California University's football game at Clarion Saturday looks like a PSAC West mismatch on paper.
While the Vulcans are 7-2 including 4-0 in the PSAC West, the Golden Eagles are 1-8 and 0-4 in the conference.
Cal coach John Luckhardt, however, would be the first to tell you that games aren't played on paper.
"They'll play hard and be physical," he said. "We don't expect them to roll over for us."
"Clarion has an outstanding young coach (Jay Foster) who's going with a lot of young players," he went on. "They're struggling but they have some weapons. And they do a lot of different things to try and confuse you."
The weapons are a pair of juniors, running back Eddie Emanuel and wideout Pierre Odom.
Emanuel is the PSAC's No. 3 rusher with 823 yards and ran for 170 yards against Slippery Rock.
Odom has 39 receptions for 692 yards . Against West Chester he had six catches for 246 yards.
Freshman Tyler Huether, a Penn-Trafford High graduate, will make his fourth start at quarterback.
Despite its record, Clarion played two of the conference's better teams - Indiana and Bloomsburg - tough leading after one half before going down.
Clarion's Memorial Stadium doesn't bring back pleasant memories to Luckhardt.
The last time the Vulcans visited Clarion in 2004, the Golden Eagles stunned California, 35-34, with two touchdowns in the final 1:13 including the game-winner on the final play - a 47-yard "Hail Mary" pass from Brandon Dando to Joe Farkas.
Riding a five-game winning streak, California leads the conference in total offense (425 yards) and is second in total defense (254 yards).
Sophomore Brandon Lombardy is second in the PSAC in rushing and scoring with 137 yards a game and 78 points.
The Vulcans' junior quarterback Joe Ruggiero is third in passing with 215 yards a game with seniors Marc Huddleston (46 receptions for 509 yards) and Nate Forse (41 for 621 yards) among the top 10 receivers.
Junior linebackers Josh Zunic and Brian Mohr are the team's leading tacklers with 63 and 57, respectively.
The Vulcans are fifth in the country in rushing defense, allowing 61 yards a game.
