Game Preview - Indiana

In the final game of the season for both teams, the Golden Rams (6-4) host Indiana (6-3) on Saturday. Kickoff at John A. Farrell Stadium is set for noon. The game will also serve as Senior Day when West Chester University senior band members, cheerleaders, football players and the team training staff will be honored before the game.

Series History:
Indiana leads the overall series 14-7. The teams faced each other twice in 1987 with both games being played at Farrell Stadium. West Chester won the season opener by a convincing 31-7 score, but in the PSAC championship game, Indiana won in an equally convincing manner, 21-9. Thirty years later, the two schools also faced each other twice in the same season with Indiana taking both victories. The first game was the PSAC championsip game while the second game was in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Head coach Bill Zwaan endeared himself to Golden Ram fans when he broke West Chester's five-game losing streak to Indiana and led West Chester to a 30-20 win in his first game against them in 2005. However, he then lost three straight to the Crimson Hawks, including a 45-35 home loss in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. In a game that vaulted West Chester into the the 2014 playoffs, the Golden Rams won at Indiana in 2014.

Paul Tortorella (37-9) is in his fourth season as head coach of IUP and the Crimson Hawks advanced to the national semi-finals in 2017 and qualified for the playoffs in 2019.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1995	Away	Loss	50-7	2010	Away	Loss	27-10
1998	Home	Loss	19-10	2011	Home	Loss	34-7
1999	Away	Loss	12-9	2014	Away	Win	28-17
2005	Home	Win	30-20	2017	Home	Loss	24-7
2007	Home	Loss	45-35	2017	Away	Loss	44-10

Last Meeting:

11/25/2017 Indiana 44 - West Chester 10

The #3 Crimson Hawks dominated all facets of the game in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, jumping out to a 37-0 lead and coasting to a 44-10 win. Indiana rolled up 558 yards of offense while holding West Chester to just 232 total yards. Tight end Dan Neuhaus had three catches for 56 yards and safety Jordan Burney had five total tackles.

Scouting the Opponent:

Prior to the 2021 season, quarterback Harry Woodbery (115 of 193, 1,667 yards, 22 TD's, 4 int's) transferred from Eastern Illinois where he played in 27 games and made 12 starts at quarterback over three seasons for the FCS Panthers. He didn't play in IUP's first two games this season, but has been the starter ever since. Penn State transfer wide receiver Irvin Charles (36 catches, 694 yards, 11 TD's) gets into the end zone, and while All-PSAC West receiver Duane Brown (50 catches, 739 yards, 6 TD's) is also a top target, he has 12 carries for 67 yards as well this year. The running game is led by All-PSAC West backs Justice Evans (103 carries, 511 yards, 1 TD) and Malik Anderson (70 carries, 382 yards, 4 TD's). Redshirt freshman Dayjure Stewart (59 carries, 254 yards, 3 TD's) has also seen a lot of action this season. Right guard Josh Dauberman is a two-time All-PSAC West performer for the Crimson Hawks.

Dylan Grubbs handles the punting (41 avg, 13 inside the 20, 6 50+ yards) and kickoffs (57 kickoffs, 9 touchbacks, 3 out of bounds). Freshman Tyler Luther (9 of 10 FG, 36 of 37 PATs) handles the kick scoring.

After spending four seasons at nearby Youngstown State, linebacker Malachi Newell (59 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss) is IUP's top tackler. He is joined in the middle by Edinboro transfer Connor Kelly (52 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss). The defensive line is led by freshman Tyrone Fowler Jr. (2 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss) and Clarion transfer Vaughn Wallace (16 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss) who get after the quarterback.

Freshman free safety Charles Ingram (43 tackles, 2 ints), freshman strong safety Jaheim Howard (32 tackles, 2 ints), and Youngstown State transfer cornerback Bryce Gibson (29 tackles, 2 ints) patrol the secondary.

However, the Indiana defense will look different this Saturday than it did in week one. LIU transfer and All-PSAC West cornerback Nazir Streater (30 tackles, 1 int, 3 PBU's) was suspended for one game, and now has been dismissed from the team and no longer appears on the IUP roster. All-PSAC West nose guard Dajour Fisher (8 tackles) suffered a serious leg injury and defensive tackle Raunya Mitchell (12 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 1 int) has missed a couple of games due to a suspension.

Analysis:

IUP and West Chester have four common opponents in 2021. Both lost to Shepherd and both defeated Mercyhurst. IUP narrowly defeated Kutztown in the first game of the year in Indiana, while West Chester fell to Kutztown last week. And West Chester came back to top Edinboro whereas IUP fell to the Fighting Scots at home two weeks ago to end any playoff hopes for the Crimson Hawks.

These two teams are rather even from a scoring and overall yardage perspective. IUP's fairly balanced offense is led slightly by their passing game. Defensively, IUP is second in the PSAC against the run while their passing defense ranks dead last. This poses an interesting decision for the Golden Ram offense which is clearly stronger in the running department. West Chester's running game didn't fare too well against Kutztown's defense last week, but can the Golden Rams passing game exploit the IUP secondary enough to compensate.

Massey Ratings is predicting a 31-28 Crimson Hawk victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 11

Indiana Athletic Site - Crimson Hawks look to close out season on high note

Indiana Gazette - Road Warriors: Hawks find comfort away from home

Indiana Gazette - Fourth season doesn't suit IUP coaches

Indiana Gazette - Hawks give coach happy day