Beau Brungard accounted for six touchdowns, and Youngstown State's football team scored 28 straight points in a 48-38 come-from-behind victory over No. 16 Southern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.
YSU improved to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, while SIU dropped to 6-4 overall and 3-3 conference play.
The 21st-ranked Penguins trailed 24-7 less than 20 minutes into the pivotal conference matchup on Beede Field. Brungard's 5-yard touchdown rush with 8:05 left in the second quarter brought YSU within 10, and the Penguins outscored the Salukis 21-0 in the third quarter to go up 35-24.
Southern Illinois scored on its opening drive of the fourth quarter to cut the margin to 35-30, but the Penguins had two big plays on their next possession. Facing third-and-8 on their 27-yard line, Brungard hit Mike Solomon on a 48-yard pass to the SIU 25 to keep the driving going. An 8-yard pass to Ethan Wright followed, and Brungard ran for 17 yards for a touchdown to put the Penguins up 42-30.
Nick Bowser pressured SIU quarterback DJ Williams into an incompletion on fourth-and-4 for a key defensive stop, and the Penguins took 6:09 off the clock on their next drive, which ended with an insurance touchdown pass from Brungard to Jaden Gilbert.
Southern Illinois scored a touchdown and converted a two-point try with 35 seconds left, and YSU recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.
Brungard passed for a career-high 345 yards, completing 26 of his 35 attempts with four touchdowns. The redshirt junior quarterback also ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
Gilbert also had a huge day with 149 yards on nine carries, and he added three catches for 44 yards and a receiving touchdown. Kylon "Flash" Wilson had seven catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, and Wright ran for 48 yards and added a touchdown reception.
Williams finished with 361 yards and three touchdowns for Southern Illinois.
Youngstown State will host Indiana State next Saturday at noon in its final regular-season game at Stambaugh Stadium.
