{"id":652874,"date":"2026-01-04T09:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T09:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/652874\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T09:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T09:16:22","slug":"youngstown-states-beau-brungard-wins-the-2025-walter-payton-award-top-moments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/652874\/","title":{"rendered":"Youngstown State&#8217;s Beau Brungard wins the 2025 Walter Payton Award, top moments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    Share<\/p>\n<p>            <a id=\"social-share-facebook\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2026-01-03\/youngstown-states-beau-brungard-wins-2025-walter-payton-award-top-moments\" data-shareto=\"facebook\" class=\"sharebutton icon-social-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2026-01-03\/youngstown-states-beau-brungard-wins-2025-walter-payton-award-top-moments\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n                <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/modules\/custom\/casablanca_social\/modules\/casablanca_social_hanger\/img\/social-facebook.svg\" width=\"30px\" height=\"30px\"\/><br \/>\n            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>            <a id=\"social-share-twitter\" data-shareto=\"twitter\" class=\"sharebutton icon-social-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2026-01-03\/youngstown-states-beau-brungard-wins-2025-walter-payton-award-top-moments\" title=\"Share on X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><br \/>\n                <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"X\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/modules\/custom\/casablanca_social\/modules\/casablanca_social_hanger\/img\/social-twitter.svg\" width=\"30px\" height=\"30px\"\/><br \/>\n            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard won the 2025 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in FCS football, beating out fellow top-three finalists Cole Payton (North Dakota State) and Taron Dickens\u00a0(Western Carolina). Brungard is the first Youngstown State player to win the award in its 39-year history.\u00a0Brungard received the Payton Award two days before the 2025-26 FCS Championship game.<\/p>\n<p>PAYTON AWARD:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2021-05-15\/walter-payton-award-complete-history-fcs-offensive-honor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Complete history of the top FCS offensive honor<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 12 regular season games, the Penguin quarterback completed 254 of 368 passes (69 percent) for 2,917 yards, 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also ran for 1,378 yards and 24 touchdowns, leading Youngstown State to the FCS playoffs.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Beau finds Alex McDonald for his first passing TD of the day!<\/p>\n<p>Great movement in the pocket to buy time and find McDonald.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGuins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GoGuins<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fryEZG5lcz\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/fryEZG5lcz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ysufootball\/status\/1992322116314915090?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Brungard is the 28th quarterback to win the Payton Award \u2014 the most of any position \u2014 since the award debuted in 1987. Quarterbacks have won the Payton Award in each of the last 10 seasons and 21 of the last 22 seasons, with wide receiver Cooper Kupp&#8217;s 2015 win being the lone exception.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f &#8220;How did he see Austin Bray?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfaESPN+<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGuins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GoGuins<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pqdBTOvOWI\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/pqdBTOvOWI<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ysufootball\/status\/1989781742811595060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">November 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As the 2025 Walter Payton Award winner, Brungard joins an elite fraternity of FCS greats including Steve McNair (Alcorn State, 1994), Adrian Peterson (Georgia Southern, 1999), Brian Westbrook (Villanova, 2001), Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois, 2002), Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington, 2015) and more.<\/p>\n<p>MORE AWARDS:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2022-01-07\/buck-buchanan-award-complete-history-fcs-defensive-honor?utm_campaign=inline-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buck Buchanan Award history<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2021-10-14\/jerry-rice-award-complete-history-fcs-freshman-honor?utm_campaign=inline-article\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jerry Rice Award history<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Top moments<\/p>\n<p>See some more of Brungard&#8217;s top moments from 2025 below.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Houdini Brungard doing what he does best! \ud83d\udc27\ud83c\udfc8<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGuins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GoGuins<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gC84tSRHdM\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/gC84tSRHdM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ysufootball\/status\/1984743404371161371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">November 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">UNTOUCHED TO THE \ud83c\udfe0<\/p>\n<p>Penguins lead 14-0!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGuins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GoGuins<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ptzcjvjeD4\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/ptzcjvjeD4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ysufootball\/status\/1992315762443235444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">One of those plays you dream of in the back yard.<\/p>\n<p>Brungard \ud83c\udfc8 Walters\ud83c\udfc8 Brungard<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoGuins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#GoGuins<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ktPH1ErO51\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/ktPH1ErO51<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Youngstown State Football (@ysufootball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ysufootball\/status\/1982176161468682547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">October 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track &amp; Field Championships and Men&#8217;s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC\/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman.  You can follow him on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stan_becton\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">@stan_becton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.<\/p>\n<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/beau-brungard-youngstown-state-penguins-football.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                    One player to watch from every first-round FCS football playoff team<\/p>\n<p>While you recover from Thanksgiving feasts and Black Friday hauls, make sure you keep an eye out for these players on FCS teams during the first-round slate.<\/p>\n<p>                                <a class=\"article-related-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2025-11-24\/one-player-watch-every-first-round-fcs-football-playoff-team?utm_campaign=article-carousel\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Southeastern-Louisiana-football.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                    Predicting every at-large team to the 2025 FCS playoffs<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re hours away from the 2025 FCS football playoff selection show. 13 at-large spots remain. Here&#8217;s who Stan Becton thinks will make the field.<\/p>\n<p>                                <a class=\"article-related-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2025-11-22\/predicting-every-large-team-2025-fcs-playoffs?utm_campaign=article-carousel\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/one-month-bracket-predictions.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                    2025 FCS playoff bracket predictions entering the final month of the season<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what the 2025 FCS football playoff bracket is shaping up to look like entering the final month of the season.<\/p>\n<p>                                <a class=\"article-related-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/news\/football\/article\/2025-10-27\/2025-fcs-playoff-bracket-predictions-entering-final-month-season?utm_campaign=article-carousel\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                            <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Share Youngstown State quarterback Beau Brungard won the 2025 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,65544],"class_list":["post-652874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-youngstown-st"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115836078430328657","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}