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THE GAME: IUP returns home to open its PSAC West schedule against Lock Haven on Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium. The Crimson Hawks are coming off of a huge 56-0 win at Cheyney while Lock Haven is still looking to get in the win column after a 31-0 defeat at the hands of East Stroudsburg. At halftime IUP will take time to honor the 14 individuals who are being inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

ON THE AIR: The game will air live on WQMU-FM 92.5 with Jack Benedict serving as the play-by-play announcer and John Flickinger at his side as the color analyst. The two will be joined by sideline reporter Greg Drahuschak. The pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m. IUP-TV will again be back to webstream the game live on NMTVSports.com. WIUP-FM 90.1 will also have the call with Kyle Pillar on the play-by-play along with Vincent Paparella and Tim Quigley adding the color.

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI: IUP head coach Curt Cignetti (West Virginia, '82) begins his second season at the helm after leading the Crimson Hawks to a 7-3 overall record (5-2 PSAC West) in 2011. This is Cignetti's 30th year of coaching, with previous stops at Alabama (07-10), NC State (00-06), Pittsburgh (83-84, 93-99) Temple (89-92), Rice (86-88) and Davidson (85).

THE SERIES: IUP has dominated the all-time series, defeating the Bald Eagles 30 straight times, with the last loss coming in 1981 (41-14). The Crimson Hawks own a 55-13-3 record, including a 56-6 win last year, which gave IUP 500 all-time victories.

IN THE TOP 25: After appearing in the national rankings at No. 23 for the first time since 2008 last week, IUP gets a big jump to No. 17  in the AFCA Top 25 Poll this week. The Crimson Hawks are ranked No. 22 by D2Football.com.

NEXT GAME: A huge battle looms next weekend for IUP when the Crimson Hawks travel to rival California in a top 25 battle that could very well decide the PSAC West champion. IUP owns a 55-22-2 record in the series but have lost to the Vulcans 5 straight times, with the last win coming in 2006 (21-17). 

HAWK TALK

CLIMBING THE CHARTS... After two games, Sr. RB Harvie Tuck (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) has jumped up to 2,944 career rushing yards which is 4th all-time at IUP. He's currently 679 yards behind Aamir Dew (1999-2001) for 3rd place. Tuck's 131.5 yards per game is 2nd in the PSAC and 14th in Division II.

LOOK AT THE SCOREBOARD... The Crimson Hawks have put up 89 points in their first 2 games, the most since scoring 104 in 2008. That year IUP scored 41 in a season-opening shutout win over C.W. Post, following that up with a 63-3 win over Millersville. The most points IUP has ever scored in its first three games of the season was in 2007, accumulating 163 in wins over Cheyney (80-14), ESU (38-23) and Millersville (45-0).

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN... Fr. RB Alex Holland (Curwensville/Curwensville) had quite a debut last Saturday, leading the Crimson Hawks with 96 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 19 carries. Holland did all of his damage in the second half, as his 2nd career rush went for a 13-yard TD.

GROUND AND POUND... With the help of Tuck, R-Fr. RB Montay Green (Pittsburgh/Fox Chapel), Sr. RB De'Antwan Williams (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) and Holland, IUP is ranked 6th in all of Division II with 316.5 rushing yards per game. The Crimson Hawks ran for 316 yards against Southern Connecticut and 323 against Cheyney.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK... That powerful running game has helped IUP own the time of possession so far, also ranking 6th in the NCAA in that category. The Crimson Hawks 36:10 average time of possession is 1st in the PSAC.

THE BIG PLAYS ARE COMING... After a quiet opener, Jr. WR Pat Brewer (Coatesville/Coatesville) came up with a big play last week, catching a 57-yard TD pass from Sr. QB Pat Smith (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) in the 1st quarter. Brewer averaged 25.2 yards per catch last year, with 5 plays of at least 44 yards.

FIRST RATE DEFENSE... The IUP defense is nationally ranked in several categories, including total defense (3rd - 149.0 ypg); scoring defense (4th - 3.0 ppg); rushing defense (5th - 28.0 ypg); and passing defense (11th - 121.0 ypg). The Crimson Hawks 5 fumble recoveries are also 5th in Division II and their 17 first downs allowed is tied for 2nd in the nation.

THE GREAT WALL... The big boys up front have gotten their wings on several balls at the line of scrimmage, as defensive linemen have racked up 4 batted balls this year.  Jr. DE Errol Brewster (Harlem, NY/Springbrook (MD)) knocked down 2 against Southern Connecticut while So. DE Shane Meisner (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield ) and R-Fr. Jordan Batts (Homestead, Pa. /Jeannette) each had 1 against Cheyney.

ONE MORE YEAR... Sr. SS Johnny Franco (Altoona/Tyrone) returns for one more season after garnering all-region and all-conference honors a year ago. He leads the team with 8 tackles and has 0.5 TFL so far this year.

MAKING AN IMPRESSION... Sr. DE Greg Meisner (Greensburg/Hempfield ), a transfer from Kentucky, has played well so far in his 1st year at IUP. Through 2 games he has 7 tackles, 3.0 TFL, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

ULLMAN ON FRED MITCHELL WATCH LIST... So. K Brett Ullman (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) is one of 44 kickers from across college football to be named to the Watch List for the 2012 Fred Mitchell Award. The award is given annually to a place kicker who shows excellence on the field and in the community amongst the more than 750 FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA schools. Ullman has 12 points this year, converting 9-9 XPs and and 42-yard field goal.

THE 500 WIN CLUB... IUP became just the 17th school in NCAA Division II history with 500 all-time wins when it defeated Lock Haven 56-6 on Nov. 5 last year. The Crimson Hawks have a record of 503-252-23 (.661) in 83-plus seasons.

PSAC PRESEASON POLL... The Crimson Hawks were tied atop the PSAC West preseason coaches' poll which was released at the conference's media day on Aug. 6. IUP received three first place votes to tie for first with rival California, which received two first place votes. 

SCOUTING THE BALD EAGLES

OFFENSE... The Lock Haven offense hasn't been able to put much together so far this season as the Bald Eagles have yet to score. The triggerman will be QB Jarrett Kratzer, who went 16-of-32 for 151 yards last week at East Stroudsburg. He went 16-of-39 for 167 in last year's matchup, including Lock Haven's only TD. The key, however, to the Lock Haven offense is RB Brandon Brader. The team's leading rusher and receiver, he ran for 84 yards and caught 5 passes against the Warriors and had over 1,000 yards from scimmage in 2011.

DEFENSE... Despite rough times on the defensive side of the ball, the Bald Eagles have shown the ability to make plays in the offenses backfield, accumulating 10.0 TFL and 5.0 sacks in the first two games. LB James Goins and S George Christas each have a pair of sacks while DT Skyler Wool adds 2.0 TFL and a sack. LB Matt Kirchner leads the team with 12 tackles, while Goins and Christas each have 11.

SPECIAL TEAMS... Handling the kicking duties will be K Noah Heimer, who's missed on his only FG attempt (44 yards) this year. Bryce Stambaugh handles punting chores, averaging 29.0 yards on his 16 kicks, with 6 fair catches. Bernard Smack and Zack Lohr will return kickoffs and punts for Lock Haven on Saturday. Lohr averages 25.0 yards on his 3 kick returns while Smack has a 10.0 yard punt return average.