Penguins' season streak in jeopardy

The team has not had a losing season since 1995.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Saturday's game is a big one for the Youngstown State football team.
Not only are the Penguins playing the No. 3-ranked team in I-AA, unbeaten Southern Illinois, but the Penguins also have a seven-year streak of winning seasons on the line when they trek to Carbondale, Ill.
The Penguins (5-5, 2-3 Gateway) and Salukis (9-0, 5-0) square off at 7 p.m. at McAndrew Stadium.
YSU has not had a losing season since 1995 when the Penguins, following their third I-AA national championship, finished 3-8 under coach Jim Tressel.
A loss Saturday would mean the Penguins could finish no better than 6-6 and that's only if they can defeat Western Kentucky in the season finale at Stambaugh Stadium Nov. 15.
YSU is coming off two straight losses and the Penguins haven't lost three straight since 1998.
Little to like
But more than the losses has been the way the Penguins have lost, giving up 604 yards to Illinois State in a 35-25 defeat and last week, allowing Northern Iowa 618 total yards in a 47-9 rout in Cedar Falls.
That defeat was the worst for the Penguins since the 1982 campaign, when they lost to Cincinnati 57-3.
"It's really hard to stay focused after the last two weeks," said YSU coach Jon Heacock, "but that's the real challenge for this football team."
The Penguins, picked to finish third in the Gateway preseason poll, are in fifth place with a 2-3 record and stand a chance of posting their first-ever losing season in the conference since they became members in 1997.
Injuries have played a big part in the Penguins problems this season and the outlook for Saturday's game isn't much better.
The Penguins will be without senior tailback Mike Burns for the final two games of the season after he suffered a foot injury against Northern Iowa.
Burns, a Niles McKinley High graduate, is the team's second leading rusher with 400 yards on 80 carries, and has scored four touchdowns.
"We need to have our best players on the field Saturday against Southern Illinois," Heacock said.
Doing too much
YSU senior defensive back Scott Thiessen said the Penguins are trying to do too much.
"Every week there's been someone hurt and not playing and guys are trying to make up for this by trying to do more and all it does is weaken the entire team," Thiessen said.
"What we have to do is go out and concentrate on what each of us has to do and do it, and not worry what somebody else is doing," he said. "The seniors have to help pull this team back together."
Offensively, the Penguins must get their running game back on track. Last week they were held to a season-low 63 yards on 31 carries and their season average is down to 191.7 yards per game.
Defensively, the Penguins must stop the run, which they haven't been able to do the last three games. The opposition is rushing for 207.7 yards per game.
The YSU defense is allowing 392.7 total yards per game and is closing in on the school record set by the 1986 team, which allowed 411 yards per game while posting a 2-9 record in Tressel's first season.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;