The Youngstown State football team's 2023 season came to an end in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on Saturday as the Penguins fell 45-28 to eighth-seeded Villanova.
The Penguins finish the campaign that saw them qualify for the postseason for the first time in seven years with an 8-5 record. The Wildcats improve to 10-2 and advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Youngstown State held a 10-7 lead after Mitch Davidson threw a 34-yard touchdown to Joey Farthing a minute into the second quarter, but Villanova scored 31 of the next 34 points in the contest and built a 38-13 lead.
Davidson threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns in his final collegiate game. He completed 27 of his 44 attempts, and he finished the campaign with a school-record 3,088 yards.
Max Tomczak was on the receiving end of nine of those passes, and he finished with a game-high 105 yards through the air. Farthing finished with 73 yards and two scores, Bryce Oliver caught three of hits 10 targets for 38 yards in his final game. Dra Rushton ran for 48 yards on 13 carries to lead the rushing attack.
Villanova finished with 466 yards on offense and gained at least 20 yards on 10 different plays. The Wildcats gained 191 yards on the ground, and Connor Watkins threw for 275 yards on 12 completions.
The Wildcats had a 35-yard run by DeeWill Barlee and a 25-yard run by Jalen Jackson on the first drive of the game, and Jackson finished off a scoring drive with five-yard touchdown that made the score 7-0.
The Penguins went three-and-out on their first drive offensively, but Alex Howard picked off Watkins two plays into Villanova's drive to set up a short field. YSU took over at the Wildcats' 26 and faced second-and-three on the Villanova 8, but the Penguins had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka.
YSU's defense forced a punt on the next opportunity, and Davidson put the Penguins ahead on the third play of the second quarter when he hit Farthing on a 34-yard scoring strike on fourth-and-five. That gave Youngstown State its only lead of the game with 14:01 left before halftime.
Villanova got a 36-yard kickoff return and 15 extra yards on a penalty, and five runs later Watkins put the Wildcats up 14-10 on a one-yard touchdown.
On the next drive of the game, YSU faced a third-and-two at the Villanova 35, and Davidson threw an incomplete pass to Tomczak. The Penguins took a delay of game penalty, and Brendon Kilpatrick's punt pinned the Wildcats at the 3. However, a 34-yard pass on the second play of the drive gave Villanova some breathing room, and Watkins hit a wide-open Jaylan Sanchez for a 64-yard touchdown two plays later to put Villanova up 21-10. That's what the score remained at halftime, and the Wildcats went on to score on four of their first five possessions of the second half.
Davidson was intercepted on YSU's first drive of the second half, and the Wildcats cashed in on the turnover with four-yard touchdown by Jackson that made the score 28-10. The Penguins had to settle for another field goal in the red zone on their next drive, and Lastovka's 31-yard field goal kept them in striking distance at 28-13 with 5:03 left in the third quarter.
Villanova answered with its own 31-yard field goal on its final drive of the third quarter, and the Penguins turned the ball over on downs at the Villanova 32 on the final play of the quarter. Six plays later, Watkins stretched the lead to 38-13 on a 14-yard run with 11:41 on the clock.
The Penguins got back within 17 with 8:53 left when Davidson threw a 14-yard touchdown to Luke Hensley and a two-point conversion to Oliver. YSU then forced a three-and-out and took over with 7:47 left, but Davidson was intercepted at the YSU 41 on the third play of the drive. Villanova scored four plays later on a 22-yard run by Barlee to go up 45-21, and Davidson connected with Farthing for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:30 left for the game's final score.
Youngstown State finished with 369 yards of offense, and it gained 22 first downs. The Penguins were outgained 191-82 on the ground, and YSU was held to 4-for-16 on third-down conversions. They were able to get three first downs on fourth-down opportunities, and two of those plays went for touchdowns to Farthing.
