 start since 2009, IUP also moved up in both polls and is now ranked No. 14 by the AFCA and No. 21 by D2Football.com.

• Cal U and IUP were selected as co-preseason favorites in the PSAC West this summer. Last year under new head coach Curt Cignetti, the Crimson Hawks posted their highest win total since 2008 and recorded five divisional wins for the first time since 2007. Meanwhile, the Vulcans advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the fifth-straight year while also being one of two PSAC teams with at least 10 wins in 2011.

• This weekend's contest will feature a pair of former PSAC baseball players in Cal U senior wide receiver Casey Teagarden and IUP senior quarterback Pat Smith. Teagarden was the starting shortstop for the Vulcans from 2010-11 and Smith was a relief pitcher with the Crimson Hawks in 2009-10. Teagarden has served as a reserve wide receiver and holder the last two seasons and also served as the punt returner last week. Smith has passed for over 2,500 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career at IUP after missing the majority of the 2010 season.

• For the first time since 2008, Cal U will open the season with three of its first four opponents being ranked in the AFCA Top 25. IUP has steadily climbed in the weekly poll after opening the year with three dominating victories, including back-to-back shutouts. The 2008 meeting between the Vulcans and Crimson Hawks also marked the last time both programs were ranked at the time of the annual rivalry game with Cal U winning 21-19 at Adamson Stadium.

• After playing as reserves the last two seasons, juniors Darnell Harding and BJ Stevens have quickly become two of the most dominant defensive linemen in the PSAC. Harding, who was the 2010 PSAC Freshman of the Year, set a career high with nine tackles (eight solo) last week after being named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season. He ranks among the top five in the league with 4.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks. Stevens posted a career day at Edinboro last week, finishing with seven stops (four solo), 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks. With his performance, he enters the weekend as the league leader with 5.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks

• Last season, the Vulcans became the fourth school in PSAC history, and the first since West Chester (2004-08), to reach the NCAA Playoffs in five-straight years. No program in the league has made six-consecutive berths in the NCAA Playoffs and IUP is the only school to have reached the postseason five-straight years on multiple separate occasions.

• Cal U and IUP enter this weekend as the top two rushing defenses in the PSAC. The Crimson Hawks lead the league and rank second in the country by allowing just 29.0 rushing yards per game, yielding a season-high 47 yards to Southern Connecticut State. The Vulcans have allowed a scant 77.0 yards per game on the ground this season, limiting their last two opponents to a combined 66 rushing yards.

• After entering the year with only 28 career receptions, junior Mike Williams has developed into one of the top wide receivers in the PSAC. He leads the team and ranks second in the league with a career-high 341 receiving yards, while averaging 16.2 yards per catch. Williams has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in each of the last two weeks.

• Head coach Mike Kellar joins Earle Bruce (1946) and John Luckhardt (2002) as the only head coaches since World War II to start their coaching careers at Cal U with a 3-0 record. Bruce posted a 27-6 mark in four years behind the first undefeated season in school history in 1946. Luckhardt, who retired in June, posted a 6-5 record in his first year with the program before becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history with 88 victories.

• The Vulcans return to Adamson Stadium this weekend following consecutive road night games. Cal U has won 17-consecutive games in PSAC West play at home with the last home divisional loss coming to IUP on Nov. 11, 2006. Overall, the Vulcans have posted a 36-4 record in regular-season games at Adamson Stadium since the 2005 season.

• This weekend's game will feature a pair of senior All-PSAC West First-Team safeties in Rontez Miles (Cal U) and Johnny Franco (IUP). Miles, who was a preseason First-Team All-American, ranks third on the team with 21 tackles (12 solo) this year and has added 1.0 sack, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Franco, who made a team-high five interceptions in 2011, leads the team with 14 tackles (eight solo) and has made 2.0 TFL this year.