MILLERSVILLE VS. SLIPPERY ROCK
	Millersville Marauders 2015 Record: 0-2 Last Game: 21-27 L vs. Clarion Coach: Greg Breitbach , 3rd season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	#18 Slippery Rock 2015 Record: 2-0 Last Game: 34-9 W vs. ESU Coach: George Mihalik, 28th season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Game Information Date: Sept. 19, 2015 | Kickoff: 6 p.m. Location: Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, Slippery Rock, Pa. Live Stats | Live Audio | Online Video Television: SportsFever TV (channels available below) Twitter | Instagram | #HoistTheColors Series vs. Slippery Rock: 4-16-1 Series Streak: SRU, 6 First Meeting: 1938 (Ville 0, SRU 0) Last Meeting: 2014 (SRU 46, Ville 17) Largest Margin of Victory: 35 (35-0, 1977) Largest Margin of Defeat: 38 (38-0, 1939) Road Record (since 1977): 2-7 Most Millersville Points: 35 (1977) Most SRU Points: 46 (2014)

Complete Game Notes (.PDF)

GAME OVERVIEW
• Millersville has had its share of close calls in the first two weeks, losing in five overtimes in the opener and then by six points following a stirring fourth quarterback comeback against Clarion. The Marauders play its second consecutive road game against a PSAC West foe and its third consecutive night game. Slippery Rock, the nation's No. 18-ranked team and the only PSAC team in the top 25, enters 2-0 after two lopsided wins. The Rock's up-tempo offense averages nearly 100 plays per game and that will be a test for a Marauder defense that has shown drastic improvement under defense coordinator Ralph Clark. The Marauders enter week three ranked No. 1 in the PSAC in total defense.
• It is quite a turnaround for the Marauder defense. The unit ranked 15th in scoring and total defense last season, allowing 40.8 points per game and 457.9 yards per game. In fact, Millersville has not ranked any higher than 14th in either defensive category since 2007. But  over the last four weeks dating back to 2014, the Marauders have totaled 20 sacks, forced nine turnovers and allowed an average of 303 yards and 19.3 points per game.
• Millersville has already totaled a PSAC-best 12 sacks through games after it managed just 16 all of last season and just 11 in 2013. Millersville is also creating turnovers at a high rate. The team leads the PSAC in interceptions with five. The Marauders are holding opponents to a third down conversion rate of 21.9 percent--best in the PSAC. The defense was without injured corner Joey Pham in week two and will now play without free safety P.J. Santos who was suspended one game by the PSAC for a targeting violation against Clarion. Santos forced a fumble in the punt coverage play, and no flag was thrown.
• Millersville will look for a spark on offense from J.J. Paige. Blake Cahill started the opening two games but went 14-for-45 for 69 yards. Against Clarion, the Marauders had just 50 yards of offense before Paige entered late in the third quarter. Paige led a pair of scoring drives and had the ball with a chance to win in the final minute. He finished 14-for-23 for 141 yards passing and 50 yards rushing. Paige played in eight games as a back-up quarterback in 2014. This will be his second career start.
• Millersville has lost 11 consecutive games to PSAC West foes. Its last win came at Lock Haven in 2011.

ABOUT THE SERIES
•Slippery Rock and Millersville first met in 1938 and have since played 21 games with The Rock holding a 16-4-1 edge. The teams did not play a single game during the 1990's but have played 11 times since 2000, with Slippery Rock winning all but one. Millersville's last win was a 17-14 decision at home in 2004. Millersville's last win at Slippery Rock came in 1989 by a 27-24 score. The Marauders also won on the road in 1977.
• Last season, Millersville played Slippery Rock tough early, trailing just 21-17 after the first quarter. The Marauders totaled 129 yards of offense in the first period but totaled 161 yards the rest of the way. The Rock led 24-17 with 4:32 left in the half, but a safety and touchdown pass on a short field extended The Rock's lead to 16 in just 43 seconds. Millersville drove into Slippery Rock territory four times in the second half but failed to score. The Rock finished with 609 yards of offenseand 362 yards rushing.

SCOUTING THE ROCK
• The defending PSAC champs have continued to roll in 2015, putting up at least 34 points and holding opponents to 13 of fewer in the first two games. The Rock rank second in the league in scoring offense and first in scoring defense, allowing just 11.0 points per game. The rushing attack has been the best in the PSAC, averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 295.5 yards per game. The Rock rushed for 170 yards in the opener and then exploded for 414 yards on 63 carries against East Stroudsburg. Shamar Greene totaled 130 yards--all in the first half. Julian Durden totaled 95 and Isiah Neely totaled 152 on 12 carries.
• Defensive end Marcus Martin was an All-American Second Team pick in 2014 after totaling a school-record 16 sacks. Martin has yet to record a sack in 2015, totaling just nine tackles and a half-tackle for loss.
• Quarterback Dante Nania is a senior but first-year starter for The Rock after playing at Youngstown State for three seasons. He has attempted 86 passes in two games, tossing four touchdowns to five interceptions. He is also a dual threat, rushing for 93 yards on 17 carries.

YOUTH IN ACTION
• Millersville's season-opening starting lineup featured 11 players making their first starts at a position, and 12 were freshmen or sophomores.   Nine true or redshirt freshmen recorded statistics in the game.
•    Through two games, 16 freshmen or sophomores have started at least one game.

LOOKING FOR QB CONSISTENCY
• Breitbach is looking for consistency at the quarterback position. Remarkably, in just three seasons, eight different players have taking snaps for the Marauders. The last Marauder to start every game in a season was Bill Shirk in 2010. Blake Cahill was the fifth different quarterback in as many seasons to start a season opener.

SANELLI'S STREAK
• A mainstay of the offensive line entering his fourth season is Lenny Sanelli. The senior has started all 35 games since stepping onto campus in 2012, and his consecutive starts streak ranks second in the PSAC to only Bloomsburg quarterback Tim Kelly, who has logged 38 in a row.

BIG GAME FOR QUARTERMAN
• Sophomore Kevin Wiggins missed his first career start last Thursday, and that opened the door for Sean Quarterman to have a career game. Quarterman, the former Millersville quarterback, caught a career-high seven passes for 48 yards including a 16-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Quarterman played in 12 games at quarterback from 2011-2014.

MAKING THE CALLS
• After handling the offensive playcalling duties in his first two seasons, Breitbach is handing over that role to Mike Wood, who spent 2014 as the team's wide receivers coach. It is a familiar role for Wood who won a Northeast-10 Championship and reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs as the OC at American International. Wood's offense at AIC led the NE-10 in rushing and he tutored the league's offensive MVP and lineman of the year. Breitbach will continue to coach the quarterbacks.

STRENGTH IN THE SECONDARY
• Millersville returned its starting secondary intact and the eight players on the two-deep have combined for 79 career starts. The leader among them is safety Rasheed Johnson, who has started 27 games including 21 of the last 22. Johnson has ranked in the top 20 in the PSAC in tackles in each of the last two seasons and currently ranks second after a career-high 19 tackles in week two against Clarion. Johnson has recorded double-digit stops in both games this season and nine times in his career.
• Joey Pham, who ranked eighth in the PSAC with 13 passes defended in 2014, missed week two with an injury and it was apparent. Pham broke up four passes against Ursinus and Clarion completed two touchdown passes working against his replacement.
• P.J. Santos has emerged as one of the top ball-hawks in the PSAC. He leads the league in interceptions with two, picking off one in each game. Santos has recorded six interceptiosn in his last eight games dating back to 2014. He also recovered a fumble in the opener and forced a fumble against Clarion. Last season, Santos tied for seventh in the league with four interceptions, recovered two fumbles and also returned a fumble for a touchdown. His six career interceptions place him in a tie for ninth in Millersville history.

YOUTH PRODUCING IN FRONT SEVEN
• There is not a single upperclassman listed as a starter in the front seven on defense but the group has produced. They are the reason why Millersville leads the league in sacks. Of the eight players with at least one sack, seven of them are of freshman or sophomore status. Sene Polamalu's 2.5 ranks third in the league, and Sean Dugan and Brandon Lopez rank in a tie for 6th with 2.0.
• Dugan ranks fifth in the PSAC in tackles for loss, totaling 3.5 in two games, and he has at least one sack in each game this season and at least a half sack in four consecutive games dating back to 2014. Over his last five games, Dugan has 4.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss.
• Polamalu has made at least a half tackle for loss in six of his last eight games dating back to 2014. He also has six sacks in that stretch.

DUAL THREAT
• Not a single running back on Millersville's roster entered 2015 with a collegiate carry to his credit. Millersville suffered a tough blow when senior and 2014 leading rusher Myron Myles suffered a season-ending knee injury in camp. His injury left converted wide receiver Cimirrow Moat and true freshmen Phil Overton and Sheldon Snell as back-ups. Moat totaled a PSAC-most 26 carries in the opening game against Ursinus but did not  play in week two with an injury.
• Phil Overton picked up the slack in week two, showing himself to be a dynamic player. He rushed for a team-high 81 yards on 15 carries and also caught two touchdown passes to go with 34 receiving yards. He leads the team in receiving yards and rushing yards.

SMASHING DEBUT
• It didn't take long for redshirt freshman Rob Varner to make an impact on Millersville's defense. In the 2015 season opener and Varner's first collegiate game, he piled up 15 tackles, intercepted a pass, recorded a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. On Sunday, he was recognized as the PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Player of the Week. Dating back to last season, Varner is the second Marauder in the last three games to win the award.
•    His 15 tackles were the third-most in the PSAC last week and were the most on record by a Marauder freshman in his debut.