Detroit Free Press article
http://www.freep.com/article/20130910/SPORTS07/309100032/michigan-state-spartans-youngstown-stateBy Joe Rexrode
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer
EAST LANSING — Youngstown State looked like one of the easiest games on Michigan State’s schedule just a couple of weeks ago. But now? For one thing, there are no easy games for the Spartans, not with two offensive touchdowns in two games.
For another, the Football Championship Subdivision Penguins are 2-0 and gained 718 yards — 359 rushing and 359 passing — in a 67-13 win Saturday over Morehead State. If they can find a way to surprise MSU’s defense with big plays Saturday at Spartan Stadium (2 p.m., Big Ten Network), this game could be more interesting than it was supposed to be when scheduled.
Youngstown State, the former employer of MSU coach Mark Dantonio, will try to beat a Big Ten team for the first time in six tries. Last season, the Penguins got their first win over a Football Bowl Subdivision team, Pittsburgh, and two years ago hung with MSU into the fourth quarter in an eventual 28-6 loss.
“It’s obviously a big football game,” YSU coach Eric Wolford told the Youngstown (Ohio) Vindicator after Saturday’s game. “It’s a Big Ten team; they’re nationally ranked, and they’re well-coached. We went up there and played two years ago, and it’s a great environment, a fun place to play. You’re in the wrong business if you don’t get excited to play Michigan State.”
YSU quarterback Kurt Hess told the Vindicator he started thinking about the Spartans “in the locker room” after Saturday’s game.
The Penguins may sense vulnerability, considering MSU beat Western Michigan, 26-13 — after which the Broncos lost to FCS team Nicholls State. A week before MSU beat South Florida, 21-6, the Bulls lost, 53-21, to FCS team McNeese State.
Then again, Morehead State is a non-scholarship team that lost to Pikeville of the NAIA in its opener. And the Penguins beat non-scholarship FCS team Dayton, 28-10, in their opener — then spent a week answering questions about their struggling offense.