2012 Football Schedule officially announced

[ysuindy]

The Youngstown State football team will open the 2012 season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 1, then have a three-game homestand, featuring contests against two FCS playoff squads, the Athletic Department announced on Monday. YSU also has three consecutive games against teams who reached the postseason this year.

YSU has previously traveled to Heinz Field to play the Panthers in 2005 and 2009 and this will mark the eighth consecutive year that the Penguins have played a BCS-member school. Pitt will be in the second season under Head Coach Todd Graham. In 2011, the Panthers posted a 6-6 mark and were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl against SMU. They have been accepted into the Atlantic Coast Conference, however, it has not been announced if they will join the league this fall. If they are member of the ACC in 2012, it will be the program's first meeting against a member of that conference.

Things rev up when Youngstown State returns home to face Valparaiso in the home opener on Sept. 8. It marks the second straight season the Penguins and Valpo will meet in the home opener at Stambaugh Stadium. The Crusaders were much improved in the final month of the season, snapping a nearly three-season losing streak with a win over Campbell and suffering a narrow loss at Davidson in the season finale.

The Penguins play three straight games against 2011 FCS playoff foes beginning with their first-ever meeting against Albany. The co-champions of the Northeast Conference, the Great Danes went 8-4 in 2011 dropping a 31-28 contest in the first round of the playoffs at Stony Brook. Albany led that contest 28-10 in the third quarter. The Great Danes are coached by Bob Ford who has 255 career victories in 39 seasons.

The next two contests are against teams that are in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FCS Playoffs.

 YSU opens its 16th season of Missouri Valley Football Conference action against UNI on Sept. 24 at Stambaugh. The Penguins have lost the past two games to the Panthers by four points each, while four of the last five contests have been decided by a total of 10 points.

While the Guins get a Saturday off on Sept. 29, the schedule does not lighten up in the coming weeks.

For the second consecutive year, YSU returns to Fargo to face co-league champion North Dakota State on Oct. 6. The Penguins knocked off the then-No. 1 Bison, 27-24, on Nov. 12 at the Fargodome this past season. Of the six all-time meetings, none have been decided by more than eight points.

Youngstown State continues road MVFC play on Oct. 13 at Illinois State. The Redbirds won seven games in 2011, with their lone home defeat coming in double overtime to UNI on the season's final regular-season Saturday. YSU defeated Illinois State 34-27 early in the conference opener for both school's in 2011. The home team has won each of the past four meetings.

A return to Youngstown features a contest against Southern Illinois on Oct. 20. The Penguins have beaten the Salukis the past two years and will be going for their first three-game winning streak in the series since the late 1990's. YSU's 35-23 win in 2011 was its biggest over SIU since 2002.

The Guins head back out on the road looking for their first win at South Dakota State since 1974 on Oct. 27. The Jackrabbits have won all four MVFC clashes with the Penguins since they joined the league in 2008. In 2011, YSU led 28-21 before SDSU scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally for the victory.

Another first-time foe for the Penguins visits the Ice Castle on Nov. 3 in South Dakota. The Coyotes will be in their inaugural season of play in the MVFC in 2012. USD was 6-5 in 2011 with a win over defending FCS Champion Eastern Washington. South Dakota spent the past four seasons in the Great West Conference while making the transition from a Division II to FCS program.

The final regular-season road showdown of the year is at Western Illinois on Nov. 10. The Penguins have won seven of the last eight meetings with the lone blemish a 40-38 defeat in Macomb in 2009. This past campaign, YSU rolled to a 56-14 win over the Leathernecks to earn its 16th win in the all-time series. It will mark the 28th meeting between the two programs making WIU the second-most played foe in school history behind Akron (35 games).

The final regular-season contest is at Stambaugh Stadium against Indiana State on Nov. 17. The much-improved Sycamores are coming off back-to-back six win seasons for the first time since 199596. ISU held on for a 37-35 win over the Penguins this past September after jumping out to a 21-0 lead. They feature Walter Payton Award Finalist and MVFC Offensive Player of the Year Shakir Bell. YSU still leads the all-time series 18-3.

The first-round of the FCS playoffs is set to get underway on Nov. 24. A date for the National Championship Game has yet to be announced.

In 2012 and 2013, the Penguins will not face Missouri State. YSU and the Bears had played every year since 1996.

Game times will be announced at a later date.

As always, season tickets for the upcoming season are available now in the Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.

2012 Schedule
Sept. 1 at Pittsburgh
Sept. 8 vs. Valparaiso
Sept. 15 vs. Albany
Sept. 22 vs. UNI*
Sept. 29 (IDLE)
Oct. 6 at North Dakota State*
Oct. 13 at Illinois State*
Oct. 20 vs. Southern Illinois*
Oct. 27 at South Dakota State*
Nov. 3 vs. South Dakota*
Nov. 10 at Western Illinois*
Nov. 17 vs. Indiana State*
Nov. 24 FCS Playoffs

*MVFC Contest


http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/201112053zhxa6

[penguinpower]

Rugged schedule.  I hope the kids have enough time to continue to develop on defense before thos critical early games.  The playoffs would have given us more experience.

[IAA Fan]

Well, we get a break between UNI & NDSU. Also Pitt had two Juniors decide to try for the draft. Could be "ripe for the pickins". Do not overlook the Danes ..If that QB gets his extra year, he is quite good. I think he will get at least a walk-on try at the next level. They have a great TB ...will only be a junior, and a great WR ...will only be a soph. They did very well in the first-round of the post-season. Nice piece of scheduling ..."kudos" to the admin for this.

[ysubigred]

The Youngstown State football team will open the 2012 season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 1, then have a three-game homestand, featuring contests against two FCS playoff squads, the Athletic Department announced on Monday. YSU also has three consecutive games against teams who reached the postseason this year.

YSU has previously traveled to Heinz Field to play the Panthers in 2005 and 2009 and this will mark the eighth consecutive year that the Penguins have played a BCS-member school. Pitt will be in the second season under Head Coach Todd Graham. In 2011, the Panthers posted a 6-6 mark and were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl against SMU. They have been accepted into the Atlantic Coast Conference, however, it has not been announced if they will join the league this fall. If they are member of the ACC in 2012, it will be the program's first meeting against a member of that conference.

Things rev up when Youngstown State returns home to face Valparaiso in the home opener on Sept. 8. It marks the second straight season the Penguins and Valpo will meet in the home opener at Stambaugh Stadium. The Crusaders were much improved in the final month of the season, snapping a nearly three-season losing streak with a win over Campbell and suffering a narrow loss at Davidson in the season finale.

The Penguins play three straight games against 2011 FCS playoff foes beginning with their first-ever meeting against Albany. The co-champions of the Northeast Conference, the Great Danes went 8-4 in 2011 dropping a 31-28 contest in the first round of the playoffs at Stony Brook. Albany led that contest 28-10 in the third quarter. The Great Danes are coached by Bob Ford who has 255 career victories in 39 seasons.

The next two contests are against teams that are in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FCS Playoffs.

 YSU opens its 16th season of Missouri Valley Football Conference action against UNI on Sept. 24 at Stambaugh. The Penguins have lost the past two games to the Panthers by four points each, while four of the last five contests have been decided by a total of 10 points.

While the Guins get a Saturday off on Sept. 29, the schedule does not lighten up in the coming weeks.

For the second consecutive year, YSU returns to Fargo to face co-league champion North Dakota State on Oct. 6. The Penguins knocked off the then-No. 1 Bison, 27-24, on Nov. 12 at the Fargodome this past season. Of the six all-time meetings, none have been decided by more than eight points.

Youngstown State continues road MVFC play on Oct. 13 at Illinois State. The Redbirds won seven games in 2011, with their lone home defeat coming in double overtime to UNI on the season's final regular-season Saturday. YSU defeated Illinois State 34-27 early in the conference opener for both school's in 2011. The home team has won each of the past four meetings.

A return to Youngstown features a contest against Southern Illinois on Oct. 20. The Penguins have beaten the Salukis the past two years and will be going for their first three-game winning streak in the series since the late 1990's. YSU's 35-23 win in 2011 was its biggest over SIU since 2002.

The Guins head back out on the road looking for their first win at South Dakota State since 1974 on Oct. 27. The Jackrabbits have won all four MVFC clashes with the Penguins since they joined the league in 2008. In 2011, YSU led 28-21 before SDSU scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally for the victory.

Another first-time foe for the Penguins visits the Ice Castle on Nov. 3 in South Dakota. The Coyotes will be in their inaugural season of play in the MVFC in 2012. USD was 6-5 in 2011 with a win over defending FCS Champion Eastern Washington. South Dakota spent the past four seasons in the Great West Conference while making the transition from a Division II to FCS program.

The final regular-season road showdown of the year is at Western Illinois on Nov. 10. The Penguins have won seven of the last eight meetings with the lone blemish a 40-38 defeat in Macomb in 2009. This past campaign, YSU rolled to a 56-14 win over the Leathernecks to earn its 16th win in the all-time series. It will mark the 28th meeting between the two programs making WIU the second-most played foe in school history behind Akron (35 games).

The final regular-season contest is at Stambaugh Stadium against Indiana State on Nov. 17. The much-improved Sycamores are coming off back-to-back six win seasons for the first time since 199596. ISU held on for a 37-35 win over the Penguins this past September after jumping out to a 21-0 lead. They feature Walter Payton Award Finalist and MVFC Offensive Player of the Year Shakir Bell. YSU still leads the all-time series 18-3.

The first-round of the FCS playoffs is set to get underway on Nov. 24. A date for the National Championship Game has yet to be announced.

In 2012 and 2013, the Penguins will not face Missouri State. YSU and the Bears had played every year since 1996.

Game times will be announced at a later date.

As always, season tickets for the upcoming season are available now in the Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978.

2012 Schedule
Sept. 1 at Pittsburgh
Sept. 8 vs. Valparaiso
Sept. 15 vs. Albany
Sept. 22 vs. UNI*
Sept. 29 (IDLE)
Oct. 6 at North Dakota State*
Oct. 13 at Illinois State*
Oct. 20 vs. Southern Illinois*
Oct. 27 at South Dakota State*
Nov. 3 vs. South Dakota*
Nov. 10 at Western Illinois*
Nov. 17 vs. Indiana State*
Nov. 24 FCS Playoffs

*MVFC Contest


http://www.ysusports.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/201112053zhxa6

Wow!!  No one should b**** and whine about YSU schedule being soft this year.  Actually "IF" YSU decides to play 30 minutes of football like they did last year the playoffs could be over by OCT 

[guinpen]

Ok, so do I have this correct, we add SD to the league and now instead of playing every team every year we will all skip 1 team for 2 years. I believe that we will not play Missouri St for 2 years. I assume that all members will be in the same rotation so that means that someone will not have to play NDSU or uni for two years. Am I online with this thought?

If so, I have to say that is stupid. How can you deserve the auto-bid if you may not have played whomever is the best team in the league?

Was this Patty's idea?

[penguinpower]

Patty is an idiot.  Enough Said.

[ysuindy]

Ok, so do I have this correct, we add SD to the league and now instead of playing every team every year we will all skip 1 team for 2 years. I believe that we will not play Missouri St for 2 years. I assume that all members will be in the same rotation so that means that someone will not have to play NDSU or uni for two years. Am I online with this thought?

If so, I have to say that is stupid. How can you deserve the auto-bid if you may not have played whomever is the best team in the league?

Was this Patty's idea?

Think about it - nearly every team in the league plays a money game against a BCS level team.  If you plaly 9 league games and a BCS game, that leaves one other game to schedule, probably against a "mid-major" team at home.

So every other year, YSU (and half the teams in the league) would have only 5 home games.  When was the last time YSU played 5 home games?  You think Ron Strollo wants revenue from only 5 home games?  Teams would also be giving up a guaranteed win in most years against a mid major team to play the 9th league game.

The SEC did for this for years even before they split to divisions.  The MEAC doesn't play a full round robin.  The CAA doesn't play a full round robin - it hasn't hurt them in getting playoff bids and quite honestly it has helped them in some years.

[Wick250]

Guinpen,

Yes, your interpretation is correct.  And yes, one team won't play UNI for two years while another won't play NDSU.  But consider that this is the type of scheduling that the CAA has used for about five years.  The result for them has been fewer automatic league losses, more teams with good records, and plenty of spots in the playoffs.  Let's see how this plays out before we condemn it.

[guinpen]

Indy and Wick, I see your points and agree that there is some merit to them. I just do not happen to like the idea. What was the sense of adding SD then?

Heck just absorb the Great West and go to two divisions.

[Wick250]

I think that we have already developed "informal" divisions.  Consider this.  The Dakota teams will want to play each other every year.  For geographical and rivalry reasons, the three Illinois teams plus Indiana State which sits on the border will also always want to play each other yearly.  My guess is the league, for scheduling purposes, will have two groups: five teams on each side of the Mississippi River.  You will always play all the opponents on your side of the river, plus four of the five teams across the river.  When all the 2012 schedules are released, let's see if that pattern holds true.  If I am correct, that means that 40% of the time we would not play either UNI or NDSU.  Again that enhances our playoff opportunities since, with the expanded playoffs, all 8-3 teams from power conferences are going to get in.

[IAA Fan]

There is always the option of scheduling a conference rival during the seasons they are off the schedule. The issue for YSU is that we really have no in-conference rival, and it then becomes a home and home situation. Therefore it makes more sense to stay with our money games & weaker OOC teams. I think we would be able to work something our during the 12-game seasons. I personally favor a second money game, or Akron/Kent during the 12-game seasons; but we really make much more money scheduling a weaker 7th home game, and as to the second $$ game ...we could not afford a second loss ...even for $500k.

[HLecter]

We need to get out of this league.

[YSUGO]

Ditto Hlecter!!!

[Pita]

AMEN....AMEN.....AMEN TO LECTER, THE GREAT ONE

GET OUT OF THE LEAGUE, SO WE CAN HAVE FAN SUPPORT.

CAUSE AFTERALL....IT'S BUTTS IN THE SEATS THAT WIN GAMES.  SO
SOME PEOPLE EVALUATE.

WHO OF OUR FANS CARE TO DRIVE TO SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTH
DAKOTA.  MISSOURI WAS A LONG DRIVE BUT WE BECAME ACCUSTOMED
TO IT.

DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LOGIC ... I DO KNOW WE ARE IN IT; BUT

[Pita]

There were a few more sentences to my previous post.
I don't know where they went.  My Guardian Angel must
have been telling me to "stick a sock in it".  Enough??