Puskas: No upset special for YSU this time

The football notebook is overflowing:

NO SUCH LUCK

Youngstown State coach Eric Wolford mentioned last week that luck is one of the keys to pulling off an upset over a bigger, stronger, faster and deeper opponent.

Former YSU and Ohio State coach Jim Tressel used to say that teams can create their own luck.

Either way, the Penguins didn’t have much of it Saturday in a 55-17 loss to Michigan State.

Wolford felt good about YSU’s chances if the Penguins played well — as they did in winning at Pittsburgh a year ago — but that didn’t happen this time.

Michael Wheary dropped passes on the game’s first two plays and later fumbled a kickoff. The fumble was one of two YSU lost.

Third down was another major problem for the Penguins. YSU converted just twice on 12 third-down situations and its defense allowed MSU to succeed on 10 of 15 such occasions.

OVERRATED?

No. 11 Michigan was coming off a big victory over Notre Dame. Akron was coming off years of irrelevance.

And yet the Zips nearly pulled off the biggest shocker of the season Saturday in Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines held on for a 28-24 victory, stopping Akron from the 1-yard line on the game’s final play, but Michigan’s performance had to be a wakeup call for its players, coaching staff and fans.

The near-upset had Twitter buzzing all afternoon, with some observers noting the Wolverines still have trouble beating Tressel’s teams. Tressel beat Michigan nine times in 10 seasons at Ohio State and is now a vice president of strategic engagement at Akron.

COSTLY VICTORies

Cardinal Mooney’s second matinee in three weeks went decidedly better than the first one did, at least on the field.

Mooney beat Akron Buchtel, 47-12, on Saturday. The Cardinals lost to Philadelphia Imhotep Charter, 49-21, in Week 1.

But after Saturday’s game, Mooney officials learned that someone had gained access to the team’s locker room at Buchtel and made off with some cell phones and iPods.

Mooney principal John Young and athletic director Don Bucci confirmed a certain number of items were missing and a police report was filed.

A late report Saturday had South Range’s band crammed onto one bus — two are normally required — for a trip home after a 38-28 win over Garfield Heights Trinity at Bedford’s Bearcat Stadium.

It seems someone swiped a purse that contained the key to the other bus.

ODDS AND ENDS

Former Liberty High star Fitzgerald Toussaint scored the go-ahead TD for Michigan against Akron on a 2-yard run with 2:49 to play. ... Browns rookie linebacker Barkevious Mingo is set to make his NFL debut against Baltimore today after missing several weeks with a bruised lung. ... Prep games to watch in Week 4 include Dover-Fitch, Mooney-Akron SV-SM, Struthers-Brookfield, Poland-Niles, Howland-Hubbard, Mineral Ridge-Lowellville and Crestview-South Range. ... The Vindicator’s Blitzmobile will be at Western Reserve on Friday, when the Blue Devils host Jackson-Milton. ... The Blitz Show on Vindy Talk Radio is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday. YSU play-by-play man Bob Hannon is set to be our guest.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @edpuskas85.