The Youngstown State football team returns home to take on Western Illinois on Saturday. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 2 p.m. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
YSU (4-3, 0-3) is coming off a 35-10 defeat at Southern Illinois last Saturday. The Penguins took an early 3-0 lead before the Salukis scored the next 28 points to grab control of the contest.
The Guins came out with a solid first offensive possession to seize an early 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Colt McFadden. However, SIU answered with a pair of two first-quarter touchdowns. Javon Williams scored on a seven-yard run on a Wildcat keeper and then Kare Lyles found Landon Lenoir for a 53-yard strike.
In the second quarter, Romeir Elliott scored a three-yard run and Lyles found Williams for a 73-yard score to put the Penguins in a 28-3 hole. With nine seconds left before halftime, Nathan Mays connected with Ryan Emans on a 22-yard touchdown pass to pull YSU within 28-10 at halftime. The lone score of the second half came in the third quarter when Williams threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Garrett.
Western Illinois (0-7 and 0-3) lost a hard fought 28-14 contest to 10th-ranked Illinois State last Saturday at Hanson Field. The Redbirds jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead before DeShon Gavin scored on a two-yard run to get within a touchdown in the third quarter. ISU scored two rushing touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to go ahead 28-7. George Wahee caught a four-yard pass from Connor Sampson for a final WIU score.
The Penguins lead the all-time series against the Leathernecks 19-13 and have won 10 of the previous 13 meetings. This is the first contest between the programs at Stambaugh Stadium since 2014 - a 30-24 Leathernecks victory.
Last year, YSU trailed by as many as 20 points in the contest at Western Illinois before eventually losing 45-38. The game was memorable for former quarterback Montgomery VanGorder who set school records for passing yards (418), attempts (57) and completions (33) in the defeat.
The Penguins play host to top-ranked North Dakota State next Saturday.
Quick Notes The defense has forced 13 turnovers in seven games. YSU forced a total of just nine in 11 games in 2018.
TB Joe Alessi went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career in the game at SIU. Alessi, who made his first career start, had a team-high 54 yards on 12 carries. He now has 1,053 for his career.
The Penguins had multiple players set career highs in tackles vs. SIU - Ma'lik Richmond (9), Zaire Jones (9), Justus Reed (
and Ray Anderson (
. Troy Jakubec had his first career tackle in the contest as a reserve defensive back.
Reed registered a sack and had three TFLs against Southern Illinois. Reed now has eight sacks in five-and-a-half games of play this year. Last year's team leader had six.
Richmond recorded a pair of sacks vs. the Salukis and now has seven on the season. He also registered a pair of sacks against Robert Morris.
WR Ryan Emans caught his second touchdown pass of the season. Emans hauled in a 22-yard toss from Nathan Mays vs. SIU in the second quarter.
Mays had a career-high with 26 passing attempts in the contest vs. SIU. The touchdown pass to Emans was the 16th of his YSU career and ninth on the season.
Earlier this year, Alessi had his second career 100-yard rushing game with 146 yards on 14 carries vs. RMU. His other 100-yard game came in November 2016 at Missouri State.
Braxton Chapman had 132 yards rushing and London Pearson had 126 vs. Howard on Sept. 7. It was the 35th time in school history that YSU had multiple 100-yard rushers.
Last Time Out: SIU 35, YSU 10 YSU suffered a 35-10 defeat at Southern Illinois last Saturday at Saluki Stadium. The Penguins took an early 3-0 lead before the Salukis scored the next 28 points to grab control of the contest.
The Guins came out with a solid first offensive possession to seize an early 3-0 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Colt McFadden. However, SIU answered with a pair of two first-quarter touchdowns. Javon Williams scored on a seven-yard run on a Wildcat keeper and then Kare Lyles found Landon Lenoir for a 53-yard strike.
In the second quarter, Romeir Elliott scored a three-yard run and Lyles found Williams for a 73-yard score to put the Penguins in a 28-3 hole. With nine seconds left before halftime, Nathan Mays connected with Ryan Emans on a 22-yard touchdown pass to pull YSU within 28-10 at halftime. The lone score of the second half came in the third quarter when Williams threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Garrett.
Last Time vs. WIU YSU suffered a 45-38 defeat against Western Illinois last year at Hanson Field in Macomb, Ill.
The Penguins had a brief first-quarter lead before facing second-half deficits of 30-10 and 45-24. However, YSU kept battling pulling within 30-24 and 45-38 in the fourth quarter.
After falling behind 6-0, a Tevin McCaster three-yard scoring run gave the Penguins a 7-6 lead. WIU scored the final 10 points of the first half, and a 75-yard run by Steve McShane extended the advantage to 23-7 early in the third.
Trailing 30-10, Montgomery VanGorder connected with Zach Farrar on 21-yard touchdown and McCaster scored on a two-yard carry to make it a 30-24 contest. But two WIU touchdowns in a span of 58 seconds pushed the lead out to 45-24. In the final five minutes, VanGorder threw touchdown passes to Jeremiah Braswell and London Pearson for the final score.
Four Wins By 20 Points All four of YSU's wins have come by more than 20 points. YSU has defeated Samford 45-22, Howard 54-28, Duquesne 34-14 and Robert Morris 45-10.
It is the first time in school history that the Penguins won four consecutive games by 20 points or more. YSU won four straight by 19 or more points during the 1993 campaign.
Turnovers on the Uptick The YSU defense has made it a habit of forcing turnovers so far in 2019. YSU has caused 13 turnovers in seven games 4 vs. Samford, 3 vs. Howard, 3 vs. Duquesne and 1 vs. Robert Morris, UNI and Southern Illinois. In 11 games in 2018, the Penguins caused just nine turnovers.
Until the first three games of this year, the last time the Penguins forced three-or-more turnovers in consecutive games was back in 2002.
Already this season, the Guins have intercepted seven passes, which newly eclipses the total from each of the past two seasons combined. YSU had three interceptions in 2018 and five in 2017.
Sacks On The Rise YSU had three sacks against South Dakota State to bring the Penguins' total to 22 through seven games. The Penguins recorded just 18 in 11 games last season. DE Justus Reed leads the team with eight sacks. In 14 career games played, Reed has an impressive 13 sacks.
Ma'lik Richmond has been a major contributor as well with seven sacks this season. Richmond had three sacks in 2018.
Last year's sack leader was Savon Smith and he had six while starting all 11 contests. Additionally, YSU has 53 TFLs this season after registering just 51 in 2018.
More INTS in 2019 The Penguins have intercepted eight passes in seven games this year. YSU had three in 11 games a year ago and had just five in 2017. The Guins equaled their 2018 total in the season opener vs. Samford with three INTs.
The three interceptions against the Bulldogs were the most interceptions in a single game for the program since Sept. 26, 2009, at Indiana State.
Multiple-QB Attack The Penguins have played four quarterbacks this season with three having rushing touchdowns - Nathan Mays, Joe Craycraft and Mark Waid. The trio has combined for nine touchdowns on 103 carries and 323 yards.
The contest at UNI is the only time this year YSU did not employ a multiple-QB system.
Freshman QB Mark Waid made his YSU debut against Duquesne and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns. He also played against SDSU. Joe Craycraft scored on a seven-yard run in the fourth quarter against RMU. Craycraft has passing scores against SDSU and Duquesne.
Mays has rushing touchdowns in four games and has six total on the season. Mays has nine touchdown passes this season - two each in each of the first two games and two more at UNI.
Conor Collins saw snaps in the fourth quarter against RMU. Craycraft made his first career start against the Colonials.
Mays Is A Gamer After being questionable following an injury on the last play of the game at UNI, QB Nathan Mays battled back to start for the Penguins against South Dakota State. He did not finish the contest vs. the Jackrabbits but started against vs. Southern Illinois.
Against SDSU, Mays completed 14-of-24 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 58 yards on 13 carries and scored twice. He had a 28-yard run in the first quarter to give the Penguins a 7-3 lead and added a one-yard score in the second to increase the lead to 14-3. At SIU, he had a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Alessi Now A Pass Catcher In his first 40 games with the Penguins, tailback Joe Alessi had not caught a pass.
In the last three games, Alessi has five receptions for 69 yards. He had his first career reception against UNI on Oct. 5. Against South Dakota State he caught three passes for 55 yards. Included in that was a 45-yard touchdown reception, the first of his career.
Additionally, Alessi has 1,053 career rushing yards on 127 attempts, an average of 8.3 per rush.
One-Hit Wonders The Penguins have six one-play drives this season. YSU scored on three one-play drives against Howard and had one each against Duquesne, Robert Morris and UNI.
Against Howard, Joe Alessi scored on a 40-yard touchdown run, Braxton Chapman raced 78 yards for a score and London Pearson ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run.
In the win over Duquesne, Joe Craycraft threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Pearson. Against Robert Morris, Alessi scampered home on a 43-yard touchdown rush. At UNI last Saturday, Nathan Mays connected with Jermiah Braswell on a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Big Season For Coates Junior PR Jake Coates is having his best season this year for the Penguins. Coates has returned 20 punts for 231 yards this season, an average of 11.6 per return.
He was named the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week in the win over Robert Morris. Coates set a school record with 133 yards on five returns. He had a touchdown return of 63 yards and additional returns of 22 and 33 in the contest.
At UNI, he had five returns for 41 yards, including a 25-yard return. At SIU, he had four returns for 30 yards.
Prior to the RMU game, Coates' career-long return was 22 yards against South Dakota State in 2018. Coates now has 60 returns in his career for 365 yards. He now ranks second in school history in career punt returns (64) and fifth in yards (396).
Emans With TD Grab Senior WR Ryan Emans hauled in his second touchdown reception of the season and third of his career at Southern Illinois.
Emans caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Mays in the second quarter. He caught a 15-yard touchdown against Howard earlier in the year.
For his career, he has 29 receptions for 320 yards and three scores. This season he has caught 19 passes for 196 yards.
Richmond making a Difference Senior DE Ma'lik Richmond is making the most of his first year as a starter.
Richmond, who had a career-best nine tackles at Southern Illinois, has 30 total tackles this season, highlighted by seven sacks. He has eight tackles for loss this year.
Richmond had two sacks against the Salukis and finished with eight solo stops.
Entering the season, he had 29 career tackles and three sacks in 16 games played through a two-year span. Of his 14 career TFLs, 10 have been sacks.
Braswell Stepping Up Senior WR Jermiah Braswell is tied for the team lead with 19 receptions and has highs of 355 yards and three touchdowns. He is also averaging a team-best 18.7 yards per reception.
At SIU, he caught two passes for 36 yards. Against SDSU, he caught four passes for 53 yards. Previously he caught a career-long 75-yard touchdown reception against UNI on Oct. 5. Earlier in the year he caught a 24-yard touchdown against Robert Morris and a 38-yard touchdown vs. Howard.
For his career, Braswell has 46 receptions for 826 yards and seven touchdowns.
Alessi Having Breakout Year Senior TB Joe Alessi has led the Penguins in rushing each of the past five games. Alessi was rewarded for his recent efforts with his first career start at Southern Illinois.
He had a season-high 146 yards on 14 carries against Robert Morris. It was the second 100-yard rushing game of his career and first since November 2016 at Missouri State (190 yards).
This year, Alessi has a team-high 501 yards on 84 carries. In his previous three campaigns, he had 552 yards on 43 carries.
Keep Up With The Jones's The Penguins have had solid performances from newcomers Matt Jones (West Virginia) and Zaire Jones (Vanderbilt) this year.
Matt Jones has started all seven games at center for the Penguins and helped anchor an offense that is amongst the nation's leaders in rushing.
Zaire Jones had quite a debut against Samford recording two interceptions and five total tackles. In seven games, Jones has 38 total tackles, including 23 solo stops.
D-Line Playing Well The Penguins defensive line has seen all four starters step up so far this season.
The group of DEs Justus Reed, Ma'lik Richmond and DTs Antoine Cook and DeMarko Craig - all first-time starters in 2019 - have combined for 120 total tackles (72 solos), 33.5 TFLs and 20 sacks so far this season.
DE Ma'lik Richmond was the latest to have a career-best performance. At Southern Illinois, Richmond had nine total tackles, including eight solo stops. He had three TFLs and two sacks vs. the Salukis.
DT Antoine Cook had a career-best performance recording seven tackles, three TFLs and a sack at UNI. Against Duquesne, Craig had seven tackles and a sack. Reed opened the season with a three-sack performance vs. Samford. Against SDSU, Reed had two more sacks.
In 2018, Reed missed the campaign with an injury, Cook was a reserve, Craig redshirted and Richmond was a pass-rush specialist.
McFadden Times Three The Penguins added Kent State transfer Colt McFadden in the spring, and that last name is very familiar to YSU Football fans.
His father, Paul, played for the Penguins from 1980-83, while his brother Connor, was with the program from 2013-16. Both his father and brother were placekickers.
This season, Colt McFadden has made three field goals and is 29-of-32 on PAT tries.
Paul McFadden finished his career with 240 points making 52 field goals and 78 PATs. He earned notoriety for being a barefoot-style kicker. Connor McFadden played a big role in YSU's playoff run in 2016. In the quarterfinals against Wofford, he converted a PAT kick in overtime.
LBs Have Deep Numbers LBs Ray Anderson, Christiaan Randall-Posey and Cash Mitchell give the Penguins good experience at that position.
Anderson has 37 total tackles this season after recording 22 a year ago. He had a career-best eight tackles at Southern Illinois. Mitchell, had a career-best 35 tackles last season and this year has 31 with 7.5 TFLs. Terray Bryant (17) and Christiaan Randall-Posey (13) have combined for 30 tackles this year.
Last year, Mitchell led the group with 35 tackles while Randall-Posey finished with 30 total tackles, including 23 solos. He started three games. Anderson came on strong at the end of the campaign in 2018 with 20 of his 22 tackles came against MVFC foes.
Scoring Runs in Victories The Penguins have gone on big runs to seize control in each of their four victories.
Against Samford, YSU trailed 7-0 before scoring 31 unanswered points. In the contest vs. Howard, the Guins went a on 48-7 scoring run which included a 21 straight points and then 27 consecutive points. In the win over Duquesne, YSU jumped out to a 21-0 lead and went on to win by 20. YSU trailed Robert Morris 7-0 before scoring 31 consecutive points.
Secondary Has Depth The Penguins secondary has stepped up this season. The unit has eight interceptions through seven games. Six different players already have an interception.
This year, leading the way are two players who didn't play for YSU in 2018 - SS Zaire Jones and FS Kyle Hegedus.
Jones transferred from Vanderbilt and leads the team with 38 total tackles and is tied for the team-lead with two interceptions. Hegedus missed the 2018 campaign with a knee injury, and has 36 total tackles, including a team-high 25 solo stops and two interceptions.
Five other secondary members, Dee Ford (19) Jaelin Madison (15), D.J. Smalls (15), Melvin Jackson (14) and Bryce Gibson (13) have double digits in tackles this season. Smalls, Gibson and Ford have interceptions this year.
O-Line Transfers YSU added a pair of graduate transfers to bolster the offensive line in 2019. The Penguins picked up center Matt Jones, who was a two-year starter at West Virginia, and Myles Douglas, who started every game in 2017 at Tennessee Tech.
Jones is a native of nearby Hubbard and started the final 25 games of his career for the Mountaineers and started against the Penguins last September in Morgantown. Jones has started every game at center while Douglas has started the last six games at right guard.
Becker, Zinni Anchor Line The most veteran YSU players on the offensive line are sophomore LT Dan Becker and senior LG Jacob Zinni.
Becker started the first nine games at left tackle in 2018 and played in all 11 contests. Zinni started the final two games of the year at guard. In 2017, Zinni started the first five games at right guard. The only other lineman to previously start a game at YSU last year is Devon Robinson. He made a pair of starts at right tackle in 2018.
All three players have started the first seven games. Senior graduate transfer Matt Jones has started all seven games this year while Myles Douglas has made six starts.
Schedule Rarities in 2019 For the first time since 2004, the Penguins will not play an FBS team during their schedule. YSU is playing an all-FCS schedule for the just the second time in school history. The lone other time the Guins had a slate full of FCS opponents was back in 1983.
From 1989 through 2004 the Guins hosted a Division II program in all but one season (1993). From 1984 to 1988, the schedule was full of FBS opponents as the Penguins played a total of 12 games vs. upper-level foes. YSU played FBS Cincinnati in 1981 and 1982, the first two years it was an FCS program. YSU is playing seven home games for the first time since 2014.
Touchdowns By Current Guins The Penguins have 18 players on their roster who have combined for a total of 65 touchdowns. TB Joe Alessi has the most rushing touchdowns with nine while Jermiah Braswell leads the team with seven receiving TDs.
Numbers of Note Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 141-39 when they win or tie in the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 27-73.
Since 1990 YSU is:
168-21-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
144-18 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
166-29 when scoring 28-or-more points.
88-11-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
196-17 when leading entering the fourth.
90-3-2 when holding opponents to 10 points-or-less in a game.
Up Next The Penguins play host to No. 1 North Dakota State on Nov. 2. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
