Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• A win gives the Penguins five Gateway victories for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time in 10 seasons in the conference.
• A win marks the 18th eight-win season in the program’s 66-season history and third under Coach Jon Heacock.
• In their 10th year of Gateway action, the Penguins are 38-26.
• Tailback Marcus Mason has rushed for 2,139 yards in his YSU career. Mason also has 25 rushing scores in 17 career games. He has seven 100-yard rushing contests in 2006 and 11 in his career. He is averaging 125.8 yards per game in his career.
• Wide receiver T.J. Peterson has caught a pass in 20 straight games. He had a career-high six receptions for 66 yards at Illinois State.
• Peterson and Louis Irizarry have caught passes in every game. Of Irizarry’s 18 catches, 11 have been for first downs.
• Placekicker Brian Palmer has made 9-of-10 field goals from 33 yards or less in his career. He has made 10 of his last 13 attempts dating back to last year.
• The Penguins are 7-0 when scoring at least 27 points this year.
• Tom Zetts had 92 career rushing yards on 131 attempts before running for 110 yards on 12 rushes at Illinois State.
• Mason ranks second in Division I-AA and is fourth in all of Division I football averaging 155.9 yards rushing per game.
• YSU ranks fifth in Division I-AA in scoring offense (33.7 points) and is seventh in rushing offense (229.9 yards).
• Mason reached the 1,000-yard mark in his seventh game marking the quickest 1,000-yard season in school history.

Southern Illinois Breakdown
    Southern Illinois enters Saturday’s game with a 6-2 overall mark and a 3-2 record in the Gateway. In each of the past three seasons, the Salukis have earned a share of the Gateway crown. SIU has not dropped three league games in the same campaign since 2002.
    Quarterback Nick Hill and running back Arkee Whitlock lead the offense. Hill has thrown for 1,048 yards and nine touchdowns. Whitlock has rushed for 973 yards, averaging 121.6 per game, with 11 touchdowns. The SIU rush defense leads the Gateway allowing just 115.5 per game.

Series Information
    Youngstown State owns a 9-7-1 all-time series edge against Southern Illinois. The Salukis have won the last three games by scoring at least 24 in each game while the Penguins have been held to 17-or-under in each contest. When scoring at least 21 points against SIU, the Guins are 7-0-1 all-time. SIU is 7-2 when scoring at least 21 against YSU.

Last Time Out: YSU 27, Illinois State 13
    The Penguin defense flexed some muscle while quarterback Tom Zetts and tailback Marcus Mason each had more than 100 yards rushing in a 27-13 victory at Illinois State.
Mason rushed for 176 yards and scored two touchdowns on a career-high 34 carries. Zetts ran for 110 yards on 12 attempts and scored a touchdown. Tailback Monquantae Gibson scored on a 17-yard run as the Guins amassed 345 yards on the ground.
    The Guins went up 6-0 before Illinois State’s Jarek Thomas returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown. YSU answered right back as Gibson’s touchdown run made the score 12-7 at halftime.
    Mason’s seven-yard scoring run and a two-point conversion pass from Zetts to Louis Irizarry put YSU ahead 20-7 in the third. ISU cut the deficit to 20-13 in the fourth before Zetts’ one-yard quarterback sneak sealed the victory with 4:43 left.

Last Year Versus Southern Illinois
    Youngstown State jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead, but could not hold on as the Salukis outscored the Penguins 24-0 in the second half for a 31-17 win at McAndrew Stadium.
    The Penguins scored on their first drive when Tom Zetts threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Max King. After SIU tied the game, YSU put 10 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a 72-yard Zetts to Aaron Marshall pass and a 30-yard field goal by Brian Palmer as time expired.
    But in the second half, SIU scored on its first possession and tied the contest at 17 late in the third on a 19-yard field goal by Craig Coffin. In the fourth, SIU converted a key 3rd-and-13 play to keep a drive alive that was capped by a nine-yard Joel Sambursky to Kellen Allen pass. Craig Turner’s 85-yard punt return sealed the victory.

Mason Hits Century Mark Again
    Marcus Mason has rushed for more than 100 yards in a school-record-tying five straight games. Mason has tied the mark of five games held by Dave Kimmel (1956) and Paris Wicks (1982). This season Mason has run for at least 100 yards on seven occasions. The school record for 100-yard games in a season is nine held by Shawn Patton (1994) and Tamron Smith (1991).
    Mason enters Saturday’s game with 1,247 yards rushing in 2006. He eclipsed 1,000 yards faster than any YSU player ever reaching the mark in seven games.

Mason Ranks Second Nationally
    Marcus Mason ranks second in Division I-AA and third in Division I averaging 155.9 yards rushing per contest. In Division I-AA, he ranks behind Central Connecticut State’s Justise Hairston, who is averaging 162.4 per contest. The only other back ahead of Mason in Division I is Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe (164.3 per game).
    His 17 rushing TDs are tied for the third most by a Division I player. Only Furman’s Jerome Felton (20) and Boise State’s Ian Johnson (18) have more. Harvard’s Clifton Dawson, Clemson’s James Davis, Texas A&M’s Jorvorskie Lane and Mason each have 17 rushing scores.

Mason Enjoying Gateway Games
    In 12 career games against Gateway foes, Mason has rushed for 1,750 yards, an average of 145.8 per game. He has nine 100-yard performances. Last year against SIU he had 74 yards on 20 carries.

Offensive Line Remains in Tact
    The Penguins have started the same unit on the offensive line for every game this season. That is a key reason why Marcus Mason ranks second in Division I-AA in rushing and the Penguins offense as a whole ranks fifth (229.9 per game). In six of eight games a tailback has eclipsed the 100-yard mark and twice two players have gone over 100 in the same game Tyler Booth, Josh Tanner, Ryan Jewell, Brad Samsa and Pat Walker have started all nine games together on the line.

Defense Staunch Against Redbirds
    The Penguins defense had its best performance against the rush since November 1994. On Saturday at Illinois State the Guins surrendered just 18 yards on 23 carries. The 18 yards allowed was the fewest since a minus-36 performance by a Steve McNair-led Alcorn State during the 1994 playoffs.
The 18 yards ranks as the 18th-fewest surrendered in a single game in school history.

Rush For 100, Can Mean A ‘W’
    The Penguins have won 14 of the last 15 games when a back rushes for more than 100 yards. The only loss in that span was the 31-23 defeat to Northern Iowa. YSU has won six of seven games this year when someone rushes for over 100 yards. YSU was 6-0 in 2005 and won its last two in ‘04 to get the streak rolling.

Zetts Keeps Running and Running
    Quarterback Tom Zetts ran for a career-high 110 yards on 12 carries against Illinois State on Saturday. Entering the contest against the Redbirds, Zetts had 92 yards on 131 attempts.
Zetts became the first quarterback since Matt Rycraft, who had a school record 152 yards against Western Illinois in 2003, to rush for more than 100 yards in a game.

Peterson Continues Catch Streak
    Senior wide receiver T.J. Peterson has caught at least one pass in 20 straight games. Peterson extended his streak against Illinois State with a career-high six catches for 66 yards. Through nine games, he has 27 catches for 428 yards and four touchdowns. He had 24 catches for 432 yards and two touchdowns for his career entering 2006.

Offense Scoring Some Points
    The Penguins have scored over 30 points in six games this year. The school record for 30-point games in a regular season is eight set back in 2001. YSU did it seven times in 1997 and six in 2005, 1990 and 1989. This group has already tied the school mark for 50-point games in a season with two.

Senior Day On Tap
    The Penguins will honor a school-record 27 seniors on Saturday prior to the game against Southern Illinois. YSU has won its last two Senior Day games and four of its last five.

Mason Handling the Load
    Senior tailback Marcus Mason has rushed for 1,247 yards on 199 carries while scoring 17 touchdowns. Mason has gone over the 100-yard mark in seven of his eight games (107 vs. Maine, 101 vs. Slippery Rock, 130 at Missouri State, 197 vs. Indiana State, 265 at Western Illinois, 172 vs. UNI and 176 at Illinois State). He did not play at Penn State and finished with 99 yards against UC Davis.

Perry Scores Three Touchdowns
    Senior cornerback Jason Perry is the only player in school history to return a punt and an interception for a touchdown in the same season.
    Perry returned a punt 64 yards for a score against Indiana State. The two previous games he returned interceptions for touchdowns -- 78 yards versus UC Davis and 40 yards at Missouri State.
    Besides Perry, Larry Toles is the only individual in school history to return two interceptions for scores in a career.

Zetts, Bishop Among Best
    Quarterback Tom Zetts and punter Joe Bishop both rank highly at YSU in various career categories.
    Zetts ranks first in percentage (59.6), tied for second in 200-yard games (10), fourth in touchdown passes (39), fourth in completions (413), fourth in attempts (693) and fourth in yards (4,873). He is one touchdown shy of tying Trenton Lykes and Keith Snoddy for second place.
    Bishop is second in career punts with 211 and yards (8,121). Standout Nick Xides owns both school records (257) and (10.514).

Jackson on Buchanan List
    Senior cornerback Codera Jackson is one of 16 Division I-AA players on the Buck Buchanan Watch List for the nation’s top defensive player. In nine games Jackson has 40 tackles, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and two interceptions.

Plenty of Senior Leadership
    The Penguins have 27 seniors on the roster. It is believed to be the most seniors for one squad in school history. The previous high was 24 in 1999. Of YSU’s seniors, 15 are on offense, 11 are on defense and one is a specialist. One more note on the seniors, of that group, 17 are taking part in their fifth season with a collegiate program - 14 of which have been at YSU that long.

I-A Transfers Big Part Of YSU
    The Penguins have 14 former Division I-A players on the roster.
    Those are tailback Monquantae Gibson (Kentucky), fullback Regis Edgerson (South Carolina), cornerback Tyler Griffin (Eastern Michigan), safety Vince Gliatta (Penn State), wide receiver Tariq Goode (Toledo), tight end Louis Irizarry (Ohio State), nose tackle Greg Jacobs (Vanderbilt), nose tackle Bobby Lykes-Knight (Bowling Green), cornerback Antaun Rose (West Virginia), tailback Marcus Mason (Illinois), defensive end Brian Mellott (Ohio), defensive tackle Maurice Smith-Davis (Michigan State), defensive tackle Nhemie Theodore (Minnesota) and receiver Miles Williams (Michigan State).
Of these 14, just five have started (Mason, Gibson, Irizarry, Lykes-Knight and Jacobs).

Got Sons? YSU Has Plenty
    The Penguins have their share of players who have a last name that ends in son. Overall, there are 11 players on the roster whose last name ends in son. Most notable, the Penguins top tackler (Marty Hutchinson), top rusher (Marcus Mason) and top receiver (T.J. Peterson) all end in son.

Wright On Good Works Team
    Senior linebacker Jeremiah Wright was one of four Division I-AA players named to the 2006 AFCA Good Works Team, which honors student-athletes for work done throughout the community. However, three days after his selection Wright suffered a knee injury in the first quarter at Penn State and has not played since.

Numbers of Note
• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 75-12 when they win or tie in the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 12-30.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 117-14-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 89-6 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 102-10 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 57-5-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 128-7 when leading entering the fourth.

Point-Scoring Streaks
• YSU has won its last 39 games when scoring more than 30 points. The last loss came at Central Florida (44-32 in 1998).
• YSU has won its last 33 games when scoring more than 40 points. The last loss came to James Madison (52-49 in 1992).
• When scoring at least 50 points, the Penguins are a perfect 20-0. YSU is 18-2 in games following a 50-point contest.
• When scoring 21-plus points under Coach Jon Heacock YSU is 38-5. The Penguins are 1-21 when they fail to score 21 points.

Next Week...at Western Kentucky
    The Penguins conclude the regular season on Nov. 11 playing at Western Kentucky. YSU beat the Hilltoppers 42-10 last year but have lost two straight at WKU.