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On October 9th, The Vindicator’s YSU Beat Reporter Joe Scalzo wrote the following after the Penguin’s embarrassing 35-28 loss to South Dakota State: “Youngstown State’s playoff hopes died suddenly Saturday afternoon at their home at Stambaugh Stadium. They were five games old. A coroner determined that several factors contributed to the cause of death, including ill-advised penalties, poor pass coverage, turnovers and an inability to score touchdowns in South Dakota State territory.”
Although amusing, Scalzo was perhaps a bit too caught up in the same torn emotions that many Penguin fans felt following that loss. Despite that setback, the Penguins have won two games in a row and are favored to beat Western Illinois 37-26 this Saturday according to the Massey Index. Western is coming off an embarrassing 31-17 loss to the league’s worst team, the 1-7 Missouri State Bears, this past weekend.
If the Penguins take care of the business at hand this week and do not get upset like they did against South Dakota State, YSU will be a 5-3 team heading into the UNI Dome the first Saturday of November to take on the #2 Northern Iowa Panthers. A week later the Penguins will fly up north to Fargo to take on the #3 North Dakota State Bison. It is worth noting UNI and NDSU play each other in a huge game this weekend. The winner of that contest may very well be the #1 team in the country by the time the Penguins get their hands on them. YSU concludes their season against the league’s worst team, Missouri State, who has beat the Penguins three consecutive years.
I took a look at this week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference Statistics and came away quite impressed with Youngstown State’s standing on the offensive side of the football. YSU is #1 in scoring offense (37.7 ppg), total offense (481.3 ypg), rushing offense (259.9 ypg), first downs (25.6 pg), 3rd-down conversions (43.7%), and time of possession (32:35 pg). In addition YSU is #2 in passing offense (221.4 ypg) and #3 in passing efficiency (150.2).
There is no doubt in my mind that the Penguins have the offensive firepower to compete in these critical last four games, and win at least three of the four contests. What I am not too sure of just yet is whether our defense has turned the corner as it looked like it may have in the road win at Southern Illinois.
Regardless, these last four games represent a crucial stretch for this program. Win two of the last four and the Penguins will finish the season 6-5, a three game improvement for second year coach Eric Wolford. Win three of the last four and the Penguins will sit at 7-4 and possibly sneak in as an at-large team in the FCS playoffs. And in the unlikely scenario that the Penguins win out, they will most certainly be a playoff team in 2011.
It is important for the Penguins to finish this season on a high note to give us the momentum into the offseason to recruit the elite talent we need to win our fifth national championship here. I predicted us to finish 6-5 at the beginning of the season, with an outside shot at 7-4, and believe we will finish with one of those two records. However I am of the belief this team will mature this offseason and most certainly be a playoff team next year. It is up to our young leaders to finish this season strong and do everything in their power to find a way to get us into the playoffs this season and/or next season.
In conclusion, the old adage is that one game does not make or break a season. Someone needs to remind that to the coroner who doubted us a few weeks ago.
Go Penguins! Beat Western!
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25 October 2011
Although amusing, Scalzo was perhaps a bit too caught up in the same torn emotions that many Penguin fans felt following that loss. Despite that setback, the Penguins have won two games in a row and are favored to beat Western Illinois 37-26 this Saturday according to the Massey Index. Western is coming off an embarrassing 31-17 loss to the league’s worst team, the 1-7 Missouri State Bears, this past weekend.
If the Penguins take care of the business at hand this week and do not get upset like they did against South Dakota State, YSU will be a 5-3 team heading into the UNI Dome the first Saturday of November to take on the #2 Northern Iowa Panthers. A week later the Penguins will fly up north to Fargo to take on the #3 North Dakota State Bison. It is worth noting UNI and NDSU play each other in a huge game this weekend. The winner of that contest may very well be the #1 team in the country by the time the Penguins get their hands on them. YSU concludes their season against the league’s worst team, Missouri State, who has beat the Penguins three consecutive years.
I took a look at this week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference Statistics and came away quite impressed with Youngstown State’s standing on the offensive side of the football. YSU is #1 in scoring offense (37.7 ppg), total offense (481.3 ypg), rushing offense (259.9 ypg), first downs (25.6 pg), 3rd-down conversions (43.7%), and time of possession (32:35 pg). In addition YSU is #2 in passing offense (221.4 ypg) and #3 in passing efficiency (150.2).
There is no doubt in my mind that the Penguins have the offensive firepower to compete in these critical last four games, and win at least three of the four contests. What I am not too sure of just yet is whether our defense has turned the corner as it looked like it may have in the road win at Southern Illinois.
Regardless, these last four games represent a crucial stretch for this program. Win two of the last four and the Penguins will finish the season 6-5, a three game improvement for second year coach Eric Wolford. Win three of the last four and the Penguins will sit at 7-4 and possibly sneak in as an at-large team in the FCS playoffs. And in the unlikely scenario that the Penguins win out, they will most certainly be a playoff team in 2011.
It is important for the Penguins to finish this season on a high note to give us the momentum into the offseason to recruit the elite talent we need to win our fifth national championship here. I predicted us to finish 6-5 at the beginning of the season, with an outside shot at 7-4, and believe we will finish with one of those two records. However I am of the belief this team will mature this offseason and most certainly be a playoff team next year. It is up to our young leaders to finish this season strong and do everything in their power to find a way to get us into the playoffs this season and/or next season.
In conclusion, the old adage is that one game does not make or break a season. Someone needs to remind that to the coroner who doubted us a few weeks ago.
Go Penguins! Beat Western!