43
YSU seeks to bounce back at home
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
According to senior cornerback Brandian Ross, the YSU football team may have gotten a little too confident after taking a 17-point lead against Missouri State last week.
“We kind of got big-headed for a second,” he said. “We kind of relaxed.”
The Penguins, of course, lost that game 35-25, falling apart over the final three quarters thanks to a combination of penalties, turnovers and missed assignments.
It was the type of loss that can linger for awhile — and has, Ross said.
“In the past, I think most people would have dropped their heads, probably moped around here during the week and during practice,” he said. “But this group right here is very, very confident in their ability.
“We’ve got to focus back up, keep working hard, not let it get to us [and] use it as a lesson to not let that ever happen again.”
The Penguins (3-2, 1-1 Missouri Valley) get that chance today when they play host to North Dakota State in what could be a season-defining game.
Win and YSU is very much alive for the conference title and a playoff berth.
Lose and ... well, things could get very ugly.
“We did let one slip away, but we’re still not out of it,” said redshirt freshman QB Kurt Hess. “We’ve still got a lot of games left to play.”
The first step is getting the running game back on track. After averaging 222 yards per game through the first four weeks, YSU ran for just 168 against Missouri State — and 71 of those came on one run.
Hess also had his first bad game and didn’t get enough help from his receivers (who dropped several passes) or his line.
Bison coach Craig Bohl expects a better performance from the Penguins on both sides of the ball.
“They’ve been running the ball really well,” he said. “Defensively, they’ve got a very imposing and impressive front seven and the secondary keeps the ball in front of them.
“They’re really technically sound.”
He’s also been impressed by the Penguins’ play in the red zone, where they’re 17 of 17 this season with 14 touchdowns. North Dakota State is just 13 of 17 in the red zone, with nine touchdowns.
“That was a challenge for us last week,” said Bohl, whose team lost 28-16 to Western Illinois. “I know YSU is operating at a very high efficiency there.”
YSU leads the series with the Bison 3-1, including an emotional 39-35 victory last year in Jon Heacock’s last game.
While the Penguins know their goals are still ahead of them, Ross said the focus has been on Week 6, not Week 12.
“We can win this week’s game and, just like last week, we can lose the next week,” said Ross. “So we’ve got to just take it day by day, practice by practice.”