Illinois State Scouting Report
    Illinois State has lost four straight contests, but three of those have been to ranked teams and the other contest was to Florida Atlantic, a team that is now ranked in the top 25.
    The Redbirds are coming off a tough 27-24 loss to Western Kentucky. ISU came back from a 20-7 deficit to go in front 24-20 in the fourth quarter. However, the Hilltoppers scored with 1:59 left to earn the victory.
    In the contest, ISU’s Sha-Ron Edwards rushed for 233 yards on 36 carries. Quarterback Mike Souza also leads the offensive charge throwing for 159.2 yards per game. On defense, ISU features one of Division I-AA’s best in linebacker Boomer Grigsby. Grigsby has 122 tackles in just eight games.

YSU Owns 6-5 Series Advantage
    Youngstown State has won the last three games in the series to hold an overall 6-5 advantage. In Youngstown, YSU owns a slight 3-2 edge after beating the Redbirds 44-30 in 2001. The Penguins beat Illinois State 24-17 last year in Normal.

Last Meeting: YSU 24, Illinois St. 17
    The Penguins overcame a 10-0 deficit and broke a 17-17 tie when Aaron Marshall threw a 34-yard pass to Jerald Burley in the third quarter on a fourth-and-10 play to win 24-17 at Redbird Stadium.
    YSU outyarded the Redbirds 323-198 and did not commit a turnover while forcing two Illinois State giveaways. P.J. Mays had 32 carries for 146 yards and two scores in the victory.
    The Penguins scored 14 points in the third quarter in the comeback victory after falling behind 17-10.

Last Time Out: YSU 30, Indiana St. 24
    Quarterback Aaron Marshall came off the bench to spark a 10-point fourth-quarter rally and Josh Cayson scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime of a 30-24 win at Indiana State last Saturday.
    The Penguins trailed 24-14 in the final six minutes before coming back to force overtime. Marshall threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Phil Larmon to cut the deficit to 24-21. With 33 seconds left, Nick Terracina kicked a 42-yard field goal into a swirling wind, but Indiana State came back and missed a 42-yarder field goal as time expired.
    On the first play of overtime, ISU quarterback Jake Schiff ran to the YSU three, but was stripped of the ball by the Penguins’ Matt Briggs. Briggs recovered the ball to end the Sycamores’ possession.
    Cayson, who finished with 88 yards on 17 carries, ran for 10 yards on the first play of overtime for the Penguins. Then on his second carry scored the game-winner from 15 yards out.

Penguins Come Back in Fourth
    The Penguins pulled out their first fourth-quarter come-from-behind win since beating Hofstra 42-35 in double overtime on Nov. 4, 2001. On Saturday, YSU trailed 24-14 at Indiana State with just under six minutes left before rallying. Youngstown State had lost nine straight games when trailing into the fourth.

Cayson Scores Game Winner
    Sophomore tailback Josh Cayson scored the game-winning touchdown against Indiana State. Cayson became the first YSU player to end a contest on a touchdown since Adrian Brown scored at the end of overtime to beat Southern Illinois in 1999.

Marshall Comes Off the Bench
    Sophomore quarterback Aaron Marshall came off the bench in the fourth quarter to help lead YSU back to a 30-24 overtime win over Indiana State. Marshall completed 6-of-9 passes for 75 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown toss to Phil Larmon. He also rushed for 11 yards on four carries while directing three scoring drives.

Terracina Has Big Kick
    Junior placekicker Nick Terracina booted a 42-yard field goal into a swirling wind with 33 seconds left to force overtime at Indiana State. He also had a 78-yard kickoff following a safety. On the year, Terracina is eight-of-nine on field-goal tries.

Larmon Makes Big Catch(es)
    Junior wide receiver Phil Larmon had a big day against Indiana State recording four catches for 62 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown grab in the fourth.
    Larmon had both career highs in receptions and yards against Indiana State. He also had his first touchdown catch of the season and second of his career.

Briggs Steps Up
    For the second consecutive week, defensive tackle Matt Briggs has made big plays for the YSU defense. Briggs forced and recovered a Jake Schiff fumble in overtime to end the Sycamores’ only overtime possession.
    Briggs has been named YSU’s defensive player of the game the past two weeks. Against Western Illinois, he had a 16-yard sack of Russ Michna.

Overtime Win Streak At Four
    The Penguins won their fourth consecutive overtime game when they won at Indiana State 30-24 on Saturday. YSU’s last overtime game prior to Saturday was Nov. 4, 2000 against Hofstra. In school history, Youngstown State is 6-2 in overtime games.

Homecoming Success
    YSU has won 11 consecutive Homecoming games dating back to a 10-8 loss to Liberty on Oct. 19, 1991. Since that time, YSU has beaten Eastern Illinois (1992), Delaware State (1993), North Alabama (1994), Wingate (1995), Northwestern State (1996), Buffalo (1997), Southern Illinois (1998, 2002), Cal Poly (1999), Indiana State (2000) and Illinois State (2001).

Martino Up For Homecoming King
    Reserve junior punter Ryan Martino has played in two games this season, but has become a familiar face around campus the past couple of weeks. Martino is one of five finalists for YSU’s Homecoming King who will be crowned at halftime of the Penguins’ game against Illinois State on Saturday. Last year tight end John Schumacher was the football representative, but was not crowned King.

Other Indiana State Tidbits
    • The 466 yards allowed to the Sycamores was the most YSU has surrendered since Georgia Southern had 656 yards in the 1999 National Championship game.
    • Indiana State has turned the ball over 10 times in the last two meetings with YSU.
    • The last time YSU was outgained by more than 200 yards and won was against Indiana (Pa.) in 1999 (385-169).
    • The last time YSU had more passing yards than rushing yards and won was at Kent State in 2000.

YSU Shows Ability to Rebound
    When the Penguins play Illinois State on Saturday, they will be trying to avoid their first consecutive home defeats since 1995. Youngstown State lost to Western Illinois at home on Oct. 11, its last home game. Each of the last 10 times YSU has lost at home, it has rebounded with a victory. In November 1995, the Penguins suffered consecutive home losses to Buffalo and Illinois State on the tail end of a three-game home losing streak.

On This Date (Oct. 25)...
    The Penguins have played eight times on Oct. 25 posting a 4-4 record. The most recent contest was in 1986, a 38-17 loss at Eastern Kentucky. In 1980, YSU lost at Eastern Illinois 32-7, in 1975, YSU lost at Akron 17-6, in 1969, YSU won at South Dakota State 17-16, in 1962, YSU beat Hillsdale 29-6, in 1958, YSU beat Eastern Kentucky 14-9, in 1951, Baldwin-Wallace defeated the Penguins 33-19 and in 1941, YSU beat Waynesburg 12-0.

Hall of Fame Inductions on Saturday
    Seven individuals, including four former football players, will be inducted into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday. Former football standouts Bob Lynn (1951-53), Tamron Smith (1990-93), Jeff Wilkins (1990-93) and Drew Gerber (1990-93) will be inducted. Smith, Wilkins and Gerber were all captains of the 1993 National Championship team. Also being enshrined are Ed DiGregorio, Donna Wertz (women’s basketball) and Dave Ritter (track and field).

Red-Zone Means Go
    The Penguins have been highly successful in the Red Zone this season, scoring on 23 of 25 chances. Of the two times YSU did not score, one was at the end of the Edinboro game when the team took a knee and the other was a fumble against Florida Atlantic. YSU has scored 19 touchdowns and kicked four field goals when entering the Red Zone. The Penguins, who were 4-for-4 against Indiana State, have the best percentage of red-zone conversions in the Gateway.

Touchdown Passes on The Rise
    This season, Penguins quarterbacks have tossed 11 touchdown passes. That is the most since the 2000 season when YSU had 17. In 2002, Youngstown State had seven and in 2001, the Penguins had eight.
    Aaron Marshall has thrown for nine touchdowns while Matt Rycraft has thrown for two.
    Earlier in the year against Slippery Rock, YSU’s Marshall and Rycraft combined to throw four touchdowns, the most since four against Hofstra in 2000.

21 Points Is Key
    Under Coach Jon Heacock, the Penguins are 20-1 when they score more than 21 points. However, Youngstown State is 0-9 when scoring 20 or fewer points. In eight of those nine defeats YSU has not scored more than 14 points. The Penguins have lost their last 12 games when they fail to score 20 or fewer points dating back to Oct. 7, 2000, when YSU beat Illinois State 14-12. Since the start of the 2000 season, YSU is 27-1 when scoring 21 points or more. In each of the five wins this season, the Penguins have scored 30-or-more points.

As Cayson Goes...So Goes YSU
    Sophomore tailback Josh Cayson has been a key player in all five YSU victories. In the five games that the Penguins have won, he has rushed for 526 yards on 71 carries, including three 100-yard-plus performances and scored four touchdowns. In the three losses he has just 29 yards on 18 rushes and not scored.

Turnover Margin Important
    Turnovers have played a big key in YSU’s won-loss record this season. In five wins, the Penguins have a turnover margin of plus-five while in the three losses, YSU is minus-seven.
    For the season, YSU has given the ball away 18 times while forcing 16 turnovers, including five against Indiana State.
    In 16 of the last 17 years (all but 1989), Youngstown State has had an advantage in the turnover-margin department.

Next Opponent: Northern Iowa
    The Penguins begin a stretch of playing three ranked teams in consecutive weeks next Saturday at Northern Iowa. YSU plays at UNI before closing out the regular season at Southern Illinois and against Western Kentucky. All three teams are ranked in the top nine in the country entering this weekend’s action.
    YSU has lost two straight to the Panthers, including a 22-7 defeat at Stambaugh Stadium last year.
    Northern Iowa (6-1 and 3-0) plays a key contest this Saturday when it visits Western Illinois. The Panthers have won six straight since opening the season with a narrow loss at Division I-A Iowa State.