The 23rd-ranked Youngstown State football team plays their first road game of the season on Saturday with a visit to No. 9 Kentucky. Kickoff is set for Noon against the Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. The game, which is YSU's first-ever against a foe from the Southeastern Conference, is available live on the SEC Network, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    The Penguins (2-0) defeated Dayton last week 49-16 at Stambaugh Stadium on the strength of a school-record six touchdown passes. QB Demeatric Crenshaw tied a school mark with five TD tosses while Mitch Davidson came in to set the team game record with one in the fourth quarter. YSU built 21-0 and 28-3 leads before the Flyers closed with 35-16. The Guins added two fourth-quarter scores for the runaway victory.
    Crenshaw threw three touchdown passes in the opening frame as the Penguins were off an running in the contest. Crenshaw had TD passes to Latrell Fordham, Bryce Oliver and Jaleel McLaughlin in the opening quarter.  Crenshaw had his fourth scoring toss of the game in the second quarter finding Max Tomczak on a 27-yard strike.
    With the contest 28-10 in the third quarter, McLaughlin had his second touchdown of the game scoring on a 46-yard run. In the fourth, Crenshaw found Oliver for the second time and Davidson connected with Luke Hensley for the final score of the game.
    Kentucky (2-0) picked up an impressive league win at Florida last Saturday night. The Wildcats scored the final 19 points of the contest in a 26-16 win over the Gators.
    Late in the second quarter, UK trailed 16-7 before QB Will Levis scored on a one-yard run closing the deficit to 16-13 at halftime. The Wildcats tied the contest in the third quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Matt Ruffolo. Just over three minutes later,  Keidron Smith intercepted an Anthony Richardson pass and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown. Ruffolo added a 26-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the game for the final margin. Youngstown native Mark Stoops became Kentucky's all-time winningest coach with the victory.
    This is the Guins' first visit to Kentucky in nearly 16 years when it won a 19-3 contest at Western Kentucky that clinched the Gateway Football Conference title on Nov. 11, 2006.

Last Time Out: YSU 49, Dayton 16
    The Penguins defeated Dayton 49-16 at Stambaugh Stadium on the strength of a school-record six touchdown passes.
    QB Demeatric Crenshaw tied a school mark with five TD tosses while Mitch Davidson came in to set the team game record with one in the fourth quarter. YSU built 21-0 and 28-3 leads before the Flyers closed with 35-16. The Guins added two fourth-quarter scores for the runaway victory.
    Crenshaw threw three touchdown passes in the opening frame as the Penguins were off an running in the contest. Crenshaw had TD passes to Latrell Fordham, Bryce Oliver and Jaleel McLaughlin in the opening quarter.  Crenshaw had his fourth scoring toss of the game in the second quarter finding Max Tomczak on a 27-yard strike.
    With the contest 28-10 in the third quarter, McLaughlin had his second touchdown of the game scoring on a 46-yard run. In the fourth, Crenshaw found Oliver for the second time and Davidson connected with Luke Hensley for the final score of the game.

Three Guins Score First TDs
    Three Penguins wide receivers caught the first touchdown passes of their YSU careers in the win over Dayton.
    WRs Latrell Fordham, Max Tomcazk and Luke Hensley had scoring receptions against the Flyers. Fordham, who caught a touchdown pass at Eastern Michigan in 2021, had a three-yard scoring catch in the first quarter. Tomczak had the first TD of his career on a 27-yard catch in the second quarter. Hensley found the end zone for the first time in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard toss from Mitch Davidson. 

Interceptions on the Uptick
    The Penguins have intercepted five passes in the first two games of the season. In 10 games last fall, YSU had nine interceptions, two of which came in the season finale at SIU.
    In the opener, LB Devin Johnson had two interceptions while LB Griffin Hoak added one. Against Dayton, DB Quincy Lenton intercepted a first quarter pass while CB Troy Jakubec picked off a ball in the fourth quarter.
    The Penguins have won 13 consecutive games in which they have intercepted at least two passes.

Big Game For Crenshaw
    QB Demeatric Crenshaw tied a school record with five touchdown passes in YSU's 49-16 win over Dayton.
    Crenshaw completed 11-of-17 passes for a career-best 230 yards in the contest against the Flyers. He had touchdown passes of 3, 17, 27, 30 and 52 yards in the victory. He had three touchdown passes in the first quarter as the Guins jumped out to a 21-0 lead. His fourth TD toss made the game 28-3 while his final scoring throw of 30 yards put YSU in front 42-16. He tied the mark set by Kurt Hess on Nov. 19, 2011 against Missouri State.

Tough Against The Run
    Through two games, the YSU defense ranks tied for fifth in the FCS in fewest rushing yards allowed defense. 
    The Penguins are allowing 53 yards per game after limiting Duquesne to 51 yards on 25 carries and Dayton to 55 yards on 35 attempts this past week. On 60 attempts, the Guins have allowed 106 yards (1.77 yards a carry) this year.
    YSU registered five sacks in the win over the Flyers to help that total.

Into the Top Ten
    TB Jaleel McLaughlin has rushed for 6,910 yards on 1,065 careers in 47 career NCAA games and has scored 69 touchdowns.
    He is the active career NCAA leader in attempts, touchdowns and yards. On the all-time list he is up to 10th place in NCAA history and is just 75 yards from moving into seventh place.
     In 19 games at YSU, McLaughlin has rushed for 2,162 yards and scored 21 TDs (113.7 per game average). He has rushed for more than 100 yards in 13 of his last 17 contests at YSU. In 28 games at Notre Dame, he had 24 100-yard outings.

NCAA Career Rushing Yards Leaders

1. Nate Kmic (Mount Union | 2005-08)    8,074
2. Danny Woodhead (Chadron State | 2004-07)    7,962
3. Levell Coppage (Wis.-Whitewater | 2008-11)    7,795
4. Franklyn Quiteh (Bloomsburg | 2010-13)    7,523
5. R.J. Bowers (Grove City | 1997-00)    7,353
6. Xavier Omon (NW Missouri State | 2004-07)    7,073
7. Germaine Race (Pittsburg State | 2003-06)    6,985
8. Brian Shay (Emporia State | 1995-98)    6,958
9. John Smith (Husson | 2014-17)     6,925
10. Jaleel McLaughlin (YSU/ND Ohio | 2018-22)    6,910

Oliver A Top Target
    WR Bryce Oliver, who spent three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to YSU, has been a big touchdown producer for the Guins.
    In 11 career games, Oliver has 34 receptions for 387 yards and 10 touchdowns.
    In the season opener, he had a team-best six catches for 58 yards against Duquesne. Against Dayton, he caught four passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
    In 2021, he finished the year with eight receiving touchdowns, the most by a Guin since   2011. He excelled late in the campaign catching six of his eight touchdown passes in the final four games of the season.
    Playing nine games last season, Oliver had 24 catches for 266 yards and eight touchdowns.

Crenshaw Nearly Doubles Total
    Entering last week's contest against Dayton, QB Demeatric Crenshaw had seven career touchdown passes in 10 games played. Against the Flyers, he threw a school-record-tying five TDs in four quarters.
    After throwing five touchdown passes in the first three games of the year in 2021, he had two in his final six.
    He now has 12 touchdown passes in his Penguins' career in 11 games started.

McLaughlin Named MVFC POW
    TB Jaleel McLaughlin was named the MVFC's Offensive Player of the Week following the season opening win over Duquesne. Against the Dukes, he rushed for three touchdowns and  203 yards.
    In 2021, he was named the first MVFC Offensive Player of the Week following a win over UIW and the last MVFC Offensive Player of the Week after a win at Southern Illinois.

McLaughlin's Top YSU Games
242 - UIW (2021)
203 - Duquesne (2022)
185 - Southern Illinois (2021)
166 - South Dakota (2021 Spring)

Fifth With Multiple 200s
    TB Jaleel McLaughlin is one of just five players in school history to rush for at least 200 yards in a game more than once. He joins YSU greats P.J. Mays, Marcus Mason, Paris Wicks and Jamaine Cook in eclipsing the 200-yard mark as players to accomplish the feat.

Impressive Fourths for YSU
    The Penguins made finishing games a key during the offseason and through two games it has paid dividends. 
    In the season opener, the Guins outscored Duquesne 14-0 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 17-point victory. Against Dayton, YSU outscored the Flyers 14-6 in the final period.
    In the fall of 2021, YSU was outscored by 30 points and in the spring of 2021, the Guins were outscored by 20 points.

Hoak Spearheads Defense
    LB Griffin Hoak has started the last 21 games for the Penguins. Hoak has been in the starting 
lineup for every game since November 2019.
    In two games this season he has seven tackles and one interception.
    In the spring and fall 2021 seasons, Hoak combined to make 93 tackles (62 solos) in 17 games. He had 12 tackles in the final two games of the 2019 campaign giving him 105 tackles in his 19 career starts.

Experience On the Lines
    The Guins returned a wealth of contributors on both the offensive and defensive lines and in two games they've made an impact.  Of the nine starters on the lines, eight entered the year starting multiple games for the Guins.
    The offensive line features Mike McAllister  (19 starts), Jaison Williams (19), Aidan Parker (18), David Metzler (nine) Ryan Johnson (seven). McAllister, Williams and Parker all started for the first time in the spring of 2021. Metzler made his first-ever start at left tackle at Michigan State in 2021 as a redshirt freshman.
    The defensive line features veterans James Jackson (20 starts), Dylan Wudke (15) and Chris Fitzgerald (12). Anthony Johnson has started the first two games on the line for YSU this fall.

First-Time Starters
    The Penguins had six first-time starters in the contest against Duquesne. YSU did not have a first-time starter against Dayton.
    Starting for the first time for the Guins were WR Max Tomczak, WR Latrell Fordham, LB Greg Benton Jr., DT Anthony Johnson, DB Marcus Hooker and DB Jordan Trowers.

Touchdowns By Current Guins
    The Penguins have eight players on their roster who have scored touchdowns while at YSU. TB Jaleel McLaughlin leads the team with 22 total touchdowns while Bryce Olive is the leader in receiving TDs with 10.

    TD Scorers
    McLaughlin - 21 rush / 1 pass
    Oliver - 10 pass
    Crenshaw - 8 rush
    Payne – 1 pass
    Hensley - 1 pass
    Tomczak - 1 pass
    Fordham - 1 pass
    Rushton - 1 pass

Numbers of Note
• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 148-44 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 27-84.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 173-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 150-22 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 172-30 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 91-13-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 202-20 when leading entering the fourth.
• 92-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.

Up Next:
    YSU has its lone bye week of the campaign next Saturday. The Penguins return to action on Oct. 1 when they open Missouri Valley Football Conference play at North Dakota State.