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LOCK HAVEN -- The IUP Crimson Hawks were selected No. 1 in the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's West Division Football Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
IUP was also voted No. 1 in the 2022 West Division Preseason Poll.
In 2022, team tallied a 10-2 overall record (6-1 in conference play) and became PSAC champions after a win over Shepherd University 24-21 in the PSAC championship game. The Crimson Hawks collected six first-place votes in the 2023 poll and return nine starters on the defensive side of the ball.
Slippery Rock was voted No. 2 in this year's poll, earning two first-place votes. The Rock returns 19 starters and seven All-PSAC players from a season ago, when the team finished 10-3 overall (6-1 PSAC) and advanced to the second round of the 2022 NCAA Division II playoffs, marking the fourth consecutive year the team has been in the postseason.
California takes third place in the poll after a 2022 campaign which saw them earn a 6-5 overall record (4-3 PSAC) to finish fourth in the PSAC West. The Vulcans featured a stifling run defense in 2022, allowing just 57.9 yards per game on the ground, the best mark in the entire conference.
Ranked fourth is Gannon University, which earned a share of the 2022 PSAC West Title (along with IUP and Slippery Rock) by finishing 6-1 in conference play (8-3 overall, just one win shy of a school record.)
Voted fifth in the poll are the Edinboro Fighting Scots, who will look to improve on a 5-6 overall season (2-5 PSAC) with their aggressive defense that forced 21 turnovers in 2022, the second-highest total in the PSAC.
Placing sixth is Seton Hill, which returns seven defensive starters on a squad that surrendered only 18.3 points per game (the fourth-best total in the conference.)
The 2023 PSAC Football West Division Preseason Poll is rounded out by the Clarion Golden Eagles (3-8 overall record in 2022) in seventh place and the Mercyhurst Lakers (2-9 overall.).
PSU's open practice
UNIVERSITY PARK -- Penn State football will hold a free, open practice to all fans on Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. on the Lasch Practice Fields. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m.
Prior to the open practice, a team autograph session will be held in Holuba Hall from 5:35-6:20 p.m., exclusively for members of Happy Valley United, the official Name, Image and Likeness collective for Penn State Athletics.
Watch lists
n Penn State sophomore linebacker Abdul Carter and junior linebacker Curtis Jacobs were tabbed to the Butkus Award watch list on Thursday, while junior cornerback Kalen King was named to the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award watch list.
n Penn State sophomore running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton were named to the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday. Senior punter Riley Thompson was tabbed to the Ray Guy Award watch list.
n Pitt's Rodney Hammond Jr. was named a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award presented to the nation's top running back.