Youngstown State beats EWU with one of the greatest catches of all time

Youngstown State beat Eastern Washington in a national semifinal in the FCS playoffs on Saturday night, 40-38, advancing to play James Madison in the championship game on Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. It happened on one of the most consequential great plays in recent college football history.

That came with one second left on the clock and YSU trailing, 38-34. It was a season saver. The Penguins downed the ball on the extra point to avoid a blocked PAT runback, and now they’re on to the title game after a formality of a kickoff. Let’s run it back:

On the winning catch, Youngstown State tight end Kevin Rader trapped the ball on the back of EWU linebacker Ketner Kupp. He somehow managed to squeeze a game-deciding touchdown pass from quarterback Hunter Wells. So the Penguins, led by former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, are off to the title game.

JMU punched its ticket to Frisco on Friday, when it beat five-time defending champion North Dakota State, 27-17. That ended a truly remarkable run for the Bison and, finally, opened the door for a new champion after a half-decade of dominance. Now the Dukes formally have their dance partner.

Saturday’s game was an absolute thriller, obviously. Youngstown State scored the first touchdown of the day, but EWU stormed ahead after that, getting out to leads at various points of 24-10 and 31-20. Things seemed in hand for the Eagles, but it turned out they weren’t.

Trailing by 11 in the fourth quarter, YSU running back Tevin McCaster powered the Penguins on back-to-back touchdown drives of 82 and 56 yards, taking 11 minutes off the clock over 22 plays. With a stop sandwiched in the middle, YSU took a 34-31 lead and gave itself an excellent shot to win. It would eventually seize that shot.

But before that, EWU answered YSU’s touchdowns with a seven-play, 80-yard TD drive right afterward, reclaiming a 38-34 lead with 4:24 left on the clock. Shaq Hill plunged in from a yard out for the go-ahead points for EWU.

Down four again, YSU had to mount a drive. And Wells did, going 58 yards on 11 plays and getting the Rader catch to win the game.

The FCS playoffs are good fun every year, and this one hasn’t been any sort of exception. They started with 24 teams, and now 22 of them are gone. Winning this tournament is really hard, requiring four or five wins (depending on if a team gets a bye) to get all the way home. The finish line’s now very much in sight.