Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU linebacker Preston Zandier (33) and defensive back Justin Wimpye (7) combine to tackle Towson tight end Bryce Butler (22) during the Penguins’ victory over the Tigers on Saturday in Towson, Md.

YOUNGSTOWN — The idle week couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for Youngstown State.

The Penguins are coming off an exhilarating come-from-behind, last-second victory at Towson, which was also YSU’s first road victory since the end of the 2023 season.

The win puts the Penguins at 3-1 through the end of non-conference play and provides a good deal of momentum for YSU as it prepares to head into the gauntlet that is league play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

“Each and every week is huge. But this game going into the bye week heading into conference play, you want this game for momentum, for team morale and just to win on the road,” senior defensive back Dayne Hodge said last week.

The timing of the idle week serves as an ideal transitional period of sorts, and allows YSU the opportunity to have a reset, which is something it didn’t have last year when it played 12 straight games in 12 weeks with no break.

“Not having a bye last year is crazy. Playing, what is it, 12 straight games with no bye? It’s crazy,” Hodge said. “We’ve got a few dudes beat up. We’re doing pretty well though. Strength coaches do a great job in our offseason planning, really building that armor for us. So come season, we have a little bit of strength and muscle in order to deal with the highs and lows. But having the bye week is going to be huge. (We’ll) get a few dudes back and get ready to roll for conference.”

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT

Coming into the year, one of the Penguins’ looming questions was how the defense would respond after its struggles last year.

In 2024, statistically, the Penguins were 88th in the FCS in total defense (406.2 yards per game), 111th in scoring defense (35.83 points per game) and among the worst in the country in yards allowed per play (7.58).

Through four games, YSU’s defense has seen improvement from last season. Currently, the Penguins are 49th in total defense (357.2 ypg), tied for 43rd in scoring defense (25.25 ppg) and inside the top-50 in yards allowed per play (5.81). Additionally, YSU’s defense has already equaled its total number of takeaways from all of last season with seven.

“I think we’ve definitely improved from last year. I think we grew as a collective unit during the offseason, brought some new guys in and brought some D-linemen in,” junior linebacker Carston Marshall said. “I think we just grew closer together as a unit, and I think that’s showing these past couple weeks.

“Things we needed to improve on, tackling, communication, all that stuff that we talked about at the end of last season, I think we still need some work on that, but we’ve been building it. It’s more of a brotherhood on defense than last year, so I think that’s helping.”

A large part of the defense’s growth comes from the improvement of the run defense, which is 13th in the FCS so far, with YSU allowing 92.8 rushing yards per game.

But when the Penguins take away the run game, that forces opposing teams to take to the air, which continues to be a work in progress with YSU allowing 264.5 passing yards per game.

“When you stop the run, they’re going to pass it more, which is something we gameplan for,” Hodge said. “But we have a lot of confidence in the dudes on the back end. Older group — Dathan Hickey, Makai (Shahid), Justin Wimpye, DJ Harris — a lot of confidence in those guys. So we’re just working together, trying to build that chemistry a little bit more.”

BALANCED ATTACK

On the offensive side of the ball, new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich has implemented a balanced approach through the first four games.

YSU is 23rd in the FCS in total offense, averaging 414.8 total yards per game. Broken down, that’s 200.5 passing yards per game and 214.3 rushing yards per game.

But the offense’s successes have varied on a game-by-game basis. Against Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, the run game carried the bulk of the load. Then at Michigan State and Towson, the pass game took hold.

“We’re always looking at what areas we need to improve, but there’s some areas our guys are really doing well,” head coach Doug Phillips said last week. “We just want to bring it together. I’d love to see our run game and pass game come together where you can run and pass.”

Junior quarterback Beau Brungard has excelled in both phases of the offense. Brungard is third in the FCS in total offense (320.2 ypg) by an individual player and also fourth in total rushing yards (526) and rushing yards per carry (7.51).

“Sometimes it’s easy making calls when you got No. 12 as your quarterback and you have trust in those guys on the perimeter and in the guys up front to protect,” Phillips said.

One of the things the offense emphasized during the offseason was hitting on explosive plays in the passing game. That’s something YSU has yet to see come to fruition, with the longest pass play this season being a 39-yard catch-and-run play by running back Jaden Gilbert that came against Michigan State.

The Penguins have still had plenty of success throwing the ball over the last two weeks, as Brungard threw for 242 yards against the Spartans and a career-high 277 yards at Towson. But the defenses will only get better heading into conference play.

“We have yet to hit a true explosive over the head. Those are the types of passes we worked hard all spring on,” Phillips said. “That’s probably the area I think in the next four weeks we gotta continue to improve. Because as teams try to stop either your run game or your quarterback, there’s going to be opportunities as they get closer to the line of scrimmage. We have to have that guy that can get by somebody and put the ball up and go catch it.”