Florida International backup quarterback David Tabor orchestrated back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to force overtime and threw a one-yard touchdown in the first series of overtime to lead the Golden Panthers to a 22-16 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.

Tabor's effort overshadowed a solid all-around effort by the Penguins. YSU held a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and had a 13-0 advantage at halftime.

FIU (1-0) trailed 16-3 with 9:39 remaining in regulation, but Tabor came in to lead scoring drives of 85 and 54 yards to tie the score at 16 with 2:33 remaining in regulation. After YSU (1-1) won the toss and elected to go on defense first in overtime, Tabor found James Williams in the end zone on the fourth play of the series, and, after a failed extra point by Chris Patullo, the Golden Panthers led 22-16.

YSU freshman quarterback Tom Zetts was stripped trying to scramble for a first down on a third-and-three and FIU's Daunte Foster recovered to end the game.

Down 16-3 with just under 10 minutes on the clock, Tabor came off the bench and guided the Golden Panthers on a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive in just over three minutes to make the score 16-9. FIU faced a fourth-and-one on the YSU 12, but Tabor hit Samuel Smith on the right sideline and the tight end shed a tackler to rumble to the end zone. Tabor was 7-for-12 for 86 yards on the drive and also converted on a fourth and four at the YSU 36. FIU had a chance to cut the deficit to six, but Adam Moss's extra point attempt was wide right.

After the FIU defense forced a three-and-out, Tabor led the Golden Panthers 54 yards on six plays in 2:47 to tie the score at 16. Following a 15-yard FIU penalty on the punt, Tabor connected on completions of 30 and 23 yards down to the YSU 8. Two plays later, he found Harold Leath in the endzone for a nine-yard touchdown.

Zetts finished 17-of-32 for 168 yards and a touchdown while Matt Rycraft tallied eight catches for 96 yards. Monquantae Gibson led the rushing attack with 122 yards on 22 carries and Josh Cayson chipped in with 50 yards on 14 carries.

Jeremiah Wright posted a team-high 12 tackles while Mike Bracken and Jason Perry finished with 11 apiece.

Tabor was 15-of-22 for 174 yards and three touchdowns while Josh Padrick was 17-of-36 for 164 yards. Rashod Smith led the rushing attack with 55 yards on 16 attempts.

The Penguins held the upper hand throughout the first half as they led 13-0 heading into the locker room with an advantage of 207 to 123 in the yardage column.

YSU got on the board with 17 seconds remaining in the opening quarter when placekicker Nick Terracina split the uprights on a 47-yard field goal. Gibson led a Penguin rushing attack that rushed eight times for 50 yards with 30 yards on five carries on the drive.

Brandon Brown then stripped Smith at the YSU 41 on the Golden Panthers' ensuing possession to set up a nine play, 59 yard scoring drive that put the Penguins up 10-0. After Zetts connected with Rycraft on passes of 22 and 15 yards, the redshirt freshman quarterback found Deke Ison in the flats for a seven-yard touchdown.

Terracina connected from 32 yards out with one second remaining in the first half to up the YSU advantage to 13-0. The Penguins took over at their own 26 with 1:22 left on the clock, but Zetts hit on three straight passes - twice to Rycraft and once to Cayson - covering 40 yards to move the ball to the FIU 22. Zetts then scrambled seven yards down to the FIU 15 to set up Terracina's conversion.

FIU cut the deficit to 10 with 9:24 remaining in the third when Moss connected on a 31-yard field goal attempt, but Terracina answered with his third field goal of the night on YSU's first possession of the fourth quarter. With YSU on their own 43 yardline, Gibson rushed on nine straight plays down to the FIU one to set up Terracina's 21-yard field goal.

The Penguins were last in an overtime contest on Oct. 18, 2003, in a 30-24 victory over Indiana State. YSU is now 6-3 in overtime contests in its history.

YSU will travel to Lake Charles, La. take on the McNeese State Cowboys on Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.