Penguins in the playoff picture is a pretty sight

It was Dec. 12, 1999, when the Penguins last hosted a playoff game here.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's been almost eight years since the Youngstown State football team last hosted a Division I Football Championship game at Stambaugh Stadium.
Saturday night the Division I Football Championship series (formerly Division I-AA Playoffs) returns to Stambaugh Stadium when the Penguins play host to James Madison University in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff that will be televised nationally over ESPN2.
The Penguins (9-2) were the No. 4 seeded team in the playoffs which guarantees them a home game in the first two rounds as long as they win.
Accomplishment
YSU reached the playoffs for the first time since the 2000 season when it captured the Gateway Conference's automatic bid with a 6-1 record and also claimed its first outright conference championship.
The Penguins were the most dominant team in the country during the 1990s, winning four national championships and finishing second twice over that 10-year span.
But the Penguins have struggled since, missing the playoffs the last five seasons. They were playoff eligible in both 2001 and 2005, but didn't receive a bid.
It was Dec. 12, 1999 when the Penguins last hosted a playoff game here. They defeated Florida A & amp;M 27-24 in a thriller that put them in the national championship game, where they were soundly defeated by Georgia Southern 59-24 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
This will mark the Penguins' 11th appearance in the postseason since moving up to the Division I Football Championship level.
While the 11 appearances rank them 10th in the playoffs, the Penguins are first in winning percentage (.793) and second in victories (23), championships (four) and title game appearances (six).
With a 23-6 overall playoff record, the Penguins are one of the most successful teams in the FCS postseason.
Home success
At Stambaugh Stadium the Penguins are 12-1 in the playoffs, including 12 straight wins. Their last playoff loss at home was back in 1990 against Central Florida 20-17 in a first-round game.
The Penguins have battled through a very rugged schedule which included wins over playoff-caliber teams Maine and UC-Davis and the rugged run at the end to win the outright Gateway title.
"The last four or five weeks of our season will be very beneficial to us in the playoffs," said head coach Jon Heacock. "The playoffs are different because it's one loss and done, but our guys have been physically and mentally challenged over those last four or five weeks.
"This will be a very tough task, a very tough challenge in a very tough bracket, but still we're very excited to be playing at this time of the season."
The Penguins' first-round opponent, James Madison, is also 9-2 on the season and won the South Division of the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 7-1 record.
The Dukes are making their seventh appearance in the postseason with a 6-5 record, but that includes four victories in 2004 when they captured the national championship and won their first three games on the road.
Looking ahead
The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of the Eastern Illinois/Illinois State game on Dec. 2. If YSU wins, the game will be played in Youngstown.
The other first-round playoff games in the upper bracket include Coastal Carolina at No. 1 seed Appalachian State and Furman at Montana State.
In the lower bracket, No. 2 seed Montana hosts McNeese State, No. 3 seed Massachusetts hosts Lafayette, Southern Illinois is home to Tennessee-Martin and Hampton hosts New Hampshire.
Tickets for Saturday's game are on sale at the YSU athletic ticket office today and Friday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. and from 9 a.m. until kickoff on Saturday. The office will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.