Story by
Grand Forks Herald
8 things to know about Youngstown State ahead of UND's next matchup
- Story byGrand Forks Herald
- 8 things to know about Youngstown State ahead of UND's next matchup
Oct. 28—GRAND FORKS — The UND football team makes its final road trip of the regular season with an 11 a.m. Saturday matchup against Youngstown State at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown, Ohio.
Here are eight things to know about No. 4-ranked Youngstown State.
Advertisement
Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner, is set to make his 34th straight start against UND.
For his career, he's rushed for 3,242 yards on 558 carries and now has a school record 57 touchdowns. Through the air, Brungard is 671-for-966 for 7,544 yards.
In 2025, Brungard led the FCS with 4,702 total yards while rushing for 1,468 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Against UND last season, Brungard ran 19 times for 71 yards. He threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked three times.
YSU coach Doug Phillips doesn't have fond memories of UND's 35-17 win over Youngstown State at the Alerus Center in 2025.
Advertisement
"The one thing they do, they beat us up," Phillips said. "Last year from the get-go, they hit us in the face and we didn't recover. They dominated that game. We were in a lot of games last year, but if there's one game you look at last year ... we weren't competitive."
UND QB Jerry Kaminski threw three touchdown passes and Gaven Ziebarth ran for two touchdowns (51, 1).
UND's explosive talents in that game left in the offseason — Sawyer Seidl had 114 rushing yards and B.J. Fleming had 84 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
UND lost in overtime last Saturday at South Dakota. The Fighting Hawks had the ball first, appearing to score a touchdown on a swing pass to running back Matt Lawson.
Advertisement
Officials flagged UND wide receiver Sam Strandell for holding on the perimeter.
Like many UND fans, YSU coach Doug Phillips didn't seem so sure about the call.
"I'm sure they're saying, 'I don't know if that's holding,'" Phillips said. "I think (Strandell) was a little more physical than the guy he was blocking."
Brungard isn't the only offensive threat for Youngstown State.
Running back Jaden Gilbert has 67 carries for 448 yards and six touchdowns, while catching 27 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns.
In a win over Indiana State, Gilbert had 16 carries for 163 yards and three touchdowns.
Advertisement
Gilbert was honorable mention all-MVFC last season after racking up 665 rushing yards on 95 carries and three touchdowns.
YSU defensive end Michael Wells, in his fifth season with the Penguins, is on the Buck Buchanan Award (top FCS defensive player) watch list.
Last season, he had 50 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. He had 10.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hurries.
This year, Wells has 26 tackles and nine tackles for loss. He has four quarterback hurries.
Youngstown State's wide receiving corps will be a new look compared to the matchup in Grand Forks last season.
Three of the top six pass catchers were not with the program in 2025.
Advertisement
The top newcomer is Lynn Wyche-El, who has 50 catches for 644 yards and seven touchdowns. He has a touchdown in every game this season.
Wyche-El, a Detroit native, spent the 2022 to 2025 seasons at Grand Valley State, where he was a first-team all-GLIAC pick in 2025.
Youngstown State kick Andrew Lastovka has been one of the FCS' top kickers in his career.
Lastovka made the most field goals (48) and is now second in attempts (62) of any active FCS kicker.
He ranks second in the FCS in PAT attempts (184) and PATs made (179).
Lastovka has played in 46 games and made all four of his field-goal tries this year (two at South Dakota State and two at home against South Dakota).
Advertisement
UND was able to limit Brungard in the 2025 matchup in Grand Forks.
In 2024, though, Brungard got the best of the Fighting Hawks.
In a 41-40 UND loss in overtime at Stambaugh Stadium, Brungard ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw for 72 yards on 8-for-12 passing.
"A lot of their offense is scrambling and out of schedule," UND head coach Eric Schmidt said. "You've got to do a good job of pushing the pocket, then your edge guys have got to be able to level rush. I always say, hey, the worst place to be in football is behind the quarterback when you're rushing the quarterback. We've got to make him throw from the bottom of the well, make him beat us from the pocket."
