PENGUINS NOTEBOOK \ From Heinz Field

Crowd disappointing: The announced crowd of 48,497 was a paid attendance figure. There were probably as many empty seats as there were fans in the 65,000-seat stadium. It might not even been as big a crowd as in 2005 when the announced crowd was around 43,000.

Suspended: Six YSU players were suspended this past week for violating team policy and did not play. The university did not release the names, but the only starter who was dressed and did not play was junior offensive guard Eric Rodemoyer. Coach Jon Heacock has said that the suspensions were for only one game.

First time: The Penguins had 12 players who saw their first collegiate action Saturday. Five of them were starters: linebacker Taylor Hill, safety Sir DeMarco Bledsoe, tackle Bill Dugan, guard Tyler Figueroa and center Andy Kowicki.

Defense: The Penguins were led defensively by sophomore Sir DeMarco Bledsoe who had nine tackles including one for a loss. Junior Brandian Ross had six tackles and his third career interception.

Streaks continue: With a reception, junior Dominique Barnes extended his consecutive game streak to 13 games. Senior Donald Jones has caught at least one pass in 11 straight games dating to last season.

Not so good: The Penguins held the edge in very few statistics against the Panthers, although one of them was time of possession. The Penguins had the football for 32:56 compared to 27:04 for the Panthers. The Penguins also led in penalties with 9 for 70 yards and they also had more punts (7) to Pitt’s three.

Tough foes: The Penguins are now 0-2 against Pitt and are 19-23-1 against Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Next up: The Penguins first home game of the 2009 season will be Saturday against Austin Peay at 4 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. The Governors, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, are making their first trip to Youngstown since the 1987 season. It will be the Penguins’ first game against an OVC school since 1994 and YSU holds a 6-2 advantage in the overall series.

— Pete Mollica