For YSU, offense, defense to blame

A column by sports writer Pete Mollica.
It's not what Youngstown State did in its 35-25 loss to Illinois State Saturday afternoon, it's what it didn't do.
The Penguins didn't play good football, or anything close to it.
Although YSU didn't make a turnover while forcing three, and its special teams provided outstanding field position, the offense just didn't come to play Saturday.
You can accept the loss to Western Illinois. The Leathernecks were the No. 2-ranked team in the country and even though they scored 54 points on the Penguins, the game was much closer. Five YSU turnovers were the difference in that game.
But Illinois State was a team that hasn't been able to beat a good team this season as their 3-5 record indicated. Maybe they still haven't.
Inept performance
To give up 604 total yards to the Redbirds was a crime. Other than the goal line stand by the Penguins in the first half, the defense was nonexistent in the contest. Illinois State did almost anything they wanted.
They never punted once in the game, they converted seven times on third down, several with third and long, and even made two fourth down conversions. Where was the defense?
YSU coach Jon Heacock couldn't explain it. He said the team practiced well for the game and he felt they were ready to play. Obviously they weren't.
And, like Heacock said, it doesn't get much easier from here on in.
No playoff chance
With four losses, the Penguins have no chance at getting an at-large bid into the post-season. With two losses, their chances are slim at even getting to second place in the Gateway.
And look who they have to look forward to play. First off, they have to go to the UNIDome at Northern Iowa, a team that has won seven straight, is 4-0 in the conference and just beat Western Illinois at home. Maybe they'll be looking past the Penguins.
Then they have to head to Carbondale, Ill., to play one of the hottest teams in the country in Southern Illinois, unbeaten in eight games this season and ranked No. 4 in the country before last weekend's games. The Salukis probably will move up after Villanova was upset Saturday.
The Penguins finish the season at home against Western Kentucky, a team that is 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Gateway, and just routed Indiana State 59-14. That's the same Indiana State team that took the Penguins to overtime.
To put it mildly, it doesn't look good for the Penguins.
The offense wasn't a whole lot better than the defense.
They put up 25 points, seven of them were set up by Josh Cayson's 78-yard kickoff return. Cayson's returns were one of the few bright spots for the Penguins as he returned five kickoffs for 184 yards, an average of 35 yards.
Inconsistent offense
But the offense was inconsistent. Matt Rycraft started at quarterback and either he was still nursing a knee injury or just had a bad day, but was unable to move the team.
Aaron Marshall came on and played better, but the sophomore was sacked six times and completed just 13 of 29 passes. Two of them were for touchdowns, but he also missed many wide open receivers during the game.
The Penguins offensive line is nursing a lot of injuries and hasn't been intact much this season, but on several plays Saturday it appeared that nobody even threw a block as Marshall was battered before he ever got a chance to throw.
Heacock and his staff have their work cut of for them these last three weeks, and it might just take a miracle to turn this team around after Saturday's performance.
XPete Mollica covers YSU athletics for The Vindicator. Write to him at & lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;.