Youngstown State (8-2 overall and 5-1 in the Gateway) can clinch at least a share of the conference championship with a win over the Hilltoppers. YSU came-from-behind to beat Southern Illinois last Saturday 31-24. YSU trailed 21-10 in the third quarter before rallying. The Penguins are one of three teams in the Gateway with just one loss. UNI and Illinois State are the others, but the team’s face each other Nov. 18.

    Western Kentucky (5-4 and 4-2) is coming off a 31-20 loss at Northern Iowa. The Hilltoppers have won three of four home games this year losing by one point to Illinois State. Saturday’s game is the final Gateway contest for WKU as the school plans on joining the Division I-A ranks in the near future.

    YSU enjoyed a 42-10 victory over the Hilltoppers in last year’s season finale at Stambaugh Stadium. That game snapped a four-game losing streak to the Hilltoppers. But winning in Bowling Green has been tricky. In six trips, the Penguins have won just once -- a 17-14 victory in 1990. The Guins lost 44-19 at WKU in 2004.

Streaks, Storylines, Sidebars...
• A win gives the Penguins six Gateway victories in the same season for the first time ever and at least a share of their second consecutive league crown.
• A win would be the team’s ninth of the year and mark the first time since 2000 (9-3) in which the Guins won that many in a season.
• In their 10th year of Gateway action, the Penguins are 39-26.
• Tailback Marcus Mason has rushed for 2,388 yards in his YSU career. Mason also has 27 rushing scores in 18 career games. He has eight 100-yard rushing contests in 2006 and 12 in his career. He is averaging 132.7 yards per game in his career.
• Wide receiver T.J. Peterson has caught a pass in 21 straight games. He had three receptions for 39 yards vs. SIU.
• Peterson and Louis Irizarry have caught passes in every game. Of Irizarry’s 19 catches, 13 have been for first downs or touchdowns.
• Quarterback Tom Zetts moved into a three-way tie for second place by throwing his 40th career touchdown pass on Saturday against SIU.
• The Penguins are 8-0 when scoring at least 27 points this year.
• Zetts entered the year with minus-11 career rushing yards. This year he has run for 242 yards, including 139 the past two games.
• Mason ranks first in all of Division I football averaging 166.22 yards rushing per game.
• YSU ranks fourth in Division I-AA in rushing offense (236.5 yards) and fifth in scoring offense (33.4 points). The Guins lead the Gateway in net punting (34.9).

Western Kentucky Breakdown
    Western Kentucky had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 31-20 loss at Northern Iowa last Saturday. The Hilltoppers had won five of their last six before losing at the UNI Dome.
WKU has played six games decided by a touchdown or less this season, including three by three points or fewer.
    Quarterback Justin Haddix guides the offense completing 63.2 percent of his passes (144-of-228) for 1,911 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense, the Hilltoppers surrender just 317.8 yards per game total offense.

Series Information
    In 15 all-time meetings against the Hilltoppers, YSU has scored more than 20 points on just five occasions, but four of those came during victories. Last year, the Guins won 42-10 in Youngstown to snap a four-game losing streak against WKU. The Penguins haven’t fared well in Bowling Green winning just once in six chances. YSU has not scored more than 19 points in those six games.

Last Time Out: YSU 31, SIU 24
    YSU scored 21 of the game’s final 24 points and stopped Southern Illinois at the two-yard line as time expired in a 31-24 victory at Stambaugh Stadium.
    Trailing 21-10 in the third, the Guins cut the deficit to 21-17 on a Tom Zetts seven-yard scoring run late in the third quarter.
    After SIU moved in front 24-17 early in the fourth, YSU tied the game when Zetts completed an 18-yard scoring strike to Louis Irizarry with 5:01 remaining.
    On the Salukis’ ensuing possession, Codera Jackson intercepted a tipped Nick Hill pass at the SIU 30 to set up the winning drive. YSU capitalized when Marcus Mason scored on a 22-yard run with 1:33 left.
    SIU didn’t back down moving to the YSU two-yard line in the waning seconds. But Hill was stopped short of the end zone by Marty Hutchinson as time ran out.
    Mason rushed for 249 yards and two scores while Arkee Whitlock had 218 yards in a duel of Payton Award nominees.

Last Year Vs. Western Kentucky
    The Penguins forced two Hilltoppers turnovers in the first three minutes, then capitalized on both with touchdowns in a 42-10 victory at Stambaugh Stadium.
    YSU took a 7-0 lead on a five-yard pass from Tom Zetts to Kyle Smith. That score was set up by a Brandon Brown forced fumble that was recovered by Aaron Scales on the second play from scrimmage. The lead grew to 14-0 on a Marcus Mason touchdown run. That touchdown was set up when Dorian Chenault recovered a fumble at the WKU 38.
    Western Kentucky cut the deficit in half when Sam Sexton returned a questionable Zetts fumble 21 yards for a score.
    However, after that it was all Penguins as they added two touchdowns in the second and two more in the third to run away with the victory.

Mason Hits Century Mark Again
    Marcus Mason has rushed for more than 100 yards in a school-record setting six straight games. Mason broke the mark of five with his 249-yard performance against Southern Illinois.
This season Mason has run for at least 100 yards on eight 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 1,496 yards rushing in 2006. He eclipsed 1,000 yards faster than any YSU player ever reaching the mark in seven games.

Mason Takes Over National Lead
    Marcus Mason leads Division I by averaging 166.2 yards per game. He has rushed for 1,496 yards on 228 carries in nine games this season. His highest game total has been 265 against Western Illinois while his lowest was 99 versus UC Davis.
    Mason ranks just ahead of Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe (164.3 per game) and Central Connecticut State’s Justise Hairston (163 per game).
    His 19 rushing TDs are tied for the third most by a Division I player. Only Furman’s Jerome Felton (22) and Boise State’s Ian Johnson (20) have more.

Mason Enjoying Gateway Games
    In 13 career games against Gateway foes, Mason has rushed for 1,999 yards, an average of 153.8 per game, while scoring 22 touchdowns. He has 10 100-yard performances, including all six games in 2006. Last year against Western Kentucky he had 89 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Mason on Payton Watch List
    Senior tailback Marcus Mason is one of 16 Division I-AA players on the Walter Payton Award Watch List for the nation’s top offensive player. Mason is one of eight running backs on the list. Seven quarterbacks and one wide receiver are also in the running. SIU’s Arkee Whitlock and UNI’s Eric Sanders are also on the Payton list.

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 first in Division I in rushing and the Penguins offense as a whole ranks fourth in I-AA (236.5 per game). In eight of 10 games a player 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 10 games together on the line.

Offense Scoring Some Points
    The Penguins have scored more than 30 points in seven games this year. The school record for 30-point games in a regular season is eight set back in 2001 (in just 11 games). YSU also did it seven times during the 1997 season. This group has also tied the school mark for 50-point games in a season with two.

Rush For 100, Can Mean A ‘W’
    The Penguins have won 15 of the last 16 games when a back rushes for more than 100 yards. The only loss in that span was the 31-23 defeat to Northern Iowa this year. YSU has won seven of eight games this year when someone rushes for over 100 yards. YSU was 6-0 in 2005 and won its last two in 2004.

Zetts Zinging It Against WKU
    Quarterback Tom Zetts has thrown for 531 yards in his two games against Western Kentucky. In 2005, Zetts completed 14-of-20 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-10 victory. In 2004, he was 28-of-40 for 280 yards and had two touchdowns and two interceptions in a 44-19 defeat.

Guins Perfect on Fourth Down
    The Penguins are a perfect 7-of-7 on fourth-down conversions this season. Of those seven plays, six have been converted by Marcus Mason, including two on Saturday against Southern Illinois.

Peterson Continues Catch Streak
    Senior wide receiver T.J. Peterson has caught at least one pass in 21 straight games. Peterson extended his streak against Southern Illinois with a three catches for 39 yards. Through 10 games, he has 30 catches for 467 yards and four touchdowns. He had 24 catches for 432 yards and two touchdowns for his career entering 2006.

Mason Handling the Load
    Senior tailback Marcus Mason has rushed for 1,496 yards on 228 carries while scoring 19 touchdowns. Mason has gone over the 100-yard mark in eight of his nine games (107 vs. Maine, 101 vs. Slippery Rock, 130 at Missouri State, 197 vs. Indiana State, 265 at Western Illinois, 172 vs. UNI, 176 at Illinois State and 249 vs. Southern Illinois). 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 (59.8), tied for second in 200-yard games (10), tied for second in touchdown passes (40), fourth in completions (426), fourth in attempts (712) and fourth in yards (5,095).
    Bishop is second in career punts with 215 and yards (8,261). Standout Nick Xides owns both school records (257) and (10.514).

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.

Big Plays Have Gone For Six
    The Penguins have scored touchdowns on 11 of 13 plays that have gone for at least 40 yards this season. YSU has scored on five runs, three passes, two interceptions and one punt. This year the Guins have busted plays of more than 35 yards on 17 occasions.

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 at Penn State.

Numbers of Note
• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, the Penguins are 76-12 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.
• 90-6 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 103-10 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 40 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 39-5. The Penguins are 1-21 when they fail to score 21 points.

Next Week...Penguins Are Off
    The Penguins do not play next Saturday while four Gateway teams will be in action. WKU and Southern Illinois play non-league action while UNI plays host to Illinois State.