Full Game Notes (PDF)

#2 IUP (4-0, 1-0) @ CAL U (2-2, 1-0)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018
• Where: California, Pa.
• Stadium: Adamson Stadium (6,500)
• Kickoff: 6 p.m.
• Live Video: Stretch (CUTV Feed)
• Live Radio: WCAL (91.9 FM) I WQMU (92.5 FM)
• Live Stats: Click HERE

SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: IUP leads 62-27-2
• First Meeting: 1918 - IUP won 20-2
• Last Meeting: Oct. 7, 2017 @ Indiana - IUP won 26-10 I Recap I Box Score
• Streak: IUP +1

NOTES
• Cal U will play a consecutive home game on Saturday when it hosts No. 2 IUP in the 10th-annual Coal Bowl. The Vulcans claimed a 40-35 win against Edinboro last week, while the defending-PSAC Champion Crimson Hawks cruised to a 34-7 victory against Mercyhurst.
 
• Junior Nelson Brown scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time in two weeks and classmate Lamont McPhatter II registered three takeaways, including a fumble return for a touchdown, to help the Vulcans open divisional play with a 40-35 win at Edinboro last Saturday. Cal U scored the go-ahead touchdown with over five minutes left to play when freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell found sophomore wide receiver Tyson Hill for an 18-yard score. Junior linebacker London Cloud led the team with eight tackles and registered 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack.
  
• The Vulcans and Crimson Hawks initiated the Coal Bowl in 2009 and the home team has won the last six meetings. Cal U won both meetings against IUP in 2016, both at Adamson Stadium, as the rivals also met in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.
 
• A longtime assistant coach with the program, Paul Tortorella is in his second season as head coach at IUP. He served as interim head coach in 2017 before having the interim tag removed last November. Tortorella has posted a 17-1 mark as head coach of the Crimson Hawks, highlighted by an appearance in the NCAA Semifinals last year. He previously spent over two decades as the defensive coordinator at IUP.
 
• With its victory last week, IUP extended its winning streak in the regular season to 20 games (last loss at Cal U, 10/8/16). Senior Lenny Williams, Jr. returns as one of the most efficient and dynamic quarterbacks in the country. A four-year starter, Williams sits fourth in the country with a 184.1 passing efficiency behind 10 touchdowns and one interception. He also is one of only two active quarterbacks in all NCAA divisions with at least 6,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in his career. Williams and junior Samir Bullock have combined for over 400 rushing yards this fall. Bullock nearly has 2,500 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in his career. Junior Dom McNeil leads the team with 352 receiving yards on 16 catches, while senior Ricky Rogers - a transfer from West Virginia - has tallied four touchdowns on just 12 receptions. The Crimson Hawks are allowing just 12.0 points per game, which ranks among the top 10 in the country this season. In his first year as a starter, junior linebacker Damon Lloyd was an all-region honoree after leading the team with 116 tackles. He has posted 25 stops with 2.0 sacks and two pass break-ups in 2018. Junior defensive lineman Dondrea Tillman leads the team this fall with 27 tackles and has tallied 5.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks, while senior defensive lineman Deandre Easterling paces the team with 6.5 TFL and also has 4.5 sacks. On special teams, senior Nico Ruiz is averaging 45.8 yards per punt with four punts of at least 50 yards.
 
• This weekend marks the 10th anniversary of the Coal Bowl between rivals Cal U and IUP with the home team winning the last six meetings. The Vulcans have posted a 4-0 record at Adamson Stadium in the Coal Bowl and hold a 6-3 edge in the series. This marks the seventh time in Coal Bowl history that at least one team has been ranked in the AFCA Top 25 poll (both teams ranked in 2012, 2016, 2017).
 
• The Vulcans are facing their second nationally-ranked opponent this season, as the Crimson Hawks enter the weekend No. 2 in the latest AFCA Top 25 poll. It marks the highest-ranked opponent for Cal U since it faced No. 2 Northwest Missouri State in the 2009 NCAA Semifinals. The highest ranked opponent Cal U has faced in the regular season since the turn of the century was No. 3 IUP in 2001.
 
• Cal U recorded six 'explosive plays' on offense in the victory over Edinboro, marking the third-straight week in which the Vulcans tallied six plays of at least 20 yards. Freshman quarterback Noah Mitchell has completed 19 passes of at least 20 yards to six different players this fall with redshirt junior wide receiver Jordan Dandridge leading the team with five 'explosive play' receptions. 
 
• Last weekend, Cal U and Edinboro combined for a staggering nine turnovers behind six interceptions. The Vulcans committed six turnovers in the victory, marking their most turnovers in a game since Oct. 26, 2002 when they also committed six turnovers in a 17-9 win over Mansfield at Adamson Stadium.

• Last week, junior Nelson Brown finished with a season-high 32 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns for a consecutive week. He totaled at least 30 carries in six games while playing the last two years at Lenoir-Rhyne. Brown is the first Cal U player with at least 30 attempts in a game since Week 7 of the 2016 season. The Maryland native leads the PSAC and sits third in the country with eight rushing touchdowns this fall.
 
• Over the last decade, Cal U has posted a 10-6 record under the lights (kickoff at 6 p.m. or later) while Saturday marks the sixth night game at Adamson Stadium since 2009. The Vulcans haven't lost a home night game since the 2011 season-opener against St. Cloud State. This weekend marks the third time in four years in which the annual Coal Bowl will be played under the lights.
 
• Quarterback Noah Mitchell enters the weekend leading the PSAC and ranking third in the country with 360.5 yards of total offense per game. He ranks second among freshmen quarterbacks in all NCAA divisions with 1,369 passing yards, trailing only Alan Bowman of Texas Tech. Mitchell, who has completed at least 20 passes in all four games, was held to a season-low 297 passing yards last week in the victory against Edinboro.
 
• Junior defensive back Lamont McPhatter II recorded three takeaways, highlighted by an 82-yard fumble return for a touchdown, last week versus Edinboro. He also tallied a pair of interceptions in the victory, as the Vulcans featured a player with multiple interceptions in a game for the second-straight week. McPhatter has scored three touchdowns and made eight interceptions in 14 career games with the Vulcans.
 
• Sophomore wide receiver Tyson Hill set a career high with nine receptions, including go-ahead touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, against Edinboro. He enters the week among the top-five in the PSAC with 25 receptions and 353 receiving yards after totaling over 300 yards the past three weeks. As a redshirt freshman, Hill finished last year with just eight catches with four coming at IUP.
 
• Last week, junior linebacker London Cloud led the team with eight tackles in the win versus Edinboro. He paces the team with 27 stops (19 solo) this year after tallying at least eight tackles in three of the four games. A transfer from Lackawanna, Cloud also ranks among the PSAC leaders with 6.0 TFL after recording 3.5 TFL in the season-opener.
 
• The Vulcans lead the PSAC and rank No. 12 in the country in time of possession, controlling the ball for an average of 34 minutes, 20 seconds. Cal U has held the edge in time of possession in three of four games this year behind an offense that ranks second in the nation with a .581 third-down conversion percentage (36-of-62). The Vulcans also have tallied 101 first downs this year, which is ninth-best in NCAA Division II.
 
• Cal U and IUP enter the weekend tied for the PSAC-lead with only two sacks allowed this season, which ranks as the fourth-fewest in the country. The teams have combined over 250 pass attempts with opponents recording only four sacks. The Vulcans are anchored up front by two-time All-PSAC West selection Craig McCorkle, while the Crimson Hawks return a pair of All-PSAC West honorees from 2017.