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Penguins trying to maintain approach
youngstown
While this week is anything but normal, the Youngstown State football team is trying to treat it like any other as the Penguins prepare to play James Madison on Saturday for the FCS national championship.
“We’ve had good preparation last week and the first couple days this week,” YSU head coach Bo Pelini said. “We’re starting to hone in on our game plan now. We’re getting better each day. We’re trying to earn it during the week.”
Part of keeping the team’s mind off of the notion these players are playing in the biggest game of their lives is an emphasis on emotions, especially in how the coaching staff dictates the preparation in practice.
“We don’t change our approach, our demeanor or anything else,” Pelini said. “We’ll be ready to go on Saturday. [The team] will be hyped up because they know what’s at stake.
“The same things that equate to winning the football game. You have to keep your emotions under control, keep everything in perspective and understand how to execute the game plan.”
The Penguins leaves for Frisco this afternoon, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready for Saturday yet.
“We have work left to do,” Pelini said. “We still have preparation to do. We’ve got a lot of things still to do before Saturday. But I’ve been there and this team has been in this position before so we’ll be ready.”
One of the more interesting parts of YSU’s game plan will be punt coverage and how that plays into either the field position struggle or the scoreboard. James Madison has returned six punts for touchdowns this year.
JMU senior Rashard Davis is averaging 29 yards per punt return and has taken four of his 14 returns back for touchdowns.
“It doesn’t change our preparation,” Pelini said. “But we’ll take that into account with what we’re doing game plan-wise in that phase of the game. They’re very capable.
“They have good returners, they block well. Hopefully they’ve used up all the [punt-return touchdowns] they’re going to have this year.”
While the game will be played in Texas, that doesn’t mean warm temperatures. The high on Saturday is supposed to be 41 degrees according to The Weather Channel. Not a warm temperature, but certainly much more comfortable than the zero-degree temperature the Penguins faced in Cheney, Wash., when they beat Eastern Washington 40-38 in a semifinal.
“At the end of the day we’ll be ready for it,” Pelini said. “We’ve played in cold weather, hot weather, we’ve run the gambit on [weather] as far as that is concerned.
“I’m looking for execution. The things you can’t control like the weather, the crowd, it’s irrelevant. We have to be focused on what we can control.”