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Pelini to fans: Let’s fill the seats
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
The last time the Youngstown State football team played a home game, Indiana State was finishing off an overtime upset in front of a scattering of fans.
Bo Pelini was hired to change that, starting with today’s home opener against Robert Morris. YSU has already distributed close to 15,000 tickets and Pelini wants to see it continue.
“Hopefully we can fill these stands up,” Pelini said. “I’ve said I want to challenge this community to go out and fill these stands. I think it’s important for this program going forward that we can fill this place up on a regular basis.”
The Penguins, who had distributed 14,600 tickets as of Friday afternoon, are 22-1-1 in home openers since 1989, with the loss coming in 1995 against Stephen F. Austin.
The Penguins’ 19-game win streak in home openers will almost certainly reach 20, since the Colonials (0-1) are a lower-level FCS team coming off a 1-10 season. Both RMU and next week’s opponent, Saint Francis, compete in the Northeast Conference, which has a 40-scholarship limit. The FCS maximum is 63. (FBS teams have 85.)
“I don’t really look at who we’re playing,” Pelini said. “Play the way you’re supposed to play. Do your job and do it the best you possibly can and execute what we’re asking you to do in every phase of the game. Who they line up over there, I’m not that concerned with. I’m concerned with our guys doing what we’re asking them to do and doing it on a consistent, high-standard level.”
That didn’t happen in last week’s 45-37 loss at Pitt, at least not to Pelini’s satisfaction. He started his weekly press conference bemoaning everything from the offensive line (“I think we can play better up front”) to special teams (“inconsistent”) to the defense (“We gave up way too many big plays”) to quarterback Hunter Wells.
“Do I think Hunter played his best? No. I think there’s a lot more out there for him,” Pelini said. “But I know this — we didn’t play our best around him, either.
“There’s a lot more out there for this football team. I’ve said there’s potential for us to be a good football team, but we’ve got to play smarter, we’ve got to play more efficient and we’ve got to execute at a higher level. We need to coach it better and we need to execute it better.”
The Penguins don’t start conference play until Oct. 3 at South Dakota. But while today’s game can’t match the importance of a Missouri Valley game, that doesn’t mean it’s not important.
“It’s real big,” junior guard Brock Eisenhuth said. “First home game of the season, if you don’t get excited about something like that, you shouldn’t be in the game of football.”