Youngstown State seeks to end five-game losing streak today at llinois State

By Pete Mollica

YSU doesn’t want to become the second team in school history to lose six straight.

YOUNGSTOWN — Only once in the 67-year history of Youngstown State football have the Penguins lost six straight games in a season.

Today, the Penguins will be trying to avoid being the second team when they take on Illinois State in a Missouri Valley Football Conference battle in Normal, Ill. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.

The Penguins (2-7, 1-4 MVFC) have not won on the road this season (0-4), while the Redbirds (2-5, 1-3) have not won a game at home in three tries.

The only time that a Youngstown State team suffered six straight losses in a season was in 1970, when the Penguins went 0-9 under legendary coach Dike Beede.

With the Penguins’ 21-20 loss to Northern Iowa last Saturday they became the first team to lose five straight since 1986, Jim Tressel’s first season as coach. That year the Penguins lost nine of their first 10 games before upsetting then playoff-bound Akron 40-39 in the season finale.

In 1980 under coach Bill Narduzzi the Penguins opened the season without a win in their first eight games, but had a scoreless tie with Akron in the middle of the streak.

Last season, the Penguins lost 27-22 to the Redbirds at Stambaugh Stadium. In that game YSU jumped out to a 10-0 lead before two big-play ISU touchdowns (77 and 69 yards) turned the tide of the contest.

In the Penguins’ last trip to Normal, they earned an impressive 27-13 victory over the Redbirds in 2006.

The Redbirds were ranked No. 3 in the country at the time and the victory propelled the Penguins to a five-game winning streak that allowed them to win the then Gateway Conference title and advance to the NCAA I-AA playoff semifinal round. YSU also defeated the Redbirds a second time that season in the second round of the playoffs at Stambaugh Stadium, 28-21.

The Penguins hold a slight 9-8 lead in the overall series and have won three of their last four trips to Hancock Stadium, winning in 2000, 2002 and 2006.

Some big games highlight today’s schedule in the MVFC.

Northern Iowa (6-1, 4-1) will visit Western Illinois (5-1, 3-1) in the key contest at Macomb, Ill. The Panthers have dominated this series, holding a 24-12 advantage and winning 42-3 a year ago which was their fourth straight in the series.

South Dakota State (4-4, 3-1) will play host to Missouri State (3-4, 2-2) in a 2 p.m. kickoff in Brookings, S.D. This will be the first meeting between the teams.

North Dakota State (4-4, 2-3) will entertain Indiana State (0-8, 0-4) in a 7 p.m. contest in Fargo, N.D. The Sycamores, who are still trying to end the nation’s longest losing streak, will be playing the Bison for the first time.

Southern Illinois (5-2, 4-1) will step outside the league to play host to Division II North Dakota in a 3 p.m. start in Carbondale. SIU’s first-year coach, Dale Lennon, spent nine seasons at North Dakota before taking the job with the Salukis. The teams have never met before.

mollica@vindy.com