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YOUNGSTOWN -- Doug Phillips assessed things perfectly.
YSU's head coach noted following the Penguins' 31-14 win over Duquesne that he liked the effort, but added, "We're definitely not there yet."
Let's start with the good.
YSU's run game remains potent, led by All-American tailback Jaleel McLaughlin. He averaged just over 10 yards per rush, amassing 203 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Behind him, Dra Rushton added 41 yards on six carries and provided a nice change of pace.
That was especially true at the end of Saturday's contest, as Phillips inserted his second-team offense with 3:50 to go and gave them clear instruction.
"We told them in the huddle, 'We don't want our defense back on the field,'" Phillips said.
The second-stringers held up their end of the bargain, as Duquesne didn't touch the ball again.
"I'm proud of the depth we've built, because we're going to need all those young men as we go through this season," Phillips added.
The defense was equally impressive against the run. Duquesne's backfield was kept to 51 yards on 25 carries, just over 2 yards per rush. Billy Lucas had 37 yards on 13 carries, and DeMarcus Ware had 30 yards on 10 tries.
That was part of a great day overall for YSU's linebacking corps, as Devin Johnson had two interceptions and Griffin Hoak added one, as well.
Where the concerns lie on both sides of the ball is in the passing game.
The three interceptions by linebackers' aside, YSU's secondary had its share of troubles defending the pass. Though Duquesne quarterback Joe Mischler went just 22-for-41, two Duke receivers surpassed the century mark. Abdul Janneh grabbed eight receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and Dwayne Menders grabbed seven passes for 102 yards.
The YSU pass rush didn't fare especially well, as the Penguins had just two quarterback hurries, and didn't record any sacks on Mischler's 41 attempts. However, one of the rushes pressured Mischler into one of his three interceptions.
On YSU's end, Demeatric Crenshaw completed less than 50 percent of his passes -- 14-of-29 -- and threw for 154 yards. He had a number of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage in addition to a couple misfires. Additionally, he was sacked three times and pressured on one other dropback.
Phillips noted in his postgame press conference that YSU's target is 8.5 yards per attempt. Crenshaw averaged 5.3 yards per attempt.
"We need to push the ball downfield," Phillips said. "Our goal is to have 8.5 yards per attempt -- that's our goal. We talk about that each and every day -- 8.5. Last year, it was a dismal 3-point-something, so it'll be interesting just to see where we are on that goal. That's something we can measure each week."
Phillips also felt the Penguins left points on the table, as two YSU drives into Duquesne territory in the first half went scoreless -- the first on a missed field goal and the other on a botched field goal attempt after the long snap was mishandled.
"I felt we were a little off, and I tell our kids we have A-plus players in that locker room. I really believe that ... When our young men aren't playing A-plus, we have to look and reflect back as coaches to see are we doing the right things?" Phillips said.
But, as the third-year coach pointed out, teams improve most between Games 1 and 2, and YSU has a chance to correct its errors next week against a 1-0 Dayton team that knocked off Robert Morris, 22-20.
"Duquesne played last week, and they made a huge gain from Week 1 to Week 2," Phillips said. "We have to continue to do that from Week 1 to next Saturday against Dayton. So I look forward to getting to watch film with our young men (Sunday) and getting back on the field and focusing on what we need to do to play great football."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com