Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes. YSU coach Ethan Faulkner calls out a play during a game last season.

YOUNGSTOWN — As Youngstown State has filled out its roster for the upcoming season, the team’s 2024-2025 schedule is also starting to take shape.

Per a records request, the Penguins are scheduled to travel to Ohio State to take on the Buckeyes on Monday, Nov. 11 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus. YSU will also then travel to the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse five days later on Nov. 16 to face the Orange.

Both Ohio State and Syracuse are contracted to pay YSU $90,000 each for the contests, according to documents acquired by the Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator.

In non-conference play, head coach Ethan Faulkner said that the Penguins also have a multi-team event scheduled at Stephen F. Austin, along with a home game against Western Michigan and a road contest at Toledo.

“We still need to add one game, but I think we’ll have an exciting schedule,” Faulkner said. “We’re going to have to be road warriors — got a lot of road games and some neutral site games, but probably not as many home games as we wanted. But we have requirements that we have to meet with the Horizon League in terms of our schedule, which in turn puts us on the road a lot.

“It’s going to probably be a more difficult schedule than maybe we had the last couple of years, but we’re excited to face those challenges.”

Ohio State is 5-0 all-time against the Penguins, with the last game being a 75-56 Buckeyes victory back on Dec. 18, 2018. According to Sports Reference, this year’s contest will be YSU’s first-ever meeting with Syracuse.

Last season, YSU had road games at Louisiana, Michigan, Dayton, Ohio and Western Michigan, and hosted Navy and its own multi-team event with Utah Tech, Ohio Christian and Lake Erie.

“I think scheduling is one of the most important jobs we have as a coaching staff — to find that balance of really challenging games and games you feel good about,” Faulkner said. “I think the one thing about our schedule that I don’t like is that we don’t have a lot of nonconference home games. I think that’s important in terms of your fan base and building excitement. I think that’s been a real challenge for us to get home games.

“Obviously we’ve got some exciting road games with the likes of Ohio State and some of those other teams, but it’s certainly going to be a challenge. We’re going to have to have a group that can bring it every night because there’s some very good teams on our schedule.”

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