With Youngstown State's home opener less than 24 hours away, I'm emptying what's left of my notebook here:

1. At noon today, YSU had sold 12,300 tickets for the game, which means the Penguins will likely have fewer than the 14,117 that came out for last year's game against Valparaiso. On the surface, that looks bad, especially since they're coming off a big win over Pitt, but it's not as bad as it looks because:

- YSU took a 56-0 lead on Valpo last year and it could easily be that bad this year.

- There's rain in the forecast.

- The athletic department is slowly trying to wean fans off the 2-for-1 ticket offers of the past few years. While they did offer 2-for-1 tickets on Monday, they want more people buying full-price tickets to help an athletic budget that could use some football ticket money.

2. Did you miss the Pitt-YSU game? Here's a link to a well-done highlight video:

http://youtu.be/u7SOkfOqlL8?hd=1">http://youtu.be/u7SOkfOqlL8?hd=1

3. A Yahoo! Sports blogger named the Penguins the seventh-best nickname in the FCS. You can read the story here: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/top-25-team-names-fcs-college-football-160100601--ncaaf.html">http://sports.yahoo.com/news/top-25-team-names-fcs-college-football-160100601--ncaaf.html

Personally, I'd rank the Leathernecks No. 1. I love that name.

4. YSU started work this week on the softball and soccer stadiums that will be built across from Stambaugh Stadium on Fifth Avenue. My Saturday Vindicator story will talk about the fine start to the school's fall sports season.

5. One note that didn't make it in the story: YSU is looking to build an expanded weight room for the men's basketball team inside Beeghly Center. They have a smaller one now.

6. I'll be blogging from Saturday's game, both on my Penguin Insider blog (Vindy.com/Insider) and on Vindy.com's Newswatch section. You can also follow me on Twitter: @JoeScalzo1.