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YSU defense seeks better outing
YSU VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Kickoff : 4 p.m.
Where: Stambaugh Stadium
Radio/TV: WKBNAM (570)/MyYTV (tape delay)
Online: Visit Vindy.com/Insider for Joe Scalzo’s live blog.
Promotion: YSU will honor its 1991 national championship team at halftime. All fans will receive a set of trading cards featuring some of the top players from that team.
1991 YSU Team
Gallery
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Three weeks ago, Youngstown State’s defense had a shaky first half and a solid second half and got praised.
Two weeks ago, the defense again had a shaky first half and a solid second half. This time, it got pummeled.
The difference? It gave up 27 points in the first game and won, then gave up 37 in the second game and lost.
“We’ve got a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” said freshman linebacker Davion Rogers, whose team plays South Dakota State (1-4) today at Stambaugh Stadium. “Like we’ve got to prove to the media, everybody, the fans, that we won’t let nothing like that happen again.”
Through two conference games, YSU ranks last in the Missouri Valley in scoring defense (32 points per game) and second-to-last in rushing defense (224 yards per game). The Penguins have also forced just one turnover (a fumble that DT Aronde Stanton then fumbled away on the same play) and made just one sack.
YSU coach Eric Wolford said the offense shares in the blame for the loss to the Sycamores — “Every time we have the ball in our possession, we expect to score — period,” he said — but the argument rings hollow. YSU leads the league in total offense, averaging 463.5 yards per game in conference games and 459.5 in all games.
The Penguins don’t necessarily need a championship-level defense to make the playoffs this year. But they do need a better one.
The Indiana State game made that clear.
“I think it humbled us,” Rogers said. “We learned we can’t come out too big-headed, thinking we’re going to jump around on everybody. We’ve got to play a full game.”
Stanton said the Penguins weren’t ready to play against Indiana State and knows the defense has a lot to prove.
“We’re mad because we know we could have beat those guys,” he said. “It’s not about the game plan or the coaches; it’s on us. It’s mistakes we made.
“The loss weighed on us for two weeks now, so we’re ready to go. I’m pretty confident [today] we’re going to come out and from the first play from [scrimmage], we’re going to be on them.”