Full Game Notes (PDF)

#24/- EDINBORO (8-1, 5-1) @ #6/8 CAL U (8-0, 6-0)
• When: Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: ESPN3
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WFSE (88.9 FM)
• Live Stats: Fan Stats | Media Stats

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Cal U leads 45-35-2
• First Meeting: 1927 - Edinboro won 27-6
• Last Meeting: Sept. 26, 2015 @ Edinboro - Cal U won 37-30 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: Cal U +11

NOTES
• Cal U closes out PSAC West play on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Edinboro. Last week, the Vulcans tallied 48 first-half points in a 55-14 victory at Mercyhurst. Meanwhile, Edinboro scored 21-unanswered points in the second half in a 42-34 win over Seton Hill.

• The Vulcans clinched at least a share of the PSAC West title last weekend with a 55-14 victory over Mercyhurst. Senior Garry Brown registered the second-most receiving yards in school history, finishing with 265 yards and three touchdowns on 12 receptions. Junior quarterback Michael Keir accounted for 425 yards of total offense and four touchdowns (one rushing), while setting a career high with 343 passing yards. The Vulcans limited the Lakers to only 173 yards of total offense, as Mercyhurst finished with negative rushing yards after surrendering six sacks. 

• The Vulcans and Fighting Scots are meeting for the 83rd time with Cal U holding a 45-35-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Vulcans have won the last 11 meetings, including six-straight at Adamson Stadium dating back to 2002.

• With coaching experience at all NCAA levels, Justin Lustig is in his first season as head coach at Edinboro. He has posted an 8-1 record with the Fighting Scots after spending the previous five years at Ball State as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach. He helped the Cardinals make consecutive appearances in bowl games, highlighted by a 10-win season in 2013.

• Edinboro enters the last week of divisional play tied for second place in the PSAC West standings behind one of the top offenses in the nation. Junior quarterback Jake Sisson ranks third in NCAA Division II with 3,193 passing yards and has been responsible for 246 points, which is the second-most in the country. He has passed for over 400 yards four times this season and has thrown at least four touchdowns in each of the last three weeks. The Fighting Scots feature five players with at least 30 receptions this season and the duo of sophomore James Clark and junior Alex Caratelli are tied for the team lead with nine touchdown receptions. Clark ranks fourth in the PSAC with 874 receiving yards on 60 catches and Caratelli sits sixth in the league with 758 yards on 55 receptions. Edinboro averages just 89.8 rushing yards per game with redshirt freshman Walter Fletcher leading the team with 529 rushing yards while also tallying 31 receptions. The Fighting Scots rank last in the 16-team PSAC in passing defense, allowing 321.7 yards per game. Redshirt senior linebacker Mike Shansky, who played at Cal U as a freshman in 2012, leads the team with 76 tackles and has also registered 9.0 TFL. Senior defensive lineman Victor Hudson leads the PSAC and ranks among the national leaders with both 17.5 TFL and 11.0 sacks, while junior DeVon Groves and sophomore Zuril Hendrick have combined for seven interceptions this season. On special teams, junior Austin Reese ranks second in the league with 40.3 yards per punt and has made of 8-of-11 field goals.
 
• The latest Super Region One rankings were released on Monday with little movement, as the top-eight teams remain unchanged from last week. Cal U continues to rank second, while Edinboro maintained its position at seven. The region consists of four conferences - PSAC, MEC, CIAA and NE-10. The regional playoffs feature seven teams and only the top team in the final regional rankings will receive a first-round bye.

• Cal U remained at No. 6 in the AFCA Top 25 poll this week, as the program has matched its highest position in the AFCA poll since 2012 when it was ranked as high as No. 6 in the country for three-straight weeks. The Vulcans boast a 26-7 all-time record when featured in the top 10 of the AFCA poll with three of the losses coming during the NCAA Playoffs.

• This weekend marks the 46th game for the Vulcans against an opponent ranked in the AFCA Top 25 poll since the start of the 2000 season. During that span, Cal U has posted a 23-22 record against nationally-ranked programs with a 13-9 mark at Adamson Stadium, including seven-straight victories at home.

• Both Cal U and Edinboro feature successful first-year head coaches. Cal U head coach Gary Dunn, a former four-year starter for the Vulcans, has led the program to its first 8-0 start since 2007 and at least a share of the PSAC West title. Meanwhile, Edinboro head coach Justin Lustig has led the Fighting Scots to the most wins ever by a first-year coach after the program was winless last season.

• In addition to setting a career high in passing yards last week, junior Michael Keir led the team with 82 rushing yards at Mercyhurst. It marked the first time since the 2009 season-opener in which a quarterback led the team in rushing, as Josh Portis finished with 82 rushing yards. Last week, Keir scored on a 41-yard touchdown run which is the longest run by a quarterback since Matt Humbert in 2004.

• Senior defensive lineman Jawan Turner registered a pair of strip sacks last week at Mercyhurst. He also returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown, becoming the first player in recent program history to return multiple fumbles for touchdowns in the same season. Turner paces the PSAC this year with four forced fumbles and is tied for first with three fumble recoveries.

• Last week, senior Garry Brown recorded the second-most receiving yards in single-game school history. He finished with 265 receiving yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 12 catches at Mercyhurst. Brown now holds the top-two receiving games in school history, as he set the record with 282 yards in 2014. The Ohio native has eclipsed 200 receiving yards in a game three times in his career (six 200-yard games in program history).

• Cal U forced Mercyhurst into negative rushing yards last week after totaling six sacks. The Lakers finished with minus-nine rushing yards on 18 attempts, as the Vulcans forced an opponent into negative rushing yards for the first time since 2014. Cal U ranks No. 10 in the country this season in rushing defense at 88.8 yards per game and has yet to allow 100 rushing yards to a running back this year. 

• Late in the fourth quarter last week, the Vulcans yielded their first blocked punt since 2014. Mercyhurst returned the blocked punt for a touchdown, as a Cal U opponent scored on a blocked punt for the first time since 2010.

• The Vulcans continue to lead NCAA Division II with 52.5 points per game this season. Cal U has already scored the fifth-most points in school history with two games left in the regular season. Through eight games, the Vulcans have trailed for only a combined total of 32 seconds out of a possible 480 minutes. In comparison, Edinboro has won four of its eight games either in the fourth quarter or overtime.

• Last week, Cal U amassed over 600 yards of total offense at Mercyhurst behind 10 plays of at least 20 yards. The Vulcans have recorded a combined 52 'explosive plays' through eight games, including 32 in the first half of games. Wide receivers Garry Brown, Tom Greene and Luke Smorey have combined for 30 'explosive plays' with 10 of those plays resulting in touchdowns.

• Cal U enters the weekend with a one-game lead in the PSAC West standings over both IUP and Edinboro. With a victory on Saturday, the Vulcans would advance to face Kutztown in the PSAC Championship next weekend at Adamson Stadium. However if Cal U, IUP and Edinboro are tied for first place after Saturday, the West representative in the PSAC Championship will be decided by a 'coin flip' as the teams remain deadlocked through the previous tiebreakers.