NORMAL, Ill. (WKBN) – Youngstown State scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to fuel a 40-35 upset victory over No. 10 Illinois State during Missouri Valley Football Conference action on Saturday.
YSU quarterback Beau Brungard racked up 521 total yards and five touchdowns to lead the Penguins to the upset conference win. He finished the day with 328 passing yards and two TDs, along with another 200 rushing yards on 30 carries and three scores.
It’s the MVFC road first win for YSU since beating Indiana State, 19-7, on Nov. 4, 2023.
Early on, the Penguins jumped on top with two field goals courtesy of Andrew Lastovka to make it 6-0 YSU, before Brungard punched in a two-yard touchdown to cap off a 13-play 92-yard drive and give the Penguins a 12-0 lead.
The early lead was aided by a Dayne Hodge interception of Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse on the Redbirds’ opening possession of the game.
After cutting it down to 12-7, Illinois State then scored with just 31 seconds left in the first half to take a 14-12 lead at the break. The Redbirds would only need one play after a great kick return to set up a 37-yard touchdown pass from Rittenhouse to extend the Illinois State lead to 21-12.
YSU cut it back down to a two-point game on the following possession when Brungard connected with Mike Solomon for a 36-yard TD. But Rittenhouse’s fourth touchdown pass pushed the ISU lead back to 28-19 late in the third quarter.
In the fourth, Brungard refused to be stopped during another 11-play, 81-yard touchdown drive to trail 28-26 with over 11 minutes to play.
After DJ Harris and the ‘Guins defense forced another interception, Brungard and the offense made quick work, leading to a 53-yard go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter.
With a 33-28 lead, the YSU defense came up with another big three-and-out before the Springfield product raced in for a 48-yard score to put the Penguins up two scores late in the fourth quarter.
With a five-point lead and less than four minutes to play, Brungard found running back Ethan Wright out of the backfield for a 40-yard connection and a first down to put the ‘Guins in position to ice the game deep in Redbirds territory.
The ‘Guins QB would then put the game away with a seven-yard first down run on 3rd & 4 to put them in victory formation.
With the win, YSU improves to 4-3 and 1-2 in conference play after snapping a two-game skid.
The Penguins will return home on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they host Murray State for YSU Homecoming.
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