Youngstown State 40, No. 3 seed Jacksonville State 24
Story Line: Youngstown State continued its spectacular return to the FCS playoffs after a 10-year absence. The Penguins never trailed in the game, Jody Webb rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Hunter Wells threw for 290 yards and a touchdown and Zak Kennedy kicked four field goals.
Game Ball: The YSU secondary helped limit Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins to 6 of 26 passing. Free safety LeRoy Alexander and nickel back D.J. Thomas had interceptions and cornerback David Rivers III collected three pass breakups. Defensive backs had six of the defense's eight pass breakups.
Key Stat: While YSU's secondary excelled, JSU's defensive backs didn't against the pass as the Penguins averaged 28.6 yards on 11 completions. Included were a 70-yard touchdown pass to Damoun Patterson to open the scoring and an 85-yard completion to Darien Townsend.
The Takeaway: That Missouri Valley teams are much stronger than Ohio Valley Conference teams is obvious. What's coming into focus is the Penguins have one of the more talented teams in the nation (bookend defensive ends Derek Rivers and Avery Moss are scary good).
Up Next: Youngstown State (10-3) has an unexpected home game in the quarterfinals, hosting Wofford (10-3) next Saturday. The Penguins beat another Southern Conference team, Samford, in the first round.
The rest of the story
Story Line: Youngstown State continued its spectacular return to the FCS playoffs after a 10-year absence. The Penguins never trailed in the game, Jody Webb rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Hunter Wells threw for 290 yards and a touchdown and Zak Kennedy kicked four field goals.
Game Ball: The YSU secondary helped limit Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins to 6 of 26 passing. Free safety LeRoy Alexander and nickel back D.J. Thomas had interceptions and cornerback David Rivers III collected three pass breakups. Defensive backs had six of the defense's eight pass breakups.
Key Stat: While YSU's secondary excelled, JSU's defensive backs didn't against the pass as the Penguins averaged 28.6 yards on 11 completions. Included were a 70-yard touchdown pass to Damoun Patterson to open the scoring and an 85-yard completion to Darien Townsend.
The Takeaway: That Missouri Valley teams are much stronger than Ohio Valley Conference teams is obvious. What's coming into focus is the Penguins have one of the more talented teams in the nation (bookend defensive ends Derek Rivers and Avery Moss are scary good).
Up Next: Youngstown State (10-3) has an unexpected home game in the quarterfinals, hosting Wofford (10-3) next Saturday. The Penguins beat another Southern Conference team, Samford, in the first round.
The rest of the story