Slippery Rock vs Shepherd football what to know: Balanced offense, red zone success key for SRU
SLIPPERY ROCK — Slippery Rock University football loves its home cooking.
The Rock, coming off a 24-13 season-opening win at Franklin Pierce last week, begin their home campaign at 6 p.m. Saturday against PSAC East foe Shepherd (0-1) at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
“A lot of people do a lot of work to make our home games special,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “The atmosphere in our stadium is among the best in all of Division II football.”
No. 4 SRU has won 61 of its 68 home games since the beginning of the 2013 season. The Rock has won 18 consecutive home openers, the last such loss coming against Shepherd in 2005.
Here’s what to know ahead of the home opener:
1. Rock seeking more balance: The ground game carried the day for SRU last week. The Rock ran for 254 yards — its first time gaining more than 250 on the ground since Nov. 18, 2023 — with JayJay Jordan getting 154 yards on 17 carries, Quentin Harrison 91 on 17 totes. Jordan broke off a 74-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Anthony Vespo, who made his first collegiate start since Week 3 of the 2023 season, threw for 160 yards, completing 13 of 25 passes.
“He has to shake off some rust yet,” Lutz said. “We were missing some open receivers, but we’re going to improve there. We need to be more balanced offensively, no doubt about that.
“You want to use your running game early to force more defenders into the box and open up the passing game.”
Defensively, The Rock produced five quarterback sacks and limited Franklin Pierce to 191 total yards.
“Our linebackers (Jacob Snow and Teddy Gregory) were tremendous and and we won the battle up front,” Lutz said. “I like where we are on that side of the ball.”
2. Rams on the rebound: After three consecutive years of reaching the Division II playoffs — including a Region One championship in 2022 behind current Chicago Bears backup quarterback Tyson Bagent — Shepherd slipped to 6-5 last season and began this year with a 41-27 loss to Frostburg State two weeks ago.
The Rams were idle last week.
“The transfer portal killed us,” eighth-year Shepherd head coach Ernie McCook said. “We lost six starters on defense and two on offense. I wish those who left well, but the guys who stayed ... there’s loyalty in that they want to finish what they started.
“We’ve built a culture here, and that’s why they’re still here.”
Still, Shepherd is going through growing pains. The Rams had four turnovers and created none in their season opener. Quarterback Mike Hardyway is a transfer from Bucknell, a graduate student in his first season at Shepherd. He threw for 182 yards and no touchdowns last week.
Ezra Bagent, a sophomore and Tyson’s younger brother, is the backup quarterback.
Grant Swinehart is listed as the No. 2 running back on the depth chart, but had nine carries for 135 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown burst, in the Rams’ opener.
“He’s a transfer from VMI and has tremendous speed,” McCook said. “Jordan Barnett is our other running back and is extremely versatile. He’s a tough runner who also catches passes, and he’s a great blocker in the passing game. He can do it all.”
Shepherd’s offensive line weighs 275, 293, 280, 305 and 305 pounds across the front.
“They have a lot of big guys who like to play physical,” Lutz said. “That will be a challenge for us.”
3. Red zone woes for The Rock: Scoring points inside the opposing 20-yard line has rarely been a problem for SRU.
It was last week.
SRU drove inside Franklin Pierce’s 5-yard line four times, but managed to score only 10 points.
“Very disappointing,” Lutz said. “We have to finish. Turning the ball over on downs inside the 2 ... that just can’t happen. We weren’t getting any kind of push.”
The Rock fumbled a snap on a short field goal attempt, as well. Kevin Roberts, doing the placekicking for an injured Billy Lech, did kick a 24-yard field goal in the game, his first collegiate field goal.
Roberts will handle the kicking duties again Saturday as Lech remains sidelined. Dom Clifford will start at center for The Rock as regular starter Matthew Prudhomme will take a game to rest.
“He was practically playing on one leg, trying to come back from an injury,” Lutz said of Prudhomme.
Starting right tackle Jake Jonassen is out for the season with a knee injury. Luke Caldwell will make his second collegiate start in his place.
