NOTEBOOK YSU vs. Illinois State

Not available: The Penguins were without reserve defensive tackle Brian Mellot of Austintown. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound freshman transfer from Ohio University suffered a separated shoulder Thursday in practice and did not make the trip to Illinois State.Local in Gateway: Jim Powers, an area coach and radio broadcaster from Hubbard who now resides in St. Louis, is part of the Gateway TV Game of the Week coverage. Powers works both with the Gateway Football Conference and with the Missouri Valley Basketball Conference.Sea of red: It was hard to pick out the YSU fans from the Illinois State fans at Saturday's game as both schools were dressed in red. Even on the field the Redbirds were in all red uniforms, while the Penguins were their road white tops with red pants.Career longest: Junior quarterback Tom Zetts' 37-yard run in the second quarter that set up YSU's second touchdown was the longest of his YSU career. Zetts also had 64 yards rushing in the first half, which was almost as many as his career total, which was 92 yards rushing before Saturday.Flip it: The Penguins won the coin toss before the game, marking the fifth straight game they have won the opening flip, all in Gateway Conference games. The Penguins always defer to the second half when they win the toss and let the defense set the pace.Still catching: YSU senior wide receiver T.J. Peterson caught six passes for 66 yards and extended his consecutive game streak to 20. He and junior tight end Louis Irizarry have each caught a pass in every game this season.Big crowd: Saturday's attendance of 15,372 was the ninth-largest crowd ever at Hancock Stadium.Offense: The Penguins had another big game on offense with 345 yards rushing and 93 passing for 438 total yards, and average of 6.3 per play on the ground.Defense: Junior Rashod Cotton led the YSU defenders with seven tackles. The Penguins had 10 tackles for losses and three sacks and six pass breakups.Baskets on TV: WYTV sports director Bob Hannon, who is the radio voice of the football Penguins, announced that WYTV (33) will carry the Ohio State-YSU men's basketball game live Nov. 24 from Columbus.Up next: The Penguins play their home finale next Saturday against Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. The Salukis defeated Missouri State 27-17 Saturday.
Not available: The Penguins were without reserve defensive tackle Brian Mellot of Austintown. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound freshman transfer from Ohio University suffered a separated shoulder Thursday in practice and did not make the trip to Illinois State.Local in Gateway: Jim Powers, an area coach and radio broadcaster from Hubbard who now resides in St. Louis, is part of the Gateway TV Game of the Week coverage. Powers works both with the Gateway Football Conference and with the Missouri Valley Basketball Conference.Sea of red: It was hard to pick out the YSU fans from the Illinois State fans at Saturday's game as both schools were dressed in red. Even on the field the Redbirds were in all red uniforms, while the Penguins were their road white tops with red pants.Career longest: Junior quarterback Tom Zetts' 37-yard run in the second quarter that set up YSU's second touchdown was the longest of his YSU career. Zetts also had 64 yards rushing in the first half, which was almost as many as his career total, which was 92 yards rushing before Saturday.Flip it: The Penguins won the coin toss before the game, marking the fifth straight game they have won the opening flip, all in Gateway Conference games. The Penguins always defer to the second half when they win the toss and let the defense set the pace.Still catching: YSU senior wide receiver T.J. Peterson caught six passes for 66 yards and extended his consecutive game streak to 20. He and junior tight end Louis Irizarry have each caught a pass in every game this season.Big crowd: Saturday's attendance of 15,372 was the ninth-largest crowd ever at Hancock Stadium.Offense: The Penguins had another big game on offense with 345 yards rushing and 93 passing for 438 total yards, and average of 6.3 per play on the ground.Defense: Junior Rashod Cotton led the YSU defenders with seven tackles. The Penguins had 10 tackles for losses and three sacks and six pass breakups.Baskets on TV: WYTV sports director Bob Hannon, who is the radio voice of the football Penguins, announced that WYTV (33) will carry the Ohio State-YSU men's basketball game live Nov. 24 from Columbus.Up next: The Penguins play their home finale next Saturday against Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. The Salukis defeated Missouri State 27-17 Saturday.