YSU hoping for better result in season opener

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YSU head coach Jon Heacock

By Pete Mollica

The Penguins have scored just nine points in four previous games against BCS opponents.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State football coach Jon Heacock knows that his team needs to play a whole lot better on Saturday than it has in the past four seasons against FBS opponents if the Penguins want to have a chance to win.

Saturday the Penguins will open the season when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pitt Panthers in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Heinz Field.

It was back on Sept. 24, 2005, that the Penguins made their first appearance against a FBS major opponent and it was against these same Pitt Panthers, a game YSU lost 41-0.

Since that game the Penguins have played Penn State in 2006 losing 37-3 and the last two seasons were at Ohio State losing 38-6 in 2007 and 43-0 a year ago.

“I’ve noticed over the years that the team has handled themselves well going into those great venues,” Heacock said. “But the reality of it comes down to how you play the game.”

In 2005 the Penguins played the Panthers before an announced crowd of 43,135 which at the time was the largest crowd the Penguins had ever played before. The last three seasons they’ve played before over 100,000 fans at both Penn State and Ohio State.

“It’s a great opportunity for our guys, playing in those venues, but you have to keep things in perspective because of the numbers that those teams have,” he added.

One of the keys going into Saturday’s game, according to Heacock is being able to keep his players fresh and rested, something that this year’s YSU team should be able to do because of the experience and depth the Penguins possess.

“Pitt, like most of the FBS teams, has talent that runs fast and plays fast, but we feel that we have some folks that can run fast and play fast also,” Heacock said.

“We’ve talked to the team about this quite a bit and we’ve told them that it is still just a football game,” he added. “But it’s a football game that we have to play very well to give ourselves a chance.”

“Saturday morning we’re going to get on the bus and go play a football game,” he said.

Still it has bothered Heacock and his staff that the Penguins still have not scored a touchdown against any of the four FBS opponents. The best they could do was three field goals and two of those came in the same game at Ohio State in 2007.

“You always want to score,” he added. “That’s what you are always trying to do and that’s why you play the games. To do that we need to play better football and that’s the reality of it.”

Saturday’s game will be the 43rd game against an FBS program, but none of the previous 39 meetings were against opponents the caliber of Pitt, Penn State or Ohio State.

The Penguins have already scheduled another meeting with Penn State for the 2010 season opener and have just about finished a contract for the 2011 season against Michigan State.

Heacock knows that even if the Penguins never win a game against these major FBS opponents that they are still crucial to the Penguins’ program from a financial basis, but he’s quick to add that it doesn’t mean that the Penguins aren’t going out there trying to win.

mollica@vindy.com