YSU wants to eliminate emotional peaks, valleys
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Stambaugh Stadium is the tallest building in the city, and there were a few Youngstown State fans ready to jump off it after Saturday’s panic-inducing overtime win over Robert Morris.
A week earlier, YSU fans were celebrating a close loss at Pitt.
That’s not just bad for your blood pressure. It’s bad for a locker room, Penguin senior DT Steve Zaborsky said.
“That’s really what we try to stay away from, the whole roller-coaster effect,” said Zaborsky, who had a career-high six tackles in the 21-14 win. “You don’t want to have highs, you don’t want to have really lows. You want to try to consistently grow up in a gradual rate. It can play into emotions — I’ve been here so long, I’m kind of used to that — but I think some of the younger guys might have a problem with that.
“We need to keep them focused, not really tied up in what’s going on around them but what’s going on with our team. It’s something we’re kind of taking to heart.”
That said, no one in the program has tried to sugar-coat Saturday’s performance. (As defensive end Derek Rivers said afterward, “If we do that in conference, we’re definitely gonna get whupped.”) Much of Tuesday’s press conference revolved around YSU’s issues, with head coach Bo Pelini saying a lot of little mistakes added up to big problems.
“It was a guy here, a guy there. That’s what football is,” Pelini said. “It wasn’t like you could point to one specific area, or one specific guy. It was leaking off blocks, where we could have had a couple big plays and the guy from the back side, where we should have finished a block, comes back and tackles us. Obviously, some drops. Just little things here and there that catch up to you.
“When your game’s going the way that it was, your margin of error is pretty small.”
YSU wide receiver I’tavious Harvin admitted the team’s focus might not have been as strong for Robert Morris (a lower-level FCS team) as it was for Pitt (a Power Five conference team).
Pelini disagreed.
“I didn’t sense that,” he said. “I liked our guys’ approach.”
Regardless, YSU faces a similar challenge on Saturday. Like RMU, Saint Francis competes in the Northeast Conference, which has a 40-scholarship limit. (YSU uses the FCS maximum of 63.)
The Penguins defeated the Red Flash 52-23 last year and 49-23 in 2011 and something similar will be expected this year, especially since Saint Francis is coming off a two-touchdown loss last week to unranked Towson.
“We just can’t underestimate anyone,” junior RB Jody Webb said. “They’re preparing to beat us like we’re preparing to beat them. We’ve got to give it our best shot.”
That’s what the Penguins did in the opener, when they gave Pitt everything it could handle before falling 45-37. With an open date looming, this is YSU’s last real game before starting conference play on Oct. 3 at South Dakota.
“I’ve always been pretty consistent in my approach,” Pelini said. “I don’t really change from week to week, according to who we’re playing or where we’re playing or or saying this is a big game. I think that’s all BS. Every game is big. You have to be ready to play every week.
“That’s the only way to play this game because otherwise you’re going to ride your ups and downs.”