YSU-Liberty

[Paladin1aa]

This week the 2-0 Penguins travel to Liberty for a game with the 1-1 Flames.And it appears we are going to keep getting injured players back for both this game and the following week vs Pitt.

I'll avoid putting up a prediction just yet, but remark that its going to be a very long Saturday in Lynchburg for "someone " !! :p :p :p

We are on the road back. :nod: :nod: :nod:

[dungeonjoe]

Certainly if YSU beats Falwell's folks you won't gloat, would you? ;)

[rokamortis]

You should just call those guys up and tell them you don't need to play.

[FlyYtown]

YSU wins with 48 points.. I will leave it at that..

[Paladin1aa]

No, I'll keep it pretty calm, Joe.

All eyes would then be focused on Pitt at that point. :D

Something big and bad would be headed to Pittsburgh and maybe a date with destiny. :nod: :nod: :nod:

[PAmedic]

I'd like to think we can give you guys a LITTLE more than we showed at UConn- man, its hard to get up the next AM after THAT kinda beating. Hope we at least got paid!

anyway- we're hoping for at least 2 TDs, I'd be thrilled w/ 1 thru the air and 1 on the ground. Kicking? Don't push it! No sense in being greedy.

Besides, we're realists!

[IaaScribe]

Well, since I cover Liberty ...

I have no friggin' clue what Liberty will actually look like against a I-AA team. They looked like a typical team with 35 newcomers in the game against the D-II team, and they were just overwhelmed and overmatched yesterday at UConn.

So all I'd say to the YSU folks is to not really take either score very seriously. I have no idea what to expect from this game. I'll have more thoughts after reading up on YSU and chatting with some people over there this week.

[Sly Fox]

We're not exactly known for running smack. Especially when we are coming off one of the most lopsided losses in our program's short history. But we're not ready to lie down for anyone.

Paladin -- Your fixation on predictions is curious. But I think everyone involved will admit that the Penguins will come in as prohibitive favorites. But as our Big South friends down at Coastal showed this past weekend, anything can happen on any given Saturday.

[GoGuins]

I think YSU will win but it will be closer than some YSU fans think

[Paladin1aa]

Sly -- I am on numerous sports boards and take great pride in my ability to pick not only the winner but also the score . Even our own fans will tell you I am embarassingly accurate on YSU's season records the past two years I have been doing predictions over there. Ask around.

As an ex- Head Football Coach, I've made a mark on many sports boards involving college and H.S. teams. But as a YSU fan as well, I'm striving to get YSU more visibility on a board I consider overly dominated by A-10 and SoCon fans and casts a severe bias for those leagues. As a member last year and this year on the AGS Poll, I hope to provide a more moderate and balanced vote .

Now to the game at hand and I will make many points on the game this week -- both YSU & Liberty opened with D-II schools . YSU played Slippery Rock of the PSAC and Liberty played Concord of the WVIAC. The PSAC annually dominates the WVIAC. Both the Rock and Concord are poor D-II schools. But given YSU wiped the field with the Rock and Liberty struggled with a weak D-II that would be dominated by the weak Rock, the early call is YSU goes into this game a decided and dominate pick. More later. :p

[ChickenMan]

Liberty fans probably have a better shot of Jerry Falwell opening a nudie bar on campus than they do of the Flames beating YSU... :D

[Sly Fox]

Bada bing, chickenman. :D

Its all good, paladin. I just don't think you are going to lure any of us Liberty folks into a smack showdown leading up to the contest for the resons I stated earlier. (and for the record moderators, I am a Liberty alum with no CCU ties other than an appreciation for Myrtle Beach).

There's no denying we stuck up our season opener against Concord. Our offense has been a mess thus far. But we are featuring a bunch of newbies who are still in an adjustment period. Perhaps they'll emerge this week.

My parents lived in Ravenna until a few years ago. So I have always kept an eye on YSU over the years (I had a friend who was sports director for oneof the little stations there in Youngstown for awhile before returning down here to Texas). So I'm aware of your recent revival. So we have eyes wide open upon your arrival. But what kind of football fans would we be if we didn't have a little faith in our boys to play well?

As for the A-10/SoCon/Patriot domination of the board, I am with you. That's why I have come under some fire in other threads the past couple of days for going to bat for a fellow Big South school. The arrogance of the posters from certain schools on here is sickening. That's why this past weekend's slew of upsets were so satisfying to watch.

[HarrisburgFlame]

I am an ex-coach as well - I spent seven years on the small college level and one year in HS. I look forward to talking some football with you this week. That said, even though I know X's and O's - I am a terrible prognosticator when it comes to college football.

I haven't seen YSU play so I really have no clue how we match up. I know we are paper thin on the OL and suspect at just about every position. That said, I think (and hope) we haven't played our true hand yet. Concord was a vanilla game - didn't show much. UConn was really out of our league - totally overmatched. So I for one am very excited about getting a solid I-AA opponent to play.

That said, as someone as experience as yourself - you should know better than using the "we beat them, and they beat such and such, so we shoud beat such and such". You know college football - anything can happen.

[IaaScribe]

Flame, agreed. That's how we came to the realization one year that Portland State would win the BCS title, since they had beaten Hawaii and Hawaii had beaten someone who had beaten Oklahoma or something ... just doesn't work that way.

One thing I will note: If LU's tackling doesn't get better this week, this game has the potential to get ugly. Yes, UConn was a league above Liberty, but LU's tackling was horrendous and simple, fundamental tackling would have been enough to take a few points off the scoreboard.

[Paladin1aa]

Great to hear from you HF. Yep, in one sense , you are right. Comparing teams can be risky. But comparing LEAGUES is of benefit. I don't coach any more so I can avoid coachspeak and let it all hang out.

Heres a short version of YSU -- the current coach blew the first three years of recruiting . We had some good players there but the overall classes were down. Hence the fans could not understand why the guy was losing. Tressel left him good players . He used them up in 8-3 & 7-4 seasons. Then his recruits started showing up in starting positions. 5-7 & 4-7. The uproar is still reverberating. With his job on the line , he has turned to transfers & jucos. Amazingly, the guy still doesn't get it . We have assembled some pretty good talent the last two years and the moron still persists in using many players that the transfers & jucos have more talent than. However, the new guys are SLOWLY working into starting roles .

I expect them to really dominate nationally NEXT year, but it appears if the coach pulls his head out of his butt, this year is still possible for a great team . If the stories are true ( and I suspect they are ) he has been told -- no play-offs this year, no contract renewal , which is up this year.

Frankly, I'd like to run his sorry butt out of town ( :nod: :nod: :nod: ) but the potential is there to "save " his job. And next year a peewee coach would win with them !! :p :p :p

[HarrisburgFlame]

Here's my view on us offensively so far (I'll break down the D later):

QB - great kid and leader in Brock Farrel. Limited physically and arm strength is suspect. Zach Terrel is his backup - tremendous athlete but a true frosh. Brock Smith is a tall dropback style QB but has been hurt and is also a true frosh. I think Terrel will end up being the starter by the year's end and offensively we'll be able to threaten more with another run/pass threat in Terrel. we began to show a little of that this past weekend at UConn using Zach in the "Slash" roll.

RB - need someone to emerge. Hamilton is a SR RB with very little game experience. Otah is a JUCO with skills. We have a whole stable of true frosh's behind those two right now. Many of us thought one of the freshman would be the guy going into the season but they are yet to play any significant role in the offense to date. Did they not pick up the O - or is Coach K sitting on them to use in games we have a shot of winning?

TE - Chris Luck is the one kid who can catch the ball but has had to play at OG due to injuries. Very suspect position for the Flames. His back up Stokes had the droppies in 2 a days and didn't seem to win the confidence of the coaches.

OL - paper thin. we have some beef up front but a new C who is smallish at 260. Inge is an all BigSouth 300 pound guy (he's been hurt), Ferguson is another all BSC OT. With Inge hurting his knee we had a patch work OL against Concord - who blitzed practically every down.

WR - this is the only area of the offense I feel we have depth. Lots of experience. Williams, Turner, and Jackson - we're good here in my opinion.

Offensively it's tough to tell after the UConn game other than we were dominated by a good D-I defense. You know from being a coach that we still probably have only 70-80% of the offensive package in at this point. We showed nothing against Concord. UConn we showed a little more of the hand but as a fan - I am praying we have more offensively from a scheme standpoint than we have showed. I expect to see a lot of Zach Terrel at QB Saturday. I look for us to spread YSU and use multiple sets and motions - the key will be protecting the QB. I don't look for us to run the ball a ton. In the last few years we've been run heavy, but I don't think we'll run it on YSU. I think for us to win - we'll have to out scheme you - get the match ups we want - and catch a big play or two. I can't see this bunch grinding it out against YSU.

[Sly Fox]

Hburg put together a solid description of our offense. Unfortunately, our punter has been our outstanding performer thus far.

I agree that we will begin to see a 2-QB rotation this week or next. Terrel has oodles of athleticism (similar in style to a certain Y-town high schooler at Mizzou right now) but is still grasping the offense. But the more he can get on the field, the better for us now and into the future. We have been a primarily run-oriented offense since Karcher arrived. And that's surprising considering he is a former NFL backup QB.

[Paladin1aa]

YSU is led by QB Zetts, 6'1, 205. Also Gliatta (Penn St.) 6'1,212 plays. Zetts starts and is the passer. Outstanding. Gliatta, an option QB is the runner. YSU uses primarily an I and a 1 back spread. Motion & shifting.

The TBs are Gibson ( Kentucky) 6', 200, Reams ,5'11, 195, Scott ( All 5A Texas) and Mason ( who has yet to see the field) a 200, former Illinois starter. The FBs are Ison, 6' 235 ( Pre-season All GFC) and Edgerson, 6'1 ,235 (South Carolina). YSU is TB run dominate and throws to the FBs. We use a lot of players for fresh legs.

The OL is missing two starters ( injury), but have played well. Most are 300 and multi-year starters. Depth issues are there, but the younger guys are better than the old farts . Excellent run blockers, pass blocking is only fair. We use a roll-out & play action scheme to keep heat off the QBs.

The TEs are finds. Radakovich, 6'7, 250 is a steal from the BB team( where he is a three year starter at Forward). He has great hands and played at one of Ohios dominate H.S. programs. Good Blocker. Marshall, a former YSU QB is 6'3, 240 and a great athlete with speed. Good hands.

The WRs is a strength. Smith ( Dad is G.M. of the Chargers) is a great possession WR. Evans (Purdue), 6'3, 209, just made the field and had 3 catches. Both Wright & Peterson are Fla boys and burners.

The overall team speed is outstanding . Burners galore. YSU will run the ball down your throat, will mix in play-action & roll-out passing for good balance. Ball control & possession is a strong suit.

We have no real PK issues. 50yd FGs and decent accuracy. Punter ( Bishop) has a Pro leg.

But the best part is the new OC . The old one was brain dead ( and now HC at Lock Haven :p ) He is opening it up. Some razzle dazzle as well. Better pass schemes as well as run block schemes. Plays a lot of guys. 4th quarter, we are still fresh. Personality has won over players ( old OC was an A-hole).

We'll be coming straight at you, particularly the LBs and testing the corners. Watch for some gimmick plays as well. They add to their tricks each week !! :nod: :nod: :nod:

[Paladin1aa]

To quantify it, the O may set records this year. Great balance between run & pass. Hows your D ?? I have my own thoughts but will entertain your outlook !!

[Sly Fox]

Our defense isn't that bad, but we don't have much depth. Our starters were overwhelmed by UConn, but that wasn't really a good indication of what they can do. They looked very sharp in their season opener against Concord. But I know that's not a very good barometer.

I wondered whatever became of Jabari Scott. He wasn't really recruited by many schools down here in Texas. He played in a very weak district in San Antonio. But you can't argue with the monster numbers he put up.

Did that Ohio State kid who had the run-ins with the law get enrolled in time to play this season for you guys?

[GoGuins]

Did that Ohio State kid who had the run-ins with the law get enrolled in time to play this season for you guys?

Louis Irizarry, I believe he has to wait until next year but is practicing with the team now as a walk on.

[Paladin1aa]

If you mean the TE Irizarry, yes he is enrolled but the staff has him as a walk-on and will not play him until next year . He'll go on schollie after the 1st semester ends.

He was a local kid , All -State at Youngstown Ursuline. Verbaled Miami,Fla, but went to Ohio St. intead. Best H.S. TE I ever saw. Played as a true Frosh at OSU.

Monster player .............................if he behaves. :p :p :p

[Paladin1aa]

If you mean Irizarry, the TE from Ohio St, Yes. But he is a walk-on and will be red-shirted this year. Has to behave himself. On schollie next semester.

Played locally at Youngstown Ursuline . All-State. Best H.S. TE I ever saw. Played as a true Frosh at OSU.

Monster player.

[ysubigred]

If the Guins are smart we'll treat Liberty like a GFC team and "not" look past them to the Pitt game :bang:

Nice Board :)

[Paladin1aa]

Red -- good to have the YSU Kentucky connection on. Stick around.

Theres some "birds" to kill over here. :D

[Sly Fox]

Irizarry is the one I was referencing. I had heard that he had landed at YSU. I just didn't know if he was playing this fall.

[FlyYtown]

BIG RED... HEACOCK in the Vindy said they are saying this is the toughest matchup of the year. They will practice to the extreme this week..

WHY?
1. VISITOR
2. DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT

[Paladin1aa]

Coach HicCup ?? :eek: :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

[ysubigred]

Thank's for the info Fly. The flames seem to play YSU well over the years untill we just wear them down.

[HarrisburgFlame]

I would agree with that. That is what scares me going into Saturday - we are papre thin. We'll need to catch a few breaks.

[Paladin1aa]

O.K. Flames , heres a run down on YSU's D. If you think our O guys are fast, wait till you see these guys.

We play a 4-3 scheme with one of the DE playing both as a DE & LB ( On & OFF). Size is also pretty good. At the DT, we brought in Vandy transfer Jacobs ( 270), Hawaiian (Juco )Taumalolo (320) ( the Hawaiian Hammer), Prep school player Savage( 300)& (Juco) Phelan (310) . All new. At DE we have Pre-season honors Brown (260) and our best DL and Scholes, last years starter. MUCH improved over last year here .

At LB are returning starters Wright and Terry (220, Virginia). Also in the mix are part-time starter Hutchinson , (Mich. St. LB )Smith (245), part-time starter Andrews(230) and Quad A Pittsburgh star Barlak. This is the heart & soul of the D. Most are former RBs & track stars. FAST. HITTERS. Excellent athletes.

In the secondary , returning starters FS Chenault, CB Perry ( GFC star) and Jones. Add in Juco SS Scales( 215) . Corners are 3 year starters . Pass coverage is good. Add in new CB starter (Juco) Jackson and Fla. frosh all stars Strapp and Richards and we are stacked here. Excellent speed.

D package has "nickel" & "dime" , blitzes ( which we use well) and combo coverages with man in the secondary. Most people will not score many points on this unit, believe me. As the season wears on , these guys will be outstanding and they are already pretty good. Playing together in the schemes are going to make YSU one of the D leaders in the GFC this season.

[GoGuins]

We are much improved but I'm still not sold until we beat the likes of SIU, UNI, & especially WKU.

[GannonFan]

I wasn't aware of all these JUCO transfers - does that mean that it's fair to say that Youngstown is the new Western Illinois of the Gateway?

[Paladin1aa]

Maybe-- If Coach HicCup pulls his head out of his butt and plays ALL these guys and quits playing "loyalty" to his earlier "mistakes". As it stands they are TOO GOOD for even his bad eyesight to miss . :p :p :p

If they are playing, we win big. If he "pussyfoots" around we'll keep people in a game. With his job on the line , I think I know the answer. :nod: :nod: :nod: