Youngstown State at Villanova
Dec. 2, 2023 | Villanova Stadium
Philadelphia, Pa. | Noon
Broadcast Information
TV – ESPN+ (James Westling, Barrett Brooks)
Radio Network – 570 AM WKBN (Bob Hannon, Steve Leslie)
Internet Radio – 570wbkn.iheart.com
App Audio – iHeartRadio App
Penguins
Record: 8-4, 5-3 MVFC
Last Game: vs. Duquesne (W, 40-7)
Head Coach: Doug Phillips (Fourth Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @ysufootball
Wildcats
Record: 9-2, 7-1 (CAA)
Last Game: at Delaware (W, 35-7)
Head Coach: Mark Ferrante (Seventh Season)
X (Formerly Twitter): @novafootball
Series History
All-Time Series: YSU leads 7-2
In Philadelphia: YSU leads 4-1
Win Streak: YSU, 5 games
Last Meeting: YSU 28-21 (1999)
The No. 21 Youngstown State football team continues postseason play with a second round trip to No. 8 seed Villanova on Saturday. Kickoff for the FCS Playoffs contest at Villanova Stadium is set for Noon. The game is available on ESPN+, WKBN 570 AM and iHeartRadio.
The Penguins (8-4) opened the FCS Playoffs with a resounding 40-7 win over Duquesne last Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. YSU led 10-7 in the second quarter before scoring the final 30 points of the contest. The Guins had 532 yards of total offense and time of possession of 42:27. The Dukes only had 148 yards on just 44 plays.
In its first playoff contest since the 2017 National Championship Game, YSU played well-rounded football to defeat Duquesne, 40-7 at Stambaugh Stadium.
The Guins took a 10-0 lead in the contest following a nine-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Davidson to CJ Charleston and a 34-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka. Duquesne pulled within 10-7 on a 24-yard TD run by Edward Robinson late in the first quarter, but after that it was all Guins.
Dra Rushton added a two-yard score before Davidson connected with Bryce Oliver for a 21-yard touchdown pass to push the halftime lead to 24-7. The TD catch by Oliver was the 26th of his YSU career, which eclipsed the previous school mark of 25 held since 1979.
Lastovka kicked three straight field goals from 25, 40 and 50 yards as the Penguins built a 33-7 lead. QB Bean Brungard’s TD with 3:10 left capped off a 10:57 drive late in the fourth quarter.
Villanova (9-2) has won six straight games entering Saturday’s contest against the Penguins. The Wildcats went 7-1 in CAA play this season and were one of three teams to share the league title. VU has won eight straight home games dating back to last September.
YSU and Villanova will be meeting in the playoffs for the fourth time. YSU has won the previous three meetings by a total of seven points – 17-16 (1991), 23-20 (1992) and 37-34 (1997). In a hard-fought series that the Guins lead 7-2, the last five meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less, including a 28-21 contest in 1999. Ironically, after not playing for nearly 25 years, the teams will also play on August 29, 2024 at Villanova.
Excellent Playoff History
The Penguins are appearing in the FCS playoffs for the 13th time in school history.
One of the most successful FCS postseason programs, YSU is 29-8 all-time for a .783 winning percentage. The Guins won I-AA/FCS titles in 1997, 1994, 1993 and 1991. YSU also advanced to the title game in 2016, 1999 and 1992.
In 2016, YSU picked up road wins over No. 2 seed Eastern Washington and No. 3 seed Jacksonville State on the way to the FCS title game.
Offense Putting Up The Points
In their 11 games against FCS opponents this season the Penguins have scored at least 31 points in nine of them. In six of those contests, the Guins have registered 40 or more.
YSU set a school record with six consecutive 30-plus point contests during the season and with 40 points vs. Duquesne last Saturday, the Guins have set a school record for 40-point games in a season breaking the record of five (2016, 2001 and 1978).
Against three non-conference opponents YSU has scored 52 vs. Valparaiso, 48 against Robert Morris and 40 vs. Duquesne.
In five league games, YSU has scored 44 against Missouri State, 41 vs. UNI and Illinois State, 34 against Murray State and 31 each against Southern Illinois and South Dakota.
In its 11 FCS games this year, YSU is averaging 34.6 points per game.
Passing Numbers Skyrocket
The Penguins have unleashed their aerial attack throughout season and entering the Villanova game are just 10 yards shy of a new school record for yards in a season.
After 12 games, YSU has 2,873 yards passing, just behind the 2,883 passing yards record set in 2016 when the Guins played 16 contests. YSU is averaging 242.4 yards passing a game which eclipses the previous school best of 235.8 set back in 1972.
Against Missouri State, YSU threw for 415 yards, the third most in a game in school history. Only a 446-yard effort vs. Eastern Kentucky in 1985 and 418 at Western Illinois in 2018 rank higher. Four times this season YSU has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game.
Tough On the Run; 3rd Down
The Penguins are allowing just under 100 yards rushing per game which ranks seventh in the FCS entering round two of the playoffs.
YSU has allowed just 94.8 yards per game. Nine times this year, the Guins have allowed fewer than 111 yards in a game, highlighted by a season-low six against Southern Illinois.
On third downs, YSU’s defense ranks fourth in the FCS allowing a success rate of just 29.4 percent (40-of-136).
Oliver Sets School TD Record
WR Bryce Oliver broke a long-standing school record with his 26th career touchdown reception last Saturday against Duquesne.
Oliver broke a tie with Jim “Flea” Ferranti (1976-79) who had 25 career touchdown receptions.
In his YSU career, Oliver has 144 receptions for 2,027 yards and 26 touchdowns. This season he has 61 catches for 940 yards and eight scores.
Oliver has played in 32 games and has a touchdown reception in 18 contests (six in 2023, seven in 2022 and five in 2021). He owns the school record with eight multi-touchdown reception games.
Ten Earn All-MVFC Honors
YSU had five second-team All-MVFC picks and five honorable-mention All-MVFC selections.
Earning second-team honors were WR Bryce Oliver, DE Dylan Wudke, TB Tyshon King, OL Jaison Williams and CB Troy Jakubec. Oliver was a first-team selection in 2022 while Wudke was second-team pick last year and Williams had twice been named honorable mention in his career.
On the Honorable-Mention squad, QB Mitch Davidson, FB/TE Jake Benio, OL Ryan Johnson, LB Alex Howard and LS Sam Merryman. It’s the first time all five have earned All-MVFC honors in their careers.
It marks the first time since 2003 and only the second time in school history that YSU did not place an individual on the MVFC first team.
King Penguin Impresses
Transfer running back Tyshon King has been a strong addition to the program since coming in from Northern Michigan.
In his first season at YSU, King has rushed for 995 yards on 179 carries and scored a team-high nine touchdowns. Five times this year he has had 18-or-more carries in a game.
Six times this year he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark. The second-team All-MVFC selection had a career-high 152 yards at Murray State in the regular-season finale.
On three occasions he was named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week for his efforts.
Rushton With Career Year
TB Dra Rushton has had the best season on his six-year YSU career this fall.
Rushton has accumulated 865 all-purpose yards with 616 on the ground, 146 receiving and 103 on kickoff returns.
On the ground he has carried the ball a career-high 150 times and scored nine touchdowns. At South Dakota, he rushed for a career-high 116 yards on 16 carries.
Entering this season he had 387 yards on 87 rushing attempts and just two touchdowns.
History vs. Villanova
The Penguins and Wildcats have played some thrillers throughout the course of their history. Fortunately for YSU, the results have gone its way.
The programs played five times from 1975-79 with YSU winning three contests. The three playoff tilts have all been decided in the fourth quarter.
The Guins and Nova met in the first round of the playoffs at Stambaugh Stadium on Nov. 30, 1991. YSU trailed 16-14 and facing a 4th-and-11 on its 41 with a minute remaining, Herb Williams acrobatic catch was good for a 41-yard gain to the Villanova 18. Three plays later Jeff Wilkins kicked a 33-yard field goal with six seconds left for the win.
In 1992, the contest was tied 13-13 late in the third quarter before the Guins scored 10 straight points. After Villanova pulled within 23-20, the Wildcats lost a fumble at the YSU 34 with 2:57 left.
In 1997, YSU trailed 21-0 and 28-14 before scoring 23 straight points to go ahead 37-28. Villanova pulled within three late, before a Guins interception sealed the win.
Strong on Special Teams
The Penguins special teams have performed well throughout the campaign.
YSU ranks sixth in the nation in net punting at 41.17 yards and is tied for fourth in the nation with four blocked punts.
First-year punter Brendon Kilpatrick is averaging 43.5 yards per punt which ranks second in a season in school history. As a team, YSU is averaging 43.5 yards a kick, which is tops in school history over 43.3 set in 2013.
PK Andrew Lastovka has made 15-of-19 field -goal attempts in his first season as well. Against Duquesne he had a career-high four field goals and a personal-best 50-yarder. Also, YSU is allowing fewer than 20 return yards on 49 kickoff returns.
Howard Having Big Year
LB Alex Howard leads the Penguins with 72 total tackles (39-33) on the year. That total crushes his 2022 season total of 34.
He’s had at least five tackles in all but two games with a high of nine against Valparaiso and Illinois State.
Last year, Howard had 34 total tackles and just 3.5 TFLs playing in 10 games while making three starts.
Charleston, Tomczak Step Up
Wide receivers CJ Charleston and Max Tomczak have had huge seasons for the Penguins.
Tomczak has caught 47 passes for 564 yards and a touchdown while Charleston has 33 receptions for 503 yards and four scores. Tomczak led the Penguins during MVFC play with 41 receptions.
Charleston missed last year after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in fall camp. Entering the season he had 27 catches for 361 yards in his career. In 29 career games he has 60 catches for 864 yards and four scores.
Tomczak was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team last year. He had 26 catches for 430 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.
Time of Possession Rises
The Guins rank first in the FCS in time of possession averaging 35:07 per game. That number was buoyed by a TOP of 42:27 last Saturday against Duquesne.
In 10 of 12 games this year, YSU has held the ball for more than 33:23. On three occasions – Indiana State, Murray State and Duquesne – the Guins held the ball for more than 39 minutes.
Davidson Nearing 3K
QB Mitch Davidson has a shot at being the first YSU quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season.
This year, Davidson has completed 229-of-324 passes (70.7 percent) for a school-record 2,801 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also has five rushing scores this year.
He’s set the school record with four 300-yard passing games in one season after a 316-yard effort against Duquesne.
He has thrown four touchdown passes in three of the last five games. In 12 of his 19 career starts, he’s thrown for more than 200 yards.
He has thrown just four interceptions in his last 420 attempts dating back to last year.
Career 300-Yard Passing Games
1. Mitch Davidson (2018-Present) – 4
1. Trenton Lykes (1984-87) – 4
1. Denny Klembara (1968-71) – 4
O-Line Features Strength
YSU’s offensive line should be battle tested entering the postseason.
That group features a large amount of starting experience with Jaison Williams (39 starts), Aidan Parker (37 starts), David Metzler (30 starts) and Ryan Johnson (27 starts) leading the way. Redshirt freshman Desmeal Leigh started all 12 games at left tackle this year while Van Keen filled in at center on two occasions.
Experience On the D-Line
The Guins have a wealth of experience on the defensive line as well.
The defensive line features veterans Dylan Wudke (36 starts), Chris Fitzgerald (33), Anthony Johnson (18), Andres Lehrmann (11), Devin Lee (five) and Hunter Allen (one). Fitzgerald has started 33 straight games while Wudke has started 31.