Youngstown State football: Can the Penguins compete for the Missouri Valley Conference title in 2018?
By Phil Poling
Bo Pelini’s Youngstown State Penguins finished 6-5 in 2017, but his fourth year at the helm of the program could prove to be his best.
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Last season was a very up-and-down campaign for Youngstown State. After losing their season-opener at Pitt in overtime, the Penguins ripped off three-straight wins to close out the month of September.
October wasn’t very kind, though. Youngstown State suffered four consecutive losses at the hands of South Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa and Illinois State before getting back on track in November.
The Penguins won all three games in November, scoring a season-high 66 points against Indiana State to kick the month off. The offense received contributions from all over, including three players rushing for more than 70 yards.
Defense has always been a specialty of coach Bo Pelini’s, and his unit in 2017 played well enough to give them a shot every week. On average, the Penguins’ defense gave up 19 points per game. And that’s where we’ll take a deeper look first.