Youngstown State vs. Yale | FCS Playoffs First Round
Nov. 29, 2025 | Stambaugh Stadium
Youngstown, Ohio | Noon

Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (Anthony Lima, Marcus Ray)
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: 8-4, 5-3 MVFC
Last Game: Youngstown State 35, UNI 32
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Sixth Season)
X: @ysufootball

Bulldogs
2025 Record: 8-2, 6-1 Ivy
Last Game: Yale 45, Harvard 28
Head Coach: Tony Reno (12th Season)
X: @YaleFootball

Series History
All-Time Series: First Meeting
 

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Nov. 29 | Noon	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, Ohio	ESPN+	570 WKBN	TBA

    The 15th-seeded Youngstown State football team plays host to Yale in first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff for the playoff contest is set for Noon. The game is available on the ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio. The winner of Saturday's game advances to face second-seed Montana State in Bozeman next weekend.
    • YSU (8-4 and 5-3 in the MVFC) is appearing in the FCS playoffs for the 14th time in school history. The Guins are in the postseason for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Penguins defeated Duquesne before losing at Villanova. 
    • YSU closed out the regular-season with a thrilling 35-32 win at UNI, a place the program had not won at since 1999. In the first half, everything went the Penguins' way as they bolted out to a 28-3 lead. The second half felt like the previous 11 tries in which the Guins came up short as UNI outscored YSU 29-7. But in the end, the defense made a key late stop and the offense ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
    • In the first half, QB Beau Brungard had three rushing scores and added a nifty 12-yard touchdown pass to Alex McDonald as YSU went into the intermission leading by 25 points. UNI scored 15 unanswered to pull within 10 points less than 10 minutes into the third. Brungard found Ethan Wright on a three-yard toss to push the lead to 35-18 after three. However, the Panthers scored two touchdowns before YSU held on.
    • Brungard, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, added three more rushing touchdowns and two more passing touchdowns to his season total which is now at 48 overall thanks to one receiving score. For the year, he had an astonishing 24 rushing touchdowns while throwing for 23 more. 
    • Yale (8-2 and 6-1 Ivy League) defeated rival Harvard 45-28 last Saturday to clinch the first-ever postseason berth from the Ivy League. The Bulldogs started the campaign 2-2 before winning their final six games of the season.
    • In an exciting full-circle twist, current Penguin DB Dathan Hickey was part of the Yale program from 2018-23. He transferred to YSU in 2024, but missed last season due to an injury. That coupled with the Ivy League joining the postseason competition this fall will make for a memorable Saturday.

Excellent Playoff History

        The Penguins are appearing in the FCS playoffs for the 14th time in school history. 
    One of the most successful FCS postseason programs, YSU is 30-9 all-time for a .769 winning percentage. The Guins won I-AA/FCS titles in 1997, 1994, 1993 and 1991. YSU also advanced to the title game in 2016, 1999 and 1992. 
    Youngstown State last appeared in the postseason in 2023 beating Duquesne at home in the first round before falling at Villanova.

Among the Best in the FCS

    QB Beau Brungard finished the regular season among the nation's top performers in numerous rushing and offensive categories.
    • First in Total Offense Yards (4,295)
    • First in Total Plays (593)
    • First in Total TDs (48)
    • First in Points Responsible For (290)
    • Second in Points Responsible Per Game (24.6)
    • Second Total Offense Per Game (356.9)
    • Second in rushing TDs (24)
    • Second in points scored (150)
    • Second in points per game (13.5)
    • Third in passing completions (254)
    • Fifth in rushing yards (1,378)
    • Sixth in rushing yards per game (114.8)
    • Eighth in passing attempts (368)
    • Eighth in rushing attempts (242)
    • 10th in Total Passing Yards (2,917)
    • 13th in passing yards per game (243.1)
    His 2,505 career rushing yards rank him 13th among active FCS players.

Defense With 16 Takeaways

    The Penguins forced 16 turnovers in the regular season, their highest total since causing 19 in 2022. 
    YSU opened the season by causing four turnovers in a win over Mercyhurst.  That marked the most turnovers forced in a game by YSU since Nov. 19, 2022. Last time at home against Indiana State, the Guins forced three turnovers which led to 17 important points.
    For the entire 2024 campaign, the Guins had three interceptions and four recovered fumbles for a total of seven takeaways.   This season YSU has 10 picks and six recovered fumbles.

Tomczak Breaking Career Marks

    WR Max Tomczak broke the YSU all-time receptions record earlier this season.
    Tomczak now has 219 receptions, which smashed Jim Ferranti's mark of 186 that had stood since 1979 until this year.
    With his 2,919 yards receiving, Tomczak is still in contention to reach Ferranti's school mark of 3,103 yards entering the playoffs.
    This year, Tomczak he has 64 catches for a career-high 916 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging 14.3 yards per catch. 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.
    He has caught a pass in a school record 45 consecutive contests. Tomczak also has at least four receptions in 26 of his last 30 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 44 field goals in 37 career contests, including two as time expired. He has
made 98 of 99 PATs dating back to Nov. 18, 2023. Kilpatrick is averaging 46.3 yards a punt this year. At Illinois State he had a career-long 67-yard punt. Nine of his 35 kicks are longer than 50 yards. Floyd has started 50 games (25 at Pitt, 13 at Buffalo and 12 at YSU) in his collegiate career.

National Honors Four Times

    The Penguins have had the Stats Perform National FCS Players of the Week on offense, defense and special teams in the regular 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 had 1,528 all-purpose yards - 877 on kickoff returns, 550 receiving and 101 rushing in the regular season.
    His 877 kickoff return yards are a school record breaking the previous mark of 839 set by Andre Coleman in 1999. He leads the FCS in total kickoff return yardage while ranking sixth in average (29.2).
    He has twice named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week -  following a standout performances  against Murray State and UNI. 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 has touchdown receptions in three of the last four games, including a season-best two vs. SIU on Nov. 8.

Gilbert Key Dual Threat

    TB Jaden Gilbert has made a big impact in his first year as a starter. 
    Gilbert has rushed for 607 yards on 90 carries and scored three times. He has been a key asset in the passing game ranking third on the team with 40 receptions for 369 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.

Brungard Shows Off Skills

    Junior QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 25th straight start at QB on Saturday.
    For his career, he has rushed for 2,505 yards on 412 carries with 43 touchdowns. He has thrown for 5,166 yards completing 477-of-702 passes (67.9 percent) and 35 touchdowns.
    He has thrown a touchdown pass in each of the last 11 games and rushed for a score in 10 contests. Brungard has 15 rushing touchdowns in last five games and nine passing touchdowns in the last three games.
    At Illinois State on Oct. 18, 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).
    Eleven times in 24 career starts he has rushed for more than 100 yards and six 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 37 starts. Shane Keenan has started 21 contests at both tackle and guard the past two years.
    Van Keen has started 17 contests at center and has a total of 22 career starts. 
    Guard Isaac Perkins started 15 games at Colgate before joining the Penguins this year. He started the first 10 contests this season. Fourth-year Penguin Joe Sferra started 11 of  12 contests during 2025. Matthew Keeley has made three starts at center while Nick Nielsen has started at tackle on five occasions.

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 12 games at YSU, Hodge ranks second on the squad in total tackles with 68 (34 solos and 34 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

    DJ Harris and Makai Shahid are key veterans in the secondary. Harris ranks third on the team with 63 tackles and Shahid is fourth at 62.
    Harris has two interceptions this year by making impressive catches on deep balls. Against Indiana State, Shahid had the first pick of his career which set up a touchdown.
    In two seasons a starter, Shahid has 118 tackles, including 71 solo stops. He has a career-high 62 tackles this year after having 57 in 2024. Harris has 119 total tackles at YSU, including 82 solo stops. For his career he has 170 tackles in 46 games played.

Wells With Monster Game

    Mike Wells turned in his best game as a Penguin with a 10 total tackles, 4 TFLs and 3.5 sacks against Indiana State. Coming into the contest, Well's career high in tackles was five. His 3.5 sacks totaled 26 yards in losses while his four TFLs netted 29 in losses. At UNI he kept it up with seven tackles and key caused fumble and recovery.
    He now leads the MVFC with 8.5 sacks. He has 47 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss. For his career he has 75 tackles and 17.5 TFLs.

LBs Making Key Contributions

    The linebacking duo of Preston Zandier and Carston Marshall are major contributors. 
    Zandier is second on the team with 66 total tackles while Marshall is fifth with 61 stops. At UNI, Marshall was credited with nine tackles.
    In 45 games played, Zandier has 121 career tackles with 111 coming in the last two years. Marshall now has 70 career stops in 20 games.

The Wright Stuff

    TB Ethan Wright has returned to the lineup after suffering an Achilles injury at Southern Illinois last November.
    In eight games this season, he has 38 rushes for 204 yards while catching 21 passes for 241 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. He has receiving touchdowns in two of the last three games.
    In 19 games at YSU, he has 174 carries for 881 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 39 receptions for 355 yards. In 32 career games played at UC from 2020-23, he had 215 yards on 44 carries and caught five passes for 44 yards.