ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst football team will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when they host No. 24 IUP Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at Saxon Stadium.

All-Time Series
IUP Leads 10-2
Last Mercyhurst Win: Oct. 9, 2010, 28-27
Last IUP Win: Sept. 28, 2019, 56-24
Largest Margin of Victory Mercyhurst: Sept. 19, 2009, 20-16
Largest Margin of Victory IUP: Sept. 27, 2014, 41-7 

In the Red 
The Laker offense will look to get rolling this week after a couple of tough matchups against PSAC East opponents. A place where Mercyhurst has found success is in the red zone getting points on 7-of-8 opportunities. The only non-score for the Lakers in the red zone led directly to a safety in the opener against Alderson Broaddus.

Punt, Pass and Kick 
Brian Alsobrooks has had a strong start kciking the football this season. He is 4-for-4 on field goals and ranks seventh in field goals per game. He averaged 41.3 yards per punt on the season and ranks 20th in Division II. Alsobrooks has also taken a few snaps at quarterback going 2-of-3 for 18 yards.

Time to Start Again 
Last week, the Mercyhurst defense was held without a sack for the first time since Oct. 12, 2019. The Lakers had recorded at least one sack in each of the previous nine games including five in the 2021 season opener against Alderson Broaddus. Bradley Burrows currently ranks 29th among active players in Division II with 14.0 career sacks. He ranks 10th among active players with .64 sacks per game. 

Holding on to the Ball 
Mercyhurst ranks 11th in the nation in time of possession. The Lakers average 34:08 of possession time per game aided by a dominant performance in Week One in which they held the ball for over 43 minutes.

Schaetzle's Final Season 
Marty Schaetzle announced that he would retire at the end of the season. In his 20th season, Schaetzle has led the Lakers in two conferences and one PSAC title. Assistant Head Coach Ryan Riemedio has been tabbed the next head coach of the Laker program.

PSAC West Opener 
The Lakers are 1-4 in their last five PSAC West openers with three of those games coming against IUP. The last time Mercyhurst opened conference play with a victory was in 2017 when the Lakers topped Clarion 21-18. 

Scouting the Crimson Hawks 
The Crimson Hawks bring a 1-1 overall record into the PSAC West opener after dropping a 37-21 decision to Shepherd last Saturday. IUP has done most of it's damage through the air with Javon Davis completing 40-of-60 for 456 yards and four touchdowns. Duane Brown has caught 13 of those passes for 173 and a score. Irvin Charles has nine catches for 132 and two touchdowns. Charles Ingram has made 16 tackles to lead the IUP defense.