Correspondent photo / David Dermer. Youngstown State running back Jaden Gilbert (7) is tackled by a North Dakota State defender during the first half of their game Saturday afternoon at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota.

During the week, Youngstown State head coach Doug Phillips reiterated the importance of minimizing mistakes if the Penguins were going to have a chance on the road at top-ranked North Dakota State.

“You know what you’re going to get. They don’t make mistakes. They wait for you to make mistakes, and then they just pounce on you,” Phillips said Tuesday. “For us, it’s what we preach all week. Ball security is going to be critical. You can’t go into the FargoDome and turn it over because they take those turnovers in every game you see and turn them into touchdowns.”

Phillips’ forewarning proved to be prophetic, as turnovers and special teams miscues cost the Penguins a chance at a stunning upset on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota.

Two YSU turnovers turned into a pair of Bison touchdowns and one last turnover on the Penguins’ final possession was the nail in the coffin in a 38-30 defeat at North Dakota State.

“Making too many mistakes early, especially on special teams, really can cost you in a football game,” Phillips said during a postgame press conference on Saturday. “It’s a third of the game. I give them credit. We know they’re a great program. I’m not going to hang my head, I’m not going to feel sorry for one thing, and we’ll get back to work.”

After taking a 10-7 lead during the second quarter, YSU’s defense came up with a stop and got the ball back at its own 5-yard line with a chance to drive down and extend its advantage.

On the fifth play of the possession, quarterback Beau Brungard threw his third interception of the season. The quick pass bounced off one of YSU’s offensive linemen and was pulled down by NDSU’s Donovan Woolen. With a short field, four plays later, DJ Scott plunged into the end zone for the Bison.

On the ensuing kickoff, the ball bounced off returner Kylon Wilson’s facemask and was recovered by NDSU’s Kegan Huber inside the 10-yard line. The Bison converted the turnover into another touchdown, and in less than two minutes, the Penguins suddenly found themselves in a 21-10 hole.

YSU then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to climb its way out of that deficit.

The Penguins’ offense answered with a drive that culminated in a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brungard to tight end Alex McDonald.

But special teams struck again, as Jackson Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown, while breaking about five tackles along the way.

“They got great players, and again, that’s where you gotta be able to respond,” Phillips said. “Our tackling, I felt like we had opportunities where we had guys wrapped up — whether it was the kickoff return, whether it was (quarterback) Cole (Payton) on a scramble — we gotta be better fundamentally. On those, you hope you might make it a little bit more difficult on them. So we gotta work on tackling.”

Despite NDSU’s momentum-shifting plays, the Penguins still managed to hang around and trailed 28-20 at halftime after Andrew Lastovka kicked the second of his three 40-plus-yard field goals.

At the end of the fourth quarter, YSU’s defense earned a much-needed stop by forcing the Bison to settle for a short field goal that made it an eight-point game.

Over the final six minutes, the Penguins had two chances to attempt to drive down and score the game-tying touchdown and two-point conversion. But NDSU’s defense forced a punt on the first try, and then YSU’s third and final turnover off a Wilson fumble on the first play of the second possession sealed the Penguins’ fate.

“We came in here all week with the mindset of No. 1, winning the response battle,” Phillips said. “Good things, bad things happen in a football game. We gotta respond and I’m proud of our young men (responded). We made a lot of mistakes in that first half, but they kept fighting, they responded and they responded in a positive way.”

YSU’s offense scored 30 points and tallied 371 total yards on NDSU’s top-ranked defense that led the FCS in both scoring defense (9.62 points per game) and total defense (221.1 yards per game).

Brungard went 19-for-30 for 203 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while also rushing for 50 yards on 15 carries with two rushing touchdowns. Payton went 17-for-24 for 194 yards and an interception.

“We feel we have a very special guy there in No. 12, and the opportunity each week for people to come and see him play. We feel good every time he has the ball in his hands, just like North Dakota State feels good every time Cole has the ball in his hand,” Phillips said. “So it had to be fun for the fans to see those two guys battle.”

At 5-4 overall, YSU likely needs to win out in its final three games to feel comfortable with its FCS playoff hopes. The Penguins now return to Stambaugh Stadium for two weeks for home games against Southern Illinois on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. and Indiana State on Nov. 15 at noon.

No. 1 North Dakota State 38, No. 18 Youngstown State 30

AT FARGO, N.D.

BY QUARTERS

YSU 3 17 3 7 — 30

NDSU 7 21 7 3 — 38

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: YSU: 21, NDSU: 18; Rushes/Yards Rushing: YSU: 29-168, NDSU: 40-133; Yards Passing: YSU: 203, NDSU: 194; Comp-Att-Int: YSU: 19-30-1, NDSU: 17-24-1; Penalties: YSU: 7-26, NDSU: 4-30; Fumbles-Lost: YSU: 2-2, NDSU: 0-0; Total Yards: YSU: 371, NDSU: 327; Offensive Plays: YSU: 59, NDSU: 64

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Passing: YSU: Beau Brungard 19-for-30 203 yds TD INT; NDSU: Cole Payton 17-for-24 194 yds INT

Rushing: YSU: Jaden Gilbert 6 carries 63 yds; NDSU: Barika Kpeenu 15 carries 74 yds 3 TDs

Receiving: YSU: Max Tomczak 5 rec. 59 yds; NDSU: Bryce Lance 5 rec. 65 yds

Scoring summary

First quarter

YSU: Lastovka 47 field goal (6:22) (0-3)

NDSU: Kpeenu 1 run (Ozick kick) (0:41) (7-3)

Second quarter

YSU: Brungard 10 run (Lastovka kick) (10:43) (7-10)

NDSU: Scott 3 run (Ozick kick) (4:52) (14-10)

NDSU: Kpeenu 4 run (Ozick kick) (4:17) (21-10)

YSU: McDonald 16 pass from Brungard (1:49) (21-17)

NDSU: Williams 100 kickoff return (Ozick kick) (1:32) (28-17)

YSU: Lastovka 49 field goal (0:08) (28-20)

Third quarter

YSU: Lastovka 42 field goal (12:51) (28-23)

NDSU: Kpeenu 1 run (Ozick kick) (6:22) (35-23)

Fourth quarter

YSU: Brungard 2 run (Lastovka kick) (13:54) (35-30)

NDSU: Ozick 21 field goal (6:20) (38-30)