Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
    • The Penguins have won 11 of their last 12 Homecoming contests.
    • YSU will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Gateway Football Conference foes. The Penguins, who are 0-2 in Gateway play for the first time since joining the conference in 1997, lost their final four league games last season.
    • Youngstown State has not lost five of its first seven games to start a year since losing five of its first seven in 1995.
    • The Penguins have had 13 players start every game this season. Of those individuals, seven are on defense and six are on offense.
    • YSU has lost three straight contests to the Panthers dating back to a 28-24 victory at Stambaugh Stadium in 2000.
    • Northern Iowa concludes a brutal start to the Gateway schedule for YSU. The Penguins opened league play against the top three teams in the preseason poll.
    • YSU has played five true freshmen and 13 redshirt freshmen this campaign.
    • The Panthers have had success playing in Youngstown posting a 6-3 record since their first visit in 1979.

Northern Iowa Scouting Report
    Northern Iowa has played well but owns a 1-4 record entering Saturday’s contest. The Panthers’ losses have come at Division I-A Iowa State, to Stephen F. Austin (24-21), at Southern Illinois (40-36) and to Western Kentucky (17-10).
    Against SIU, the Panthers lost fifth-year quarterback Tom Petrie for the season to a broken collarbone. Redshirt freshman Eric Sanders was 18-of-26 for 205 yards and a touchdown in his starting debut against WKU. Sanders also had two interceptions, including one in the end zone as time expired.
    UNI’s defense has been tough allowing just 325.4 yards per contest. On offense, the Panthers have averaged 348.6 yards per game.
    Northern Iowa has jumped on opponents early this season owning a scoring advantage of 31-3 in the first quarter. At SIU, UNI led 20-0 before losing by four.

UNI Leads Series By 12-6 Margin
    The Panthers have won the last three meetings in the series against the Penguins to own a series lead of 12-6. YSU’s last victory came on Oct. 14, 2000 when it came from behind for a 28-24 win. UNI has outscored the Penguins 99-27 in those previous three contests. UNI has been the Penguins’ Homecoming opponent on two occasions -- 1980 and 1984.

Last Meeting: UNI 47, YSU 9
    Northern Iowa rolled up 618 yards of total offense in a 47-9 victory over the Penguins last year in the UNI Dome.
    YSU wide receiver Kyle Smith had a game to remember with seven receptions for a career-high 142 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown catch.
    With UNI leading 7-3 following a 35-yard Nick Terracina field goal, the Panthers scored the next 26 points to grab control of the contest by taking a 33-3 lead.
    The YSU offense finished with 299 total yards as Aaron Marshall completed 15-of-26 passes for 213 yards.

Last Time Out: SIU 37, YSU 2
    Top-ranked Southern Illinois scored four first-half touchdowns on plays that covered at least 47 yards and the YSU offense scoreless in a 37-2 victory over the Penguins.
    Youngstown State stopped the Salukis on a three-and-out to open the game before driving to the SIU seven. But on third down, Tom Zetts’ pass deflected off Phil Larmon’s hands and Alexis Moreland raced 95 yards the other direction for a score.
    Later in the quarter, SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Craig Turner. After SIU sacked Zetts in the end zone for a safety, Sambursky threw a 47-yard scoring pass to Brent Little and Arkee Whitlock scored on a 49-yard scamper to put the Salukis in front 30-0 at the half.
    In the third, Sambursky was pressured by YSU’s Justin Martin into an intentional grounding call in the end zone to get the Penguins on the board. Southern Illinois tacked on a touchdown late in the fourth when Jon Cairns threw a 19-pass to Alan Turner to round out the scoring.

Penguins Avoid Shutout With Safety
    Youngstown State avoided its first home shutout since Oct. 9, 1995 against Southern Illinois with a third-quarter safety. YSU defensive end Justin Martin pressured Southern Illinois quarterback Joel Sambursky into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone for two points.

YSU Finishes With Two Points
    The last time the Penguins finished a game by scoring just two points -- a safety -- was in 1973 against Eastern Michigan. The Penguins lost that contest 42-2. The only other time YSU finished with two points in a game was against Central Michigan (16-2) in 1967.

Smith Has Four Catches
    Junior wide receiver Kyle Smith (San Diego, Calif.) caught a season-high four passes against Southern Illinois. Smith finished the game with four catches for 64 yards. This year, Smith has caught a pass in all six games and now has a reception in 17 consecutive games dating back to the final game of the 2002 season.

Hutchinson Has Best Tackles Outing
    Sophomore linebacker Marty Hutchinson (Newton Falls, Ohio) had a career-best 12 tackles against Southern Illinois. At McNeese State earlier this year, Hutchinson had 11 tackles.

Bracken Picks Up Interception
    Senior strong safety Mike Bracken intercepted his first pass of the season against Southern Illinois. Bracken now has four career picks in his YSU tenure.

Jones, Kennedy Play For First Time
    Against Southern Illinois, senior cornerback Herb Jones (Twinsburg, Ohio) and senior offensive guard Norris Kennedy (Lake Wales, Fla.) saw their first action of the season. Both have been held out because of injuries. Jones, who started, had a big night against SIU with eight total tackles.

Bishop Had Outstanding Night
    Sophomore punter Joe Bishop (Canton, Ohio) had an outstanding performance against Southern Illinois. Bishop tied his career high with nine punts (at UNI in 2003 and vs. FIU in 2004) for a career-best 401 total yards. His yardage total ranks as the fifth-best game in school history moving in front of Frank Edie’s 400 against Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 24, 1987.

Bishop Has Career-Long Boot
    One of the reason’s for Joe Bishop’s successful night was a career-long 70-yard kick he had in the first quarter. Bishop’s kick ties for the fifth-longest in school history and is the longest punt by a Penguin since Troy LeFever’s school record 85-yarder against UNI in 2000.
    Bishop’s punt is tied for the longest in the Gateway this season with Illinois State’s Ryan Hoffman (at Indiana State on Oct. 2)

Big Plays Hurt Penguins
    In Saturday’s game against Southern Illinois, the Penguins defense allowed 468 total offensive yards. However, 152 of those yards came on just three plays -- all touchdowns of more than 47 yards. On the other 62 plays by the Salukis, they gained a respectable 316 yards.
    The previous week at Western Kentucky, YSU allowed 235 yards on five plays while surrendering just 221 on the Hilltoppers other 39 offensive snaps. WKU had 456 yards on 46 plays for the game.

Jewell, Ison Back As Starters
    Sophomore center Ryan Jewell (Warren, Ohio) and sophomore fullback Demetrius Ison (Jackson Center, Pa.) were back in the lineup after missing time with shoulder injuries. Ison returned after missing two games while Jewell did not play at Western Kentucky. Against the Hilltoppers, center John Foster made his first career start.

Offensive Line Working Together
    The Penguins offensive line should be an experienced unit by the end of the season.
    Left tackle John Bartos, left guard Tony Limongi and right tackle Pat Walker have started all six games this season. Right guard Josh Tanner and center Ryan Jewell have started five of the six contests. Center John Foster and guard Joe DeBee started the other two contests for the Guins.
    Up until Saturday, when senior guard Norris Kennedy appeared in the game, the Penguins had not had a senior on the offensive line all season.

Two Freshmen Started vs. SIU
    The Penguins had two true freshmen in the starting lineup against the Salukis. On offense, freshman guard Josh Tanner (Orlando, Fla.) was in the starting lineup for the fifth time this season. On defense, cornerback Jermaine Cox (Columbus, Ohio) started in place of Jason Perry.

Gibson Hampered By Injury
    Monquantae Gibson sat out the Southern Illinois contest on Saturday because of an injury. Gibson, who had rushed for more than 100 yards in his first three games as a Penguin, suffered his injury in the first half of the Western Kentucky game. Against the Hilltoppers, he had 37 yards on 12 carries, including a one-yard touchdown run.

YSU Ranks Fifth in Net Punting
    The Penguins’ punt-coverage unit ranks among the best in Division I-AA this season. YSU is fifth in I-AA in net-punting average at 39.97 yards per kick. Northern Arizona leads the nation with a 43.69 net-punting average while Maine, Western Kentucky, Jacksonville State and YSU round out the top five.
    Joe Bishop ranks 27th in the nation in punting average at 40.64 yards per kick.

YSU Enjoys Homecoming Success
    The Penguins had an 11-game Homecoming game winning streak snapped last year with a 35-25 loss to Illinois State. In all-time Homecoming contests, the Penguins are 47-15-1 and 18-4 at Stambaugh Stadium.

Five True Freshmen See Action
    Freshman defensive tackle Ben Suran made his YSU debut against Southern Illinois. Suran recorded three tackles in the contest. He joins defensive end Jose Galloza, offensive guard Josh Tanner and defensive back Jermaine Cox and offensive lineman Tyler Booth as true freshmen who have played so far this season.

Up Next: at Illinois State
    The Penguins play three of their final four games on the road this year beginning with a contest next Saturday at Illinois State. The Redbirds travel to play at Western Illinois this Saturday before playing host to the Penguins. YSU has won the last two meetings in Normal, Ill., by a combined total of nine points.