The Youngstown State football team opens Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a contest at No. 1 North Dakota State on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:05 p.m. Eastern/1:05 p.m. Central time at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. The game is available live on ESPN+, WBCB TV Youngstown, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    The Penguins (2-1) had a bye week last Saturday as they head into to their Missouri Valley Football Conference opener vs. the Bison.
    Last time out on Sept. 17, YSU dropped a 31-0 decision to then No. 9 Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats scored 21 points in the second quarter. UK outscored YSU 10-0 in the second half. The Guins had a first-and-goal in the third quarter, but did not score.
    The defense played well forcing three turnovers, intercepting a pair of passes and recording four sacks in the game. YSU limited UK to 103 yards rushing in the game.
    YSU posted a pair of wins in non-conference play beating Duquesne and Dayton at Stambaugh Stadium. The Guins scored a combined 80 points in the two wins to start the year. The Penguins beat the Flyers by a score of 49-16 on Sept. 10 after opening up the campaign with a 31-14 victory over the Dukes.
    North Dakota State (3-1, 1-0 MVFC) opened up conference play with a 34-17 win at South Dakota last Saturday. NDSU stormed back with 24 second-half points to earn the win after falling behind 17-10 at halftime.
    Against the Coyotes, the Bison rushed for 356 yards on 61 carries. Hunter Luepke had 146 yards on 20 carries and scored twice.
    Trailing by a touchdown at halftime, QB Cam Miller scored on a 13-yard run early in the third tying the contest before Luepke punched in the go-ahead score on a two-yard run with 5:22 left in the third. In the fourth, Griffin Crosa kicked a 25-yard field goal and Luepke added a three-yard run for the final margin.
    This is YSU's first trip to Fargo since last February, which was the debut game for Head Coach Doug Phillips. The Bison picked up a 25-7 win on Feb. 21 and NDSU added a 49-17 triumph over the Guins last November.

Last time Out: UK 31, YSU 0
    On Sept. 17, YSU dropped a 31-0 decision to then No. 9 Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
    After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats scored 21 points in the second quarter. UK outscored YSU 10-0 in the second half. The Guins had a first-and-goal in the third quarter, but did not score.
    The defense played well forcing three turnovers, intercepting a pair of passes and recording four sacks in the game. YSU limited UK to 103 yards rushing in 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 Tomczak 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 seven passes in the first three 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.
    At Kentucky, Lenton and Jakubec intercepted passes for the second time in as many games.

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 three games, the YSU defense ranks tied for 11th in the FCS in fewest rushing yards allowed defense. 
    The Penguins are allowing just 69.7 yards per game after limiting Duquesne to 51 yards on 25 carries, Dayton to 55 yards on 35 attempts this past week while limiting Kentucky to 103 yards on 36 totes. On 96 attempts, the Guins have allowed 209 yards (2.18 yards a carry) this year.
    YSU has registered nine sacks in the last two games - five against Dayton and four at Kentucky.

Into the Top Nine
    TB Jaleel McLaughlin has rushed for 6,946 yards on 1,075 carries in 48 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 ninth place in NCAA history and is just 40 yards from moving into seventh place.
     In 20 games at YSU, he has rushed for 2,198 yards and scored 21 TDs (109.9 per game average). He has rushed for more than 100 yards in 13 of his last 18 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. Jaleel McLaughlin (YSU/ND Ohio | 2018-22)    6,946

Oliver A Top Target
    WR Bryce Oliver has been a big touchdown producer for the Guins.
    In 12 career games, Oliver has 36 receptions for 427 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. Against his former team, Kentucky, he had two grabs for 40 yards, including a nifty one-handed grab.
    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 the Sept. 10 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 After Opener
    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 three 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. So far, the Penguins are a plus-19 in fourth quarter point differential.

Wudke Impresses at UK
    DE Dylan Wudke had a solid performance against Kentucky with seven tackles, including 3.5 TFLs. Wudke had a sack for a nine-yard loss and finished the game with six solo tackles.
    Through three games he has 13 total tackles, including 11 solo stops and 5.5 TFLs.

Hoak Spearheads Defense
    LB Griffin Hoak has started the last 22 games for the Penguins. Hoak has been in the starting 
lineup for every game since November 2019.
    In three games this season he has 11 tackles, including seven solos, 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  (20 starts), Jaison Williams (20), Aidan Parker (19), David Metzler (10) Ryan Johnson (eight). 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 (21 starts), Dylan Wudke (16) and Chris Fitzgerald (13). Anthony Johnson has started the first three 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.
    Against Dayton, TE Trenton Gillison started for the first time during the year.

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 148-45 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 returns home to take on North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff for the game against the Fighting Hawks is set for 6 p.m.