Quick Outs...

• YSU overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Indiana State. The last time the Guins came from 14 points back to win was 42-35 against Hofstra in 2000.

• The Guins have won five straight games following a bye week. Their last loss came at Western Illinois in 1998 (14-0).

• The offense has scored 28-or-more points in six games. However, the defense has allowed 31 points or more in six contests.

• YSU has scored 28 points or more in three losses this year (31-28 to Liberty, 42-28 at Missouri State and 54-44 at Illinois State). It marks the first time in school history that has occurred.

• A total of 28 players have made their first career starts this season.

• Twenty-six players have missed at least one game because of an injury. Twenty of those have missed multiple games.

• Only three players -- defensive tackle Crispin Fernandez, offensive tackle Tyler Booth and guard/center Brad Samsa -- have started every game.

• Brandon Summers has thrown seven touchdown passes in the past two games.

• Donald Jones has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last three games. Ferlando Williams accomplished that feat earlier in the year. Prior to Williams, the last time that happened was in 2002.

• The Guins have lost nine games in a season only two times in school history (1986 and 1970).

Western Illinois Breakdown

    Western Illinois running back Herb Donaldson leads the country in rushing and is one of the front runners for the 2008 Walter Payton Award given to the top FCS Offensive Player in the nation.

    Donaldson is averaging 154.90 yards per game and needs 205 yards to set the conference’s career rushing standard. He has He also leads the nation in scoring averaging at 12.6 points per game.

    WIU snapped a two-game losing streak with a high-scoring 48-45 overtime win over Illinois State last Saturday.

Last Meeting: YSU 31, WIU 24

    Senior quarterback Tom Zetts set the school record for career touchdown passes, and the Penguins held on for a 31-24 victory in the season finale against Western Illinois last year at Stambaugh.

    Zetts threw touchdown passes to Louis Irizarry and Kevin Smith in the second quarter giving him 51 for his career, eclipsing the previous school record of 50 set by fellow Boardman product Jeff Ryan.

    YSU built a 31-10 lead entering the fourth quarter before Western Illinois scored two touchdowns to get within seven points. However, Dustin Helle’s acrobatic grab of an onside-kick try in the final 90 seconds sealed the victory.

    YSU led 7-3 in the second quarter before consecutive touchdown passes by Zetts boosted the mark to 21-3. WIU cut the deficit to 21-10, but Brian Palmer’s 11th straight field goal gave the Guins a 24-10 halftime lead.

    Smith’s second rushing touchdown of the game in the third extended the lead to 31-10 before WIU made things interesting with two late scores.

Last Game: YSU 35, Indiana State 20

    The Penguins overcame a 21-7 second-quarter deficit to beat Indiana State 35-21 on Senior Day at Stambaugh Stadium.

YSU took an early lead on a two-yard run by Ben Lane in the first quarter. Indiana State responded with a one-yard run by Ryan Roberts to tie the game.

    ISU went ahead 14-7 on another Roberts score and built a 21-7 lead when Donye McCleskey returned a fumble 47 yards for a touchdown with 10:04 left in the second.

    The Penguins rallied to tie the game before halftime, scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes. Brandon Summers connected with Donald Jones on a 10-yard score and Dana Brown scored from five yards out to tie the game at halftime.

    In the third, Summers connected with Jones from 23 yards, and in the fourth Summers threw an 11-yard scoring toss to Dominique Barnes.

    Summers had three touchdown passes while redshirt freshman tailback Kamryn Keys had 123 yards rushing.

Big Ben, Parliament

    Senior fullback Ben Lane had the best game of his career in his final home contest. Lane had 10 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown against Indiana State. Entering the contest, Lane had seven rushes for 37 yards and a score in his career. His only other touchdown came in 2006 against the Sycamores. He scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter on Nov. 8.

Mr. Jones and Me

    Junior wide receiver Donald Jones has caught fire the past three games. Jones has 12 receptions for 269 yards and four touchdowns the last three contests. He had a season-high 136 yards against Illinois State. Prior to the UNI game, Jones had 15 catches for 159 yards and two scores in the first eight games.

    His six touchdown receptions are the most since T.J. Peterson had seven in 2006. He has the most TD grabs in the regular season since Renauld Ray had seven in 1998.

Barnes Becomes Playmaker

    Sophomore wide receiver Dominique Barnes leads the team with 36 receptions. As a true freshman last season, Barnes caught just three passes for 21 yards. He has 362 yards receiving this year and three touchdowns, including one in each of the last two games.

Summers’ Sensational Seven

    Junior quarterback Brandon Summers is the first player in school history to throw seven touchdown passes in a two-game span. The previous high mark was six.

Connection is Made

    Both Brandon Summers and Dominique Barnes played quarterback at Southfield High School before moving on to the college ranks. Summers was the Bluejays’ QB from 2003-04 while Barnes followed from 2005-06.

    This year, the two have connected on touchdown passes three times this year - Liberty, Illinois State and Indiana State.

Welcome Back Williams & Scott

    The Penguins received some good news during their off week in that Ferlando Williams and Jabari Scott will return for the contest at Western Illinois.

    Williams has not played since the UNI contest on Oct. 25. He missed the past two games after suffering an infection in his arm that hospitalized him for a week. He has 26 receptions for 306 yards.

    Scott has not played since the game against Southern Illinois on Oct. 18. In fact, he has missed four at the last six games and been on the field just 29 snaps in the two games he did play in -- Missouri State and Southern Illinois.

Summers Could Set Mark

    Junior quarterback Brandon Summers has a chance to eclipse the school record for most touchdown passes in a regular season. Summers is one of three Penguins to throw 16 touchdown passes in the regular season joining Tom Zetts (2004) and Denny Klembara (1968). Ron Jaworski owns the school mark with 18. Jaws set the mark back in 1972.

A Long Road Travelled

    The Penguins are looking for their first victory on the road this Saturday at Western Illinois. In the five road games this year, YSU has been outscored 193-86 (38.6 to 17.2). The Guins scored 42 points combined in their first four road games before scoring 44 in a loss at Illinois State. The Guins have allowed 40 points in four of their five road games (43 by Ohio State, 40 by South Dakota State, 42 by Missouri State and 54 by Illinois State).

Keys Sets Freshman Mark

    Redshirt freshman Kamryn Keys set the school record for rushing yards by a freshmen with 804 this season.

    Keys had his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season when he had 123 yards on 17 carries against Indiana State. Keys played only the first half before leaving the game with a hip pointer.

    He is the first freshman in school history to rush for more than 100 yards in a game four times in a season. Keys also had 100 yards versus North Dakota State (146), Missouri State (113) and UNI (101).

    Of his 804 yards, 636 have come in Valley Football action.

Wilson Ranks Second in Punt Returns

    In just 22 games played, senior punt returner/cornerback De’Angelo Wilson ranks second at YSU in career punt return yardage. Wilson has 500 yards on 45 returns. His average of 11.1 per return ranks second in school history. This season he has 216 yards on 18 returns. In 2007, Wilson had 27 returns for 284 yards.

Great Scott

    Junior tailback Jabari Scott has rushed for 1,062 yards on 179 carries in his YSU career. He has scored 13 rushing touchdowns - most on the team. He has not played the last two games and has been limited in his availability since being hurt on the first snap against Liberty.

    He had 299 yards on 46 carries starting the first four games. He has played in just four of the last six games and has nine carries for 104 yards in those contests.

Johnson Steps In to Earn Honors

    Three near-perfectly placed punts helped earn Youngstown State sophomore punter Erik Johnson in being selected as the Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on Nov. 9

    Johnson came on in the second quarter after regular Ben Nowicki left the game with a shoulder injury.

    YSU trailed 21-7 before Johnson’s first punt was downed at the ISU seven. His second punt pinned the Sycamores at their 16-yard line while his final kick in the fourth quarter was downed at the 18.

    He had three punts for an average of 33.3 yards, with a long of 44. However, all three of his punts pinned ISU inside its own 18.

Few Seniors on Defense

    Against Indiana State, only seniors De’Angelo Wilson and Bobby Lykes-Knight saw action against the Sycamores on defense. Only two other seniors, Tom Krupko and Tony Kavouras, were available for the game as linebackers Mike Barlak and Nate Ward could not play because of injuries.

Bush Nabs TD Passes on Road

    Senior tight end Derrick Bush never caught a touchdown pass in his 26 home games. However, Bush has three touchdowns on the road -- at UNI (28 yards in 1007 and 10 in 2005) and at Illinois State (28 in 2008). He has had a solid career with 53 career receptions in 44 games at YSU.

O-Line Has Share of Starts

    The Penguins’ three seniors have combined to start 91 games - Brad Samsa (37), Tyler Booth (33) and Nhemie Theodore (21). Sophomores Bobby Coates (13) and Eric Rodemoyer (nine) have been in the lineup throughout the season. Sophomore Justin Rechichar has started at left guard, right guard and center in the recent weeks. He has started at center the past two games while Samsa moved to guard.

Palmer Among YSU, Active Leaders

    Placekicker Brian Palmer is one PAT attempt and two PAT makes from moving into second place all-time at YSU in both categories.

    Palmer, who has attempted 163 and made 152, is second at YSU in both categories.

    Palmer holds the school record for field-goal percentage having converted 37-of-48 attempts in his career -- 77.1 percent. He has made 24 of his last 28 kicks and since the start of 2005 is 30-of-36.

    He has scored 263 points in his career, which puts him in third place for most points scored by a YSU kicker.

Freshmen Seeing Action

    Six true freshman have seen action -- four on defense and two on offense.

    On defense, linebacker Deonta Tate, defensive tackle Joe Marshall and defensive ends Stephen Meadows and Mike Williams have all seen playing time. Meadows started at Southern Utah becoming the first true frosh to start on defense since Roshon Simons in 2006. Tate has started at linebacker the last four games.

    Freshman quarterback Marc Kanetsky is the holder on placement kicks while fellow quarterback Dailyn Campbell started against Southern Illinois.

Injuries Pile Up Fast

    Entering the final game of the season a total of 26 players have missed at least one game because of an injury, while 20 of them have missed multiple games.

    Players who have been officially ruled out are TB Kevin Smith (hamstring), DE Nick Mernedakis (hamstring), FB Kyle Banna (knee), DT Luke Matelan (knee), CB Jarvis Richards (knee) and DT Mychal Savage (rotator cuff).

Nowicki Was a Shining Star

    Junior punter Ben Nowicki is second in the conference averaging 41.1 yards per punt. Nowicki suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Indiana State on Nov. 8.

    He had been punting all year with a dislocated left shoulder before injuring his right against the Sycamores.

    He placed 14 punts inside the oppositions 20-yard line and had eight punts of 50 yards or more. He had a long of 66 yards at Southern Utah.

    Last year, he averaged 37.1 yards per kick. Of his 91 career punts, only three have been touchbacks.

28 New Starters This Season

    The Penguins had 28 first-time starters this year -- 10 against Ohio State, six against Central State, five at Southern Utah, one at Missouri State, four against Southern Illinois and two at Illinois State.

    Offensive starters for the first time this year are linemen Greg Sazdanoff, Eric Rodemoyer and Justin Rechichar, fullback Kyle Banna, tailback Kamryn Keys, wide receivers Dominique Barnes and Donald Jones and quarterbacks Todd Rowan, Paul Corsaro, Dailyn Campbell and Brandon Summers.

    On defense, ends Joel Younkins, Stephen Meadows, Jaimie Frasure and Josh Myers, tackles Crispin Fernandez, Roger Gillum and Chris Gammon, linebackers Na’eem Outler, John Sasson, Mike Barlak, Deonta Tate and Jordan Edwards along with safeties Brandian Ross, Andre Elliott and Nick Gooden and corners Tyler Griffin and Randy Louis all started for the initial time.

Samsa Returns to Right Guard

    Center Brad Samsa returned to his familiar right guard position at Illinois State and was there against Indiana State.

In the past two games, YSU’s offense has passed for 489 yards while rushing for 470.

    Samsa started the first nine games of the year at center before moving back to his familiar spot at right guard against the Redbirds.

    Samsa started 14 games at guard in 2006 and started the first three games of his junior year at that position before starting the final eight at left tackle.

    As a redshirt freshman in 2005, Samsa was a back-up to Ryan Jewell at center and started the final game of the year.

He is a two-time all-conference selection earning first-team honors in 2007.

Single-Digits in Fumbles Lost

    YSU enters Saturday’s game Western Illinois with nine fumbles lost for the season. The Guins will be trying to keep under double digits for the fifth straight year in that category.

YSU had nine fumbles lost in 2007, five in 2006, eight in 2005 and eight in 2004. Prior to the four-year streak, the Guins had committed single digits in fumbles lost in consecutive years just twice (1986-87 and 1958-59).

    The Guins have put the ball on the ground 16 times, but have lost nine of those. Overall, YSU has committed 20 turnovers this year. It is the first time the Guins had 20-or-more giveaways since 2003 (25).

First-Team All-League

    Since 2005, YSU and Southern Illinois have led the way in first-team all-conference selections with 19.

    YSU had four first-team selections in 2007, 10 in 2006 and five in 2005. SIU had six last year, seven in 2005 and six in 2006. The Guins had 19 first-team selections from 1998-2004.

FBS Transfers Part Of Roster

    YSU has eight former FBS players on the current roster.

Those are tailback Dana Brown (Iowa), defensive tackle Bobby Lykes-Knight (Bowling Green), center/guard Brian Mellott (Ohio), safety Gary Pezzuolo (Akron), offensive guard Eric Rodemoyer (West Virginia), quarterback Brandon Summers (Toledo), offensive guard Nhemie Theodore (Minnesota) and cornerback De’Angelo Wilson (Nevada).

Numbers of Note

• 125-16-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.

• 97-7 when rushing for 200-plus yards.

• 112-13 when scoring 28-or-more points.

• 60-5-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.

• 139-8 when leading entering the fourth.