Youngstown State vs. Southern Illinois
Nov. 8, 2025 | Stambaugh Stadium
Youngstown, Ohio | 2 p.m.

Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (Drae Smith, Chris Sammarone)
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: 5-4, 2-3 MVFC
Last Game: North Dakota State 38, YSU 30
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Sixth Season)
X: @ysufootball

Salukis
2025 Record: 6-3, 3-2 MVFC
Last Game: Southern Illinois 27, Murray State 7
Head Coach: Nick Hill (10th Season)
X: @NDSUfootball

Series History
All-Time Series: Youngstown State leads 20-15-1
Last Meeting: SIU 37, YSU 33 (2024)
In Youngstown: YSU leads 

Opponent	Date	Location	Video	Audio	Live Stats
	Saturday Nov. 8 | 2 PM	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, Ohio	ESPN+	570 WKBN	Live Stats

    The No. 21 Youngstown State football team hosts 16th-ranked Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff at Stambaugh Stadium is set for 2 p.m. The game is available on the ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
    • YSU (5-4 and 2-3 in the MVFC) battled at top-ranked North Dakota State last Saturday before falling to the Bison, 38-30. The Guins led in the second quarter before two NDSU touchdowns in 45 seconds put them in front for the remainder of the game. YSU had two possessions in the fourth quarter, trailing by eight, but could not capitalize.
    • Youngstown State led NDSU by a 10-7 score in the second quarter before the Bison forced a Penguins' turnover at the 19-yard line. Four plays later, the Guins trailed 14-10. YSU then fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Bison increased the advantage just 45 seconds later. 
    • YSU pulled back within 21-17 on a Beau Brungard to Alex McDonald 16-yard touchdown pass. However, the Bison returned the kickoff 100 yards for a score and make it a 28-17 contest. YSU fought for a field goal late in the period to trail 28-20 at intermission. Each team scored 10 points in the second half for the final margin.
    • Brungard passed for 203 yards and a score while rushing for two touchdowns in the contest. It was the sixth time this season that he had multiple rushing TDs in a game. He has 35 rushing scores in his career and 16 for the second straight season.    
    • WR Max Tomczak hauled in five passes for 59 yards in the win and now has 204 career catches in his YSU career. Tomczak has a reception in a school-record 42 straight games. Entering the game against SIU, Tomczak has 2,667 career receiving yards which trails only Jim Ferranti's 3,103.
    • Southern Illinois (6-3, 3-2 MVFC) earned a 27-7 win at Murray State last Saturday in Murray, Ky. On a rainy evening, SIU jumped out in front 17-0 before the Racers pulled within 17-7 at halftime. The Salukis added 10 second-half points for the final margin.
    • YSU leads the all-time series by a 20-15-1 margin. At Stambaugh Stadium, the Guins have won the last five fall contests. Last year at Southern Illinois, the Penguins built a 28-0 lead only to drop a 37-33 decision. YSU defeated SIU, 31-3, in the last contest at Stambaugh Stadium in 2023.

Defense With 12 Takeaways

    The Penguins forced 12 turnovers in nine 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 (Southern Illinois).
    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 (3,123)
    • First in Total Plays (449)
    • First in Points Responsible For (188)
    • Second in Total Offense Per Game (347.0)
    • Second in rushing TDs (16)
    • Second in total TDs (17)
    • Second in points scored (102)
    • Third in Points Responsible Per Game (20.9)
    • Fourth in rushing yards (1,041)
    • Fifth in yards per game (115.7)
    • Sixth in rushing attempts (171)
    His 2,168 career rushing yards rank him 15th among active FCS players.

Tomczak Sets Catch Record

    WR Max Tomczak broke the YSU all-time receptions record earlier this month.
    Tomczak now has 204 receptions, which easily eclipsed Jim Ferranti's mark of 186 that had stood since 1979 until this year.
    With his 2,667 yards receiving, Tomczak is still in contention to reach Ferranti's school mark of 3,103 yards. 
    This year, Tomczak he has 49 catches for 664 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 42 consecutive contests. Tomczak also has at least four receptions in 24 of his last 27 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 34 career contests, including two as time expired. He has made 83 straight PATs dating back to Nov. 18, 2023. Kilpatrick is averaging 47 yards a punt this year. At Illinois State he had a career-long 67-yard punt. Eight of his 27 kicks are longer than 50 yards. Floyd has started 47 games (25 at Pitt, 13 at Buffalo and nine at YSU).

National Honors Piling 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 is becoming a key play making threat for the Penguins.
    Wilson has 1,145 all-purpose yards - 689 on kickoff returns, 351 receiving and 105 rushing - in nine 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.

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 Matthew Keeley and DT Connor Johannesen made their first starts.

Brungard Shows Off Skills

    Junior QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 22nd straight start at QB on Saturday.
    For his career, he has rushed for 2,168 yards on 358 carries with 35 touchdowns. He has thrown for 4,331 yards completing 408-of-612 passes (66.7 percent) and 26 touchdowns.
    Last time out at North Dakota State, Brungard ran for two scores and passed for another. Against Murray State, 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).
    Nine times in 21 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 34 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 made his first career start at center at NDSU.
    Guard Isaac Perkins started 15 games at Colgate before joining the Penguins this year. He has started each of the first nine contests. Fourth-year Penguin Joe Sferra started the eight 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 nine games at YSU, Hodge ranks second in total tackles with 47 (26 solos and 21 assists). On three occasions he's registered nine-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 leads the team with 52 tackles while Harris is fifth with 41. At NDSU, the duo combined for 19 stops.
    Harris has had interceptions in two of the past three 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 108 tackles, including 65 solo stops. He had 56 stops in 2024. Harris has 97 total tackles at YSU, including 67 solo stops.

LBs Making Key Contributions

    The linebacking trio of Preston Zandier, Mike Wells and Carston Marshall are major contributors this year. 
    Zandier ranks second with 47 tackles while Marshall is fourth with 45. Wells has moved to more an edge role and has 25 tackles with a team-leading six TFLs and four sacks.
    In 41 games played, Zandier has 102 career tackles with 92 coming in the last two years. Marshall now has 54 career stops in 17 games while Wells has 53 total tackles in 36 games played. He had 23 tackles last season.

Gilbert Key Dual Threat

    TB Jaden Gilbert has made a big impact in his first as a starter. 
    Gilbert has rushed for 343 yards on 66 carries and scored twice. He has been a key asset in the passing game ranking second on the team with 35 receptions for 309 yards.
    At NDSU he had a 31-yard grab and picked up a 39-yard rush late in the first half. He had a season-long 66-yard rush and 39-yard catch at Michigan State earlier this year.    

The Wright Stuff

    TB Ethan Wright has returned to the lineup after suffering an Achilles injury at Southern Illinois last November.
    In five games this season, he has 16 rushes for 81 yards while catching 12 passes for 170 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 Murray State, he scored his first touchdown of the season. 
    In 16 games at YSU, he has 152 carries for 758 yards and 30 receptions for 284 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 32-96.
Since 1990 YSU is:
• 182-22-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 21 points in a game.
• 162-24 when rushing for 200-plus yards.
• 188-37 when scoring 28-or-more points.
• 100-14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing in a game.
• 216-24 when leading entering the fourth.
• 95-3-2 holding opponents to 10 points-or-less.

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