Salukis at YSU in MVFC game

By Pete Mollica

The Penguins hope to snap a three-game losing streak today at the Ice Castle.

YOUNGS-TOWN — Youngstown State hasn’t suffered four consecutive losses or two straight home games since 2004.

The Penguins (2-5, 1-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) will attempt not to match those ominous streaks today when they play host to Southern Illinois at 4 p.m. Stambaugh Stadium.

The Salukis (3-2, 2-1) are ranked 14th in the Football Championship Subdivision polls, while the Penguins have dropped out of the polls altogether following their three consecutive losses, two of them coming on the road.

Today’s contest will be the 20th meeting between the teams, while the Penguins hold a slight advantage, 10-8-1.

The home team has won each of the last three contests. YSU defeated the Salukis at Stambaugh Stadium in 2006, 31-24, and Southern Illinois won last season, 24-17, and in 2005 in Carbondale, Ill.

A year ago the Penguins jumped out a 10-0 lead, but the Salukis battled back to tie the game 17-17 and then won it in the final two minutes in a battle between two top-10 ranked teams.

Southern Illinois is 3-6 against the Penguins at Stambaugh Stadium in a series that began in 1965.

This will be the first time in four years that the Penguins are not ranked coming into the game with the Salukis. The last time Southern Illinois faced a non-ranked YSU team was in 2004 when it posted a 31-7 victory at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Penguins have allowed at least 40 points in three games this season and that hasn’t happened since 1998. They have also scored 28 points in two losses which hasn’t happened since 1999.

With all the injuries the Penguins’ list of first-time starters continues to grow. Already 23 players have made their first start this season.

True freshman quarterback Dailyn Campbell will be the fourth YSU quarterback to start a game this season and his backup today will be another true freshman, Marc Kanetsky of Hubbard, who has also been the holder for placement kicks since the team’s third game of the year.

The Penguins have 18 players who have missed at least one game with injuries and 13 of those have missed multiple games.

Southern Illinois comes into the contest looking for its first road win of the season. The Salukis have lost road games at Northwestern (33-7) and at North Dakota State (35-27).

The Penguins are 2-1 at home and 0-4 on the road this year.

Four teams are tied for first place in the MVFC standings with 2-1 records. Besides the Salukis, the others are Western Illinois, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State. Missouri State and Illinois State are both 1-1.

Today Northern Iowa (4-2, 2-1) will play host to North Dakota State (3-3, 1-2) in a 5:07 p.m. kickoff at Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Panthers lead the series, 22-18, but the Bison won last year’s contest, 12-7 and are 2-0 in the UNI-Dome.

Illinois State (2-3, 1-1) will entertain Missouri State (2-3, 1-1) in a 3:05 p.m. contest at Normal, Ill. The Bears posted a 58-41 win a year ago, but the Redbirds hold a 14-13-1 advantage in the series.

Western Illinois (4-2, 2-1) will take on Indiana State (0-6, 0-2) in a 4:05 p.m. start in Macomb, Ill. The Leathernecks have won eight straight and lead the series 19-12. The Sycamores lost their 20th straight game a week ago to Southern Illinois, 60-7, and now have the nation’s longest losing streak.

South Dakota State (3-3, 2-1) will step out of the league to take on Cal Poly today at 7 p.m. in Brookings, S.D.

mollica@vindy.com