Youngstown State at North Dakota
Oct. 11, 2025 | Alerus Center
Grand Forks, N.D. | 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central

Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+/MidCo (Alex Heinert/Ryan Kasowski)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App

Penguins
2025 Record: 3-2, 0-1 MVFC
Last Game: South Dakota State 35, YSU 30
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Sixth Season)
X: @ysufootball

Fighting Hawks
2025 Record: 3-2, 1-0 MVFC
Last Game: North Dakota 35, UNI 7
Head Coach: Eric Schmidt (First Season)
X: @UNDfootball

Series History
All-Time Series: UND leads 4-1
Last Meeting: YSU 41-40 (2024)
In Grand Forks: UND leads 2-0

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Oct. 11 | 4 PM ET	Alerus Center Grand Forks, N.D.	ESPN+	570 WKBN	Live Stats

    The No. 20 (AFCA FCS Coaches Poll) Youngstown State football team visits No. 12 North Dakota in a key Missouri Valley Football Conference showdown on Saturday. Kickoff for the contest is set for 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game is available on the ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    • YSU suffered a tough 35-30 loss to No. 2 South Dakota State last Saturday evening at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins jumped out to a 14-0 lead and were on top 17-7 at halftime. But a 21-point third quarter by SDSU flipped the momentum. Despite battling, the Penguins came up short despite scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
    • QB Beau Brungard rushed for 130 yards on 22 carries to lead the ground game while WR Max Tomczak caught eight passes for 92 yards and three touchdowns in the contest. Brungard finished the game completing 29-of-44 passes for 275 yards and a career-high three scores.
    • This season, Brungard has rushed for 656 yards on 92 carries while scoring nine touchdowns. He has completed 103-of-156 passes for 1,030 yards and seven scores. He has thrown for 3,279 yards while rushing for 1,783 yards in his 30 career games.
    • Tomczak now has a reception in a school-record 38 straight games. He ranks second in school history in both receiving yards and catches. His 184 career receptions are two shy of tying the school record set by Jim Ferranti (186) which has stood since 1979. Tomczak has 2,401 receiving yards which trails Ferranti's 3,103.
    • YSU has eight takeaways in the five games compared to just two giveaways. The Guins forced just seven turnovers in 2024. 
    • North Dakota (3-2, 1-0 MVFC) is coming off an impressive 35-7 win at UNI last Saturday in its MVFC opener. The Fighting Hawks' two losses this year have come by a total of four points (at Kansas State and at Montana). In its two home games, UND has outscored its two opponents 108-27 and has scored more than 35 points in four contests overall.
    • The Penguins are making just their third all-time trip to Grand Forks in program history. Last time, the Guins dropped a tough 24-21 decision on Nov. 6, 2021 (24-21). YSU won an OT thriller last year, 41-40.

Defense With Eight Takeaways

    The Penguins forced eight turnovers in five games, which has exceeded their total of seven from 12 games in the 2024 campaign.
    YSU forced four turnovers in the season opener vs. Mercyhurst with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. That marked the most turnovers forced in a game by YSU since Nov. 19, 2022 (Southern Illinois).
    Against RMU, the Guins turned a late second-quarter fumble into a TD. Against Michigan State, Towson and South Dakota State the Guins had interceptions.
    Last year, the Guins had three interceptions and four recovered fumbles. 

Among the Best in the FCS

    QB Beau Brungard is among the nation's top performers in numerous running categories.
    He ranks third in rushing yards per game (131.2), fourth in rushing touchdowns, fifth in total touchdowns (nine), sixth in total rushing yards (656) and eighth in yards per carry (7.13).

The Wright Stuff

    TB Ethan Wright returned to the field last Saturday after suffering an Achilles injury at Southern Illinois last November.
    Against South Dakota State, he had four receptions for 35 yards and two rushes for 24, including a long of 19.
    In 2024, Wright started at tailback on seven occasions for the Penguins en route to being named to the MVFC All-Newcomer squad. In 11 games at YSU, he has 136 carries for 677 yards and 18 receptions for 114 yards.
    In 32 career games played at UC from 2020-23, he had 215 yards on 44 attempts and caught five passes for 44 yards.

First-Time Starters

    The Penguins has had 21 first-time starters so far this year after five games.
    On offense, WR Flash Wilson, guards Joe Sferra and Isaac Perkins, TB Jaden Gilbert and TE Austin Bray started for the first time. On defense, DBs Dathan Hickey, Justin Wimpye and Dayne Hodge, LB Carston Marshall and defensive lineman Ebony Curry Jr., Thomas Jolly and Collin Vaughn started for the initial time. 
    Against Robert Morris, LB Graydon Rollins, WR Mike Solomon and TE Alex McDonald were first-time starters. 
    At Michigan State, WR RK Dandridge and TB Tahir Mills started. 
    At Towson, DT Cameron Cunningham, DB Jussiah Williams-West and TE Michael Manna all started for the first time.

National Honors Trifecta

    The Penguins have had the Stats Perform National FCS Players of the Week on offense, defense and special teams this season.
    PK Andrew Lastovka was named the National Special Teams Player of the Week after kicking the game-winning field goal at Towson. QB Beau Brungard was named the National Offensive Player of the Week following his record-setting performance against Robert Morris. DB Dathan Hickey took top national Defensive honors following the opening game vs. Mercyhurst.

Tomczak Moving Up Charts

    WR Max Tomczak enters the game ranked second in school history with 184 receptions and 2,401 yards. 
    His 184 career receptions rank him only behind Jim Ferranti (186). Ferranti also owns the school record with 3,103 yards set back in 1979.
    In 2024, Tomczak had 73 grabs for 904 yards and four touchdowns. He had 56 catches for 669 yards in 2023 and 26 for 430 yards in 2022. In three games this season, he has 190 yards on 14 receptions.
    He has caught a pass in a school record 38 consecutive contests. Tomczak also has at least four receptions in 20 of his last 23 games.
    This year he has 29 catches for 398 yards and four touchdowns.

Specialists Own Experience

    The Penguins' specialists group features an impressive array of experience.
    YSU has third-year starters in punter Brendon Kilpatrick and placekicker Andrew Lastovka. New to the lineup is long snapper Byron Floyd, who started for two seasons at Pitt and one at Buffalo, before transferring into the program.
    Kilpatrick was selected as the FCS Punter of the Year by the Augusta Sports Council in 2024. 
    Lastovka has made 35 field goals in 30 career contests, including two as time expired. Floyd has started 43 games (25 at Pitt, 13 at Buffalo and five at YSU).
    Lastovka has made 68 straight PATs dating back to Nov. 18, 2023. Kilpatrick is averaging 45.8 yards a punt on 16 kicks this year. Five of his 16 kicks are longer than 50 yards.

Hodge, Hickey Lead Back End

    DBs Dathan Hickey and Dayne Hodge have made  instant impacts and bring a good wealth of experience to the secondary. 
    In five games at YSU, Hodge ranks second on the team with 31 tackles while Hickey is third with 28 stops.
    Hickey missed the campaign last season with an injury, but had appeared in 28 games throughout his career at Yale. From the 2022 season to this year, he played in only five games after appearing in 23 from 2018-21.
    Hodge played in 28 games and started 19 contests at Tulsa. In 2024, he started 11 games and was second on the team with 60 tackles.

Harris Returns to Lineup

    CB DJ Harris returned to the lineup against South Dakota State after missing nearly three games.
    Harris registered a team-leading 10 tackles against the Jackrabbits, including seven stops.
    Against Mercyhurst in the season opener, he had eight total tackles, including an impressive seven solos.
    Harris was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer squad last year as a safety. Last season, he led the team with 57 total tackles and was second with 36 solo stops. He also led the team with 47 tackles in MVFC play with 28 solos and 19 assist.
    He ended the season with 35 tackles in the final four games. 

Brungard Shows Off Skills

    Junior QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 18th straight start at QB on Saturday.
    For his career, he has rushed for 1,783 yards on 279 carries (6.4 yards per rush) with 28 touchdowns. He has thrown for 3,279 yards completing 326-of-490 passes (66.5 percent).
    In the past two seasons as a starter, he has rushed for 1,654 yards on 251 attempts with 25 scores. In 2024, he rushed for 998 yards on 159 carries and scored 16 touchdowns averaging 83.2 yards per game.
    Brungard set the school  and conference record for rushing yards by a QB against Robert Morris on Sept. 7. On 10 carries, he had 264 yards and four touchdowns. The 264 yards tied for the third-most in a game in school history and broke the MVFC record of 245 (2001).
    Eight times in 17 career starts he has rushed for more than 100 yards. And four times in his career has he been the MVFC Player of the Week.
    He guided a fourth-quarter rally at Towson, which was the third of his YSU career.

Tomczak on Senior Bowl List

    WR Max Tomczak is a member of the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 list.
    Tomczak is one of just five FCS players on the list that includes 276 players from Power Four programs. He is joined by UIW WR Jalen Walthall, North Dakota State WR Bryce Lance, Stephen F Austin DB Charles Demmings and Harvard QB Jaden Craig.

O-Line Features Depth

    YSU's offensive line features four starters with double-digit collegiate starting experience.
    Desmeal Leigh has the most starting experience on the team with 30 starts. Shane Keenan has started the last 17 contests and moved to right tackle this year after playing guard in 2024.
    Van Keen has started 13 straight contests at center and has a total of 17 career starts.
    Guard Isaac Perkins started 15 games at Colgate before joining the Penguins this year. He has started each of the first five contests. Fourth-year Penguin Joe Sferra has also started the first five contests in 2025.
    Against Towson, Leigh and Keenan were replaced by Nick Nielsen and Mason Ludwig while redshirt freshman Rex Lahr was also called into duty. Nielsen saw extensive playing time at right tackle in the contest vs. SDSU.

2025 Team Captains

    YSU has elected five team captains for the 2025 season. 
    The five players voted captains for the year are QB Beau Brungard (12), TB Ethan Wright (2), Punter Brendon Kilpatrick (40), DE Michael Voitus (42) and DB Dathan Hickey (11).
    Voitus has been named a team captain for the second straight year.

Returning All-MVFC Performers

    The Guins bring back four All-MVFC players from a year ago.
    Highlighting the group is first-team WR Max Tomczak and QB Beau Brungard, who earned first-team accolades as an all-purpose player.
    Punter Brendon Kilpatrick was a second-team honoree while OT Desmeal Leigh was an honorable-mention pick.    

Preseason Accolades

Max Tomczak | WR
    • Senior Bowl Top 300
    • East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List
    • 2nd-Team Phil Steele Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team Stats Perform Preseason All-America
Desmeal Leigh | OL
    • Third-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
Brendon Kilpatrick | Punter
    • FCS Punter of the Year Watch List 
    (2024 winner)
    • Third-Team SI.com Preseason All-America
    • 3rd-Team Stats Perform Preseason All-America
Dathan Hickey | DB
    • East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List

Numbers of Note

• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 161-51 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 32-95.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 181-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 160-24 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 186-36 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 99-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 215-24 when leading entering the fourth.
• 95-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.
• YSU is 22-6 when having a ball carrier with more than 200 yards in a game.