43
YSU doesn’t overlook Butler
By JOE SCALZO
YOUNGSTOWN
In December of 2005, Butler hired Jeff Voris to take over an 0-11 football team. Four years later, he led the Bulldogs to an 11-1 season — the best record in school history.
“Coach Voris has done a very good job,” said YSU football coach Eric Wolford, whose team will play Butler in today’s home opener. “They know how to win.”
The Bulldogs, however, are a non-scholarship FCS program, so they’ll enter today’s matchup as huge underdogs. Butler is 0-4 against Division I scholarships programs since 1993, including a 42-0 loss to Florida International in 2002 — its last meeting with a full-scholarship program.
Wolford, not surprisingly, hasn’t focused on those facts this week. Instead, he’s emphasized Butler’s experience (17 returning starters), its team speed, its commitment (the Bulldogs have several starters on special teams and “they’re the first guys downfield, making plays on kickoff,” he said), even its third-down conversion rate last week (7 of 15) in last week’s 29-16 opening victory.
Of course, that win came against Albion, a Division III team that went 4-6 last year. YSU, by contrast, played Big Ten power Penn State.
“By no means do we have more talent than Butler,” Wolford said. “By no means.
“I’ll tell you this — when you look at them on film, they’re a good football team. I can show it to you.”
Convinced yet? Probably not. But the Bulldogs do pose some challenges. Junior quarterback Andrew Huck, a returning starter, passed for 222 yards and three TDs last week and is a good fit for Butler’s zone read offense, which has nine starters back. The defense, which returns eight starters, switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3, which is YSU’s base defense.
The Bulldogs may not be a team that scares YSU fans, but these are the type of games that scare coaches, which is why Wolford has been so effusive in his praise. After building some momentum in last week’s loss, the last thing he wants to do is take a step back this week.
“They’re a football team that’s very dangerous,” said Wolford. “I don’t think we’re in any type of position to take anyone for granted.
“It’s a great challenge for us. I expect our team to rise up and play like they’re capable of.”
The Penguins (0-1) have won 14 straight home openers and are 21-6-1 in home openers at Stambaugh Stadium since it opened in 1982. Since 1996, the Penguins have gone 69-23 at home.
YSU has a favorable schedule this fall, with last year’s league champion Southern Illinois coming to the Ice Castle in Week 4 and North Dakota State (which upset Big 12 member Kansas on Saturday) here in Week 6.
“In order to compete in this conference and compete at this level, you’ve got to win your home games,” said redshirt freshman quarterback Kurt Hess. “If we could go 6-0 this season, we’ll have a great shot at the playoffs and making a run at the national title.”
YSU’s second home opponent, Central Connecticut State, is also a non-scholarship FCS program and Hess knows the first two home games will set the tone for the rest of the year.
“Youngstown is a football city,” said Hess, a Dayton Chaminade-Julienne graduate. “We love football here and that’s why I came here, to play in front of this crowd that loves football.
“If we come out and put on a show, I think we’ll be able to keep the fans coming.”