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2nd-half improvements urgently needed
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
After giving up game-winning touchdowns in the final minute of the past two games, there’s been a lot of grumbling about the Penguins’ fourth-quarter performance.
Thing is, the third quarter’s been worse.
YSU has been outscored 52-28 in the third quarter of games this year. It’s even worse in their four losses, where the Penguins have been outscored 49-7.
What gives?
“The third quarter hasn’t really helped us at all and the stats say this,” Penguins QB Kurt Hess said. “We definitely need to improve on that.”
Some of it stems from kicking off to start the second half, YSU coach Eric Wolford said. The Penguins have kicked off to start the third quarter of every game, giving up touchdowns in three of those games: Western Illinois, North Dakota State and Penn State.
They lost all three.
“Well, most games, when the offense goes into halftime, they make adjustments,” senior DT Torrance Nicholson said. “So we have to make adjustments during the third quarter to counter their adjustments.
“This past week, we didn’t do too bad in third quarter. We’ve just got to make plays. We’re in position, the calls are great, we’ve just got to make the plays.”
The Penguins could afford to ignore the third-quarter issues for a few weeks but now that it’s been going on all season, there’s a concern that it could become a self-fulling prophecy.
“You basically have to stay focused on the moment,” Nicholson said. “The coaches on the sideline are always saying, ‘Next play, next play, next play. Don’t let those thoughts creep in.’
“No matter what happens, you’ve got to think about the next play.”
One of YSU’s big defensive problems is depth. The Penguins lost three returning starters this offseason in linebackers Na’eem Outler (disciplinary reasons), Taylor Hill (grades) and defensive back Sir Demarco Bledsoe (quit the team). Those three combined for 27 starts last year.
Add in injured safety Andre Elliott (shoulder stinger), who is out for the year, and YSU has struggled to find enough depth to give its defensive starters a break. By the end of the game, the defense wears down.
Things don’t get any easier this week against South Dakota State, which is outscoring teams 77-62 in the second half this season, including 50-35 in the fourth quarter.
“People get all into stats but the only stat we’re really worried about is that ‘W’,” Wolford said. “That’s the one we haven’t been able to get.”