By Keon Edington / The Jambar
A major upset occurred in the Football Championship Subdivision as No. 25 Youngstown State University defeated No. 9 Illinois State University, 40-35. The Penguins broke a two-game losing skid against the Redbirds on Oct. 18.
Inside Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois, junior Beau Brungard led the team in the rushing and passing game. The quarterback rushed for 200 yards on 30 attempts for three touchdowns and threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns.
Brungard’s 528 total yards broke the record for offensive yards in a single game. The original record was set by former Penguin Ricky Davis, who recorded 447 yards in November 2017.
After the game, Brungard was named the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Head Coach Doug Phillips said he was pleased with the team fighting back after two tough losses.
“Our guys did not flinch in Normal, Illinois last week.” Phillips said. “Our kids said, ‘Halftime, they may want to win, but we need to win — we’re gonna find a way to get a win’ and how important that was.”
The ’Guins got off to an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter after two field goals from junior Andrew Lastovka.
The following drive, Brungard recorded four straight scrambles and a touchdown to put the ’Guins up by 12 unanswered points with 8:49 left in the second quarter.
The Redbirds responded with a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior Tyler Rittenhouse to senior Javon Charles to put them within five.
Rittenhouse then followed up with a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior Wenkers Wright that gave the Redbirds their first lead of the game. The Redbirds took a 14-12 lead into halftime.
To start the third quarter, Rittenhouse found redshirt junior Eddie Kasper for 37-yards on the opening play of the drive. Just a minute into the third quarter, the team increased its lead to 21-12.
A back-and-forth ballgame ensued as the Penguins quickly answered when Brungard found senior Mike Soloman for his second career touchdown 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Rittenhouse responded with a touchdown to senior Luke Mailander to end the third quarter and extended the lead for Illinois State, 28-19.
The fourth quarter began with a rushing touchdown from Brungard to put the Penguins within two of the Redbirds. The Penguins defense stepped up as senior DJ Harrison intercepted Rittenhouse with 10:02 left in the game. The offense followed up the defensive effort with Brungard completing a 53-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Fresh Waters. The Penguins took the lead, 33-28.
Brungard continued his historic day as he ran for 48 yards with 5:51 left to put the Penguins up 40-28. Illinois State tried to rebound with a touchdown to put them within five of the Penguins, but with the ball back, YSU ran the clock out and sealed the game.
With the win, Phillips said there are areas the team can improve on, especially concerning special teams.
“We gotta make huge improvements,” Phillips said. “I challenge our kids — that’s the one area where we gotta get a lot better because Illinois State beat us — is special teams.”
Youngstown State improves to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The win moves the program into sixth place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
The Penguins’ next game will be Oct. 25 against Murray State University inside Stambaugh Stadium. The Homecoming game will kickoff at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.