“Everyone wants ‘THE’ answer, if it was that simple, teams would never lose.  I have been in this business a long time and I don’t believe that there is ever an answer to ‘THE’ problem”, was what Coach Jon Heacock had to say when asked why the seemingly talented team he coaches can’t register wins or finish games in a favorable manner.  Last week, Youngstown State (4-4, 2-3) dropped a hard-fought contest which was again decided by a couple of mistakes.  The loss came at the hands of #9-ranked South Dakota State.  This week, the train of hard stops continues as YSU travels to Cedar Falls to face a very good Northern Iowa (5-3, 3-2) team.

If Northern Iowa sounds familiar to the casual fan, it is because they almost beat Iowa University in the opener for both schools this season, but ultimately lost by one point to the still-perfect Hawkeyes.  The Panthers then rattled off 5 straight wins before consecutive losses to Southern Illinois and South Dakota State.  Northern Iowa is now fighting for its own postseason privelages and YSU is in the unfamiliar role of spoiler.

Northern Iowa is paced by the play of Pat Grace at QB.  Grace is a 6-2, 240 pound Senior with plenty of big game experience.  Grace completes about 63% of his passes and has 17 TD’s through the air this season.  The Panthers also feature a pair of speedy receivers, D.P. Eyman and D.J. Hord, who have combined for 1,000 receiving yards on the season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Panther attack saying, “They throw it down the field.  We will have to defend the run and keep the deep ball to a minimum because they [Northern Iowa] don’t need any help.”

YSU QB Brandon Summers expressed how Youngstown State feels about not going to the playoffs by saying, “We’re disappointed and we’re heartbroken.  We want to win the last three games because it’s not how you start but how you finish that is important.”

When asked what kind of grade he would give his team for the year, Heacock responded, “You didn’t get an ‘A’ so you didn’t pass the test.  The playoffs were the goal this season, and we are not going to be in the playoffs and that is unacceptable.”

Senior WR Aaron Pitts (pictured, #83, left) said says YSU owes the Panthers a little.  “We don’t give up.  We have got to be ready for Northern Iowa.  We lost to them by one point in each of the last two years.  We want to go in there and get it done.”  Pitts was making a reference to last year’s 21-20 loss and 2007’s 14-13  loss at Nothern Iowa. 

Penguins Notes

• Northern Iowa has won 15 of the last 18 games against YSU.
• The last time Youngstown State won at Northern Iowa was 1999 and they are 3-11 all-time at Cedar Falls.
• YSU Freshman Taylor Hill posted a career-high 12 tackles in the loss to South Dakota State.
• UNI Coach Mark Farley is 80-31 and has never lost to Youngstown State (8-0).

The game kicks off at 5:05 and will be aired on AM-570 with Bob Hannon, Dick Hartzell, and Robb Schmidt on the sidelines.  The air team hits the dial at 4:30, so be sure to tune in.  The weather has no bearing this week because the game will be played at the infamous UNI Dome.