Youngstown St. 31, Albany (NY) 24

Published Sep. 15, 2012 8:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

Jamaine Cook scored three touchdowns Saturday to help Youngstown State hold off Albany (N.Y.) 31-24 and record its first 3-0 start since 2005.

Albany (2-1) held a 7-0 lead before Cook capped off back-to-back drives with touchdowns from 2 yards and 7 yards out, respectively.

The Great Danes tied the game at 14 but Cook scored again from 7 yards to put the Penguins ahead 21-14.

Youngstown State outscored Albany 10-3 in the second half to seal the win.

Cook finished with 161 yards on 33 carries. Kurt Hess paced the Penguins passing attack with 183 yards on 15-of-18 passing and eclipsed the 5,000-yard career-passing milestone.

Will Fiacchi led Albany with 228 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Youngstown State controlled the clock, holding possession for 36 minutes, 11 seconds compared to 23:09 for the Great Danes and ran 16 more (74-58) offensive plays than Albany.