Youngstown State set to host Missouri State
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Being on the winning side of a last-second victory feels much better than being on the losing side of one, as Youngstown State discovered last week.
But still, the Penguins are keeping their focus looking forward heading into this Saturday's MVFC showdown with Missouri State (ESPN+ / 570 WKBN) at 2 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.
Ahead of last week's game against Illinois State, former YSU coach and university president Jim Tressel unexpectedly made an appearance in the Penguins football facility to visit head coach Doug Phillips, who previously served as an assistant coach under Tressel when he was at Ohio State.
Phillips said Tressel shared a famous quote with him that he then also shared with the team: "The gravest danger is the illusion that all is well, when indeed all is not well," which means that win or lose, there's still things can be learned from the game, including things to fix and things to improve.
"You have to be a constant learner," Phillips said. "We come off the field Saturday and study the tape on Sunday. There's mistakes there, there's mistakes after a loss. You have to continually learn from wins or losses. It continues to be a process and our kids understand that. Are we where we need to be? We're not. ... There's some things that we hace to fix. We have to work on consistency."
Phillips said Tuesday that Tressel continues to be a mentor for him and other coaches that previously worked under Tressel over the years, including Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, who Phillips said is also one of the fellow coaches he leans on from their time together on Tressel's staff.
"(Tressel)'s got a lot of guys he keeps track of," Phillips said. "I talk to Coach Fickell every week and we were both coming off losses and we both were playing the state of Illinois last week. He was playing (the Illini) that night and we were playing Illinois State, so Tress [sic] was like, 'let's beat the state of Illinois.'"
Running back Dra Rushton played a pivotal role in that thrilling win over the Redbirds, rushing for 109 yards on 19 carries and catching a receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Despite being overshadowed by backfield partner Tyshon King in the first few games, Rushton has come alive with his performances in the last two weeks, eclipsing the 100-yard mark in back-to-back weeks for the first time in his career.
Phillips attributes Rushton's resurgence to his health, revealing Tuesday that Rushton battled a lower body injury through camp, which he then played through the first few games of the year.
"I started seeing the bounce in his step, the explosion and the power that he was running with a few weeks ago going into the South Dakota game," Phillips said. "Seeing that in practice, you know he's feeling good and then the offensive line has been opening some holes."
With King and Rushton as its one-two punch, the Penguins' rushing attack continues to be one of the best in the FCS. YSU is averaging 193.4 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 21st in the country.
"We're just setting the tone," Rushton said. "Knowing that when we get opportunities, we're going to make the best of them. We're the thing that keeps the offense going right now, so we know that when we get our opportunities, we gotta go in and we gotta play fast. We just have to do our job."
Saturday's homestand against the Bears presents another stiff challenge for YSU's already beleaguered secondary. Similar to what the Penguins saw against Northern Iowa, Missouri State likes to throw the ball -- a lot.
"It's moreso us understanding our jobs and being in the right places," strong safety Marcus Hooker said. "We're going to continue to try to work on that and get our guys on the same page day-in and day-out."
Spearheaded by offensive coordinator Nick Petrino, son of former Missouri State, Louisville and NFL coach Bobby Petrino, the Bears are 7th in the FCS in passing yards per game -- averaging 279.9 yards between their two quarterbacks this season.
Missouri State opened the season splitting time between both their signalcallers, Jacob Clark and Jordan Pachot, but over time, Clark won the starting job. However, Clark got injured in the Bears' Sept. 30 game against Southern Illinois, and since then Pachot has taken over the job and has remained just as proficient throwing the ball.
"(Pachot) has been a gunslinger for them and has thrown at a high efficiency," Phillips said. "When you look at the quarterbacks in our league and compare them to FCS nationally, I think seven of our quarterbacks in our league are top-10 efficient quarterbacks. So we know we're going up against great quarterbacks week-in and week-out."
Last year's road loss to the then-5-6 Bears is likely what kept YSU out of the FCS playoffs. Phillips said special teams play was the difference last year.
The Penguins want to avoid that this time around.
"They changed their (head) coach, but kept some of the same coaches, and (Ryan Beard) has done a great job," Phillips said. "Bobby Petrino left, but his son who's there took over (the offense) and those guys have done a phenomenal job. They continue to do a great job recruiting and getting players there. ... They're trying to put it all together just like we're trying to put it all together."
nmadhavan@tribtoday.com