Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU linebacker Carston Marshall (5) tackles South Dakota State running back Angel Johnson during last week’s game in Brookings, S.D.

YOUNGSTOWN — Seven games into the season, Youngstown State isn’t satisfied with the status quo.

Sitting at 2-5, YSU is off to its worst start since 2021 when it also started 2-5 and finished 3-7. The Penguins have struggled on defense and been inconsistent on offense this year, but the players and coaching staff are continuing to work through the adversity.

“We’ve been here before. You learn through adversity who you really are,” head coach Doug Phillips said. “You’ve gotta have that stick-to-it-iveness to keep working, keep improving and constantly have belief in those young men. … Sometimes that adversity — it brings you together a little tighter, a little stronger than you were.”

Even with the issues that it has on both sides of the ball, YSU is still fighting to get better.

Phillips has said that he’s seen positive things in practice that he hasn’t yet seen translate to gamedays on Saturday yet.

It’s all part of a process for the Penguins, as they strive to improve and turn their season around.

“You’re not going to win every game,” defensive tackle Jaelen Crider said. “We just gotta come out and just keep fighting. That’s what we do. You’re going to deal with adversity. That’s what our coaches preach to us. That’s what all of us know. That’s what they instilled in us.”

The Penguins feel like they’re close, that they’re right on the cusp of putting it all together, especially since four of their games have been decided by one score — three of which they came out on the losing end.

“We were prepared and we just didn’t finish,” Phillips said. “It always comes down to being a 60-minute battle. … In this league, you’re going to find 60-minute games. The years that we won seven games, guess what? How many of those games came down to the last play of a game? Sometimes you end up on this side of it.”

YSU’s seniors have been through all the ups and downs during their careers.

They were part of the 2021 team that went 3-7, but they were also part of last season’s team that went 8-5 and made the program’s first playoff appearance since 2016.

They’ve been through it all, now they’re trying to take the reins and help lead the younger players through the adversity of this season.

“We talk about how it’s always easy to lead when things are going well. But how do you lead when things aren’t going so well?” right tackle Jaison Williams said. “Right now, we’re just in that, we’re at that point. We’re in that phase where we’re trying to bring the guys along and keep everybody up. Not saying morale is bad, because it’s definitely not, but we’re just at a point in time in a season where we’re just getting everybody rolling to have that pride, that jump, that want-to.”

YSU has another chance to put it all together on Saturday, as the Penguins host No. 4 South Dakota at 6 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium.

“We just gotta keep moving forward. That’s how football works,” Williams said. “This is just another opportunity for us. We’re going to prepare and we’ll go out there and play on Saturday.”

The Penguins are coming off having faced one of the most-efficient and explosive offenses in the FCS last week in South Dakota State. But Phillips thinks the Coyotes’ offense might be even better.

South Dakota quarterback Aidan Bouman is in his third season as a starter, and he commands a unit that is averaging 40.5 points per game (sixth in FCS) and 440.5 yards per game (12th in FCS).

Couple that with a defense giving up only 10.5 points (third best in FCS) and 282.2 yards (seventh best in FCS) per game, and YSU will have its hands full.

“It’s a great challenge for our defense, our offense and our special teams,” Phillips said. “That’s why you play in the Missouri Valley. I tell our kids all the time, that’s why you came to Youngstown State — to play in these types of games. It’s our job to close that gap. Our job is to be ready to play in those games, and like I said, we’re going to stick to it.”

Just two years ago, South Dakota struggled to a 3-8 season. The Coyotes then turned it around last year to go 10-3 and get to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, while continuing to build on that success this season.

Phillips hopes the Penguins can follow that same blueprint.

“They struggled to a three-win season with the same kids,” Phillips said. “I give them all the respect in the world. Guess what? They stuck to it. They stayed with the plan, and we’re going to continue to work as hard as we can. … It’s our job as a coach to make sure your kids can succeed. So I challenge those coaches when we don’t succeed. I always say this, it’s never the players’ fault, meaning it’s on us. It’s on us to find a way for our young men to succeed.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.