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New year, same approach
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Youngstown State coach Eric Wolford said he’s approaching Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh the same way he did for previous games against Michigan State and Penn State.
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
In Eric Wolford’s first two years at Youngstown State, no one gave him a chance to beat a BCS team. Now, seemingly everyone in Youngstown thinks the Penguins have a chance.
Attitudes may have changed. Wolford hasn’t.
“I haven’t approached this game any different than I did last year for Michigan State or Penn State two years ago,” said Wolford of Saturday’s game against Pitt. “We feel confident in our game plans and I think the players have gotten more confidence the past few years.
“If we execute the game plan, we’re gonna have a chance for success.”
Two years ago, then-Penn State coach Joe Paterno was asked 28 questions during a 30-minute press conference and not one was about YSU. During Monday’s Big East coaches teleconference, Pitt coach Paul Chryst’s second question was about the Penguins.
“We feel like this week we’re going up against a very good opponent,” said Chryst, pointing out that YSU has 17 returning starters and beat the eventual national FCS champions. “I think they’re very well-coached. The players on both sides of the ball look like they know what they’re trying to acccomplish. I don’t see a lot of mistakes and I don’t see them doing a lot to beat themselves.”
The Penguins briefly put a scare into the Nittany Lions two years ago by taking a 7-3 lead late into the first half before eventually losing 44-14. It marked the first time YSU scored a touchdown since it started scheduling “money games” in 2005.
The Penguins were even better last season against the Spartans, trailing just 21-6 entering the fourth quarter before losing 28-6. YSU had 20 first downs in that game, held a three-minute edge in time of possession and had six drives finish inside the 45. Unfortunately, the Penguins only scored once in those drives — a 10-yard TD pass from Kurt Hess to Jelani Berassa.
A week later, the Spartans held Florida Atlantic to one first down in a 44-0 victory.
Chryst was Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator from 2005-2011 before being hired as Pitt’s head coach in December. Because of his familiarity with the Big Ten, he said watching YSU play against Michigan State last year has helped him gauge the Penguins’ talent level.
“I think they’ve got a lot of really good football players,” Chryst said of YSU. “The combination of their talent and that they’re well-coached makes for a very good opponent.”
YSU wasn’t competitive in its two earlier meetings with Pitt, losing 41-0 in 2005 and 38-3 in 2009. But with Pitt going through another coaching transition — Chryst is the team’s third head coach in three years — and YSU upgrading its talent, the Penguins should fare better in Round 3.
“You are playing a team that has more talent than you and you are playing a team with 22 more scholarships,” Wolford said of the Panthers. “But if you execute and take care of business, you’re gonna have a chance to win a game in the fourth quarter.”
This is Chryst’s first stint as a head coach but Wolford believes that by watching Wisconsin’s film, as well as studying film of Central Florida (where Pitt defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable served in that role from 2008-10) the Penguins will be prepared for the Panthers’ schemes.
“Coaches are creatures of habit,” Wolford said. “They always have a couple wrinkles but as you get older in coaching, you see certain plays and you know they have complementary plays off it.
“Even though you may not see it on film, you know those are come-to plays down the line.”
Although the early forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and dry weather on Saturday, Wolford chose to stay outdoors in the rain during Monday’s practice, just in case.
“It might rain on Saturday, you know?” said Wolford, who looked like he had showered in his clothes by the end of practice. “You’ve got to be able to play when it’s wet.”