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YSU’s season on the line at Fargodome
By Joe Scalzo
Fargo, N.D.
For Youngstown State, North Dakota State’s Fargodome is the farthest place to play. The loudest place to play. And the hardest place to play.
Oh, and the best place to play.
“It’s exactly what college football should be,” senior safety Donald D’Alesio said.
With their playoff lives on the line (again), the Penguins will try to do something no team has done in the last 19 games — beat the Bison at the Fargodome.
“It’s why you play college football,” YSU coach Eric Wolford said. “There’s no better feeling than being in the arena, whether it’s home or away, when the fans are into the game.
“The environment they have there is just great. The fans are on you, they’re into the game, they’re making noise. It’s a fun place to play.”
North Dakota State (10-1, 6-1 Missouri Valley) has won the last three national championship games and has lost just twice at home during that stretch: in 2011 to YSU (27-24) and in 2012 to Indiana State (17-14).
That ISU loss came one week after the Bison buried the Penguins at the Fargodome, 48-7. They haven’t lost at home since, a stretch that includes six playoff games.
If the Bison win today, they will earn the MVFC’s automatic playoff bid and be in position to play at home until the championship game.
If the Penguins win, they’ll likely earn their first playoff berth since 2006 and just their second postseason berth since Jim Tressel left after the 2000 season.
“We’ve got an awful lot at stake, similar to Youngstown State,” Bison coach Chris Klieman said. “It’s a big week for our program.”
Crowd control
Youngstown State has practiced in the WATTS this week, pumping in as much crowd noise as possible to prepare for a place where noise levels can reach 115 decibels, just below sitting front row at a rock concert.
“It’s difficult at practice,” Wolford said. “It’s not a lot of fun to stand out there when you have that noise. And it’s loud. And I think we had it [Monday] as loud as 90 or 95 decibels. We had it as loud as you can get it.”
YSU is 2-3 at the Fargodome, winning in 2009 in Jon Heacock’s final game. The Penguins are 4-4 in the series overall.
“Wolf’s won here before,” said Klieman, who replaced Craig Bohl after last season. “He’ll have his guys ready for the noise.”
NDSU scouting report
The Bison aren’t quite as good as they were the last two years after graduating standouts such as quarterback Brock Jensen, offensive lineman Billy Turner (a third-round pick by the Dolphins) and cornerback Marcus Williams (who plays for the Jets and whose 98-yard interception return for a touchdown sparked NDSU’s rout of YSU in 2012).
But they’re still very good, particularly on defense. Northern Iowa defeated NDSU 23-3 two weeks ago to snap the Bison’s FCS record 33-game win streak, but the Panthers are the only team to score more than 17 points against NDSU this year.
Defensive end Kyle Emanuel has been a monster, recording 23 tackles for loss (including 15.5 sacks) and three forced fumbles. The Bison are first in the MVFC in points allowed (11.4 per game) and yards allowed (259.1).
Offensively, QB Carson Wentz is second in the league in pass efficiency (behind YSU freshman Hunter Wells), completing 163 of 256 passes for 2,161 yards, 17 TDs and eight interceptions. His main target is WR Zach Vraa, who has 36 catches for 546 yards and three TDs.
Running back John Crockett has rushed 243 times for 1,257 yards and 14 TDs for the Bison, who are second in the league in scoring offense (32.6 per game) and rushing offense (224.5).
“What wows me about them is how hard they play,” YSU WR Christian Bryan said. “They play football the way it’s supposed to be played.”
The Penguins have lost two straight games, including last week’s 27-24 loss to Indiana State in overtime, and could finish with a three-game losing streak for the second straight year.
If it happens, it could cost Wolford his job. If not, it could lead to an extension and another game for YSU’s 11 seniors.
“We’re all excited,” Bryan said. “This is the type of game you want to play in. What would be sweeter than knocking them off?”