Youngstown State vs. Indiana State
Nov. 15, 2025 | Stambaugh Stadium
Youngstown, Ohio | Noon

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

Penguins
2025 Record: 6-4, 3-3 MVFC
Last Game: Youngstown State 48, Southern Illinois 38
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Sixth Season)
X: @ysufootball

Sycamores
2025 Record: 3-7, 1-5 MVFC
Last Game: Illinois State 52, Indiana State 20
Head Coach: Curt Mallory (Ninth Season)
X: @IndStFB

Series History
All-Time Series: Youngstown State leads 25-8
Last Meeting: YSU 21, ISU 14 (2024)
In Youngstown: YSU leads 12-4

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Nov. 15 | Noon	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, Ohio	ESPN+	570 WKBN	Live Stats

    The No. 19 Youngstown State football team hosts Indiana State on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for noon. The game is available on the ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    • YSU (6-4 and 3-3 in the MVFC) picked up a key 48-38 win over Southern Illinois last Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. The Guins trailed 24-7 before scoring the next 28 points to turn the tide against the Salukis in a clash of playoff hopefuls. QB Beau Brungard passed for a career-best four touchdowns and a career-high 345 yards while adding two rushing scores. Flash Wilson caught two scoring tosses while Jaden Gilbert caught a touchdown passes and added a TD run in the win.
    • Trailing 24-7 in the second quarter, Brungard had a rushing score, Wilson hauled in a 17-yard pass, Ethan Wright added a 19-yard scoring reception and Gilbert capped off a 21-point third quarter with a 40-yard scamper to make it a 35-24 contest. After SIU crept within five points, Brungard scored on a 17-yard run and Gilbert caught a 13-yard pass to round out the scoring.
    • Brungard continued his stellar campaign having a hand in six touchdowns - four passing and two rushing. He finished the game with 104 yards rushing on 15 carries and completed 26-of-35 passes for 345 yards connecting with nine different receivers. He has 37 rushing scores in his career and a career-high 18 this season.    
    • WR Max Tomczak hauled in three passes for 61 yards in the win and now has 207 career catches in his YSU career. Tomczak has a reception in a school-record 43 straight games. Entering the game against ISU, Tomczak has 2,728 career receiving yards which trails only Jim Ferranti's 3,103.
    • Indiana State (3-7, 1-5 MVFC) dropped a 52-20 decision in Terre Haute against Illinois State last Saturday. The Redbirds broke the game open with a 28-point second quarter before adding 17 more in the third. The contest was tied at 14 before Illinois State scored the next 35 points. Two weeks ago, the Sycamores won at South Dakota State, 24-12 .
    • YSU leads the all-time series by a 25-8 margin. The Guins have won the last three meetings, including a 21-14 victory at Stambaugh Stadium last October. In that contest, the Penguins jumped out to a 21-0 lead before stopping the Sycamores late in the game to preserve the win.

Senior Day Honorees

    The Penguins will hold pregame ceremonies for the 23-member 2025 senior class prior to kickoff. Those student-athletes being recognized include DJ Harris, Ethan Wright, Max Tomczak, Luke Hensley, Jeremiah Robinson, Dathan Hickey, Mike Solomon, TC Caffey, Matt Reardon, Jarin Davis, Jonathan Schmidt, Preston Zandier, Dayne Hodge, Brendon Kilpatrick, Parker Jacobs, Byron Floyd, Grant Woods, Chris Sammarone, Easton Koroday, Nate Williams, Benjamin Tolble, Collin Vaughn, Joe Brown.

Defense With 12 Takeaways

    The Penguins have forced 12 turnovers in 10 games, which has by far 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.
    Against RMU, the Guins turned a late second-quarter fumble into a TD. Against Michigan State, Towson, South Dakota State, Murray State and North Dakota State the Guins had interceptions. At Illinois State, two interceptions led to 10 points in the victory.
    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 rushing and offensive categories.
    • First in Total Offense Yards (3,572)
    • First in Total Plays (499)
    • First in Points Responsible For (224)
    • First in Points Responsible Per Game (22.4)
    • Second Total Offense Per Game (357.2)
    • Second in total TDs (19)
    • Second in rushing TDs (18)
    • Second in points scored (114)
    • Second in points per game (11.4)
    • Fourth in rushing yards (1,145)
    • Sixth in yards per game (114.5)
    • Seventh in rushing attempts (186)
    • Ninth in Total Passing Yards (2,427)
    • 13th in passing yards per game (242.7)
    His 2,272 career rushing yards rank him 14th among active FCS players.

Tomczak Sets Catch Record

    WR Max Tomczak broke the YSU all-time receptions record earlier this season
    Tomczak now has 207 receptions, which easily eclipsed Jim Ferranti's mark of 186 that had stood since 1979 until this year.
    With his 2,728 yards receiving, Tomczak is still in contention to reach Ferranti's school mark of 3,103 yards. 
    This year, Tomczak he has 52 catches for 725 yards and five touchdowns. 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 43 consecutive contests. Tomczak also has at least four receptions in 24 of his last 28 games.

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 42 field goals in 35 career contests, including two as time expired. He has
made 88 of 89 PATs dating back to Nov. 18, 2023. Kilpatrick is averaging 46.8 yards a punt this year. At Illinois State he had a career-long 67-yard punt. Eight of his 29 kicks are longer than 50 yards. Floyd has started 48 games (25 at Pitt, 13 at Buffalo and 10 at YSU).

National Honors Pill Up

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

Flash Finding Form

    WR/KR Ky "Flash" Wilson has turned into a key play making threat for the Penguins.
    Wilson has 1,268 all-purpose yards - 746 on kickoff returns, 414 receiving and 108 rushing - in 10 games.
    He was named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week following a standout performance against Murray State on Oct. 25. He had 252 all-purpose yards against the Racers, highlighted by a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and 62-yard reception for a score.
    At Towson, he had a 76-yard kickoff return while also adding a 54-yard return at North Dakota and 52-yard return at NDSU.
    He caught two touchdown passes in the win over Southern Illinois.

First-Time Starters

    The Penguins have had 24 first-time starters this season.
    In the season opener, 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. Parker Jacobs was in the lineup against South Dakota State. At North Dakota, RT Nick Nielsen started for the initial time. At NDSU, C Matt Keeley and DT Connor Johannesen made their first starts.

Brungard Shows Off Skills

    Junior QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 23rd straight start at QB on Saturday.
    For his career, he has rushed for 2,272 yards on 373 carries with 37 touchdowns. He has thrown for 4,676 yards completing 434-of-637 passes (67.1 percent) and 30 touchdowns.
    Last time out against Southern Illinois, Brungard passed for a career-high four touchdowns and ran for two more scores. Against Murray State on Nov. 25, he ran for two TDs, threw for two scores and caught the first touchdown pass of his career.
    At Illinois State, Brungard had a 328-yard passing and 200-yard rushing effort. With no other confirmed numbers, he is believed to be the first player in FCS history to accomplish a 300-200 performance.
    Brungard set the school and conference record for rushing yards by a QB against Robert Morris. 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).
    Ten times in 22 career starts he has rushed for more than 100 yards and five times he has been the MVFC Player of the Week.

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 35 starts. Shane Keenan has started 20 contests at both tackle and guard the past two years.
    Van Keen has starter 16 contests at center and has a total of 20 career starts. Matthew Keeley has started the last two games at center.
    Guard Isaac Perkins started 15 games at Colgate before joining the Penguins this year. He has started each of the first 10 contests. Fourth-year Penguin Joe Sferra started nine of  10 contests during 2025.

Hodge Headlines Back End

    DB  Dayne Hodge has played a key role on the defense after bringing a good wealth of experience to the secondary. 
    In 10 games at YSU, Hodge ranks tied for second in total tackles with 55 (29 solos and 26 assists). On four occasions he's registered eight-or-more tackles, with a season-high 10 against Mercyhurst in his YSU debut. At Illinois State, he picked up his first YSU interception.
    Hodge played in 28 games and started 19 contests at safety for Tulsa before coming to YSU this season. 

Harris, Shahid Step Up

    CB DJ Harris and SS Makai Shahid are key veterans in the secondary. Shahid is tied for second the team with 55 tackles while Harris is fourth with 51. Against Southern Illinois, Harris registered 10 tackles.
    Harris has had interceptions in two of the past four games making impressive catches on deep balls. His pick at Illinois State helped stop a Redbird drive and eventually set up YSU's go-ahead score.
    In two seasons a starter, Shahid has 112 tackles, including 68 solo stops. He had 56 stops in 2024 and has followed that up with 55 this year. Harris has 107 total tackles at YSU, including 73 solo stops.

LBs Making Key Contributions

    The linebacking trio of Preston Zandier, Mike Wells and Carston Marshall are major contributors this year. 
    Zandier now leads the team with 56 total tackles while Marshall is fifth with 50. Wells has moved to more an edge role and has 30 tackles with a team-leading 8.5 TFLs and five sacks.
    In 42 games played, Zandier has 111 career tackles with 101 coming in the last two years. Marshall now has 59 career stops in 18 games while Wells has 58 total tackles in 37 games played. He had 23 tackles last season.

Gilbert Key Dual Threat

    TB Jaden Gilbert has made a big impact in his first year as a starter. 
    Gilbert has rushed for 487 yards on 75 carries and scored three times. He has been a key asset in the passing game ranking third on the team with 38 receptions for 353 yards.
    At NDSU he had a 31-yard grab and picked up a 39-yard rush in the first half. He had a season-long 66-yard rush and 39-yard catch at Michigan State earlier this year. Against SIU he had a receiving and rushing touchdown.    

The Wright Stuff

    TB Ethan Wright has returned to the lineup after suffering an Achilles injury at Southern Illinois last November.
    In six games this season, he has 25 rushes for 129 yards while catching 16 passes for 203 yards. At Illinois State, he took a screen pass 40 yards on 3rd-and-8 to help seal the victory late in the fourth quarter. Against SIU, he had the first receiving touchdown of his career.
    In 17 games at YSU, he has 161 carries for 806 yards and five touchdons to go along with 34 receptions for 317 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.

Numbers of Note

• Turnover Margin: Since 1996, YSU is 163-52 when they win or tie the turnover margin. When committing more turnovers, YSU is just 33-96.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 182-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 163-24 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 189-37 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 100-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 217-24 when leading entering the fourth.
• 95-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.
• YSU is 23-6 when having a ball carrier with more than 200 yards in a game.

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

Up Next:

    YSU closes out the regular season with a contest at UNI in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Nov. 22.