SLIPPERY ROCK — Any postseason run by Slippery Rock University's football team will have to be a road show.

Head coach Shawn Lutz doesn't care.

“If we play well, we can beat anybody,” Lutz said. “I believe we have a football team that's capable of making a run and playing for a while.”

The Rock (9-2) begins such a quest at noon Saturday, when it takes on Northeast-10 champion LIU Post (10-0) in Brookville, N.Y., in the Division II playoffs.

The Pioneers enter the contest with a 15-game winning streak — longest active streak in Division II football — and are 19-3 at home over the past four seasons.

“Their statistics don't really stand out, but this is a team that doesn't beat itself,” Lutz said. “Their offense is efficient, they don't turn the ball over, they play tough defense and they make plays on special teams.

“If we turn the ball over two or three times Saturday, we're not going to win. And we have to be solid on special teams.”

LIU Post has surrendered no more than 13 points in its past five games. The Pioneers have blocked four punts on the year and defeated Shippensburg 41-39 on a Joey Tolgyesi field goal on the game's final play.

“He's a four-year kicker and punter for us,” said LIU Post coach Bryan Collins, in his 21st season. “If the weather is decent, we're confident he can hit a field goal from 45 yards out or so.

“The key to our success defensively is we've been able to get to the quarterback with four down linemen. That enables us to drop seven into coverage. We need to do that Saturday,. We need to pressure Roland (Rivers III, SRU quarterback). He is very good.”

The Pioneers have a good quarterback in their own right. Chris Laviano, a drop-back passer, started 18 games for Rutgers before transferring to LIU Post. He has thrown for 2,536 yards, 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.

“Since I've been a head coach, this is the best passer I've seen,” Lutz said of Laviano. “This guy can make every throw. He throws better on the run than any quarterback I've come across.”

Malik Pierre is the Pioneers' top running back and has 786 yards and nine TDs on the ground. He's caught 37 passes for 281 yards as well.

Receivers Michael Richardson and Deon Mash have caught 47 and 41 passes, respectively.

“We like to throw some screens to Malik and he can get open on short routes,” Collins said.

Lutz said the Pioneer receivers “stand 6-foot-6 or 6-5 and that presents match-up problems.”

LIU Post edghed New Haven, 17-13, in the Northeast-10 championship game last Saturday. New Haven plays at West Chester — which defeated The Rock 33-10 for the PSAC title last week. The LIU Post-Rock winner faces the West Chester-New Haven winner next week.

Pioneer defensive end Kevin Petit-Frere leads his team with 10.5 sacks while cornerback Nazir Streater has six interceptions. LIU Post has 25 sacks and 16 interceptions on the year.

“We've played solid defense in the red zone all year,” Collins said. “We've been holding teams to field goals and we've been getting off the field on third downs.”

LIU Post played in the PSAC from 2008-12. The Pioneers have won the Northeast-10 title three times in the past five years.

“I know the caliber of that team and I know what we're up against,” Collins said. “Slippery Rock's defense is outstanding, they've got a big quarterback and a big, powerful running back.

“We have to control their run and prevent the big play.”

Rivers III has thrown for 2,132 yards and 22 TDs this season. Wes Hills has rushed for 1,205 yards despite missing three games.

The Rock defense ranks 10th nationally with 8.9 tackles for loss per game. Trey Blandford has 14 TFL's, Chad Kuhn 12 and Brad Zaffram 11.

SRU continues to be last in all of Division II in penalties, averaging 10.5 penalties for 109.7 yards per game.

“I'm confident we can go up there and win if we play mistake-free,” Lutz said.

The teams have not faced each other since 2010, a 42-38 Pioneer win that was Collins' 100th career victory. He is now 160-71 at the school.

LIU Post holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, the teams splitting games in 1976 and 1977.