SLIPPERY ROCK — Roland Rivers III has been a tale of two quarterbacks this season for Slippery Rock University.

The Rock needs Quarterback No. 1 to show up Saturday at Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium when SRU (10-2) faces New Haven (9-2) in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs at 1 p.m. in West Haven. Conn.

The first version of Rivers threw for 1,443 yards, 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions in his first five games with SRU. The second version has thrown for 852 yards, seven TDs and eight interceptions in his last five games.

“He's definitely tailed off,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz admitted. “Yeah, we've been facing better teams, but Roland is struggling right now.

“I don't know if he's lost confidence in some of our receivers and is hesitant to throw that way, but he hasn't been doing what we want him to do.”

What the coaching staff wants Rivers III to do is make the proper reads.

They also want running back Wes Hills to continue doing what he's been doing.

Hills ranks eighth in the nation with 1,372 yards on the ground, including 167 in last week's 20-14 upset of previously unbeaten LIU Post. Hills is only 229 yards shy of SRU's single-season rushing record of 1,601 yards, set by LaMonte Coleman in 1994.

“Our plan isn't hard to figure out. Hand the ball to Wes as many times as we can,” Lutz said. “I'd love to see him get 25, 30 carries, at least.

“New Haven has the best all-around offense we've seen so far. They have an outstanding offensive line, giving up just eight sacks all year, and the quarterback gets rid of the ball quick.

“I believe we're gonna have to score 31 to 35 points to win this game. It's not gonna be like last week,” Lutz added.

When SRU rushes for more than 100 yards in a game, it is 10-0. When The Rock has failed to hit the century mark on the ground, it lost both times.

Ryan McCarthy and Chris Liggio have rushed for 746 and 561 yards, respectively, for New Haven.

“Teams haven't been able to run on us,” Lutz said. “I'm confident we can control their ground game, but their quarterback is very experienced and very good.”

New Haven quarterback Ajee Patterson is a fourth-year starter with the Chargers. He has thrown for 2,607 yards, 29 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Ju'An Williams is his favorite target, pulling in 59 passes for 1,035 yards and 11 scores.

“Ajee has some rushing yards (272, 5 TDs), but that's strictly on his scrambling and escaping pressure,” fifth-year New Haven coach Chris Pincince said. “We don't have any designed running plays for him. He's a straight drop-back passer.

“Williams is a graduate transfer from American International, another team in our conference. He's had some big games with 12 or 13 catches, but some teams have limited him.”

New Haven plays in the Northeast-10, the same league as LIU Post, which defeated the Chargers 17-13 in their league title game two weeks ago.

Pincince said he knows SRU's Hills pretty well. He tried landing Hills as a transfer from Delaware before The Rock got him.

“Believe me, I know what he's capable of doing,” the New Haven coach said.

New Haven has not forced a lot of turnovers defensively — nine interceptions and four fumbles — but end Scott Lavelle and edge linebacker Markel Johnson have combined for 11 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss.

“Those guys are big and fast, create a lot of movement for us,” Pincince said.

While SRU has one of the best kickers in Division II in Jake Chapla, New Haven has not excelled on special teams.

Michael Stalenyj has hit all seven of his field goal attempts, but the longest is 36 yards.

“He's the third kicker we've used and we've had three or four punters,” Pincince said. “Our quarterback has punted seven times. Our receiver (Williams) has punted a few times. They're not trick plays. We just don't have a steady punter.

“Special teams have been a non-factor in all of our games this year. We can't let that No. 9 (Jermaine Wynn Jr.) hurt us on special teams returns. That concerns me.”

Mark Carter and Eric Glover-Williams are other dangerous return men for The Rock.

“Maybe this is the week we break one. I hope so,” Lutz said.

SRU is healthy for this game. Free safety Kyle Hall jammed his neck last week, but is expected to play.

New Haven leads the series between the teams, 3-2. The Chargers defeated The Rock 49-21 in SRU's first-ever playoff game in 1997.

SRU won the last two meetings, 39-13 at New Haven in 2015 and 31-28 at SRU in 20-16, both season openers.