Today’s article from Tribune/Vindy on the YSU-UND game:
YSU Scouting Report: North Dakota
LOCAL SPORTS
OCT 6, 2022
JOEL WHETZEL
Staff writer
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com
Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State SAM linebacker D’Marco Augustin keys in on Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. The Penguins host No. 22 North Dakota on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium.
YOUNGSTOWN — Since the summer, this upcoming stretch in Youngstown State’s season has been looked at as the definining point.
So much so, that the Penguins had a sit-down with university president and one-time YSU coach Jim Tressel back in July to highlight these very weeks, beginning this week with Saturday’s contest against North Dakota.
“We talked in the summertime. We had a little seminar with President Tressel, and we talked about this point of the year, being possibly are we going to be 3-1, are we going to be 4-0, are we going to be 2-2, knowing that we have a homestand coming,” said YSU coach Doug Phillips. “So it wasn’t like this wasn’t discussed in July and in August. Knowing that, to climb to the top of the mountain, it takes one step. … So for us, it’s that process, and all that matters is taking that first step.”
That proverbial first step represents a big one. The Fighting Hawks come to Stambaugh Stadium ranked No. 22 in the latest StatsPerform FCS Top 25, and are fresh off an impressive 48-31 win over then-No. 7 Missouri State. The Fighting Hawks trailed 21-10 early on in that game before rallying to within 21-20 at halftime and then pulling away in the second half.
YSU, meanwhile, enters off of two straight losses and a big question mark under center. At halftime of last week’s game at No. 1 North Dakota State, Phillips pulled starting QB Demeatric Crenshaw, who was struggling to move the offense, and played Mitch Davidson during the second half.
Who starts Saturday is a “game-time decision,” according to Phillips.
Regardless of who starts, getting the pass game going is a must if the Penguins are to take any steps forward from last year’s 3-7 mark, and this Fighting Hawks team represents a good opportunity to do so.
UND’s pass defense gives up 286.4 yards per game, ranking it 104th out of 123 FCS defenses.
Then, too, the North Dakota run defense has allowed 149.8 yards per game, giving Jaleel McLaughlin and the rest of the Penguin tailbacks plenty of opportunity to make plays.
For his part, McLaughlin is coming off an impressive performance at NDSU. The senior rushed for 150 yards, by far his highest total against the Bison.
Phillips is expecting plenty of activity from the Fighting Hawks’ front seven.
“They have a lot of movement with their defensive front seven,” he noted. “They blitz, they come from all over the place, and they play hard.”
Receiver Latrell Fordham added, “They show different things up front, and they have really good corners out there.”
On the other side of the ball, the Fighting Hawks feature one of the most balanced offenses YSU will face this season. UND has run the ball 166 times and thrown it 160.
On the ground, North Dakota was tasked this offseason with replacing former All-American Otis Weah, who initially transferred to Missouri State before allegations of sexual assault from his time at UND reportedly caused MSU to rescind the offer.
UND replaced him with another Missouri Valley tailback, as they added Tyler Hoosman as a graduate transfer from Northern Iowa. So far, the senior has paced North Dakota’s run game with 422 yards and five touchdowns on 62 carries.
“He’s a physical back,” YSU linebacker Greg Benton Jr. said. “He runs behind his pads, and he’s definitely a good player. They’re utilizing him the same as they did at UNI. He’s a good back, so we have to put a body on him and no arm tackles.”
Isaiah Smith has shared the workload as a spell back for Hoosman. He’s racked up 223 yards and a score on 34 carries.
In the air game, junior Tommy Schuster is back under center for UND.
He’s been efficient to date, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes (107-for-154). He’s got 1,133 yards, seven touchdowns and has been picked off just twice.
His favorite target, to nobody’s surprise, has been Preseason All-MVFC second teamer Bo Belquist, who has 29 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
What makes UND’s pass attack difficult to defend, though, is once again its balance. The Fighting Hawks have five receivers with at least 10 receptions this season, and four have scored.
Garett Maag has 18 catches for 257 yards and two scores, while Smith has 12 receptions out of hte backfield for 143 yards.
“He knows how to deliver the football, and he’s poised,” Phillips said of Schuster. “If you don’t affect him — I can remember the spring season and last year, I remember you weren’t getting to him and that he gets rid of the ball. (It’s) almost like we saw game one (against Duquesne) where you weren’t going to get pressure and the ball comes out quick. We have to make sure somehow we affect him. We can’t allow him to just sit back there and pick us apart.”
But, Phillips added, the Penguins also can’t defend every single thing UND will try to do, as it will cause the YSU defense to over-extend itself.
“One thing you cannot try to do — and if you do, they’re going to put 500 yards of offense up — is try to defend everything,” he noted. “We have to always go into a game and stop the run. That’s always going to be critical for us is to stop the run, and we have to eliminate the big plays, because they can put points on the board very quickly like you saw against Missouri State.”
PREDICTION
This game could go either way, but the Youngstown State defense and run game should do just enough to give the Penguins the edge.
Youngstown State wins, 27-24.
