Indiana State Scouting Report
    Indiana State is 3-4 after losing 22-14 at Northern Iowa last Saturday. In the game, ISU trailed 19-0 before pulling within 22-14 in the fourth. Indiana State moved the ball to the Northern Iowa two-yard line in the final minute of the game. But on a first-and-goal play, Jake Schiff’s pass was intercepted in the end zone.
    The Sycamores are led by tailback Jake Shields who is averaging an impressive 133 yards per game. Shields did not play against UNI. Schiff has played well at quarterback completing 53.8 percent of his passes and is averaging 139.4 yards per game.
    As a team, ISU is averaging 140.9 yards passing and 136.3 yards rushing per contest.

YSU Owns 11-1 Series Advantage
    Youngstown State has dominated the series against Indiana State winning 11 of 12 games. The Penguins have won six straight against the Sycamores and are a perfect 6-0 at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute. YSU has won the past three games by an average of 21.3 points.

Last Meeting: YSU 31, Indiana State 16
    The Penguins jumped out to a 17-3 lead and held on for a 31-16 victory over Indiana State on Oct. 5, 2002. The teams combined for 27 points in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.
    Tailback P.J. Mays rushed for 176 yards on 30 carries and a score while Josiah Doby scored two rushing touchdowns and Guy Mazard recovered a fumble for a score.
    YSU rushed for 250 yards while allowing just 68 to the Sycamores. ISU had 219 yards passing while YSU had just 11. Indiana State committed five turnovers while the Penguins did not have any giveways.

Last Time Out: WIU 54, YSU 20
    Youngstown State had a tough start to the game turning the ball over four of the first five times it touched the ball and could not overcome a 27-0 deficit in a 54-20 loss to Western Illinois.
    Backup quarterback Matt Rycraft came off the bench to spark the offense. Rycraft set a school record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 152 while scoring two touchdowns and throwing for another.
    The Penguins closed within 27-14 in the third quarter but a fifth turnover ended any chance of a comeback victory.
    Following a fumbled handoff with 3:12 left in the third, WIU scored a quick touchdown and was never threatened again. The Leathernecks added 21 points in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
    Western held a big advantage in time of possession at 37:35 to 22:25 for YSU. The Leathernecks had 398 yards total offense while YSU finished with 303.

Rycraft Kept Running and Running
    Junior quarterback Matt Rycraft had the best rushing game by a YSU quarterback in school history against Western Illinois. Rycraft had a quarterback school rushing record 152 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns. His 152 yards on the ground eclipsed a school mark previously held by Cliff Stoudt. Stoudt rushed for 139 yards on 15 attempts against South Dakota State in 1975.

Bracken, Marcum Making Stops
    Strong safety Mike Bracken and linebacker Yancey Marcum combined for 21 stops against Western Illinois. Bracken tied his season high with 11 stops. He also had 11 against Florida Atlantic. Marcum had 10 stops against WIU marking the fifth time in seven games he has had double figures in tackles this season.

Saturday’s Game Had Some Oddities
    The longest drive of the game for Western Illinois was 50 yards, while the Penguins had an 82-yard drive and an 80-yard march. Nine of WIU’s 16 total drives were under 22 yards. The five YSU turnovers led to 23 Leatherneck points.

YSU Defense Has Weird Day
    Entering the contest against Western Illinois, the Penguins had allowed just a total of 62 points in six games all season before the Leathernecks erupted for 54 on Saturday. Also, YSU had allowed just 16 second-half points, before WIU scored 27.

Other WIU Tidbits
    • The 54 points allowed by YSU were the sixth-most points allowed in a game in school history and the second-most surrendered at home (Pensacola Navy scored 58 in 1968).
    • The last time YSU had five turnovers in a game was at Northern Iowa in 2001.

Two Touchdown Passes Allowed
    The Penguins have allowed just two passing touchdowns in seven games. YSU and Western Kentucky lead Division I-AA in fewest touchdown passes allowed at two. Western Illinois and Florida Atlantic are the only two teams to score through the air against the Penguins so far this season.

Red-Zone Means Go
    The Penguins have been highly successful in the Red Zone this season, scoring on 19 of 21 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 16 touchdowns and kicked three field goals when entering the Red Zone. The Penguins have the best percentage of red-zone conversions in the Gateway.

On This Date (Oct. 18)...
    The Penguins have played eight times on Oct. 18 posting a 2-5-1 record, including an 0-3 road mark. The most recent contest on an Oct. 18 was at Northern Iowa in 1997, a contest YSU lost 35-32. In 1986, YSU lost at Austin Peay 13-10, in 1980, YSU lost to Morehead State 20-14, in 1975, YSU beat Morehead 28-0, in 1969, YSU lost to Morehead 21-12, in 1956, the Penguins beat Baldwin-Wallace 31-7, in 1953, YSU tied Marshall 6-6 and in 1947 YSU lost at Scranton 19-6.

YSU Has Never Been 1-2 in the League
    Since joining the Gateway in 1997, the Penguins have never started a conference slate with a 1-2 mark. On four occasions, in six years, YSU started a campaign 1-1 and all four times won its third league game to improve to 2-1. Youngstown State is off to a 1-1 start this year.

Touchdown Passes on The Rise
    This season, Penguins quarterbacks have tossed 10 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 eight touchdowns while Matt Rycarft has thrown for two, including a 22-yarder to Mike Roberts against Western Illinois last Saturday.
    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 19-1 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 26-1 when scoring 21 points or more. In each of the four wins this season, the Penguins have scored 34-or-more points.

Turnover Margin Important
    After turning the ball over five times against Western Illinois, the Penguins are a minus six in the turnover department through seven games. So far this season, YSU has given the ball away 17 times, while forcing 11 turnovers.
    In 16 of the last 17 years (all but 1989), Youngstown State has had an advantage in the turnover-margin department. YSU entered the game against WIU after a turnover-free effort against SMS.

Penguins in Gateway Road Openers
    YSU is 3-3 in its first Gateway road game of the season since joining the league in 1997. Two of three victories have come at Indiana State. The Penguins have lost their last two Gateway road openers falling at Northern Iowa and Western Kentucky. YSU was 2-2 on the road in the league last year.

Next Opponent: Illinois State
    The Penguins play their annual Homecoming Game next Saturday when they play host to Illinois State. YSU has beaten the Redbirds three straight times, including a 24-17 win last year in Normal.
    YSU has won 11 straight Homecoming games at Stambaugh Stadium since losing to Liberty in 1991.
    Illinois State (3-3 and 0-2) plays host to Western Kentucky this Saturday searching for its first Gateway win of the year.