Fast Start Lifts Penguins to Fourth Straight Win, Knock Off UNI 35-22

Saturday, October 17

Youngstown, Ohio

6 p.m.

Youngstown State University

6-2 , 4-1

UNI

3-3 , 2-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
UNI	0	7	9	6	22
Youngstown St.	14	14	0	7	35

Photo by: Robert Hayes

Fast Start Lifts Penguins to Fourth Straight Win, Knock Off UNI 35-22

10/17/2026 10:35:00 PM | Football

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Youngstown, Ohio – The Youngstown State football team scored the first 28 points of the game and held on for its third win over a ranked opponent with 35-22 victory over No. 19 Northern Iowa, 35-22, on Saturday evening at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Penguins, who have won four straight games, improve to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action while the Panthers fall to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the MVFC.

Senior Beau Brungard completed 23-of-27 passes and threw for two touchdowns and rushed for 80 yards and ran for another score.

Lynn Wyche-El led the Penguins receivers with eight receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown while Antuan Gardner rushed for a touchdown and Bryan Hunt caught a touchdown pass.

Roderick Owens Jr. and Carston Marshall led the Penguins defensively with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, and YSU tallied three sacks.

Donald Barksdale took the opening kickoff back for a 93-yard touchdown return just 12 seconds into the game, and the Penguins scored on their first three straight first-half possessions to take a 28-0 lead.

Following Barksdale's return, UNI drove down to the YSU five-yard line but missed a 23-yard field goal on its opening possession.

Youngstown State methodically drove 80 yards in 11 plays for its second score of the game for a 14-0 lead at the 4:42 mark of the opening stanza. Gardner's 23 yard scamper down to the Panthers' two keyed the drive and he plunged in for the score on the next play.

The Penguins forced a Panthers punt and scored on another 80-yard drive keyed by a Brungard-to-Wyche-El 42-yard scoring strike to boost their lead to 21-0 with 14:51 left before haltime.

Youngstown State's defense forced a three-and-out and the Penguins regain possession at its own 30. The Penguins went 70 yards over 12 plays and Brungard capped the drive with a one-yard scoring run to expand the lead to 28-0 at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter.

The Panthers scored on its final drive of the first half and its first drive of the second half to trim the Penguins lead to 28-13.

YSU three-and-out and personal foul on the punt return set up the Panthers at the YSU 37. The Penguins defense buckled down and limited the Panthers to a 45-yard field goal to get within 12, 28-16.

Youngstown State answered on its next possession with a 12-play, 75-yard drive to push its lead to 35-16. The Penguins converted twice on third down during the drive when Brungard ran for nine yards on 3rd-and-6 and completed a 10-yard pass to Alex McDonald to get down to the Panther 24.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Brungard connected with Bryan Hunt on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 14:59 left in the game.

The Panthers added another touchdown with 4:03 to go but their two-point conversion failed.

On 4th-and-9 from the UNI 24, Brungard hit Wyche-El on a 15-yard completion with 1:10 remaining, and the Penguins ran out the clock.

Youngstown State is idle next week and returns to action against No. 11 North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown, Ohio.