Youngstown State University
Southern Illinois
Penguins Head Back On The Road To Take On Southern Illinois
9/29/2026 2:00:00 PM | Football
Youngstown State vs. Southern Illinois
Oct. 3, 2026 | Saluki Stadium
Carbondale, Ill. | 5 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Central time
Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (Larry Larson, Dominique Daffney)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio - iHeartRadio App (Steve Leslie, Bob Hannon)
Penguins
2026 Record: 3-2
Last Game: YSU 47, USD 28
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Seventh Season)
X: @ysufootball
Salukis
2026 Record: 3-2
Last Game: SIU 46, Murray State 6
Head Coach: Nick Hill (11th Season)
X: @SIU_Football
Series History
All-Time Series: YSU leads 21-15-1
Last Meeting: Youngstown 48-38 (2025)
In Carbondale: 8-9-1
| Opponent | Date | Location | Video | Audio | Live Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Saturday Oct. 3 | 5 PM |
Saluki Stadium Carbondale, Illinois |
ESPN+ | 570 WKBN | Live Stats |
No. 8 ranked Youngstown State continues conference play this Saturday against No. 21 Southern Illinois at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Ill. Kickoff for the contest is set for 5 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Central time. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeart Radio.
• Youngstown State's defense stepped up last weekend in a 47-28 victory over South Dakota. Against the Coyotes, the unit recorded a pair of interceptions, had a sack-fumble and another fumble recovery while allowing just 332 yards in total offense. Graydon Rollins led the Penguins with a career-high 17 tackles while Cam Smith and Darvens Tunis had interceptions.
• The Penguins (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) rushed for 343 yards led by Beau Brungard's 170 yards and three touchdowns while Jaden Gilbert had 65 yards on 11 carries and Lynn Wyche-El tallied with 62 yards and two scores. Brungard also completed 13-of-17 passing attempts for 159 yards and threw a touchdown pass to TE Alex McDonald.
• Leading 23-21 after the Coyotes scored on the opening drive of the second half, the Penguins capitalized on an interception by Tunis with a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka to extend the lead to 26-21.
• Following a USD punt that pinned the Guins back at their own six, YSU marched 94 yards in eight plays to extend the lead back to double digits, 33-21, with 11:54 to go in the game.
• The Penguins scored 24 straight second-half points to turn a tightly-contested two-point edge into a 26-point insurmountable lead.
• The defense forced its third turnover of the game on Jordan Pritchard-Sewell's strip-sack Austyn Modrzewski that set the Penguins up at the USD five. Brungard scampered in from seven yards out for his third rushing touchdown of the game.
• Southern Illinois (3-2, 1-0) faced Murray State last Saturday and earned a big 46-6 win in Kentucky. The Salukis recorded a season-high 459 yards of total offense, compared to MSU's 190. The contest was tied at six, before the game flipped in the second quarter. SIU scored 23 points to pull away and scored the final 40 of the contest to cruise to the victory.
• Last year's matchup against SIU ended in a 48-38 win for the Guins at Stambaugh Stadium. YSU's offense scored 28 straight points to claim a comeback victory over the Salukis. YSU leads the all-time series 21-15-1.
Brungard Making History
QB Beau Brungard is set to make his 31st straight start at QB on Saturday. For his career, he has rushed for 3,056 yards on 517 carries and now has 53 touchdowns. Through the air, he is 603-of-876 for 6,699 yards and 51 touchdowns. His 53 rushing scores are two shy of the school record of 55 held by Adrian Brown. Brungard now holds both the most offensive plays (1,376) and the most offensive yards (9,755) for a career in school history, along with numerous other marks. He has also tied his father, Mark Brungard, in career passing attempts (876). The Brungard duo ranks fifth all-time in program history in that category. In 2025, he lead 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. 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.
First Time Starters
Through five games, YSU has had 17 different players make their first career start. Against Mercyhurst starting for the initial time were: Jeremiah Sanders, Bryan Hunt, Cam Smith, Jordan Pritchard-Sewell, Raleigh Collins III, Dev Holman, Maximillian Johnson and Evan Anderson. At Kentucky, those Penguins making their first career starts included Darvens Tunis, Roderick Owens Jr., Lynn Wyche-El and Lachlan Amore. Against Duquesne, Mason Ludwig and Brandon Chambers Jr., made their first starts at YSU. At SDSU, Dominic Julius started at corner. Against USD, Michael Wright and Lemondte Chambers made their first start for the Guins. Of the 17 first-time starters, 11 are on defense, four are on offense and two are on special teams.
McDonald Scores Fifth TD
TE Alex McDonald has scored five touchdowns for the Guins during his career. After catching a four-yard pass in the end zone from Beau Brungard to give the Guins a 33-21 lead early in the fourth quarter against USD, he now has two TDs in back-to-back games. During the 2025 season, McDonald had TD grabs at Towson, North Dakota State and UNI.
Most Receiving TDs by a TE Since 2010:
10 – Nate Adams (2011-14)
8 – Will Shaw (2011-12)
7 – Miles Joiner (2018-19)
5 – Alex McDonald (2022-Present)
Gilbert Key Dual Threat
TB Jaden Gilbert continues to be one of Guins' key offensive weapons in 2026. So far this year, Gilbert has 34 rushes for 214 yards and two touchdowns while catching 16 passes for 123 yards and two scores. He scored a touchdown in the first three games of the 2026 season. The Honorable-Mention All-MVFC selection finished last season with 665 rushing yards on 95 carries, finding the end zone three times.
Wells Highly-Touted
Defensive end Michael Wells is in his fifth year with the Guins. Wells is coming off an explosive 2025 season. 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. This season, Wells has 14 tackles, including three and half TFLs. Seeing more double teams, he has two QB hurries and a pass breakup through five games.
Rollins Has Career Game
Graydon Rollins led the defense in tackles last weekend against South Dakota. He had 10 solo tackles and seven assists for 17 total tackles. He now holds the most tackles in a game since Nov. 3, 2018, when Armand Dellovade had 18 against North Dakota State. For his efforts vs. the Coyotes, he was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Lastovka Leads Specialists
Senior PK Andrew Lastovka is in his fourth season with the Guins. He has played in 43 games, making 48 field goals and 163 PATs. He made his first two field goals of the season vs. South Dakota State before adding two more against South Dakota. In 2025, he was 57-of-58 on PATs in 13 games and in MVFC games he was 10-of-13 on FG attempts. Lastovka's longest career field goal came from the 2024 season finale against UNI when he made a 51-yard field goal. He's made final-play game-winning kicks against Illinois State (2023) and Towson (2025) during his career.
Receivers Showing Their Stuff
The Penguins are relying on new faces in the pass game. Four of the top seven pass catchers were not with the program in 2025. Leading the way has been playmaker Lynn Wyche-El. Through five games, Wyche-El has caught a team-leading 27 passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns. He has a TD catch in every game this season, including two against Duquesne and South Dakota. WR Bryan Hunt has 14 catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns while Dorian Williams has eight receptions and Lorenzo Jenkins has four. Jeremiah Sanders has 11 catches for 132 yards while Jaden Gilbert has 16 for 123 yards and a pair of scores.
LBs Bring Experience
LB Graydon Rollins has been headlining a deep and expanding linebacker group. Rollins has 37 total tackles in 2026, highlighted by 22 assists. In 2025, he was credited with 38 total tackles (12 solos and 25 assists), had four TFLs and 2.5 sacks. Carston Marshall had 19 stops in the first four games of the season before missing the contest against South Dakota. Joining Rollins has been Stephen Henderson, Danny Inglis, Danny Nittolli, Lemondte Chambers and Solomon Farrell. All six have played key reserve roles this season.
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 two FCS players to appear on the list. He had started 40 straight games at left tackle for YSU during his career before missing the Duquesne game with an injury. He now has made 42 career starts.
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.
Yurcich and Offense Success
Since joining the Penguins coaching staff in 2025, Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich has made a significant impact on the Guins' offense. Under Yurcich, YSU has recorded 13 games with 30 or more points, including nine games with 40-plus points. The top five scoring performances came against Duquesne (70), Robert Morris (56), Murray State (51), South Dakota (48) and Southern Illinois (48). The offense now has six games with 500-plus total offensive yards. This season so far, Duquesne (603) and South Dakota (502). In the 2025 season, Robert Morris (593), Illinois State (561), Murray State (543) and Southern Illinois (648) the offense eclipsed the 500-yard mark.
Lastovka Among Active leaders
YSU PK Andrew Lastovka ranks highly among FCS career leaders entering the contest against South Dakota. Lastovka has made the most (48) and attempted the most (62) field goals of any active FCS kicker during his 43-game career. He ranks second in the FCS in PAT attempts (168) and PATs made (163) behind Montana State's Myles Sansted.
New Faces On Defense
Multiple new members of the defense have stepped up to make contributions. True freshman Roderick Owens Jr., has a forced fumble, interception and 28 tackles. DB Cam Smith has a team-leading 32 tackles and a interception while Darvens Tunis has 12 stops and two picks. DT Jordan Pritchard-Sewell has nine tackles and a forced fumble.
O-Line Features Experience
YSU's offensive line features six players with multiple-game starting experience. Desmeal Leigh has the most starting experience on the team with 42 starts. Shane Keenan has started 26 contests at both tackle and guard the past three years. Van Keen has started 18 contests at center and has a total of 24 career starts. Guard Isaac Perkins started 10 contests last year in his first year with the program and now has 15 starts at YSU. Prior to coming to Youngstown State, 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 first five games this year.
2025 Brungard Awards Haul
QB Beau Brungard continues to build off an extraordinary record-breaking 2025 season. Besides being 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. Only twice has their been a repeat winner of the award. 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).
