SRU football will travel to No. 3 Kutztown University tomorrow with their NCAA playoff lives on the line for the second straight year.
The Golden Bears delivered both of The Rock’s only losses last season, one in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and one in the NCAA Division II playoffs. SRU head coach Shawn Lutz is determined to make sure his team plays to the level they are capable of for this rendition.
“Let’s just face it. Kutztown has had our number. They are the PSAC Champions and we are going to their place,” Lutz said. “No one is going to think that we have a chance in that game, and I guarantee you this: in our group, in our program, we are going to be ready to go.”
The White and Green were 12-1 heading into that playoff matchup last year. This time around, they are 10-1 with another full season of impressive numbers both offensively and defensively. The same goes for Kutztown.
One of the keys to this game will be who wins the battle through the air. The Rock is third in the PSAC with 239.1 passing yards per game, less than a yard per game behind second-place California University (Pa.).
Kutztown, along with being the only PSAC team to allow less than 100 points defensively this season, allows a conference-low 154.5 passing yards per game.
However in this game, the Golden Bears will have to deal with a deep pass-catching unit. Kylon Wilson and Mike Solomon have been the consistent options all year, both over 540 receiving yards, but in his seven games Logan Ramper has the slight edge in yards per game.
In any given game, Mike Soloman, Ramper or Wilson could walk out with clear-cut wide receiver one numbers. Both Ramper and Wilson have logged a game totaling over 100 receiving yards this year with Solomon just barely missing out, his highest total being 97.
Quarterback Brayden Long praised his receivers following last Saturday’s win over the University of New Haven.
“One-on-one equals one-on-none to us. That’s what we say around here,” Long said.
The bottom line is Slippery Rock has scored efficiently and managed time of possession throughout their wins this year. Few teams, if any, have been better than Kutztown at preventing both.
“We are excited about going to Kutztown, they are a great team, we know that, but we are too. So we are going to see, something’s got to give on Saturday,” Lutz said.
The Rock will take their four-game win streak into a noon kickoff tomorrow in an attempt to dethrone the PSAC Champions, who have not lost since playing powerhouse Colorado School of Mines last December.
“We are not done yet. We are not just trying to get here. We are not being cocky, we respect the PSAC Champions, we got a tough one at Kutztown, but we are ready to bring it,” Luz said. “I guarantee we are going to show up with the right approach.”
