Southern Illinois Scouting Report
    Southern Illinois ranks first in the Gateway in total offense and total defense as well as rushing offense, scoring offense and scoring defense.
    The Salukis are coming off a 28-24 victory at Western Kentucky coming behind from a 24-13 deficit with under four minutes left in the game. Despite being held to a season-low 95 yards rushing, Joel Sambrusky threw for 228 yards, including a 28-yard scoring toss to Brent Little with 55 seconds remaining to lift SIU to the victory.
    Southern Illinois has scored an impressive 50 touchdowns this year and its average of 40.7 points per game rank second in Division I-AA. SIU has turned the ball over just nine times this season while forcing opponents into 21 turnovers.

YSU Owns 9-4-1 Series Advantage
    YSU leads the all-time series against the Salukis by a 9-4-1 margin. The Penguins have had success recently winning six of the last seven games, including two straight. SIU last won in 2000 beating the Penguins in Youngstown 21-20.

Last Meeting: YSU 21, SIU 9
    Youngstown State scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help pull out a 21-9 victory over Southern Illinois last season on Nov. 2 at Stambaugh Stadium.
    YSU finished the game with a season-high 461 yards and a season-best 376 yards rushing. P.J. Mays led the charge with 210 yards while Mike Burns added 123 marking the first time the Penguins had a 200-yard rusher and a 100-yard rusher in the same game.
    The Penguins took a 7-0 lead on a 44-yard scoring run by Burns in the first. Ahead 7-3 in the fourth, Jerald Burley scored on a 28-yard pass but SIU closed within 14-9 on a halfback pass from Brandon Robinson to Courtney Abbott. YSU closed out the scoring on a 14-yard Mays touchdown.

Last Time Out: UNI 47, YSU 9
    Northern Iowa’s offense proved too much for the Penguins to handle in a 47-9 defeat to the Panthers last Saturday.
    UNI finished the game with 618 yards total offense, including 377 on the ground in its third straight win over the Penguins.
    YSU quarterback Aaron Marshall threw for a career-high 213 yards while wide receiver Kyle Smith was on the receiving end for 142 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown strike. Youngstown State had 299 yards total offense, 236 of which came through the air.
    The Penguins stayed close after the first quarter trailing 7-3, but UNI opened the game with 19 second-quarter points and eventually led 33-3.

Smith Has Best Game of Career
    Sophomore wide receiver Kyle Smith had a career-high 142 yards on seven receptions against Northern Iowa. He had a season-long 47-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter. It was only the 23rd time a YSU player had more than 140 yards receiving in a game.
    Smith became the first YSU receiver since Dennis Dlugosz against Elon in 2001 to have more than 100 yards receiving in a game. Smith’s total of 142 yards was the most since Elliott Giles set a school record with 212 yards at Montana on Nov. 27, 1999.
    Smith’s seven receptions were the most by one player since Jerald Burley had seven at Northern Iowa on Sept. 29, 2001.

Marshall Leads YSU Offensive Attack
    Quarterback Aaron Marshall had a career-high 213 yards passing against Northern Iowa. The last time a YSU quarterback threw for more than 200 yards in a game was Jeff Ryan who had 214 yards passing at Southern Illinois on Nov. 3, 2001.

Bishop Solid Again
    Redshirt freshman Joe Bishop had another solid game averaging 40.6 yards per punt on nine punts. On his last 18 kicks, Bishop has averaged 42.4 yards per punt. His current season average 40.1 yards is the most since Anthony Rozzo in 1999 and he has a chance to be the second punter since 1986 to average 40 yards per kick.

Other Northern Iowa Tidbits
    • The 236 yard passing by the YSU offense were the most in a game since 245 against Elon on Nov. 17, 2001.
    • The 618 yards gained by Northern Iowa marked the second consecutive game that YSU has surrendered at least 600 yards of total offense.
    • The 377 yards rushing by the Panthers were the most allowed in a game since Illinois State had 405 in 1998.
    • The 39-point margin of defeat was YSU’s worst loss since a 57-3 setback at Cincinnati on Sept. 25, 1982.

Penguins Back On the Road
    The Penguins play their final road game at Southern Illinois this Saturday. YSU has posted a 2-2 road mark this year. Youngstown State owns road wins over Liberty and Indiana State while losing at Kent State and Northern Iowa. SIU is 5-0 at home this year and Saturday’s game is Senior Day for the Salukis.

YSU Hasn’t Lost Three In A Row Since the 1998 Season
    The Penguins have not lost three consecutive games since the 1998 season (Oct. 31-Nov. 14). Since 1990, Youngstown State has lost three straight games only twice -- in 1995 and 1998. That three-game losing skid came against Gateway foes Northern Iowa and Illinois State and at Central Florida. Two of those three games were away.

YSU’s Gateway Streak in Jeopardy
    Since joining the Gateway Football Conference in 1997, the Penguins have never finished below .500 in league play.
    Youngstown State needs to win its final two games of the Gateway season to finish with a winning mark this year. Last season, YSU finished 4-3 to finish third in the conference and extend its streak to six years.
    Northern Iowa had a 17-year streak of .500-or-better league-record finishes snapped in 2002, but the Panthers have rebounded and are tied for first in the league with two weeks remaining.

Next Opponent: Western Kentucky
    The Penguins finish the 2003 season on Nov. 15 when they play host to defending NCAA Division I-AA Champion Western Kentucky at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
    The visit by the Hilltoppers is the first for the defending Division I-AA champion to Youngstown since Eastern Kentucky visited Stambaugh Stadium in 1983.
    WKU, which enters the weekend ranked 10th and 12th in the nation, plays host to Northern Iowa on Saturday.
    The Hilltoppers do not have chance to win the Gateway title, but could impress the I-AA selection committee with a solid performance against a red-hot UNI team. Entering the final two weeks of the season, the Gateway has four teams in contention to make the playoffs.
    The Penguins have lost both games to Western Kentucky since the Hilltoppers joined the Gateway in 2001.
    The contest is Senior Day for the Penguins who will salute the Senior football players prior to the game.