YSU squanders MVFC title chance in loss to Illinois State
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Grit city? More like heartbreak city for the Youngstown State football team after a devastating loss on Saturday.
With a chance to clinch at least a share of their first Missouri Valley Football Conference title with a victory, the third-ranked Penguins squandered their opportunity in a 34-33 loss to Illinois State at Stambaugh Stadium.
"We had a lot we were looking forward to winning that game, making history, winning the conference championship. We didn't play good enough, and we understand that it falls on everybody," YSU fifth-year quarterback Beau Brungard said. "It's not one side of the ball. It's not one person. It falls on everybody. We didn't play good enough and it sucks."
When the Redbirds got the ball back down by five with 2:13 to go, they went 73 yards in 13 plays, as quarterback Beckham Pellant scored the game-winning touchdown from 2 yards out with 14 seconds left.
It capped a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback, as Illinois State outscored the Penguins 20-6 after trailing by 13 early in the final period.
Illinois State overcame what had been a chaotic 24 hours after its originally scheduled flight on Friday night was delayed and postponed by the FAA's nationwide ground stoppage.
After the stoppage was lifted, the Redbirds were forced to fly to Youngstown on Saturday morning, arriving at Youngstown/Warren Regional Airport just six hours before the rescheduled kickoff time of 4:30 p.m.
"I give them credit. Coach [Brock] Spack and what they had to deal with the last 18 hours with the FAA and travel and getting here," YSU head coach Doug Phillips said. "You know in November what they're going to do. We knew they were going to run the football and we didn't stop the run. That starts with me, that starts with our coaches, that starts with the fundamentals of having an edge. That's fundamentals of tackling. That's fundamentals of leverage. There's a reason they went to the championship last year. They find a way to do those things."
After scoring first, YSU trailed 14-7 at one point during the first half. But the Penguins ended the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal by Andrew Lastovka to cut into the deficit and retook the lead by scoring a touchdown on their opening drive of the third quarter.
YSU added another touchdown run by Jaden Gilbert during the quarter to extend its lead to 24-14, and then Lemondte Chambers recovered a Redbirds fumble forced by Brandon Chambers Jr. on the ensuing drive.
With the ball and a short field, the Penguins could have made it a three-possession game with a touchdown. But instead, Illinois State's top-20 defense stood tall and limited YSU to a 45-yard Lastovka field goal to keep it a two-possession game.
"That was a big momentum shift getting a turnover," Brungard said. "You gotta capitalize off those, and we needed to capitalize. We needed to get in the end zone and extend that lead. I think that was a turning point in the game."
Once the Redbirds scored back-to-back touchdowns to retake the lead in the fourth quarter, Brungard and YSU's offense got the ball back, down by one with 3:29 left.
The Penguins needed just three plays to score, as Brungard hit Bryan Hunt over the top for a 59-yard touchdown. Ultimately, hindsight is 20/20, but YSU scored too quickly.
"It's hard to stop an explosive play like that," Phillips said. "You knew with all the time they had and all their timeouts, you'd like to take some time off. But you got a guy that's wide open down the sideline, and Beau made a great play.
"It's hard. It's tough, and it hurts. ... We wanted to give something back to the Ice Castle. We wanted to give something back to the university, go and give something back to our seniors who have dedicated their time and stayed. ... I feel for our guys. I feel for our seniors. I'll put it on my shoulders that they came out and out-executed us in the Ice Castle. But now we gotta find a way to get ready to attack the playoffs."
The loss means the Penguins finish the regular season at 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the MVFC standings. Instead of YSU, South Dakota State now clinches at least a share of the conference championship and can clinch it outright with a win in its regular season finale next week.
With an open date next week, the Penguins have to play the waiting game to find out their FCS playoff fate. YSU is pretty much assured of an at-large playoff bid, but their seed and whether or not they get a first-round bye still remains up in the air. Selection Sunday for the playoff bracket is Nov. 22 at noon.
"We just gotta analyze where we messed up, what we need to fix and get back to work," Brungard said. "We have a very mature team, a lot of seniors, and I know this isn't the way they want to go out. So there's a lot of fight left in this team, and I know we're going to put our best foot forward and clean up what we need to clean up, and fix what we need to fix in getting ready for the playoffs."