Youngstown State vs. Illinois State
Oct. 21, 2023 | Stambaugh Stadium
Youngstown, Ohio | 2 p.m.

Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (Drae Smith, Chris Sammarone)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie, Ron Potesta, Mike Orto)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App

Penguins
Record: 3-3, 1-2 MVFC
Last Game: at South Dakota (L, 31-34)
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Fourth Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @ysufootball

Redbirds
Record: 4-2, 2-1 MVFC
Last Game: vs. Indiana State (W, 44-7)
Head Coach: Brock Spack (15th Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @RedbirdFB

Series History
All-Time Series: Tied 15-15
In Youngstown: YSU leads 9-6
Win Streak: YSU, 2 games
Last Meeting: YSU 19-17 (2022)

    The No. 25 (Stats Perform) Youngstown State football team entertains 25th-ranked (AFCA) Illinois State on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff for the Homecoming contest at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    The Penguins (3-3 overall, 1-2 in MVFC) suffered another tough road setback falling 34-31 at South Dakota last Saturday at the DakotaDome. YSU overcame a 31-10 deficit to force a tie late. However on the final play of the game South Dakota kicked a field goal for the win. YSU's last three conference road losses have all come by three points.
    YSU and South Dakota traded field goals in the first quarter before the Coyotes built a 17-3 halftime lead behind two touchdowns of more than 30 yards. On its first drive of the second half, USD pushed its lead out to 24-3 with 9:20 left in the third quarter.
    The Guins offense awoke when QB Mitch Davidson hit WR Joey Farthing on a 65-yard touchdown pass. However, the Coyotes answered back two plays later on a 56-yard pass from Aidan Bouman to Carter Bell.
    Following that TD, the Guins scored 21 straight points to pull even. Davidson connected with Max Tomczak on a 65-yard score in the third. In the fourth, Dra Rushton scored on a one-yard plunge and Davidson found Bryce Oliver for a six-yard touchdown tying the contest with 5:48 left.
    With just three seconds remaining, USD's Will Leyland came on and kicked a 41-yard field goal on the last play for the win.
    Illinois State (4-2, 2-1) drilled Indiana State 44-7 last Saturday at Hancock Stadium. After the Sycamores took a 7-0 lead on a pick-six, the Redbirds finished the game scoring the last 44 points. QB Zack Annexstad passed for four touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 79 yards in the game.
    The Illinois State defense held Indiana State to just 168 yards of total offense and 11 first downs on the afternoon.
    YSU has won the past two meetings to pull even in the all-time series. Each program has won 15 games in a series that dates back to 1979.
    Last year, the Guins rallied for a 19-17 win when Davidson connected with Oliver for a touchdown pass with five seconds left on windy and chilly November afternoon in Normal, Ill.

Offense Putting Up The Points
    In their five games against FCS opponents this season the Penguins have scored at least 31 points. In three of those contests, the Guins have registered 40 or more.
    YSU opened the season by scoring 52 points against Valparaiso before adding 48 against Robert Morris, 41 at UNI and 31 vs. Southern Illinois and South Dakota.
    Last year YSU scored 40-or-more points on three occasions and eclipsed the 30-point mark in five games. The last time the Guins scored 40-plus points at least four times in a season was 2019.

Protecting Home Field
    The Penguins have been strong at Stambaugh Stadium winning eight of their last nine games since the start of the 2022 season.
    This year at Stambaugh Stadium, YSU has outscored the opposition 131-41 while going 3-0. The closest game was a 20-point decision over Robert Morris. In that game, the Colonials added two late touchdowns for the final margin.
    Last time out at home, YSU defeated No. 5 ranked Southern Illinois, 31-3.
    Three of the Penguins' next four games are at home.

Tough On the Run
    The Penguins rank fifth in the FCS allowing just 80.8 yards rushing per game. YSU only  trails Southern Illinois (69.8), Princeton (73), Lafayette (79.8) and Florida A&M (80). 
    On 152 carries, the Guins have surrendered just 485 yards this season. However, 194 of those yards have come on five carries (60, 40, 34, 30, 30). On the other 147 attempts, YSU has allowed 291 yards (1.98 per rush).

Scoring on the Ground
    Through the first six games of the season, YSU has scored 20 rushing touchdowns. Last year in 11 games, the Guins had 20 and that was with first-team All-America running back Jaleel McLaughin in the backfield.
    QB Mitch Davidson scored a rushing touchdown in the first four games of the year. TB Tyshon King leads the squad with eight rushing scores. TB Dra Rushton has six scores and has one TD in each of the past four ballgames.
    In total, five Guins have scored a rushing touchdown. In 2022, only four Penguins scored on the ground.

King Penguin Impresses
    Transfer running back Tyshon King has been a strong addition to the program since coming in from Northern Michigan.
    Through six games, King rushed for 483 yards on 75 carries and scored a team-high eight touchdowns. 
    Three times he has rushed for more than 111 yards, all of which have come at Stambaugh Stadium. He has also scored touchdowns in four of five contests.
    Against Southern Illinois he had a season-high 23 carries for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns. Against Robert Morris, he had 117 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns. Against Valparaiso he rushed for 111 yards on just 11 carries and added two scores in his YSU debut. 
    On three occasions he has been named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week for his efforts.

Tomczak, Rushton Step Up
    Two offensive playmakers TB Dra Rushton and WR Max Tomczak had the best games of their YSU careers at South Dakota.
    Rushton rushed for a career-high 116 yards on 16 carries while Tomczak caught six passes for 134 yards at USD. Both had career-long plays as Rushton popped a 33-yard run in the first quarter while Tomczak caught a 66-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
    Rushton's previous best effort was 78 at Western Illinois last season. Tomczak's previous top performance was 92 yards last year vs. Dayton.
    This year Rushton has rushed for 279 yards  on 66 carries while Tomczak is up to 290 yards on 19 receptions.

Strong on Special Teams
    The Penguins special teams have performed well through the first six contests.
    YSU ranks eighth in the nation in net punting at 41.3 yards and is tied for third in the nation with three blocked punts.
    In the opener, Michael Voitus blocked a Valparaiso punt and Jaylen Castleberry returned it for a touchdown. Against RMU, Daryan Bowling was able to get his hands on a punt as well.
    At UNI, Bryce Oliver blocked a punt that was recovered by Deamontae Diggs and set the Guins up at the UNI nine-yard line.

Charleston Back on Field
    One of the great stories this season has been the return to the lineup of CJ Charleston. 
    Charleston missed last year after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in fall camp.
    Charleston has 309 yards on 21 receptions and a touchdown in 2023. He had a career-high six catches for 119 yards against RMU. At UNI he had five grabs for 88 yards. Against Valparaiso he caught the first touchdown catch of his career. 
    The game against Valpo marked his first game since Nov. 20, 2021, which was at Southern Illinois. Since his debut in 2019, has caught 48 passes for 670 yards in 23 games played. In 2021, he caught 16 passes for 147 yards and started six games.

Oliver A Top Target
    WR Bryce Oliver has been a big producer for the Guins upon his arrival. 
    He has played in 26 games and has a touchdown reception in 14 contests (two in 2023, seven in 2022 and five in 2021). 
    In the last 10 games he has played against MVFC foes dating back to October 2022, he has caught touchdown passes in eight contests.
    In his YSU career, Oliver has 115 receptions for 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is one of just three players in school history with 20 touchdown receptions in a career.
    In 2022, he had 59 catches for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Howard Having Big Year
    LB Alex Howard leads the Penguins with 38 total tackles (21-17) on the year. That total already eclipses his 2022 season total of 34.
    He's had at least five tackles in every game with a high of nine against Valparaiso in the season opener.
    He has been credited with sacks against Valparaiso, Ohio State and Southern Illinois. Last time out he had six tackles at South Dakota.
    Last year, Howard had 34 total tackles and just 3.5 TFLs playing in 10 games while making three starts.

Davidson Finding a Rhythm
    QB Mitch Davidson has completed 103-of-146 passes for 1,322 yards and seven touchdowns. He has four rushing scores in  the first six games of the campaign. He passed for 332 yards at UNI after throwing for 303 vs. Robert Morris marking back-to-back 300-yard games. At USD he tied his career-high with three touchdown passes.
     Davidson started the final seven games of last season, all of which came vs. MVFC foes. Davidson had an impressive performance during the 2022 campaign completing 119-of-201 passes for 12 touchdowns and just one interception.
    In eight of his 13 career starts, he's thrown for more than 200 yards while leading late-game comebacks against Western Illinois, Illinois State and Southern Illinois last year. 
    He has thrown three interceptions in his last 252 attempts.

Big Ranked Victory
    The 28-point margin of victory in the 31-3 victory over No. 5 Southern Illinois represented the fifth-largest against a ranked team in school history. The largest regular-season ranked win was a 41-7 triumph over Western Illinois on Sept. 22, 2001 at Stambaugh Stadium.

O-Line Features Strength
    YSU's offensive line returns four of five starters from a season ago. That group has a large amount of starting experience with Jaison Williams (33 starts), Aidan Parker (33 starts), David Metzler (24 starts) and Ryan Johnson (21 starts) leading the way. Redshirt freshman Desmeal Leigh has started the past six games at left tackle.

Preseason MVFC Accolades
    WR Bryce Oliver, OL Jaison Williams and DE Dylan Wudke were all named preseason first-team All-MVFC selections. DT Chris Fitzgerald and LS Sam Merryman were named to the preseason second team while TB/TE Jake Benio, LB Greg Benton and DB Quincy Lenton were tabbed preseason honorable-mention.

17 Graduates on Roster
    The Penguins have 17 graduate student-athletes on their roster for the 2023 campaign.
    Those Guins who have their undergraduate degrees are: Greg Benton, Quincy Lenton, Marcus Hooker, Tyshon King, Jake Benio, Ryan Johnson, Dra Rushton, Bryce Oliver, D'Marco Augustin, Adrian Compton, Alijah Curtis, Alex Howard, Caleb Mitchell, Mike Morris, Mitch Davidson, Andres Lehrmann and Dylan Wudke.

Experience On the D-Line
    The Guins have a wealth of experience on the defensive line as well.
    The defensive line features veterans Dylan Wudke (30 starts), Chris Fitzgerald (27), Anthony Johnson (12), Andres Lehrmann (six) and Devin Lee (five). Fitzgerald has started 27 straight games while Wudke has started 25.

Numbers of Note
• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 153-48 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 30-87.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 176-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 155-23 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 178-32 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 94-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 207-23 when leading entering the fourth.
• 94-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.
• YSU is 21-6 when a back rushes for more than 200 yards in a game.