MILLERSVILLE— Looking to regain the running game that paced the PSAClast season, Slippery Rock University will have to do so without Corey Manfull.

A senior captain and 1,200-yard rusher a year ago, Manfull is sidelined three to four weeks with a sprained knee and ankle.

The Rock (0-1) travels to Millersville (0-1) for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Biemesderfer Stadium.

Manfull was injured on his third carry of the game — a 26-yard gain — in last weekend's 27-20 loss at Seton Hill.

"We saw on film when he got hit, limped forward for a couple of yards, saw an opening and struggled downfield for a big gain,"SRUcoach George Mihalik said. "Our depth at running back is still there, but you'd love to have your full complement — especially when you're talking about one of your captains."

Ryan Lehmeier will start in Manfull's place Saturday. While filling in for an injured Manfull twice last season, Lehmeier rushed for 229 and 210 yards against East Stroudsburg and Clarion, respectively.

SRUrushed for only 99 yards against Seton Hill.

"That's not Rock football,"Mihalik said. "We need to get our running game going again."

Millersville dropped a 35-22 decision at Bentley (Mass.) in its opener. The Marauders return 14 starters from last year's 3-8 team and have a new head coach in Greg Dolby.

Dolby served as defensive coordinator at Northwestern in the Big Ten for the past six seasons. He also has been an assistant at Kent State, Michigan State and Illinois.

He is entering his 26th year of coaching, his first as a head coach.

Dolby already has made changes. Brad Lantz, who rushed for a team-leading 931 yards in 2007, is now a receiver and caught five passes for 78 yards last week.

Derek Fry, a 6-foot-7 tight end a year ago, is also playing receiver for the Marauders now.

"We didn't have any receiving depth when I got here, so I took some of our better athletes from positions we had depth in and shuffled them over there,"Dolby said.

Sophomore quarterback Jamal Smith, the PSACEast Rookie of the Year last season, returns. He threw for 807 yards and ran for 809 in 2007.

"He's a true double threat with the ball in his hands and we've been preaching to our linemen and linebackers all week to stay in their lanes,"Mihalik said. "And with a 6-7 kid at receiver, there's a serious match-up problem for us."

Colby described his team as "bottom heavy with sophomores." Millersville also will try to overcome a history of struggles against SRU.

The Rock has won six of its eight games played at Millersville and is 13-4-1 against the Marauders overall, including 7-1 since 2000.

Nine of the 18 games played between these teams have been decided by a touchdown's margin or less.

"We're a young team learning how to play right now,"Colby said. "Slippery Rock has good size and their offensive line is mobile."

But The Rock's quarterback is inexperienced. After completing eight of 13 passes in the first half last week, sophomore Brandon Frohnapple completed just five of 22 in the latter two quarters.

"We know Brandon can do the job,"Mihalik said. "Our offense as a whole hasn't gotten to the point where it can shrug off one bad play. Mentally, that play still lingers.

"That comes with inexperience."

Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Zach Sheridan had 14 tackles for SRUlast week while senior Tyler Boudreau added 12. Nose guard Jason Curenton plugged up Seton Hill's rushing attack when he was on the field.

"Curenton experienced some cramps and had to leave the game for a while,"Mihalik said. "That's when they (Seton Hill) broke off some big runs up the middle."

Other positives for SRUlast week were the secondary play of freshman safety Jayson Nickson and senior safety Sam Morant, along with a career-long 42-yard field goal by C.J. Bahr.

"We had a lot of positives,"Mihalik said. "But until you get that first win, you don't know if you can win. That monkey is still on your back."

The Slippery Rock University football team is 13-4-1 all-time against Millersville:<B>Year SRU M</B>1938 0 01939 38 01976 28 171977 0 351981 12 201982 20 171983 28 271984 17 161988 34 291989 24 272000 29 62001 20 32002 33 92003 28 182004 14 172005 21 152006 27 222007 21 5