YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The Youngstown State University football team will look to bounce back from last Saturday’s loss to South Dakota with a win this weekend against Illinois State at home.
Watch the video above to hear from the team as they prepare for the Redbirds.
The Penguins know very well the Redbirds may be coming to Stambaugh Stadium with a chip on their shoulder. Youngstown State won at ISU in dramatic fashion last year, scoring the game-winning touchdown with just 5 seconds left.
“Yeah, they’re definitely going to come here with that in mind,” said Penguins defensive back Tyjion Jones. “We just got to show up and play. We got to make sure we play our best game.”
Penguins wide receiver Max Tomczak agreed
“Every time we play Illinois State, it’s a battle, and if I were them, I would have a chip on my shoulder coming into it,” he said.
“It’s a whole new season, a whole new team,” said YSU head coach Doug Phillips. “You got to have the mindset that, yeah, they were probably salty last year, but they’re a team now just preparing each week to play that next opponent. They know how important this win is for them. So we’ll talk about the mindset of teams coming in here. I try to stress more as we get to Thursday, Friday, the mindset of what it’s going to take us to get ready.”
The Penguins and Redbirds will kick off this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.
