NOTEBOOK YSU vs. Western Kentucky

Rough start: The Penguins trip to Bowling Green, Ky., started off a little rocky. After the Penguins landed in Nashville, Tenn., Friday night, United Coaches Bus Charter picked up the team at the airport. Just about a mile out of the airport one of the buses broke down and the players and coaches on it had to load up on the other two buses to get to Bowling Green. A third bus arrived later that night at the team motel.
Big night: Redshirt freshman Tom Zetts had his best night as a college quarterback, but it came too late for the Penguins. Zetts completed 28-of-40 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted twice, and one of them was returned for a WKU score. It was the first time since 1987 that a YSU quarterback had completed more than 25 passes and the first time since 1995 that a quarterback had thrown over 40 passes in a game.
Penalties: The Penguins were called for nine penalties, seven of them for false starts, two of them by YSU sophomore center John Foster, who was playing in only his second game at center. Foster moved the ball illegally twice when Zetts was in the shotgun formation, once on a fourth-and-1 situation that the Penguins were trying for.
Up next: The Penguins return home next week to take on their second straight ranked Gateway Conference opponent when No. 1 ranked Southern Illinois invades Stambaugh Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Salukis will be the first No. 1 ranked I-AA opponent to have played the Penguins at Stambaugh. YSU has played several opponents who were ranked No. 1 over the years, but the games were either away or at a neutral site. The last time the Penguins went up against a No. 1 ranked opponent was in 1999 when they knocked off Montana in the opening round of the I-AA playoffs 30-27.