Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
    • The Penguins finished non-conference play with a 2-2 record. Since joining the Gateway in 1997, Youngstown State has never finished below .500 in the non-league portion of its schedule.
    • In their seven Gateway openers, the Penguins have defeated Indiana State twice, SMS twice and Western Illinois twice. Their only loss came at Western Kentucky (13-7) in 2002. Ironically for WKU, all three of its Gateway openers came against Western Illinois. The Hilltoppers are yet to win a Gateway opener after losing all three times to the Leathernecks.
    • YSU will be looking to snap a 10-game losing streak against ranked Division I-AA teams on Saturday. The last time the Penguins beat a ranked foe was No. 6 Western Illinois (41-7) on Sept. 22, 2001. The last time YSU beat a ranked team on the road was Nov. 27, 1999 at Montana.
    • Youngstown State has lost six straight on the road to ranked schools since beating the Grizzlies in the 1999 playoffs. The last regular-season road win over a ranked team was at No. 19 Villanova, also in 1999.

Western Kentucky Scouting Report
    Western Kentucky enters Saturday’s contest with a 2-1 record after recording wins over Eastern Kentucky and Concord. The Hilltoppers’ lone loss was at Division I-A Kansas State in the season opener.
    Through the first three games, WKU has run a balanced offensive attack. The Hilltoppers are averaging 200.3 yards rushing and 162 yards passing per contest.
    Leading the way is sophomore quarterback Justin Haddix. Haddix has completed 29-of-58 passes for 448 yards on the year. Running back Lerron Moore has 176 yards in two contests.
    The WKU defense has been opportunistic this season forcing 15 turnovers in 12 quarters of play. The Hilltoppers have 12 interceptions on the season, seven of which came at Eastern Kentucky in their last game. The Hilltoppers lead the nation in turnover margin at an impressive, plus-four per contest.

WKU Leads Series By 9-4 Margin
    The Penguins trail the all-time series against Western Kentucky by a 9-4 margin. The Hilltoppers have won the last three games, including a 13-7 win at home in 2002. YSU last won at WKU in 1990 (17-14) and has won one game in five trips to Bowling Green.

Last Meeting: WKU 37, YSU 13
    The Penguins were closing out the season while the Hilltoppers were going for a playoff spot last November at Stambaugh Stadium.
    After Jeremy Chandler returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, YSU fought back to tie the contest 10-10 midway through the second quarter. But Dennis Mitchell intercepted a Aaron Marshall pass and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown in a game-breaking play.
    Western Kentucky outscored the Penguins 17-3 in the second half to earn a 37-13 victory at Stambaugh Stadium.
    Marshall finished the game completing 17-of-28 passes for 154 yards and Josiah Doby led the Penguins on the ground with 64 yards on 17 carries.

Last Time Out: YSU 27, Liberty 17
    The Penguins jumped out on Liberty scoring 17 first-quarter points and then held off a late comeback bid by the Flames to win 27-17.
    Tailback Monquantae Gibson ran for 160 yards on 30 carries, including a 53-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring. After a Nick Terracina 42-yard field goal, Gibson struck again taking a screen pass 27 yards for a touchdown putting the Penguins in front 17-0.
    Following a Liberty field goal, Tom Zetts had a 53-yard touchdown pass to Matt Rycraft to bump the lead to 24-3.
    Liberty kept chipping away and pulled within a touchdown at 24-17 on a Sam Gado 21-yard run just under three minutes into the second half.
    Terracina made a 35-yard field goal to put the Penguins in front 27-17 with 4:17 left in the third quarter. After that, the Penguins’ special teams stepped up big blocking two field goals to preserve the lead and the win.

Gibson Ranks Fourth In the Nation
    Monquantae Gibson has played in three games and three times he has rushed for more than 100 yards. Against Liberty, Gibson had 160 yards after tallying 168 at McNeese State and 122 against Florida International. Gibson ranks fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game averaging 150 per contest. Tennessee State’s Charles Anthony leads Division I-AA with 172.25 per contest. Gibson leads the Gateway by 33 yards over WIU’s Travis Glasford.

Gibson Can Be The First Since 1991
    Monquantae Gibson’s 160-yard effort against Liberty gave him three straight 100-plus yard rushing games. Gibson is the first Penguin back since P.J. Mays, to rush for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games. Mays closed out 2002 rushing for more than 100 in the last three games.
    Gibson goes for his fourth straight 100-yard game against WKU on Saturday. The last time a Penguin had four consecutive 100-yard rushing games was Tamron Smith. Smith had more than 100 yards against Delaware State, Morgan State, Northeastern and Stephen F. Austin consecutively in 1991.

Terracina Ranks Fourth in FGs
    Senior placekicker Nick Terracina ranks fourth in Division I-AA in field goals made per game averaging 1.75 a contest. He trails three other kickers who are tied at the top of the list averaging two per game.

Foster Debut A Big One
    Sophomore center John Foster (South Euclid, Ohio) made his first appearance of the season against Liberty replacing starter Ryan Jewell. Jewell left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. On Foster’s first snap, Monquantae Gibson scored on a 53-yard run. Later in the period, Foster knocked down two Flame defenders to free Gibson on a 27-yard touchdown pass.

The Wright Stuff
    Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Wright (Orlando, Fla.) leads the team in total tackles with 31 through four games. Wright has had at least seven tackles in three of the four games this year after finishing with seven against Liberty.

Two Blocked Field Goals Spark Guins
    In the second half against Liberty, the Penguins blocked two Zacry Kolegue field-goal attempts. Ron John-Finn blocked a 49-yard attempt at the end of the third quarter while Jason Perry blocked a 38-yard attempt with 2:28 remaining.
    It marks the second consecutive game the Penguins have blocked a field-goal attempt. Against McNeese State, Matt Briggs blocked a field-goal try.

Chenault Has Career-Best Night
    Redshirt freshman free safety Dorian Chenault (Canton, Ohio) recorded a career-best 11 tackles against Liberty. Chenault had five solo stops and also had a pass breakup.

Terry The Tackler is Back
    Redshirt freshman linebacker James Terry (Stafford, Va.) made his presence felt against Liberty recording nine tackles, including five solo stops. Terry also forced his first career fumble in the game.

Penguins Successful in Openers
    The Penguins and Western Illinois have had the best track record in Gateway openers the past seven years. YSU and WIU are both 6-1 in league-opening games since that time. UNI and Southern Illinois, who play on Saturday, are both 4-3, Illinois State is 3-4, SMS is 2-5 and Indiana State is 1-6. WKU joined the league in 2001 and is 0-3 when playing a conference opener.

Marshall Ignited Comeback
    Junior quarterback Aaron Marshall (Chicago, Ill.) came off the bench in the third quarter against McNeese State and led the Penguins on their final three touchdown drives of the game, including the first two when he entered the contest.

Terracina Almost Automatic
    Senior placekicker Nick Terracina (Lake Charles, La.) has been almost automatic on field goals from inside 44 yards during his career. He is 17-of-19 and has made his last six from that distance.

Terracina Streaking
    Entering the contest against Western Kentucky, Nick Terracina has made 29 straight extra-point conversion kicks. The last time he missed an extra point was at Kent State in 2003. This year, he is 11-of-11 on PAT kicks. He had a streak of seven field-goals made snapped when he missed a 49-yarder against Liberty on Saturday.

Two Solid Punt Units Go At It
    YSU ranks seventh in the nation while Western Kentucky ranks third in net punting average. The Hilltoppers have a net average of 41.54 while the Penguins’ net average is 39.92.

Red Zone Means Go
    The Penguins continue to be effective in the Red Zone converting 10-of-12 opportunities this season. Against Liberty, YSU converted a field goal and had the ball deep in Flame territory to end the game before running the clock out. Against McNeese, YSU scored on its lone trip inside the 20. Against FIU, YSU was 4-of-5 after going 4-for-4 against Slippery Rock in the season opener. Last year, the Penguins were the most effective team in the Gateway Conference when it came to Red Zone scores, converting 30-of-34 trips.

Nine Players Made Starting Debut
    Nine 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 and senior cornerback Steve Reynolds.

Four True Freshmen See Action
    True freshman offensive lineman Tyler Booth appeared in the starting lineup against Liberty when the Penguins used three tackles on their first formation of the game. Booth saw action later in the game as well at tackle. He joins defensive end Jose Galloza, offensive guard Josh Tanner and defensive back Jermaine Cox as true freshmen who have played so far this season.

New Faces On the Field II
    Joining the four true freshmen in playing their first YSU games this year have been Dorian Chenault, Jeff Koval, Vince Gliatta, Bob Perez, Regis Edgerson, Joe Nicholson, Ryan Wisecarver, Tim Dewberry, Bryant Wilson, James Terry, Peter Berthold, Matt Kishman, Greg Jackson, Jameson Evans, Jason Eisele, Monquantae Gibson, Aaron Scales and Erik Claxon.

Penguins in Gateway Road Openers
    YSU is 4-3 in its first Gateway road game of the season since joining the league in 1997. Three of the four victories have come at Indiana State, including the 2003 season.

Penguins In the NFL
    There are three former Penguins on current NFL rosters. St. Louis Rams placekicker Jeff Wilkins, Oakland Raiders reserve linebacker Tim Johnson and Pittsburgh Steelers reserve free safety Russell Stuvaints are on active rosters in the NFL.

Up Next: No. 1 Southern Illinois
    YSU returns home to play host to top-ranked Southern Illinois. The Salukis also open Gateway play this Saturday against Northern Iowa. The last time the nation’s No. 1 team came to Stambaugh Stadium was in 1993 when YSU beat Georgia Southern in the playoffs. The Penguins are 3-1 against No. 1 teams all-time.