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YSU Penguin Athletics => YSU Penguin Athletics => Topic started by: The YO Show on August 29, 2022, 03:35:49 PM
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Well, it is gameweek folks! I am very excited for the start of the season. Duquesne did have the advantage of playing a week 0 game (against Florida State losing 47-7). I think the guins come ready to play their first game and get a comfortable win margin. Thoughts?
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Well, it is gameweek folks! I am very excited for the start of the season. Duquesne did have the advantage of playing a week 0 game (against Florida State losing 47-7). I think the guins come ready to play their first game and get a comfortable win margin. Thoughts?
I watched highlights of that game. The big plays of FSU’s running destroyed the Dukes. They had difficulty In tackling the ball carriers.
We need to get our ground game going. The Dukes really didn’t look all that bad. We need to be cautious.
Remembering the Butler game…..
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Don't underestimate any opponent. Remember Duquesne made the playoffs.
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We have teetered at the .500 winning percentage for years. We are feared by no one. Nothing comes easy for YSU Football.
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Last season Duquesne was crushed by TCU in their opener, then went to Athens the next week and took down Ohio University. I'm sure that our coaches have made that point abundantly clear to our team.
This is the third season for the new regime. I expect substantial progress on the defensive side of the ball through the addition of several transfers and the maturation of our young players. If the O-line has improved, admittedly a big if, we should have a dynamic offense with our skilled athletes.
Saturday will either be the first signs of a renaissance for YSU football, or it will be proof that we made a mistake with our coaching hire.
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Well, it is gameweek folks! I am very excited for the start of the season. Duquesne did have the advantage of playing a week 0 game (against Florida State losing 47-7). I think the guins come ready to play their first game and get a comfortable win margin. Thoughts?
I watched highlights of that game. The big plays of FSU’s running destroyed the Dukes. They had difficulty In tackling the ball carriers.
We need to get our ground game going. The Dukes really didn’t look all that bad. We need to be cautious.
Remembering the Butler game…..
Oh I know. I just don't think that the guins will overlook this team. I truly don't believe that is the type of culture that DP is trying to establish.
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Don't underestimate any opponent. Remember Duquesne made the playoffs.
They didn't make the playoffs since 2018, not that means much. They are a good team. Their defensive line seemed disruptive to Florida State's offensive line at times.
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Going to be an interesting season. I expect better results but how much exactly?...
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I’m pretty optimistic. The 4 big losses we had last year we’re to UNI THE DSUs and a big ten school. Besides that we lost 2 by 3 points and blew one halftime lead. Not to mention all three teams we did beat made the playoffs.
We also played zero cupcake games last year.
I guess what I’m saying is we were pretty close to a .500 quality team in 21, so I could see this being a 7 win season at least
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I’m pretty optimistic. The 4 big losses we had last year we’re to UNI THE DSUs and a big ten school. Besides that we lost 2 by 3 points and blew one halftime lead. Not to mention all three teams we did beat made the playoffs.
We also played zero cupcake games last year.
I guess what I’m saying is we were pretty close to a .500 quality team in 21, so I could see this being a 7 win season at least
Kandrase I like your optimism! I am also optimistic.
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Coach’s press conference on YouTube
https://youtu.be/8uD1j6XI9sA
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Watching Penguin Gameday, still not quite over, but have interviewed a defensive player and now a coach and we STILL do not know what the defense scheme we are running this year is. Lots of talk about, playing fast, knowing what assignment to be in ect. Playing with quickness and intensity. Nothing about the scheme information itself. So... total mystery till Saturday what we are even running :angel:
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Notice the PNEGUIN GAMEDAY spelling
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Watching Penguin Gameday, still not quite over, but have interviewed a defensive player and now a coach and we STILL do not know what the defense scheme we are running this year is. Lots of talk about, playing fast, knowing what a$$ignment to be in ect. Playing with quickness and intensity. Nothing about the scheme information itself. So... total mystery till Saturday what we are even running :angel:
I watched the show and I agree with you since I also did not learn a damn thing from HC and DC (besides focusing on today, we are stronger and faster & can play fast)
I still don’t know how they have improved on Crenshaw’s passing game and our poor defense. What changes were devised and implemented? Playing fast is not going to do it if they haven’t figured out the “why” and “how”.
I will find out Saturday to see if I am completely off base.
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Looked at some video Lenoir Rhyne film from last year
Looks like they run a 4-2-5 and some 4-3. With our LB situation I can see 4-2
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Article from today’s Tribune/Vindy:
Penguins open season vs. Duquesne
LOCAL SPORTS
SEP 1, 2022
JOEL WHETZEL
Staff writer
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State receiver Latrell Fordham (3) turns up field after catching a pass as Jordan Trowers (11) and Logan Pasco (34) close in to make a tackle during a team scrimmage Aug. 20. Fordham will make his debut for YSU on Saturday.
YOUNGSTOWN — Doug Phillips doesn’t need to look far for an example of how dangerous a Duquesne team coming off a Week 0 loss can be.
In fact, YSU’s third-year head coach pointed out Tuesday, one needs to only look back to the 2021 season. The Dukes began their last campaign with a 45-3 loss to TCU, only to turn around and knock off Ohio University in Athens, 28-26. They became the first Northeast Conference team to defeat an FBS opponent in the process.
This year, the Dukes began their campaign with a 47-7 loss at Florida State, and are in search of another fruitful trip across state lines as they pay Youngstown State a visit.
“We’re playing a team that played in Week 0, and you make your greatest strides as a team between Game 1 and Game 2,” Phillips said. “We haven’t had a Game 1 yet, and they have. They’ve gone down to Florida State, just like they did last year when they went down to TCU and then they came back the next week and drove down to Athens and beat a very good Ohio University football team. So they’ve been here before; they know it. They’re going to be a lot better this week than they were last week.”
That buy game aside, Duquesne does present an interesting Week 1 opponent for YSU. The Dukes, in their 18th season under Westminster graduate Jerry Schmitt, are coming off a 7-3 campaign that included separate win streaks of four and three games.
The Dukes bring a fair amount of their talent back from that squad, and also welcomed back quarterback Joe Mischler, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2021 opener at TCU. He struggled against FSU — 7-of-17 for 71 yards and a touchdown — but was a Spring 2021 All-NEC First Team selection before that. In that season, he was the fifth-most efficient quarterback in the FCS, with a rating of 159.3.
“(Mischler) is smart, heady, can throw the football and has great pocket awareness,” Phillips noted.
Defensive end James Jackson added, “(Duquesne likes) to get rid of the ball quick, so we have to make sure we’re getting our hands up on the defensive line and be sound in coverage.”
His top target in Week 0 was Abdul Jenneh, who grabbed three passes for 44 yards and the Dukes’ lone touchdown.
Duquesne’s bread and butter, however, is on the ground, where the Dukes this year feature a two-pronged attack with Samford transfer DeMarcus Ware (11 car., 30 yards vs. FSU) and 2021 All-NEC Second Team selection Billy Lucas (7 car., 13 yards vs. FSU). Lucas led Duquesne in 2021 with 699 yards on 137 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per rush.
That ground game is behind two-time All-NEC right tackle Vincent Lumia, who started in each of Duquesne’s 10 games last year.
That will provide an early test that’s perhaps welcomed by this Youngstown State defense, which finished last in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing yards allowed last season (221.5 yards per game).
Since then, the Penguins were active in the transfer portal, adding linebackers Greg Benton Jr. (Western Illinois) and Keon Freeman (Div. II University of Charleston) as well as strong safety Marcus Hooker (Ohio State).
Those three will look to make an immediate impact, as all of them made the two-deep depth chart and potentially could start. Valley Christian graduate Jordan Trowers, who first-year defensive coordinator Jahmal Brown said was the surprise of spring and fall camps, also is expected to make his first career start at defensive back.
Outside of those newcomers, the YSU defense features a lot of the same pieces it did a season ago.
“We weren’t very good defensively (in 2021),” Phillips bluntly assessed. “We haven’t earned anybody’s respect on the field. I think we need to take huge jumps defensively and in stopping the run and in scoring defense.”
Duquesne, meanwhile, certainly can relate.
The Dukes gave up 638 yards to Florida State, including 406 yards on the ground. Three Seminoles went for 100-plus yards in the win, and none of them needed more than 14 carries to do so.
That should bode well for a YSU team that features Preseason All-American Jaleel McLaughlin, the active career NCAA leader in both touchdowns and yards.
Then, too, YSU returns all five of its offensive linemen that were starting when the 2021 season concluded, providing helpful continuity up front. And if the depth chart is to be trusted, the offensive line as a whole has added some needed weight during the offseason, something Phillips emphasized at the conclusion of the 2021 campaign.
But, YSU center Mike McAllister noted, the Dukes have some size and capable defenders in their 3-4 defense.
Two-time All-NEC nose tackle Maxi Hradecny returns, as do defensive ends A.J. Ackerman and Kevin Kurzinger, who both started in all of Duquesne’s games last year. Duquesne also picked up some pieces in the transfer portal: Noah Palmer (Pitt) and Ryan Lopez (Stony Brook).
Todd Hill is back at outside linebacker after recording 38 tackles (21 solo) in 2021, earning him All-NEC Second Team honors. In the secondary, Jeremiah Josephs was an All-NEC Second Team player last year, and had a season-high nine tackles against Ohio.
When the YSU passing game is called upon, redshirt sophomore quarterback Demeatric Crenshaw will have one familiar face to turn to — Bryce Oliver. He nabbed eight touchdowns last season, the most of any Penguin receiver since 2011.
Outside of the junior transfer from Kentucky, however, the Penguins are a bit unproven. Slot receiver C.J. Charleston suffered an injury during fall camp, prompting Max Tomczak to take over that role. Tomczak was put on scholarship during a preseason in which he impressed the coaching staff.
FAMILIAR FACE
Duquesne linebacker Gianni Rizzo will get a shot at his former team Saturday, as the Norwin, Pa., native makes his first return to Stambaugh Stadium.
Rizzo redshirted at YSU in 2019, and then appeared in six games in both the Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 campaigns. He forced a fumble at Michigan State last season.
He’s listed as a starter on Duquesne’s depth chart.
PENGUINS ARE STREAKING
YSU enters Saturday’s contests in hopes of extending a trio of trends.
Youngstown State is 4-0 all-time against Duquesne, and has scored at least 34 points in each of those contests. The teams last met in 2019, a 34-14 YSU victory.
The Penguins haven’t fallen at home to a Keystone State team since 1978, when Villanova defeated YSU 22-17. Since then, Youngstown State has won 37 consecutive home games against teams from Pennsylvania, most of which came against Division II opponents.
Finally, YSU has won 38 of its last 40 nonconference home games since September 2004. The losses were to Liberty in 2008 (31-28) and Butler in 2018 (23-21).
PREDICTION
Given the Dukes’ trouble with stopping the run last week at Florida State, this should set up nicely for Youngstown State.
The Penguins obviously don’t feature the sort of line FSU does, but expect McLaughlin to turn in one of his trademark performances and explode for a few big runs to lead YSU to a win.
Youngstown State wins, 35-14.