YSU will debut the new helmets on the road in their regular season finale vs. Northern Iowa

PublishedNovember 21, 2025 12:10 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 21, 2025 12:22 PM EST

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The Penguins are coming.

And this time, they’ll be smacked upon each side of an otherwise all-white helmet with billboard-like size.

On Thursday, Youngstown State University (YSU) introduced a new look to their helmet rotation, and it will most definitely piss off old school, three yards and a cloud of dust, football guys.

YSU is nicknamed the Penguins and, if you didn’t already know that, it wouldn’t take many guesses to figure out the school’s moniker after getting a glimpse of their domes. 

The team’s new lids feature “Pete” the Penguin on each side of the helmet, complete with his signature stocking hat. Which, if you live in or near Youngstown, makes total sense, considering it often feels like 11 months of winter follow one month of summer.

So, Pete’s prepared and so too are the Penguins, whose new headwear mirrors that of a red dual penguin helmet the school introduced in 2022 and has since worn several times each season. The new helmet is the same as the ’22 look, but they’ve swapped red for white.

The only college team in America that’s labeled Penguins now has, inarguably, the two most unique helmet designs in college football. 

Mind you, this is the same school that buttoned-up former coach Jim Tressel won four titles at in the ‘90s. Would the man affectionately nicknamed “The Senator” and “The Sweater Vest” let these giant penguins fly?

Probably not.

And you can bet your ass the 40+ crowd that smokes heaters for breakfast and doesn’t know the difference between a TikTok and a Tic Tac is going to bark about these to anyone willing to listen.

But that doesn’t matter.

Recruiting does. And you better believe there’s an abundance of high school juniors and seniors waiting for their opportunity to slip a couple of Petes (red or white) over each earhole.

Look good, feel good. Feel good, play good. Or something like, right?

On Saturday against Northern Iowa, Youngstown State University is wearing their second of two white helmets this season that are brand new looks for the program. 

(C/O Youngstown State University football & Youngstown State University Athletic Dept.)

Youngstown State, who, oh by the way, has a QB in Beau Brungard that is firmly in contention for the Walter Payton award (the FCS version of the Heisman for all the novices out there), will wear the helmets for the first time this Saturday when they travel to Missouri Valley Conference rival Northern Iowa for the regular season finale against the Panthers. It’s a game in which YSU will be dressed head-to-toe in white with a likely playoff berth on the line.

And despite the likely huffing and puffing from the tougher-than-you old guys gazing at the new Penguins helmets for the first time come Saturday, all will likely be forgiven if they just ‘guin baby.Â