SLIPPERY ROCK — An odd game decided by odd points — or lack thereof.

Indiana place-kicker Ryan Stewart missed two PATs, had a third one blocked and was wide left on an early 31-yard field goal attempt Saturday night at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

“Don’t forget about that safety,” Slippery Rock University football coach George Mihalik said of a first-quarter play. “That turned out to be an important play in all of this.”

All of that helped add up to a 40-39 SRU victory in a game that — coupled with Clarion’s 42-28 loss at California (Pa.) — threw the PSAC West into a three-way tie for first place with two weeks of league games remaining.

“I haven’t looked at the standings or any of that stuff,” IUP coach Curt Cignetti said. “I guess I will next week.”

Saturday’s game was played in off-and-on rain and stiff winds. By the fourth quarter, the rain was heavy and the score was tied at 33.

SRU kicker Andrew Huska had knotted the score with a 33-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. It was Huska’s first field goal since his senior year in high school. The Rock punter has been filling in for injured kicker Mike Wainauskis the past three weeks.

While IUP struggled all night kicking from placement, Huska did not miss a kick. He also drove five kickoffs into the end zone and averaged 10 more yards per punt than his IUP counterpart.

“Best kicker in the conference ... That’s all there is to it,” Mihalik said of Huska.

“It’s just mental,” Huska said of kicking in poor conditions. “You block it out.”

IUP red-shirt freshman quarterback Lenny Williams enjoyed the best night of his collegiate career. He rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown, threw for a career-high 364 yards and two scores. He entered the game averaging 16 passes and 101 yards through the air per game.

Williams threw 33 passes Saturday night. He threw seven in the previous week’s win over California.

“We didn’t expect he’d be able to throw the ball like that,” SRU linebacker and Butler graduate Bob Vernick admitted. “They haven’t shown much interest in the passing game.”

IUP receiver Walt Pegues caught 14 passes for 233 yards, both numbers just shy of school records. He entered the game with 27 catches for 308 yards all season.

“We knew we were going to have to pass the ball to have a chance. They were stacking the box against the run,” Pegues said.

Williams lost a fumble that Vernick recovered at the Crimson Hawks’ 38 early in the fourth quarter. Eight straight running plays by The Rock (7-1, 4-1) followed and Julian Durden scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run with 11:44 to go.

IUP (5-2, 4-1) lost four fumbles on the night.

“We left too many plays out there, as well as we moved the ball,” Williams said. “You can’t afford fumbles like that.”

Williams answered quickly for the Crimson Hawks, racing 45 yards for a touchdown just two plays after Durden’s score. Stewart’s PAT sailed wide and SRU held on to a one-point lead.

“I feel for that guy. That’s rough,” Huska said of Indiana’s kicker.

From there, SRU’s defense took over.

Vernick and Cody Conway stopped Williams for no gain on fourth-and-3 at the SRU 42 with 4:37 left.

Pegues muffed a punt that The Rock’s John Conglose recovered at the IUP 14 with 3:42 left. SRU wound up turning the ball over on downs with 2:40 to go.

“We didn’t try a field goal there because the conditions were simply too bad,” Mihalik said. “I was worried about the snap, the hold, a potential block.

“It was time to put the game in the hands of our defense.”

With no timeouts, IUP drove from its own 18 to its 45. But on fourth down from there. Derek Morgan knocked a pass away from a receiver and SRU secured victory.

“Definitely a winnable game for us,” said Cignetti, whose team produced 550 yards offensively. “But we made too many mistakes to win.”

The Rock amassed 511 yards and ran 101 plays, leading time of possession 34:14 to 25:47. Shamar Greene had 40 carries for 192 yards and SRU rushed for 269 yards against one of the top-10 rushing defenses in the country.

“I do get tired, but I wasn’t gonna get tired tonight,” Greene said of his workload. “With the weather, we knew we were gonna have to run the ball to win.

“Our offensive line was banged up, but whoever came in did the job. If they do their job and the rest of us do our jobs, we’ll be OK.”

SRU began the game threatening to blow it open. The Rock reached the end zone on the first possession of the night as Dante Nania concluded a 71-yard drive with a 26-yard TD run. IUP mishandled Huska’s kickoff and started from its own 5-yard line.

Running back Chris Temple was tackled in the end zone by Avery Anderson and Joe Phillips for a safety moments later. After the free kick, SRU drove downfield again. Greene got near the goal line on a run, but holding and sideline interference penalties wiped out the play.

Eventually, SRU turned the ball over on downs and the game became a scramble from there.

“If we go up 16-0 there, this game takes on a whole different feel,” Mihalik said. “Who knows what would have happened from there? We never will know.”

Notes: SRU has defeated IUP three successive times for the first time since 1997-99. ... Temple scored three touchdowns, but was held to 51 yards rushing. He entered the game fourth in the nation at 154 rushing per game. ... IUP allowed more than 400 yards in a game for the first time since its season-opening loss to Kutztown. ... Seneca Valley graduate and senior defensive tackle Luke Palmer had six tackles, three solos, for the Crimson Hawks. He saw extended playing time because of injuries. ... Delmar Henderson and Mike Grata paced SRU with nine tackles each. ... The Rock travels to winless Edinboro Saturday.

SRU 40, Indiana 39

Indiana (Pa.) 20 6 7 6 — 39

Slippery Rock 9 21 3 7 — 40

IUP SRU

22 First Downs 23

36-186 Rushes-Yards 64-269

364 Passing Yards 242

22-33-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 21-37-1

550 Total Yards 511

5-4 Fumbles-Lost 0-0

6-55 Penalty Yards 11-101

First Quarter

SRU — Dante Nania 26 run (Andrew Huska kick), 11:50

SRU — Chris Temple tackled in end zone for safety, 11:08

IUP — Swahneek Brown 25 pass from Lenny Williams (Ryan Stewart kick), 5:52

IUP — Walt Pegues 50 pass from Williams (kick failed), 4:06

IUP — Temple 1 run (Stewart kick),1:42

Second Quarter

SRU — Shamar Greene 46 run (Huska kick), 11:48

IUP — Temple 3 run (kick blocked), 7:21

SRU — Julian Durden 3 run (Huska kick), 5:57

SRU — Marcus Carter 49 pass from Nania (Huska kick), 2:13

Third Quarter

IUP — Temple 1 run (Stewart kick), 11:20

SRU — Huska 33 field goal, 7:29

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Durden 8 run (Huska kick), 11:44

IUP — Williams 45 run (kick failed), 10:56

Individual Statistics

Rushing: IUP, Lenny Williams 15-140, Chris Temple 18-51, Luigi Lista-Brinza 2-0, TEAM 1-(-5). SRU, Shamar Greene 40-192, Dante Nania 8-32, Julian Durden 9-30, Isiah Neely 4-14, TEAM 3-1.

Passing: IUP, Lenny Williams 22-33-364-0. SRU, Dante Nania 21-37-242-1.

Receiving: IUP, Walt Pegues 14-233, Jordan Brown 3-29, Swahneek Brown 2-62, Sean McVay 2-42, Luigi Lista-Brinza 1-(-2). SRU, Taishan Tucker 7-93, Cornelius Raye 6-44, Jaimire Dutrieuille 4-36, Marcus Carter 3-72, Shamar Greene 1-(-3).