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Penguins set for run as favorite for next 3 weeks
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Last weekend, Youngs-town State coach Eric Wolford was reminded of the biggest difference between the FBS and the FCS.
It isn’t talent, he said. It’s depth.
“I’d be willing to bet that if you gave some of the teams in the [Missouri] Valley 22 more scholarships, they’d make some noise all over the country,” said Wolford, whose Penguins led Big Ten-member Illinois in the fourth quarter before falling 28-17. “There’s not as big of a disparity [talent-wise] as people think.”
For the next three weeks, YSU will be on the other side of that equation.
In today’s home opener, the Penguins will play a Duquesne team that has just 37 scholarships — 26 below the FCS maximum and three below the Northeast Conference limit. Next week, YSU plays non-scholarship Butler, followed by another NEC member, St. Francis (Pa.).
The Dukes figure to be YSU’s toughest challenge this month. Last weekend, Duquesne held a 28-24 fourth-quarter lead before falling 38-28 to Mid-American Conference-member Buffalo, which went 8-5 last season and lost to San Diego State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
It was the first FBS game for Duquesne, which was a non-scholarship team until 2007.
“I’m sure they’re happy with their progress from last year,” said Wolford, who beat the Dukes 59-17 last year. “I’m sure we’ll have our hands full in the Castle.”
The teams are offensive opposites. YSU ran 59 times in last week’s loss to Illinois, with quarterback Dante Nania nearly running as often as he threw (17 passes to 12 runs). That approach helped YSU finish with a 40:01-19:59 edge in time of possession.
“Obviously,” Wolford said, “we’re a ball-control team.”
Duquesne prefers to pass, with sophomore Dillon Buechel completing 18 of 37 passes last week for 322 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. Last season, Buechel threw for a Duquesne freshman record 2,569 yards and 14 TDs, helping the Dukes finish 7-4 while tying for the NEC lead with a 4-2 record.
Buechel threw for 362 yards against YSU last year.
“They’re going to throw it a lot,” Wolford said.
Defensively, Duquesne runs a 3-4 that relies heavily on junior nose tackle Zach Zidian, a Boardman High graduate who earned preseason first team all-conference honors. His ability to draw double teams frees up inside linebackers Nathan Stone (12 tackles and a sack against Buffalo) and Sam Martello (eight tackles) to make plays. YSU must also watch safeties Rich Piekarski (15 tackles against the Bulls) and Chris Johnson (10 tackles).
“They have a junk defense and it gives us some problems here and there,” YSU senior WR Jelani Berassa said. “I’m sure they’re a good team. They played Buffalo pretty tough and we’re expecting them to come out and play us hard, too.
“One thing that coach [Wolford] always harps on is we treat every opponent the same way. We’re gonna prepare the same way for each opponent no matter who we’re playing and try to execute the same way every week.”