The South Dakota game

[Wick250]

All road games are dangerous.  This team threw 47 passes against Illinois State and will throw more against us.  Fortunately, they have scored 20 points only once, in the UNI meltdown two weeks ago.  For what it is worth....probably not much.... their performance against common opponents (Western Illinois, Indiana State, and Illinois State) has been unimpressive.

Looking at the "conference-only" statistics, here is how YSU stands half-way through the season.

We are first in turnover margin and second in penalties.

On offense, as you would expect, we rank well in many categories:

1st scoring offense
1st red zone offense
2nd total offense
2nd rushing offense
1st passing efficiency
1st sacks against
2nd third down conversions
1st fourth down conversions

On defense, a few ugly stats, again as we would expect:

9th total defense
10th pass defense
10th opponents third down conversions

But also some positive surprises among the defensive stats:

2nd scoring defense
3rd rushing defense
3rd sacks
1st red zone defense
1st opponents fourth down conversions

[OBC]

I am excited to see your team in person this year in Vermillion.  Have a ton of respect for your program.  Obviously you are having a solid start to your year with some tough games to finish.  While the USD game may strike you as the easiest on paper, I think it may be the second toughest remaining.

I think the game will come down to how much pressure the defenses put on the QBs.  We have an inexperienced starting QB.  Your QB is seasoned and will most likely not get rattled even if our defense gets him a few times.

How is your OL this year?

Our special teams - especially punt team has been the worst in the MVFC.  I think we finally found a long snapper that can actually be depended on - only took eight games.....

Like most Valley teams we are banged up - several starters have gone down either during or before the season with season ending injuries.  Couple that with a new coaching staff (second year) that shook up the roster causing about 12-15 players to leave has created a two deep that is very young. 

Last game against ISU our guys played and undisciplined game and had 5 personal fouls that killed some drives for us.

I would expect this to be a hard hitting good MVFC game.  Hope some of your fans make it out to the game.  Great time of the year to come to South Dakota - see a good game and pheasant hunt as well.

[IAA Fan]

What do those stats tell us Wick?

1. Not enough pressure from our defense between the 20's.
2. Secondary being beat and/or helping with run-stopping.

Two things that I have said all along:

1. Your defense is as your offense goes. We are a high scoring offense, so our defense is built to stop that. Much more like a Big Sky defense, than a MVFC defense.

2. QB's at our level are going to through the ball any time they get on-on-one coverage. Corners keeping up with receivers is not good enough. However, I think we can do well in the post-season playing non-conference opposition.

[penguinpower]

I am excited to see your team in person this year in Vermillion.  Have a ton of respect for your program.  Obviously you are having a solid start to your year with some tough games to finish.  While the USD game may strike you as the easiest on paper, I think it may be the second toughest remaining.

I think the game will come down to how much pressure the defenses put on the QBs.  We have an inexperienced starting QB.  Your QB is seasoned and will most likely not get rattled even if our defense gets him a few times.

How is your OL this year?

Our special teams - especially punt team has been the worst in the MVFC.  I think we finally found a long snapper that can actually be depended on - only took eight games.....

Like most Valley teams we are banged up - several starters have gone down either during or before the season with season ending injuries.  Couple that with a new coaching staff (second year) that shook up the roster causing about 12-15 players to leave has created a two deep that is very young. 

Last game against ISU our guys played and undisciplined game and had 5 personal fouls that killed some drives for us.

I would expect this to be a hard hitting good MVFC game.  Hope some of your fans make it out to the game.  Great time of the year to come to South Dakota - see a good game and pheasant hunt as well.

Thanks for posting on the site. Should be a good game. Your strength is our weakness. I think our QB plays better in a dome.

[Wick250]

OBC,

Traditionally, the offensive line is the backbone of YSU football.  The O-line this season has been reasonably dependable overall.  Perhaps not up to our very high traditional standards, but the offensive statistics suggest that they are functional.

The real strength of this football team rests in the skilled positions.  YSU might not have the best qb or the best running back or the best wide receiver or the best tight end in the MVFC, but our stable of skilled athletes is larger, by far, than any team in the conference.  And the depth at the skilled positions is amazing for the FCS level, everywhere except for quarterback.  Nobody in FCS really has two good ones.  You cannot concentrate on shutting down only one phase of the YSU offense; they can attack you in a variety of ways.

As you have detected from reading this site, defense is our primary concern.  Too many yards allowed before the red zone.  Too many third down conversions allowed.  So to beat us you must score much more than you have all season.  And that is certainly a possibility.  Because you will be going up against the best and most diverse offense that you will see all year.

[HappyPenguin]

OBC, our special teams have been great this year. At least by our standards.

Under Wolford up to this year you always held your breath when the other team was returning...big returns came way too easily. Coverage has improved a great deal this season.

Our return game has been solid, not spectacular.

Our punter has a nice leg...I hope we don't see him except on kickoffs but if he has a long field to punt into check him out.

I'm sure at least a few YSU insiders will have the old stopwatch out for that all-important hang time (inside joke).

[lakesbison]

YSU will crush USD, the coyotes got beat 50-0 by ndsu last year.   UNI is just that bad.

[ysuguins4]

I'm sure at least a few YSU insiders will have the old stopwatch out for that all-important hang time (inside joke).

If Coach Hartzell were still doing the games, he would be raving about Liste on a very regular basis.  29 touchbacks on kickoffs, 12 punts inside the 20, and 13 punts over 50 yards.  Nick has probably heard from Coach a few times this season. 

[DavedS]

We would also know precisely how much hang-time on each punt.

[ysufan0505]

It's gonna be a battle that's for sure

[ScarletRook]

While the USD game may strike you as the easiest on paper, I think it may be the second toughest remaining.

Not sure where it comes off the easiest unless you are comparing to the last four games.  At this point YSU enters every game with a target on them.  Usually a coming off a bye week and long travel are tough, but necessary evils if you are going to win championships.

Any report of injuries and if anyone has healed up for the Penguins?

GO GUINS
Players don't come to Youngstown to look at Championship trophies - the come to win them.

[penguinpower]

I would expect at this point in the season that our OL and DL should be getting toward the end of the learning curve ( as well as all other positions).  Based on the depth that we appear to have been developing and the number of weapons that Wick has pointed out, I think we should wear this team down on offense and roll up the TOP. I could be wrong as I am often, but a dominant game after resing during the bye week is what I expect.  However, I was wrong about the WIU game. I expected us to play better.  They were tough.

Most think this team is on par with SIU from what I've read. And they are probably just as good in the passing game. I would like to see a defensive performance like we had against ISU-red. That was a pleasant surprise.

[ValleyTalk]

These guys have the worst offense in the league. It is imperative that we hold them under 20 points. If we do that, I think we win by 10. If they score 21-24, we win by less than a TD.

First team to 28 wins!

GO YSU!

[penguinpower]

These guys have the worst offense in the league. It is imperative that we hold them under 20 points. If we do that, I think we win by 10. If they score 21-24, we win by less than a TD.

First team to 28 wins!

GO YSU!

I hear that they made a QB change that has yielded them some tough wins.

[Spiderlegs]

I agree with the dangerous game thesis, but this game should go YSU.  South Dakota has nothing to lose and a decent defense, and the QB change there has resulted in a marked improvement of the team, so I expect this team to be tenacious and hard to swat down, much like W. Illinois. Nonetheless, YSU has too many weapons, especially on offense and on special teams, and it will be hard for SD to contain YSU a full four quarters. Although being on the road in an unfamiliar dome is a disadvantage, the dry conditions and 50-degree temperature will aid Hess and Stubbs, who don't seem to play well under adverse weather conditions.