Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU reciever Kylon “Flash” Wilson breaks a tackle and eludes a Towson defender on a long kickoff return against the Tigers on Sept. 20 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.

YOUNGSTOWN — Coming out of its idle week, Youngstown State knows what lies ahead.

YSU finished nonconference play at 3-1 — its best start through four games since 2019. Now starting Saturday until the end of the regular season, the Penguins will traverse through the toughest conference in the FCS for eight straight weeks.

“It was great finishing the Towson game off with a win. It’s my first time in five years here that we’ve started 3-1 in non-conference play,” senior linebacker Preston Zandier said during Tuesday’s weekly press conference. “That’s a huge start because you gotta get to seven or eight wins to make the playoffs. We know what’s ahead of us. There’s a gauntlet of the Missouri Valley. It’s always hard against those teams, and every game is going to be a dogfight. You have to be ready every single game and be prepared every single game.”

Like any team, the Penguins have been slightly banged up over the first few weeks of the season. The idle week gave YSU some much-needed time to recover and get healthier.

Head coach Doug Phillips said Tuesday morning that senior tight end Austin Bray will miss the rest of the season with a broken hand. Phillips added that Bray will redshirt, which gives him the possibility of returning next year.

Phillips also mentioned that defensive back DJ Harris, who has been out since the season opener, and wide receiver Luke Hensley are both back at practice this week and are day-to-day. Junior offensive lineman Desmeal Leigh, who came out of the Towson game and didn’t return, is also questionable this week and has been limited in practice.

Finally, senior tailback Ethan Wright, who missed all of spring practice and hasn’t played since sustaining a season-ending injury against Southern Illinois last year, is expected to make his season debut this week against South Dakota State.

“Ethan has wanted to go, but we had a plan with Ethan for after the bye week,” Phillips said. “He probably wanted to go at Michigan State, wanted to go at Towson. But I like sticking to a plan with someone’s health. He’s been practicing and he’s going to go this week. That helps tremendously.”

During the idle week, the Penguins also spent time working on special teams, according to Phillips.

YSU has a great deal of confidence in its specialists, including senior punter Brendon Kilpatrick, who has statistically been one of the best punters in the country, and junior kicker Andrew Lastovka, who was named FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week last week after kicking the game-tying and game-winning field goals at Towson.

But the coverage units have been spotty at times. The Penguins gave up a long punt return at Michigan State, which led to a touchdown, and then allowed the Tigers to convert two fake punts.

“Punt protection is critical. We’ve gotta get better there,” Phillips said. “A lot of times, special teams is a unit where you’re getting young guys that are going to help this program maybe by the end of the year or next year, and you’re trying to get them game experience. A lot of those young kids are on special teams, but they still gotta earn it. We still gotta put the best players out there that can execute what we need to execute and not give up those big plays.

“So for us, going in last week, it was really diving deep into those special teams and making sure that we look a lot different for the next eight games, because it comes down to that, close games come down to that.”

When YSU takes the field on Saturday night at 6 p.m. (ESPN+/570 WKBN) at Stambaugh Stadium for its conference opener against the No. 2 Jackrabbits, the Penguins will need their special teams, in addition to their offense and defense, to fire on all cylinders.

“Night games in the ‘Ice Castle’ are always great,” Zandier said. “I hope, I would think there would be a big crowd, 3-1 team, 4-0 team. It’s always the Jackrabbits that give us a fight, and hopefully we can get in the game and have a giant crowd out there to get loud and mess them up.”

While SDSU has a new head coach and sustained some key personnel losses to the transfer portal in the offseason, the Jackrabbits are still one of the most well-rounded teams YSU will face this year.

South Dakota State is fifth in the FCS in total defense and 27th in total offense, and it already has impressive wins over both Sacramento State and Montana State.

“They’re always going to be disciplined. I think that’s the biggest thing about them,” senior receiver Max Tomczak said. “I don’t think they’re more talented than us, I think they’re just good at what they do. … Every time you come into conference play, no matter who the team is, it’s always a test. Getting the opportunity to play against the No. 2 team in the country is a great test for us. We’re going to go in with the same intensity we would in any week.”