As the minutes count down to Saturday’s 7:00 p.m. game against Northern Iowa, the Youngstown State University Ticket Department is running out of supply to fill the demand.  In what will be the biggest football game to be played at Stambaugh Stadium since 2000, the house will be packed, despite a poor weather forecast.

Showers was the word nobody wanted to hear, but the only word being said during the weather segments on the radio and television stations.  Tickets, however, remain scarce as the Penguins will try to end an 11-game losing streak to Northern Iowa to open Missouri Valley Conference play.

“We want to fill the place up”, said Eric Wolford.

Jamaine Cook, YSU’s senior tailback may have said it even better.  “We want Ron Strollo to have to build another section of stands.”

With the crowd expected to be large and loud, the tailgate lots also needed expansion. The atmosphere will be festive and the football game should mark the official, ‘we are really good’ mantra from the fence-sitters.

“Third down is a huge down”, said Wolford.  “We want the crowd to be very loud on third down to make it hard for them to hear and concentrate.  This place should be rocking.”

Wolford says that the UNI game is not a ‘must-win’ for his Penguins.  Earlier in the week on the MVFC conference call, UNI Coach, Mark Farley, declared that this is a must win game for his 1-2 Panthers.

With losses to Wisconsin and Iowa, Farley may be dramatizing a week-one conference matchup, but this guy marches to his own arrogant beat anyway.  Usually in this pregame article, there are quotes from a player of the opposing team.  Farley has a policy that forbids opposing media to speak with his players the week of the game.

Hmmmm..  Pitt bent over backwards to make sure I could get someone to get quotes from.  So did Michigan State last season.  I guess those teams aren’t as big as Northern Iowa in their coaches eyes.