COLLEGE FOOTBALL Pitt is 0-3 but still dangerous

YSU quarterback Tom Zetts called it exciting, but still just a football game.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Tom Zetts is a 4.0 student and the starting quarterback for Youngstown State, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Penguins are going to have their hands full Saturday.
The undefeated Penguins (3-0) travel to Heinz Field to meet winless Pittsburgh Panthers (0-3) at 2 p.m.
Zetts, a Boardman native who as a redshirt sophomore is in his second season at the helm of the YSU offense, knows this is a great opportunity for the Penguins.
"Forget about their record, this is still the best football team that we'll probably play this year," Zetts said. "This is the biggest stadium and probably the biggest crowd we'll play before and it's going to be exciting.
"But the bottom line is that is still just another football game and we feel that we can make it a competitive game," he added.
Off to strong start
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound standout is off to a strong start this season. Zetts has completed 72.4 percent of his passes and has an efficiency rating of 177.40, which ranks him fifth in I-AA.
He has completed 42-of-58 passes for 513 yards with six touchdown passes and just one interception. Last week he tied the school record with four touchdown passes in a 42-0 rout over Liberty.
"In the first three games our offense is right where we want it to be," Zetts said. "We still have a lot of room for improvement, but we have been doing that from week to week.
"It all begins up front with our offensive line and they have just been doing a tremendous job," he continued. "The fact that we have three or four running backs who are off to great starts is still another big plus for this offense."
Biggest challenge
But Zetts knows that his biggest challenge is in front of him and the Penguins.
"The thing we can't do is help them on Saturday," he said. "We can't give them the easy score and we have to hang onto the football as long as we can when we have it.
"Pitt has great talent, but we know that we're going down there and play them hard. It's going to be exciting and hopefully some of that extra excitement and enthusiasm is going to help us in the long run," he added.
Zetts isn't the only member of the YSU football family who's excited about playing Pitt.
Former Pitt star
YSU assistant coach Jerry Olsavsky, the Penguins linebackers coach, played at Pitt and then for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League.
"I've spent half my life in Pittsburgh," Olsavsky said. "It's my home away from home. I know so many people there.
"It's a great opportunity for us and our kids know that we can do down there and put on a pretty good show," he added.
This will be the first meeting between the schools, but YSU has played several games against I-A opponents. YSU is 19-18-1 all-time against I-A teams, although most of those games were against Mid-American Conference schools. The Penguins are 14-13-1 against the MAC.
Penguins notes
The Penguins added another walk-on this week when former Austintown Fitch High standout Miles Williams joined the team.
The wide receiver who played at Michigan State last year will be ineligible this season, but will have three years of eligibility with YSU.
Two weeks ago former Ursuline High and Ohio State tight end Louis Irizarry walked on. Both will be eligible next season.
mollica@vindy.com