There is a sign in the dark cement tunnel that empties onto the field from the Youngstown State locker room.  The sign is hanging on a cement column right in the middle of the ramp and doesn’t have many different connotations.  Last season was a prime example of why a young and talented team needs a subtle reminder sometimes. Western Illinois dealt Youngstown State a painful 40-38 defeat , winning the game in the last minute after the Penguins failed to convert a first down with the game seemingly in control. Times have changed.

For starters, the Leathernecks lost their two best players, QB Matt Barr, and LB Kyle Glazier.  Optimistically, the Leathernecks are in a rebuilding year at the money positions.  However, the Missouri Valley Football Conference has proven one thing over the past several years – that every conference game is an unpredictable war, and that nobody can take assume that they can win a game until it is officially over.

“There is so much parity in this league”, said YSU coach Eric Wolford.  “In most leagues, there is an upper echelon of very good teams, and there is another group of teams that fall below that standard.  There is no division in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, any team can win any week.  Every week in college football, there are teams that are expected to win and are double digit favorites.  They go out and don’t play well.”

Kurt Hess (above) echoed the sentiment of his team on last year’s loss.  The sophomore QB said, “It was a very tough loss and it was very emotional, just like all of the other losses were.  We feel like we owe them something.”

The Penguins have gone all season without making a field goal attempt.  Wolford shared his feelings on the lack of three-point kicks.

“I don’t really care if we kick a field goal.  We work very hard on our red zone stuff.  I think everyone knows that seven is greater than three from kindergarten.  I would rather have seven.”

Hess, who is mature beyond his years, has been pretty effective this season, as has the entire offense, to the tune of 37.7 points per game. Jamaine Cook, barring injury or disaster, should crack the 1,000 yard mark in rushing against the Leathernecks, needing only 51 yards to do so.  Cook scored four touchdowns in the first half of last weeks game against Saint Francis.

Western Illinois (2-5, 1-3) lost last week, 31-17, at home to Missouri Valley State.  It was the first win in the conference for the Bears and if there was a silver lining to the outcome for the Leathernecks, it had to be the play of senior linebacker, Kevin Palermo, who recorded 14 tackles in the loss.  Palermo has 63 tackles on the season, 21 more than anyone else on the team.

The Leathernecks have gotten decent numbers out of first-year quarterback Josh Hudson, who has thrown for 1,313 yards so far this season.  His favorite target is 6’3″ senior, Terriun Crump, who has 41 catches in 2011, more than double of the next closest Leatherneck receiver.  I spoke with Crump about using his experience against YSU’s freshman-dominant defense.

“Obviously, we want to find a way to take advantage.  Youngstown State must have confidence in all of those freshmen to put them on the field.  We start some freshmen too and they have performed for us.  I don’t think it matters if they are freshman or seniors.  Our key to victory is to win all three phases of the game – offense, defense, and special teams.  We’re a balanced team and can play with anyone when we get all three phases going.”

YSU has not lost to Western Illinois at home since 2003, and the Leathernecks are currently riding a five-game road losing streak.  The special Homecoming game will start at 1 p.m., and YSU will announce it’s 2011 Hall of Fame inductees at halftime. With a win, the Penguins continue to show marked improvement from last season, stay in the playoff hunt, and head off to Northern Iowa, and then North Dakota State.  First though, the goal is to take care of the business at hand, and that is focusing on defeating Western Illinois.