YSU FOOTBALL Northeastern next for Penguins

The Huskies are 0-1, but lost in overtime to Georgia Southern.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State and Northeastern University have not met since 1992, but the Huskies and Penguins have had some big battles throughout their eight-game series.
Saturday afternoon the Huskies will come to Stambaugh Stadium for a 4 p.m. matchup with the Penguins.
Northeastern lost its season opener a week ago to Georgia Southern 41-38 in overtime at Brookline, Mass.
The Huskies, who were 5-6 a year ago, 4-4 in the North Division of the Atlantic 10, were picked to finish fifth in their division this season.
Playing the defending Southern Conference co-champions right to the wire last week will only be a confidence booster for second-year head coach Rocky Hager and his team.
Blew late lead
The Huskies held a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter after freshman Alex Broomfield returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. But Georgia Southern's high-powered offense, which totaled over 500 yards against the Huskies, marched 89 yards and scored the tying touchdown with 57 seconds remaining in the contest.
In overtime the Huskies missed a 40-yard field goal attempt, while Georgia Southern won the game with a 24-yard field goal.
"We are a tough, tough team that will run to the football on defense and get right after you on offense," Hoger said. "We had a difficult time adjusting our defense to stop the triple option of George Southern. It's just something that we don't see that often and we didn't do a good job of containing it."
Hoger doesn't expect this week to be any easier.
"[YSU] has great tradition and from what we've seen they are sound on both sides of the football," he said. "We have our work cut out for ourselves once again."
Orio top offensive threat
The Huskies are led by redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Orio (6-1, 220), who made his first start against Georgia Southern and completed 13 of 19 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a touchdown. He was named the Atlantic 10 freshman of the week.
Orio completed passes to five different receivers, including six to senior Cory Parks (5-11, 175). Northeastern had 221 yards passing and 184 on the ground
The Huskies return four starters on the offensive line, led by senior Ryan Gibbons (6-6, 330) at one tackle and senior Mike Roseborough (6-3, 305) at the other.
Northeastern used five different running backs against Georgia Southern, led by sophomore Maurice Murray (5-11, 230) and senior Anthony Riley (5-6, 185).
Defense is still suspect
The defense is a little suspect after allowing 520 total yards, including 474 on the ground.
The Huskies lost three all-conference players from the unit through graduation including three-time All-American linebacker Liam Ezekiel.
Junior linebacker Jamil Young (5-11, 235) led the team in the opener with 91/2 tackles -- most of them solo -- and forced a fumble.
Sophomore linebacker Joe Mele (6-2, 225) also finished with nine tackles, while senior strong safety E.J. Jackson (5-11, 205) had an interception, the fifth of his career.
The Huskies have a talented return specialist in Broomfield, who was named the Atlantic 10 special teams player of the week. He finished with a school-record 151 yards on kickoff returns, including a 94-yard touchdown.
YSU holds a 5-3 edge over the Huskies in the series, but Northeastern won the last meeting 28-23 in Brookline, Mass., in 1992.
The Penguins won the last meeting at Stambaugh Stadium, 59-7, in 1991.