Youngstown State breezes to 45-10 victory over Robert Morris

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Joe Alessi had a 43-yard touchdown run and finished with 146 yards on 14 carries and Nathan Mays threw a TD pass and ran for two scores to propel Youngstown State to a 45-10 victory over Robert Morris on Saturday.

Robert Morris took a 7-0 lead on its second possession of the game, marching 97 yards in six plays. Alijah Jackson did most of the damage for the Colonials (1-4). He picked up a first down with a 12-yard run on third-and-10. Jackson ran for 80 yards on the next play, setting up George Martin's 4-yard TD toss to Terence Stephens Jr.

But it was all Youngstown State after that. Mays ended an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run to knot the score at 7 at the end of the first quarter. The Penguins (4-0), ranked 20th in the FCS coaches' poll, took the lead for good on Mays' 24-yard scoring strike to Jermiah Braswell with 10:59 left before halftime. After forcing a three-and-out, Alessi had his long TD run on the Penguins' first play and after another three-and-out Jake Coates returned a punt 63 yards for a score. Colten McFadden added a 22-yard field goal on the last play of the second quarter for a 31-7 lead.

Mays added a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter and Joe Craycraft scored on a 7-yard run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring for Youngstown State. The Penguins had 394 yards of offense, including 257 on the ground.

Jackson finished with 140 yards rushing on 20 carries. The rest of the Colonials' offense managed just 72 yards.