Satterfield

SLIPPERY ROCK — Cheyney University football can be summed up in one sentence: The Wolves haven't shown much bite in a while.

Slippery Rock heads to Cheyney, located south of Philadelphia, for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday and will be facing a team riding a 29-game losing streak.

Third-year coach Jeff Braxton is 0-23 entering this game.

"They're breaking in a new quarterback while running the option," SRU coach George Mihalik said. "With the option, timing can be the biggest challenge.

"It looks like they're having some issues there. Hopefully, those issues will continue for another week."

Cheyney managed only 81 yards of offense in last week's 12-0 loss to rival Lincoln. The Wolves surrendered three safeties in that game, two of them while trying to punt out of their own end zone.

"Their defense came up with a couple of goal-line stands in that game," Mihalik said. "Allowing any opponent only one touchdown is impressive."

SRU (1-0) is coming off a 45-26 win over Merrimack (Mass.) and is facing Cheyney for the first time since 1993, when The Rock defeated the Wolves 52-0.

Cheyney hasn't won a game since posting a 30-19 victory over Lock Haven on Oct. 29, 2007. The Wolves have lost 50 of their last 52 games.

James Vallery led Cheyney with nine tackles last week. Carl Meeks had five pass breakups.

One matchup that does favor the home team is pass defense. While the Wolves limited Lincoln to 129 yards through the air last week, SRU's passing game managed only 138, 73 of which came on quarterback Ryan Sabo's first pass of the season.

"I thought Ryan managed the (Merrimack) game well for us," Mihalik. "We wanted him to stay within himself and he did that.

"With our veteran offensive line and a strong running back in, we want to establish our ground game and throw when we want to throw."

Akeem Satterfield rushed for 240 yards in The Rock's opener — No. 10 on the team's all-time list for single-game rushing yardage — but he sprained an ankle during the game.

He is expected to play Saturday. How long depends on how the scoreboard looks.

"If we get ahead comfortably early, we'll limit the snaps for any player who is banged up," Mihalik said.

The Rock hosts preseason PSAC East favorite West Chester Sept. 18, leaving open the possibility of a letdown on the road this weekend.

"That's up to me to have our team prepared to play," Mihalik said. "This is Cheyney's home opener. They'll be jacked up and we're making a long trip.

"We worked too hard to become 1-0 and I have to see to it that we become 2-0."

Mihalik is 40-18-2, a .683 winning percentage, against PSAC East teams. SRU is bidding to get off to a 2-0 start for the third time in four years.

Braxton could not be reached for comment.