The Youngstown State football team finished with a 7-4 overall mark while posting a 5-3 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference play in 2022. The Penguins earned their first winning season overall since 2017 and finished above .500 in the powerful MVFC for the first time since 2016.

YSU was picked to finish ninth in the conference prior to the year, but exceeded expectations placing in a tie for third.

• Senior running back Jaleel McLaughlin had one of the most productive careers in NCAA College Football history. In his impressive career, which spanned two years at Notre Dame (Ohio) and YSU, he rushed for an NCAA all-division record of 8,166 yards on 1,250 carries while scoring 79 touchdowns. In his three seasons as a Penguin, he rushed for 3,418 yards on 535 attempts and had 30 touchdowns.
• McLaughlin was named a first-team All-American by HERO Sports, Stats Perform, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele and The Associated Press. He earned second-team mention by the AFCA. He became the first Penguin to earn first-team All-America honors since 2009.
• McLaughlin was named the Missouri Valley's Offensive Player of the Year. He is the first Penguin to be named the MVFC's top player since 2006 (Marcus Mason) and just the third overall. YSU is the only program since 2000 to have three running backs named MVFC Offensive Player of the Year.
• Wide receiver Bryce Oliver had one of the best seasons in school history by a wide receiver in program history. Oliver caught 59 passes for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 10 touchdowns are the most by a Penguin since John Goode in 1983. Oliver had eight TD receptions in 2021.
• Oliver became the first YSU wide receiver since 2010 to earn first-team All-MVFC honors. He joins Dominique Barnes (2010) and Ferlando Williams (2007) as the only wide receivers in school history to earn first-team All-MVFC recognition.
• Placekicker Colt McFadden had a season to remember. McFadden made a career-long 52-yard field goal against South Dakota. It was the longest field goal by a YSU kicker since 2003. He made a 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to lift YSU to victory at Western Illinois.
• QB Mitch Davidson threw 12 touchdown passes with just one interception during the season. He completed 119-of-201 passes for 1,613 yards. He started the final seven games of the year. He threw for more than 200 yards in a game on five occasions, highlighted by a 288-yard effort vs. North Dakota. He had a high of three touchdowns against South Dakota.
• Linebacker Griffin Hoak played in 40 games in his YSU career and finished with 140 total tackles, including 89 solo stops.

2022 Team Notes

• YSU had a four-win improvement from 2021 to 2022. It was the biggest regular season turned around since the 1995-1996 season.
• The Penguins won three games after trailing in the fourth quarter. On Oct. 22, YSU trailed Western Illinois 27-17 before rallying for a 28-17 victory. On Nov. 5, the Guins trailed 17-13 at Illinois State before winning 19-17. On Nov. 19, YSU was down 21-7 to Southern Illinois before winning 28-21.
• The Guins threw just three interceptions, the fewest in a season in school history.
• YSU committed just nine turnovers in 2022. The Guins ran 705 plays from scrimmage on the year.
• YSU finished the year with 29 sacks.
• Players who started all 11 games were: Jaleel McLaughlin, Greg Benton Jr., Chris Fitzgerald, James Jackson, Mike McAllister, David Metzler, Bryce Oliver, Aidan Parker and Dylan Wudke.
•  YSU set a school record for touchdown passes in a game with six against Dayton. Demeatric Crenshaw tied a school record with five TD passes vs. the Flyers.
• Numbers of Note: Six different players caught touchdown passes, 12 players had receptions, YSU was dominant with a time of possession of 30:56. The Penguins ran 66-or-more plays in six games. YSU forced a turnover in each of the final six contests. In the red zone in MVFC games, YSU scored on 24-of-27 opportunities.
• YSU had more than 400 yards of total offense on six occasions and rushed for more than 178 yards in seven games.
• YSU had six 200-plus yard passing efforts for the year as well while throwing a touchdown pass in eight contests.
• YSU held six opponents to 103-or-fewer yards rushing in a game throughout the year. Four times YSU held an opponent to under 150 yards passing in a game.
• The defense allowed just 120.2 yards rushing per game. The lowest per game total since 2012 and the second lowest since 1998.
• In the fourth quarter, the Penguins outscored the opposition 96-68.