NOTEBOOK \ Penguins vs. Sycamores

Career day: Youngstown State senior fullback Ben Lane, a Hubbard High product, had more than a career day. Fullbacks in the YSU offense don’t carry the ball all that much. Lane has been a starter for two seasons and going into Saturday’s game had carried the ball seven times for 37 yards. Against the Sycamores, Lane carried the ball 10 times for 38 yards, besting his career totals. He also scored his second career touchdown on the game’s opening drive.

What crowd? The attendance was announced at 8,913, which is the number of tickets sold. At kickoff there weren’t more than 2,000 fans in the seats and at maximum the crowd might have reached 3,000. It certainly wasn’t appealing to have the 16 YSU seniors and their families introduced to empty stands.

Thank God for the trees: The Penguins are now 17-1 all-time against Indiana State and have won the last 12 meetings with the Sycamores. Indiana State’s only victory in the series came back in 1995 at Stambaugh Stadium when it posted a 13-6 victory against Jim Tressel and the Penguins, who struggled through a 3-8 season.

Injury update: Twenty-eight YSU players have made their first career starts this season. Twenty-six players have missed at least one game because of injuries. Twenty players have missed multiple games. Only three players have started every game this season: senior offensive linemen Tyler Booth and Brad Samsa and defensive lineman Crispin Fernandez. Saturday the Penguins lost junior punter Ben Nowicki with a shoulder injury, but it’s possible he will be OK in two weeks.

Defense: Finally a linebacker led the Penguins in tackles in a game. Freshman Deonta Tate had eight tackles including one for a loss, while another linebacker Na’eem Outler finished with seven and two tackles for losses. Going into Saturday’s game three defensive backs were the top three tacklers, led by strong safety Brandian Ross, who finished with six stops against the Sycamores.

Up next: The Penguins are off next week. They return to action on Nov. 22 when they finish out the season with a road game against Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. Kickoff is 2 p.m.

Pete Mollica