Correspondent photo / Robert HayesYSU defensive end Dylan Wudke records a sack during the Penguins’ 40-7 win against Duquesne last week at Stambaugh Stadium. Youngstown State takes to the road in the FCS playoffs to face Villanova on Saturday at noon.
YOUNGSTOWN — Older Penguins fans likely remember Youngstown State’s battles with Villanova during the 1990s.
YSU and the Wildcats have met nine times in their history, but faced off four times during the ’90s, with each result being decided by a single score.
“It’s kind of crazy because (YSU interim) president Lafferty came from Villanova and she was talking about how next season, we’re going to play them in Week 1. And how when they played in the ’90s, it was always down to the wire,” running back Tyshon King said.
The most recent meeting, in 1999, came at the end of the regular season. The Penguins fell into a 21-7 hole, but rallied to win 28-21.
Each of the other meetings during the ’90s came during the playoffs. During the Division I-AA quarterfinals in 1997, YSU also had to rally from behind. This time, the Wildcats raced out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, and the Penguins clawed their way back by capitalizing off turnovers and scoring unconventionally, as YSU scored touchdowns on defense and special teams.
Both the 1992 and 1991 matchups came in the first round of the playoffs, with the Penguins emerging victorious in both.
YSU head coach Doug Phillips was a graduate assistant on both the 1991 and 1992 teams, and has discussed the shared history between the Wildcats and Penguins with his team.
“I always believe you have to talk history, especially at a place like Youngstown State. So we did that all summer. When we go through camp, we’re talking about tradition, the history, the championships, the playoffs,” Phillips said. “Every week when we prepare for our opponent, we do a little history lesson on that opponent and when was the last time we played.
“The history lesson is — I really believe these two programs are very similar. They were similar in the ’90s. We’re trying to get it back. They’ve been doing it consistently. They’ve been in the playoffs. … That’s what we’re trying to get accomplished. We’re not there yet, but understand that this is a program that’s been built over consistency.”
That history gets renewed Saturday, as the Penguins travel to Philadelphia to face the Wildcats for the first time in 24 years in the second round of the FCS playoffs (ESPN+ / 570 WKBN). Kickoff is set for noon at Villanova Stadium.
“We want to bring back that rivalry from the ’90s,” King said. “I think it’s pretty cool how we get to meet up with them in the playoffs and renew the rivalry again next year. … I think it’s a good thing to renew this rivalry.”
Ahead of their first playoff appearance in seven years last week, the Penguins got back to basics, opting to return to focusing on their fundamentals.
Judging by YSU’s dominant victory over Duquesne in the first round, the approach worked. So the Penguins have continued to stick to it this week ahead of their showdown with the Wildcats.
“I think when you get into games like this, those fundamentals, like the fundamental period we had (Tuesday), those are the things we focus on,” Phillips said. “We focus on ball security, we focus on tackling and we focus on creating those turnovers. At this time of year, the teams that can do that on a given day probably have a better chance of winning football games.”
YSU and Villanova are very similar offensively. The Penguins operate around their run game led by Tyshon King and Dra Rushton, who have combined for 1,651 yards, then hand the reins off to quarterback Mitch Davidson, who has thrown for 2,801 yards this season.
The Wildcats do the same. Jalen Jackson, DeeWil Barlee and TD Ayo-Durojaiye have combined for 1,868 rushing yards for Villanova, while quarterback Connor Watkins has thrown for 2,333 yards.
“I think we’re very similar,” Phillips said. “Both teams are trying to establish the run and they have a quarterback that can hit you deep.”
The key matchup on Saturday will be Villanova’s seventh-ranked rushing attack (223.0 ypg) against YSU’s seventh-ranked rush defense (94.8 ypg).
The closest that Penguins have seen to the Wildcats’ run game this season is South Dakota State’s (219.9 ypg) and Illinois State’s (198.1 ypg). YSU held the Jackrabbits to below their season average, while the Redbirds about matched theirs.
“It starts with stopping the run against a team that really wants to establish the run, and not letting our secondary get lulled to sleep so that they hit their shots,” Phillips said.
The Penguins know that from here on out, there are no guarantees, no sure things. At this stage of the season, only 16 teams in the country are left and they want to continue to ride the wave for as long as they can.
“This time of year, guess what? The winner, the season goes on. (For) the loser, the season is over,” Phillips said. “We can say the same every week in our league. Lose a game and you’re out. We saw that with UNI at the end of the season. We saw that with Illinois State. Fortunately for us, we were the last team in. We had to bite, scratch and claw to get in, so we gotta make the most of that opportunity.”
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com
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