Youngstown State University
Kentucky
Penguins Head to Kentucky for an SEC Showdown
9/1/2026 1:00:00 PM | Football
Youngstown State vs. Kentucky
Sept. 5, 2026 | Kroger Field
Lexington, Kentucky | 1 p.m.
Broadcast Information
TV – SEC Network+ (Kevin Fitzgerald, Charlie Strong)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App
Penguins
2026 Record: 1-0
Last Game: YSU 43, Mercyhurst 10
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Seventh Season)
X: @ysufootball
Wildcats
2025 Record: 5-7, 2-6 SEC
Last Game: Louisville 41, Kentucky 0
Head Coach: Will Stein (First Season)
X: @UKFootball
Series History
All-Time Series: UK Leads 1-0
Last Meeting: UK 31-0 (2022)
In Lexington: 0-1
| Opponent | Date | Location | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Saturday Sept. 5 | 1 PM |
Kroger Field Lexington, Kentucky |
ESPN+ | 570 WKBN | Live Stats |
Seventh-ranked (FCS) Youngstown State continues their 2026 campaign with a road game against Kentucky at Kroger Field on Saturday. Kickoff for the contest is set for 1 p.m. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeart Radio.
• YSU posted a 43-10 win in its season opener against Mercyhurst last Thursday. Picking up where they left off last year, Brungard and his offense scored points in every quarter, highlighted by 22 in the second.
• Mercyhurst jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Guins scored six unanswered touchdowns. By halftime, the Penguins were out in front 29-3 behind two rushing scores by Brungard, a Lynn Wyche-El touchdown grab and a Jaden Gilbert scoring run. In the second half, Bryan Hunt and Gilbert added scoring receptions.
• The 2025 Walter Payton Award Winner QB Beau Brungard accounted for five touchdowns against Mercyhurst. Picking up where he left off in 2025, completing 20-of-29 passes for 232 yards with three touchdowns passes. He also rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns runs.
• YSU's defense held the Lakers to only 29 rushing yards on 20 attempts for 212 total yards scoring only 10 points. The 10 points are the fewest points YSU has let up in the last 27 games.
• YSU wide-out starters Wyche-El and Hunt made an instant impact against Mercyhurst, combining for 10 receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Dorian Williams also contributed two receptions for 29 yards.
• Kentucky's Head Coach Will Stein enters his first season against Youngstown State at Kroger Field. Stein was previously at Oregon, where he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three seasons.
• This will be the first of two trips to the Bluegrass State for the Penguins this fall. YSU visits Lexington this weekend before playing its final road game of the season in Murray, Ky.
• This is the second meeting between the schools all-time. YSU played at Kentucky on Sept. 17, 2022, previously. After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats scored three touchdowns to take control. UK won the game, 31-0.
First Time Starters
YSU unveiled its offensive and defensive starters last week against Mercyhurst, with several newcomers making their first starts for the Penguins. On offense, wide receivers Lynn Wyche-El and Bryan Hunt earned starting spots after making their mark throughout fall camp. All three wideouts are transfers who battled their way into the lineup this year. The Penguins also saw several first-time starters make an impact on defense. DB's Cam Smith, Maximillian Johnson, Raleigh Collins III and Dev Holman stepped in, while defensive lineman Jordan Pritchard Sewell made his presence felt in his first start.
Receivers/DB's Showed Up
Lynn Wyche-El led the Penguins' receiving corps with six receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown, while Bryan Hunt added four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Dorian Williams also contributed with two receptions for 29 yards. The Penguins' secondary made its presence felt as well. Defensive back Darvens Tunis came up with an interception in the second quarter, returning it 16 yards, while true freshman Roderick Owens Jr., picked off a pass in the third quarter to record his first career pick. Dev Holman and Raleigh Collins III combined for four total pass breaks ups with two each in their first game in the Red and White.
Brungard's Offensive Return
QB Beau Brungard led the Penguins to a win against Mercyhurst during their season opener. Brungard accounted for five touchdowns, picking up where he left off in 2025, completing 20-of-29 passes for 232 yards with three touchdowns passes. He also rushed for 119 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns runs. It marks the 11th time Brungard rushed and passes for at least 100 yards.The Guins offense also racked up 484 yards in total offense, including 252 yards on the ground. Defensively, the Penguins recorded two interceptions and allowed just 178 yards over the final 55 minutes of the game.
Gilbert Key Dual Threat
After a standout 2025 campaign, TB Jaden Gilbert returns as one of the Guins' key offensive weapons. The Honorable-Mention All-MVFC selection was a force both on the ground and through the air, appearing in all 13 games while making 12. He finished last season with 665 rushing yards on 95 carries, finding the end zone three times. He started the 2026 season off with five carries for 89 yards and a touchdown, while having a long run of 50 yards. He caught two passes for 31 yards and touchdown as well.
Yurcich and His Offense
Since joining the Penguins coaching staff in 2025, OC Mike Yurcich has made a significant impact on the Guins' offense. Under Yurcich, YSU has recorded 11 games with 30 or more points, including seven games with 40-plus points. The top five scoring performances came against Robert Morris (56), Murray State (51), Southern Illinois (48), Indiana State (48), and most recently, Mercyhurst (43).
Lastovka Leads Specialists
Senior PK Andrew Lastovka has spent the last three seasons at placekicker with the Guins. He has played in 39 games, making 44 field goals and 146 PATs. In 2025 he was 57-of-58 on PATs in 13 games. In MVFC games he was 10-of-13 on FG attempts and 35-of-36 on PATs. Lastovka's longest field goal came from the 2024 season finale against UNI when he made a 51 yard field goal. His percentage is 75.9 for field goals made. He's made final-play game-winning kicks against Illinois State (2023) and Towson (2025).
Wells Highly-Touted
Defensive end Michael Wells returns to YSU for his fifth year with the Guins. Wells is coming off an explosive 2025 season playing in all 13 games with 10 starts as a defensive end. He was credited with 50 total tackles – 25 solos - 25 assists. He had 15 TFLs, highlighted by an impressive 10.5 sacks with 11 QB hurries, four pass breakups, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. He is on the watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan award; he is the first defensive player to be on the list for Youngstown State since Derek Rivers in 2016. In the opener against Mercyhurst he had four tackles, highlighted by 2.5 TFLs and one quarterback hurry.
LBs Bring Experience
LBs Carston Marshall and Graydon Rollins both make their returns to the squad for the 2026 season. Coming off an explosive year playing in all 13 games making 11 starts at linebacker, Marshall was credited with 71 total tackles – 30 solo and 41 assists. He had seven TFLs, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles, also had 1.5 sacks and a QB hurry. Against Mercyhurst he led the Penguins with seven tackles, including three solos. Rollins had an impressive '25 season, playing in all 13 games, starting six contests. He was credited with 38 total tackles (12 solos and 25 assists), had four TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Rollins opened the year with two tackles vs. MU.
Leigh On Senior Bowl List
OT Desmeal Leigh has been named to the Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 list. It marks the second straight year that the Penguins have a player named to the preseason list. Last year, WR Max Tomczak was a candidate to participate in the all-star game. Leigh is one of just -- FCS players to appear on the list. He has started 38 straight games at left tackle for YSU during his career.
Top GPA In The MVFC
For the first time in program history the Penguins led the Missouri Valley Football Conference in GPA for an academic year. In 2025-26, the Guins' student-athletes accumulated a GPA of 3.36 to take the top spot. YSU beat out North Dakota State (3.31), South Dakota State (3.30) and North Dakota (3.28) in the league's annual rankings.
Brungard Shows Off Skills
QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 26th straight start at QB on Saturday. Against Mercyhurst he accounted for five touchdowns - three passing and two rushing. He also threw for more than 200 yards while rushing for over 100. He now has 48 rushing touchdowns in his YSU career. In 12 games in 2024, Brungard rushed for 998 yards on 159 carries and scored 16 times, passed for 2,141 yards and completed 209-of-314 passes for 12 touchdowns. He made a huge jump in 2025 as Brungard led the FCS with 4,702 total offensive yards while rushing for 1,468 yards and 27 touchdowns. He completed 277-of-403 passes for 3,234 yards with 26 TDs. He added another score on a 50-yard touchdown reception against Murray State.
YSU Duo Among Active leaders
YSU QB Beau Brungard and PK Andrew Lastovka rank highly among FCS career leaders entering the contest against Kentucky. Lastovka has made the most (44) and attempted the most (58) field goals of any active FCS kicker during his 39-game career. He ranks second in the FCS in PAT attempts (148) and PATs made (145). Brungard is ranked highly in numerous categories. Of note, he is first in total offense (8,429 yards), first in completion percentage (67.9), second in pass completions (520), second in rushing touchdowns (48), third in rushing yards (2,714), third in total plays (1,216), fourth in rushing attempts (450), fourth in passing attempts (766) and sixth in passing yardage (5,715).
O-Line Features Experience
YSU's offensive line returned four of five starters from last season's squad. This year's unit features six players with multiple-game starting experience. Desmeal Leigh has the most starting experience on the team with 39 starts. Shane Keenan has started 23 contests at both tackle and guard the past two years. Van Keen has started 18 contests at center and has a total of 22 career starts. Guard Isaac Perkins started 10 contests last year in his first year with the program and started the opener vs. Mercyhurst. Prior to coming to YSU he started 15 games at Colgate. In 2025, Matthew Keeley made four starts at center while Nick Nielsen has started at tackle on six occasions. Both started the season opener.
O-Line Unit Also Has Depth
The offensive line from last year's campaign has mostly returned for another year. An impressive group of 15 Penguins were part of the program and have returned for the 2026 season. That group features: #70 Robert Hayes, #56 Naim Jackson, #64 Matthew Keeley, #67 Van Keen, #62 Shane Keenan, #55 Rex Lahr, #54 Clay Lawrence, #78 Desmeal Leigh, #72 Mason Ludwig, #71 Dallas McCracken, #76 Nick Nielsen, #66 Max Patterson, #63 Isaac Perkins, #74 Ethan Ray, #77 Najwan Smithwick.
2025 Brungard Awards
QB Beau Brungard is coming off an extraordinary record-breaking 2025 season. Not only was he the Walter Payton Award recipient, Brungard was the Walter Camp Foundation Player of the Year, FCS ADA Offensive Player of the Year, Unanimous first-team All-American: Walter Camp, FCS ADA, AFCA, Stats Perform, SI.com, Associated Press, Phil Steele. He was also the MVFC Offensive Player of the year. He led the FCS in total offensive yards (4,702), total points responsible for (326) and tied for first in total touchdowns (28) and total points (168).
New-Look Receiving Corps
The Penguins signed a handful of new wide receivers to help aid Beau Brungard and the YSU offense this season. YSU added transfers Lynn Wyche-El (Grand Valley State), Bryan Hunt (Findlay), Lorenzo Jenkins (Bethune-Cookman), Aidan Stephens (Yale), Connor Smith (Assumption), Zane Kinsey (Cincinnati) and Dorian Williams (Ohio State). Wyche-El had 38 catches for 581 yards and five TDs in 2025; Jenkins had 26 receptions for 408 yards; Smith had 859 yards on 49 catches and Stephens added 13 catches for 72 yards in 2025. The new group combined for 12 catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns while the returning receivers had two catches for 21 yards.
