WKU Scouting Report
    Western Kentucky is making a playoff push after beating Northern Iowa 24-3 last Saturday. The Hilltoppers have won four of their last five games to stay in the postseason hunt.
    Against Northern Iowa, the Hilltoppers broke open a 3-3 game with 21 second-half points. Quarterback Justin Haddix threw for a career-high 226 yards while Casey Rooney was on the receiving end six times for 142 yards. The WKU defense held Northern Iowa to a season-low three points.
    For the year, the Hilltoppers’ defense ranks second in the Gateway allowing just 290.2 yards per game. WKU is second in the Gateway in rushing offense averaging 239.2 yards per game. Lerron Moore leads the rushing attack averaging 114.2 yards per game.

WKU Owns 8-4 Series Advantage
    WKU leads the all-time series over the Penguins 8-4. The Hilltoppers have won the last two meetings, including a 13-7 win last year and a 24-14 victory in Youngstown in 2001.

Last Meeting: WKU 13, YSU 7
    In a defensive battle, a second-quarter touchdown run by Jason Michael proved to be the difference in a 13-7 WKU victory on Sept. 21, 2002 in Bowling Green.
    The Penguins trailed 3-0 before P.J. Mays scored on a two-yard score to take a 7-3 advantage. Michael’s touchdown plunge put WKU in front, but the Penguins threatened just before the half.
    On a first-and-goal at the WKU four late in the second quarter, YSU quarterback Justin Green fumbled a quarterback-center exchange ending the threat.
    Peter Martinez kicked a 27-yard field goal in the third for the games’ final points. YSU finished with 268 yards while WKU had 283, including 213 on the ground.

Last Time Out: SIU 24, YSU 17
    A valiant YSU came up just short as the Penguins lost to third-ranked Southern Illinois 24-17 last Saturday.
    The Penguins held a 10-7 lead in the second quarter before falling behind 24-10 in the fourth. Josiah Doby’s score with 3:45 left cut the deficit to 24-17, but the Salukis picked up two first downs and were able to run out the clock to earn the win.
    For the game, Aaron Marshall completed 14-of-32 passes for 183 yards to lead the YSU offense. Tailback Josh Cayson finished with 86 yards on 21 carries. Marty Hutchinson returned an interception 15 yards for YSU’s first score of the game.
    The Salukis outyarded the Penguins 378-304, gaining 337 yards on the ground. Tom Koutsos finished with a game-high 153 yards rushing for SIU, which earned a share of the Gateway title with the victory.

Perry Has Solid Return Game
    Redshirt freshman Jason Perry finished with 144 kickoff return yards on five returns. Perry had returns of 21, 22, 27, 30 and 44 in the game. His return of 44 yards marked the third time this year YSU had a kickoff return that was longer than 44 yards. For the game, he averaged 28.8 yards per return.

Hutchinson Scores First TD
    Redshirt freshman linebacker Marty Hutchinson picked up his first career touchdown when he returned an interception 15 yards for a touchdown against Southern Illinois on Saturday. The pick was Hutchinson’s second of the season.

Marshall Leads YSU Offensive Attack
    Quarterback Aaron Marshall finished the game against Southern Illinois completing 14-of-32 passes for 183 yards. Marshall’s numbers could have been better if not for four dropped passes.
    Against Northern Iowa the previous week, he had a career-high 213 yards passing. His total of 213 yards was the most by a YSU quarterback since Jeff Ryan had 214 yards passing at Southern Illinois on Nov. 3, 2001.
    In Gateway Conference play, Marshall has thrown six touchdown passes and not thrown an interception in 124 pass attempts. His last interception came at Liberty on Sept. 27.

Bishop Has Chance At 40
    Redshirt freshman Joe Bishop has a chance to become just the second YSU punter since 1986 to average more than 40 yards punting in a season. Bishop enters the final game of the year averaging 39.7 yards per kick, the best average since Anthony Rozzo in 1999 (40.5).
    In 1985, Nick Xides averaged a school best 41.8 yards per kick and since that time only Rozzo has finished with an average of more than 40 yards per kick during a season.

Other Southern Illinois Tidbits
    • SIU entered the game averaging 40.7 points per game, but was held to 24.
    • Tom Koutsos and Muhammad Abdulqaadir each had 100 yards rushing marking the third consecutive game an opponent has had two backs with more than 100 yards.
    • YSU tailback Josh Cayson finished with a career-high 21 carries while rushing for 86 yards.
    • Scott Thiessen picked up his third interception of the season tying Waymann Peters for the team lead.
    • Chris Rice (DT) and Herb Jones (CB) made their first career starts on defense.

Three-Game Losing Skid
    The Penguins have suffered three consecutive losses for the first time since the 1998 season. In the last three weeks, YSU has lost to Illinois State, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. Since 1990, Youngstown State has lost three straight games only three times, including this year. YSU lost three straight games in 1995 and 1998. The last time YSU lost four consecutive games was during the 1986 season. The last time YSU ended the season with four consecutive defeats was in 1983.

Penguins Have Shot at .500
    The Penguins still have shot at posting a .500 season when they play host to Western Kentucky. By playing the first 12-game regular-season in school history, YSU can finish 6-6 or 5-7 depending on Saturday’s result. The last time the Penguins finished a year at .500 was 1961 when they were 4-4-1. YSU was last below .500 in 1995.

YSU Enjoys November Home Wins
    Under Coach Jon Heacock the Penguins are 3-0 at home in the month of November. The game against WKU is YSU’s first at home this month after playing at Northern Iowa (Nov. 1) and at Southern Illinois (Nov. 8). Last year, YSU posted a 2-0 home mark beating SIU and Samford. In 2001, YSU beat Elon 45-7 in its only home tilt.

Final Game For Seniors
    Saturday’s game marks the final game for YSU’s senior football players who will be honored before the game.
    Playing at Stambaugh Stadium for the final time are TB Mike Burns, OT Josh Davis, LB Justin Dellarose, FB Chris DiMauro, TB Josiah Doby, DT Steve Durbin, QB Luis Gonzalez, CB Sherod Holmes, FB Keland Logan, TB Joe Patoray, CB Waymann Peters, TB Darius Peterson, OG Will Sanders and FS Scott Thiessen. Patoray joined the team during the season and played special teams at Southern Illinois.

Defending Champion Visits
    For only the second time ever, the defending Division I-AA Champion visits Youngstown a year after winning the title. Western Kentucky won the 2002 crown a year ago. Eastern Kentucky won the Division I-AA National Championship in 1982 and came to Stambaugh Stadium in 1983. EKU beat the Penguins 28-23 in the season opener in 1983.

Non-Losing Season Still a Possibility
    YSU has had seven straight winning seasons -- 8-3 in 1996, 13-2 in 1997, 6-5 in 1998, 12-3 in 1999, 9-3 in 2000, 8-3 in 2001 and 7-4 in 2002.
    A victory could boost Youngstown State to a 6-6 finish and put the Penguins at .500 giving them a non-losing season for the eighth consecutive campaign.
    YSU had seven straight winning seasons from 1940 through 1949, a streak that was interrupted for three years by World War II. YSU had a streak of six straight winning years from 1989-1994.