Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
    • YSU is playing the final game of its 64th season of football.
    • Youngstown State will be looking to finish with five wins for the ninth straight season.
    • YSU’s last three game winning streak came at the end of the 2002 campaign beating Southern Illinois, Illinois State and Samford to close out the year.
    • The last time the Penguins won consecutive Gateway road games was in 2001 when they won at Indiana State and then at Southern Illinois.
    • The Penguins have had eight players start every game this season. Of those individuals, four are on offense (Tom Zetts, John Bartos, Tony Limongi, Kyle Smith) and four are on defense (Justin Scholes, Mike Bracken, Jeremiah Wright, Matt Briggs).
    • YSU has played 18 freshmen this year.
    • Thirteen seniors will be playing their final game for YSU at SMS -- Nate Baston, Mike Bracken, Matt Briggs, Herb Jones, Norris Kennedy, Phil Larmon, Justin Martin, Ryan Martino, Matt Porter, Steve Reynolds, Matt Rycraft and Nick Terracina.

SMS Scouting Report
    SMS has played three of what are now the top-five ranked teams in the country -- all at home this season. SMS defeated Sam Houston State 33-31 and is coming off a 28-24 loss to fifth-ranked Western Kentucky. In between those contests, the Bears lost 27-3 to Southern Illinois.
    The Bears won their first three contests of the year, but have since lost five of their last seven games. Of those seven, four have been by five points or less.
    SMS is coming off a 28-24 loss to Western Kentucky. Against the Hilltoppers, the Bears led 24-14 but WKU scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to earn the come-from-behind victory.
    Quarterback A.J. Porter and running back Cody Pratt lead the offense. Pratt has rushed for 940 yards in 10 games and scored 10 touchdowns. Porter has completed 146-of-267 passes for 12 touchdowns and thrown nine interceptions. Steven Rush has caught a team-high 56 passes for 741 yards and eight scores.

Penguins Perfect Against SMS
    Youngstown State has never lost to the Bears since the series started in 1996. YSU has posted a win over SMS in each year since that time. The games at Plaster Field have been close -- four points in 1996, six points in 2000 and seven in 1998 and 2002. Only three times has YSU won by more than a touchdown in the series.

Last Meeting: YSU 34, SMS 7
    The Penguins jumped out to a 14-7 halftime lead then scored 20 second-half points to earn a 34-7 victory over SMS last year at Stambaugh Stadium.
    Tailback Josh Cayson led the way on the ground rushing for a game-high 118 yards on 20 carries. Four different Penguins had touchdowns in the game -- Cayson, Mike Burns, Matt Rycraft and Keland Logan. Aaron Marshall completed 9-of-18 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
    YSU had a 14-0 lead before Cody Pratt scored to cut the SMS deficit to 14-7 at the break. In the third quarter, Nick Terracina kicked a 30-yard field goal and Mike Burns scored on a 39-yard pass from Marshall. In the fourth, Terracina added a 31-yarder and Rycraft scored from one-yard out in the victory.

Last Time Out: YSU 34, Western Illinois 9
    Tailbacks Monquantae Gibson and Regis Edgerson combined for 271 yards rushing and each scored two touchdowns as the Penguins won in Macomb for the first time since 1982 beating Western Illinois 34-9.
    Gibson had a game-high 167 yards on the ground while picking up a touchdown run and adding a 28-yard touchdown reception. Edgerson had 104 yards and finished with two rushing scores.
    Trailing 7-0, the Penguins took a 20-7 lead at halftime on two Nick Terracina field goals and touchdowns by Gibson and Edgerson. YSU eventually jumped ahead 34-7 in the fourth quarter as Gibson and Edgerson each had touchdown rushes in the frame.
    Entering the game, YSU had scored just 10 points at Hanson Field in three games since joining the Gateway in 1997. The Penguins doubled that total by halftime and were the only visiting team to win in Macomb in 2004.
    After allowing a 43-yard rush on the third play of the game to Travis Glasford, the defense allowed just 17 more total rushing yards all afternoon. The Penguins also recorded a season-high five sacks.

Penguins Putting Up The Points
    The Penguins have scored 79 points the past two games in wins over Indiana State and Western Illinois. The last time YSU scored that many points in consecutive Gateway games was in 2001 when YSU had 41 against SMS and followed that with a 44-point effort against Illinois State (85). The 34 points at WIU were the most YSU had scored on the road in the Gateway since beating Indiana State 35-21 in 2001.

Favorite "Sons" Have Big Days
    YSU’s tailback combination of Regis Edgerson (Garfield Heights, Ohio) and Monquantae Gibson (Louisville, Ky.) enjoyed big days at Western Illinois. Edgerson finished with a career-high 104 yards on a career-best 19 carries and had two scores -- the first ones of his YSU career. Gibson had 167 yards -- one yard shy of a career high -- on 25 carries and had a touchdown. He also had a touchdown reception.

Smith Continues Reception Streak
    Junior wide receiver Kyle Smith (San Diego, Calif.) caught two passes for 37 yards against Western Illinois on Saturday to extend his reception-in-a-game streak to 21. This year, Smith has caught a pass in all 10 games and now has a reception in every game he has played dating back to the final game of the 2002 season.

Penguin Sack Attack
    The Penguins’ defense put its ears back big time and recorded a season-high five sacks at Western Illinois. At WIU, Mike Bracken, Justin Martin, Nate Baston and Jason Perry all were credited with sacks. Martin finished the game with two sacks for nine yards in losses.

Wright Goes For Tackles Lead
    Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Wright (Orlando, Fla.) leads all YSU tacklers with 73 entering the season finale at SMS. Senior strong safety Mike Bracken (Imperial, Pa.) is right behind him at 68 while Marty Hutchinson (Newton Falls, Ohio) has 66. The last time a sophomore led the Penguins in tackling in a season was Dwyte Smiley in 1997 when he had 92 stops in 15 games.

Fourth Place Up For Grabs
    In the preseason Gateway poll, the Penguins were tabbed to finish sixth. YSU can have a laugh on the pundits by finishing fourth with a win on Saturday at SMS. The winner of the YSU-SMS game will own a 3-4 league record and place fourth no matter what happens around the league on Saturday.

Penguins Get First at WIU Since 1982
    The Penguins’ victory in Macomb on Saturday was their first at WIU since joining the Gateway in 1997. In three previous visits as a conference member, YSU scored just 10 points in three games before erupting for 34 on Saturday. The Penguins’ last victory at Hanson Field came in 1982.

Reversal of Score Fortune
    Last year, the Penguins suffered a 54-20 setback to Western Illinois at home before earning a 34-9 victory over the Leathernecks on Saturday. The 34-point loss was YSU’s third-worst conference loss since joining the league. The 25-point win on Saturday was the Penguins sixth-biggest win – second-best on the road — since joining the league eight seasons ago. It also kept the Leathernecks from finishing with a perfect record this season.

25th Time Two 100-Yard Rushers
    For the 25th time in school history, YSU had two tailbacks go over 100 yards in the same game. At Western Illinois, Regis Edgerson and Monquantae Gibson each eclipsed the mark. Before Saturday, the last time the Penguins had two 100-yard plus rushers in the same game was against Southern Illinois in 2002 -- P.J. Mays and Mike Burns.

Kennedy Makes Impact
    Senior offensive guard Norris Kennedy has made a big impact since returning to the offensive line. Kennedy has earned three consecutive winning performance grades from the coaching staff and in each of the last three games, where he has seen extensive action, YSU has had a back go over 100 yards.

Terracina Streaking
    Entering the contest at SMS, Nick Terracina has made 44 straight extra-point conversion kicks. The last time he missed an extra point was at Kent State in 2003. This year, he is 27-of-27 on PAT kicks. He is just two extra-point kicks shy of Jeff Wilkins’ school mark of 46 straight. Terracina is also bidding to become the first YSU placekicker since John Dowling in 1986 to convert all point-after kicks in a season.

Bracken Over 200 Career Stops
    Senior strong safety Mike Bracken (Imperial, Pa.) has recorded 229 career tackles in his YSU career. He has had 18 performances where he recorded at least seven tackles. Bracken also picked up the fifth interception of his career and second of the season against Illinois State.

Terracina Over 100 Career Points
    Senior placekicker Nick Terracina (Lake Charles, La.) has scored 128 points in his two-year YSU career. He leads the Penguins with 60 points this year after recording a team-best 68 a year ago.

Perez Gets First Career Pick
    Redshirt freshman Bob Perez (Navarre, Ohio) intercepted his first career pass against Western Illinois on Saturday.

Smith Cracks Top 20 And Top 5
    Junior wide receiver Kyle Smith (San Diego, Calif.) has 1,037 receiving yards in his career. He currently ranks 20th in school history with 1,037 career receiving yards on 62 career catches. He also ranks in fifth in two career punt returning categories -- returns and yards.

Gibson Shows Skills
    When tailback Monquantae Gibson finishes a game he is something special. The four times this season he has played the entire game – vs. Florida International, at McNeese State, vs. Liberty and at Western Illinois – he has reached the 100-yard plateau. In those four contests he had 617 yards on 100 carries and played in all 16 quarters. In his other two games of limited action he had 43 yards on 14 carries and played just three quarters. He has missed three games this season because of injuries.

What Might Have Been
    This year, the Penguins have led in the fourth quarter on eight occasions (out of 10 games), but let four of those advantages slip away. At Illinois State, YSU took a 24-20 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Redbirds rallied with 10 points to earn a six-point victory. Against Northern Iowa, YSU came back to grab a 20-19 lead with 3:53 remaining only to have UNI win on a field goal as time expired. At McNeese State, YSU rallied to take a 20-17 lead with 12:52 left, but the Cowboys scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:28 remaining. Against Florida International, YSU led 16-3 with 9:47 left only to have the Golden Panthers score twice and then win the game in overtime.

13 Players Made Starting Debut
    Thirteen Penguins have been in the starting lineup for the first time in their careers this season. Those players are: redshirt freshman quarterback Tom Zetts and freshman guard Josh Tanner. On defense, freshman offensive tackle Tyler Booth, junior defensive end Justin Scholes, redshirt freshman linebacker Jeff Koval, sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Wright, redshirt freshman free safety Dorian Chenault, junior tight end Nick Forro, junior free safety Aaron Scales, sophomore tailback Regis Edgerson, sophomore tight end Max King, freshman linebacker James Terry and senior corner Steve Reynolds.