If you thought Youngstown State was anxious about being in the national spotlight, or even that the Penguins were looking forward to tomorrow's game more than others -- well, you'd be dead wrong.

Just ask senior cornerback Jason Perry.

"I don't want any of my teammates to feel that way, that we need to be nervous and really, really get up for this game -- it should be like that every week," Perry said. "We're gonna respect Penn State just like we respect Indiana State or Slippery Rock."

Unlike the Penguins' other games, though, this will be the first time the Division I-AA squad from Ohio will ever face a nationally ranked Div. I-A team. And it'll likely be the largest crowd Youngstown State will ever see.

The Penguins attract about 16,000 fans for each home game. Youngstown State might see 106,000 come tomorrow.

Again, Perry didn't seem to think that was a terribly big deal.

"We're not preparing because it's Penn State. We're not intimidated or anything like that, but we're not laid-back either," he said.

Perry acknowledged it was a big opportunity for Youngstown State and said his team wasn't entering with the mindset it would lose.

After all, the Penguins have four of their seven conference games on the road this year. Starting that off with a stop at Beaver Stadium should certainly make the other venues more manageable.

"Obviously we have to take into account it's grass and there's crowd noise and it's our first road game," head coach John Heacock said. "But, our team being a little older, we're not getting all giddy."

Heacock acknowledged his squad was a little wide-eyed last season when it took on Pittsburgh -- the Penguins' first real game against a reputable Div. I-A opponent. But he said that's all changed -- his team is poised and ready to play.

"It was different [last year] in the aspect of just the stadium," Perry said about last season's 41-0 loss. "It was different, a lot of cameras and seats. It was really just the stadium, though, and it seemed like a professional atmosphere.

"But the talent level and everything? It was football."

Perry also said the Lions reminded him of other teams in the Gateway Conference because they're "Div. I-A big guys." And it's not like Youngstown State doesn't have some Div. I-A talent on its team -- they actually have 15 Div. I-A transfers, including former Penn State safety Vince Gliatta who was on the team when Paul Posluszny was a freshman.

"It's just another game. Football's just a game, and we're going to go out and play, whether it's Penn State or Illinois State," Perry said. "We're going to play hard, come out and be prepared."