YSU FOOTBALL Heacock believes in team's chances

A lot of things still canhappen, good and bad, forthe Penguins.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State football coach Jon Heacock still has complete faith in his players and his coaching staff and also feels that this season is far from over.
"There's still life out there," said Heacock during his press conference Tuesday at the DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium.
The Penguins, who are coming off a 22-7 Gateway Conference loss to Northern Iowa, are 4-3 and 2-2 in the Gateway.
"There are four teams ahead of us with just one loss and we play three of those teams in the next three weeks," Heacock said.
The Penguins go on the road Saturday to take on Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. The Leathernecks are 6-1 and 3-1 in the conference.
Following the trip to Western Illinois, the Penguins come back home to meet Southern Illinois (4-4, 2-1) and then go to Illinois State (4-3, 2-1) the following week.
On their side
"I believe in our guys and I believe in what they are doing," Heacock said. "I watch how hard they work every day in practice."
Taking a look at the Gateway standings and the games remaining, it appears that a lot of things can happen, both good and bad, for the Penguins.
The top two teams, Western Illinois and Western Kentucky, each have three league games remaining. The Leathernecks still have to play YSU at home, and Southwest Missouri State and Northern Iowa on the road.
The Hilltoppers have the easier road down the stretch as they are home this week to Indiana State, then play at home against Illinois State, before going to Southern Illinois on Nov. 16.
Illinois State has a tough schedule remaining as the Redbirds play at Northern Iowa this week, then at Western Kentucky and then come home to play YSU. They finish the season at Indiana State.
Southern Illinois, the surprise team in this year's title race until it was soundly beaten by Illinois State last week, plays at Southwest Missouri this week, then at YSU and finishes with two home games against Indiana State and Western Kentucky.
As far as the Penguins are concerned, they have no options. They must will all four remaining games -- the three Gateway contests and then the season finale on Nov. 23 at home against Samford.
No guarantee
Even if the Penguins win out, there is still no guarantee they will be Gateway champs. They need a lot of help and that help is very possible.
It doesn't look like anyone is going to get through the conference without two losses, so it comes down to which teams finish with two losses.
If it is Western Kentucky or Northern Iowa, the Penguins' best finish would be second, since they lost to both teams. An at-large bid with an 8-3 record would put them in the same situation they were in a year ago.
"All we can do is take care of our business and everything after that is out of our control," Heacock said. "Had we beaten Northern Iowa, then we would have been in control of our own destiny, but we didn't and now we are not."
mollica@vindy.com