No. 3 Youngstown State lost a game it led by 13 points in the fourth quarter — and then led again with 2:21 to play. No. 15 Illinois State scored with nine seconds left to beat the Penguins 34-33 on Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium, in a finish that featured three lead changes in the final three and a half minutes, Illinois State’s athletics department reported.
Youngstown State (8-3, 6-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) scored first, on a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Beau Brungard that capped a 15-play, 65-yard drive, according to Illinois State’s game report. Victor Dawson tied it for the Redbirds early in the second quarter, Seth Glatz put Illinois State ahead 13-7, and Andrew Lastovka’s 26-yard field goal sent YSU to halftime down just 14-10, the report said.
The Penguins owned the third quarter. Brungard’s second touchdown run, from 4 yards, restored the lead at 17-14, Jaden Gilbert’s 7-yard touchdown run stretched it to 24-14, and Lastovka’s 45-yard field goal early in the fourth made it 27-14 with 13:40 left, Illinois State reported.
Illinois State’s comeback started with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Beckham Pellant to Mar’Quan Gary that cut the lead to 27-21, and Glatz’s 7-yard touchdown run with 3:32 left put the Redbirds in front 28-27, according to the game report. Glatz finished with a career-high 176 rushing yards on 25 carries and 211 all-purpose yards, Illinois State reported.
YSU answered like a No. 3 team should. Just over a minute later, Brungard found Bryan Hunt for a 59-yard touchdown that put the Penguins back ahead 33-28 with 2:21 to play — but the two-point conversion failed, leaving the margin at five, Illinois State reported. That single point became the game.
Illinois State marched back down the field, and on third and goal Pellant ran it in from 2 yards out with nine seconds remaining for a 34-33 lead, according to the game report. Brungard’s last chance ended in an interception by Tye Niekamp, and the Redbirds took a knee to seal it, Illinois State reported.
The conditions were part of the story: the game was played on a cold, windy and rainy night in Youngstown, Illinois State reported, and the Redbirds leaned on a ground game that produced two 100-yard-style performances behind Glatz and Dawson, whose touchdown was his 10th of the season.
The win was just the third in Youngstown for Illinois State head coach Brock Spack in his 18-year tenure, Illinois State reported — a measure of how hard Stambaugh Stadium has been on visiting teams, and of what YSU let slip on Saturday.
Saturday’s game was not even supposed to start when it did. Illinois State was forced to fly out of Bloomington-Normal on Saturday morning because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide flight grounding, and kickoff was pushed back from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., The Vidette reported. The Redbirds then played in 38-degree temperatures and heavy rain, leaned on their ground game because throwing was difficult in the storm, and beat a Youngstown State team that entered the day undefeated at home at 5-0, The Vidette reported.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What is confirmed, from Illinois State’s athletics department game report: the final was 34-33, the winning score came with nine seconds left, and both teams are now 8-3. What it means for the FCS playoff picture — seeding, and whether YSU’s 6-2 conference mark still earns a home game — waits on the final week and the selection committee. Youngstown State’s week also included a basketball comeback at the Beeghly Center, covered by NewsForce247 in our report on the Penguins’ 74-71 win over Marshall.
What happens next is the regular-season finale: Illinois State (8-3, 4-3 MVFC) hosts nationally ranked South Dakota next Saturday, Illinois State said, while the Penguins close their regular season looking to protect a playoff résumé that Saturday’s collapse dented but did not break.