Pioneer League Week 12 Outlook

Drake Bulldogs Athletics

Drake remains at the top of the pioneer league for now as they suffered a close loss to St. Thomas by a score of 20-13. The loss now has them at 6-3 overall with a conference record of 5-1. St. Thomas now sits behind them with only one conference loss separating them. For Drake this loss was one where they moved the ball at times but also struggled if they got to third or fourth down, as they went 3-11 on third down, and 1-4 on fourth down. Aside from the three turnovers on downs they also threw an interception in the game as well. The interception did not result in points being scored but did cost them a possession when they were all so critical in this low scoring affair. The Bulldogs offense put up 315 total yards on the day with the pass having 154 yards, and the run game going for 161, so even though they were very balanced on offense they didn’t do enough to help them get the win. Drake will now try and bounce back from this loss when they travel to Dayton, Ohio to take on the Flyers in a match-up that has huge implications for who may win the Pioneer League and earn the automatic berth into the FCS playoffs. You can listen to this one on the radio at 1350 or 102.1 for Des Moines stations, or watch this one on Youtube on Dayton’s channel. 

Dayton Flyers Athletics

Dayton took a tough loss in their week 10 match-up as they lost 31-13 to the San Diego Toreros. This loss came one week after upsetting the Presbyterian Blue Hose. When looking at what went wrong for the Flyers in their loss it was the offense that struggled so mightily. The Flyers only managed a total of 47 yards through the first three quarters of the game. In total they finished with -6 rushing yards as they had no answer for what to do on the ground. In the fourth quarter they were able to figure a couple of things out as they got a couple of touchdowns but it was too little too late. For the Flyers they had 220 passing yards but only 214 total yards with the run going for negative yardage. They also turned the ball over two times as well leading to their downfall. Now they need to push that game out of their memory as they face the Drake Bulldogs, at home in Dayton Ohio. This game has huge implications for who will win the Pioneer League, catch this showdown at 12:00 p.m. ET with it available for listening on 1350 and 102.1 and available to watch on ESPN Des Moines, and Dayton's Youtube channel.

Davidson Wildcats Athletics

Davidson has done it! They put an end to their five game losing streak as well as getting their first conference win of the season by taking down the mighty Presbyterian 14-13 helping them retain the 1919 cup. The win makes the Wildcats 2-8 on the year, and 1-5 in the conference. In this game the Wildcats went for 262 yards with the passing game not breaking 100 yards as they put up 97. The run game did better by getting 165 yards and was a big reason they were able to get the win. Now Davidson will be on the road as they go up to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on the Marist Red Foxes. Davidson will now look for their first road win on the season and you can watch them on ESPN Plus at 12:00 p.m. ET, to see if they can do it. 

Marist Red Foxes Athletics

Marist is back in the win column as they took down the Stetson Hatters 41-13 the win gets them to 4-6 on the year and also got them their second conference win of the season making them 2-4 there. For the Red Foxes this game was one that they controlled from the start as they jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before putting up 28 more points in the second quarter giving them a 38-7 lead at the half. From there they would coast to a victory as they added one more score from a field goal while only giving up one more score themselves. The Red Foxes put up 187 yards from completed passes and 206 yards from running giving them 393 yards in total. Marist also never gave the ball away in the game while taking it away three times themselves, with all three being interceptions that they got. Of those three interceptions Chase Hatton got two of them and both in the second quarter. He also had a game-best 12 tackles (three solo), a pass breakup, and a half tackle for loss in just three quarters of action. WIth all those stats he more than earned his PFL Defensive Player of the Week. A very solid performance from the Red Foxes as they still have a chance to avoid a losing record on the season as long as they can win out. To start they will need to get a win over Davidson who they take on at home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with that game starting at 12:00 p.m. ET. Catch this on ESPN Plus so you can stay up to date with what's going on in the Pioneer Football League. 

Stetson Hatters Athletics

Stetson suffered their third straight loss as they continued to struggle offensively. This time the loss came against Marist who took them down 41-13. The Hatters now sit at an overall of 3-7, and 2-4 in the conference putting them at 9th in the conference.

In the game the Hatters put up 276 yards with the passing and run game contributing in the game. The passing went for 126 yards while the run game put up 150 yards. The run game was able to put up solid numbers on the day but the passing game did struggle, not just in moving the ball but also in keeping it in safe hands as they threw three interceptions in the game. Those three interceptions then led to scores for the Red Foxes with the first one being a pick-six which got things off track early in the game. From there the Hatters never recovered, but that is something they will need to do as they travel Valparaiso, Indiana to take on the Beacons in a matchup between two teams sitting at the bottom of the Pioneer League. This game can be viewed on ESPN + with the coverage starting at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Valparaiso Beacons Athletics

Valparaiso suffered their ninth straight loss in a row as the San Diego Toreros took them down 43-27. The loss makes them 1-9 on the year and 0-6 in the conference having them sit in last place for the conference. This loss was one where the offense finally was able to put up points but like so often throughout the season the defense struggled to keep the opposition from putting up big numbers. In this game they gave up 462 yards of total offense while the Beacons put up 290 yards. In the game it was the passing doing the heavy lifting as they put up 234 yards, while the run game only generated 56 yards. With the run game struggling so much and with the defense not getting many stops it forced them to pass and with all those passes also came interceptions as they threw three of them in the game. Those three interceptions were all of the turnovers that occurred in the game and when you are giving the ball away while not taking it away yourself it becomes very hard to win the game. While the Beacons struggled with turnovers they did have some good in the game as Ryan Ricketti, earned himself the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week. He did this by amassing an FCS season best 198 yards on kickoff returns. Of those 198 yards he did have one, 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, now giving him second one on the season. His touchdown gave the Beacons a 21-20 lead in the third quarter as well. On the day he averaged 49.5 yards per return and finished with 256 all-purpose yards with six receptions for 58 yards added to his total. He is the only FCS kick returner with two 100-yard returns this season, and the first FCS player with multiple 100-yarders in a season since 2022. The Beacons will try to clean up the turnovers but keep their high rolling special teams as they get another game at home in Valparaiso, Indiana this time against the Stetson Hatters. This game is one of two chances that the Beacons have left to end their losing streak. To see if they can do it, tune in at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus.

Presbyterian Blue Hose Athletics

The Cinderella story might but all be over for Presbyterian as they suffered their second conference loss of the season, this one to a struggling Davidson team. The Blue Hose were taken down 14-13 as the turnover bug struck again and this time cost them the game. The loss now has them at 8-2 and 4-2 in the conference. For the Blue Hose it was a game in which they put up 297 yards of total offense. The passing game couldn’t do much as they put up 69 yards, and had two thrown interceptions with a receiver also losing the ball on a fumble. The rushing game had a solid day though as they had 228 yards, but it was not enough to help them comeback and win this one. Now the Blue Hose travel to St. Paul, Minnesota to take on the St. Thomas Tommies who sit above them in the rankings. This game is an elimination game for both teams in their push to win the conference. Find out if Presbyterian can hose down the red hot Tommies or if the Tommies will put an end to this dream season of the Blue Hose. Watch all of this one when it starts at 2:00 p.m. ET with it viewable on MidcoSP.

St. Thomas Tommies Athletics 

St. Thomas didn’t start the season off right as they were 2-3 at one point in the season but after the opening conference loss to the Butler Bulldogs the Tommies have figured things out as they have won five games in a row with all of them being conference games. Putting them at an impressive 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the conference has them second overall in the standings. Their most recent win was over the Drake Bulldogs by a score of 20-13. This was a game where the defense played a huge roll in getting the win as they held Drake to 3-11 on third down and 1-4 on fourth down with one of those stops coming on the opening drive of the game with Drake having already marched 60 yards down the field. Besides the turnovers on downs the Tommies also won the turnover battle as they never gave up the ball while getting an interception in the game. All of these things are important because the Tommies only put up a total of 252 total yards in the game. Not their strongest performance on offense since the last four games saw them averaging 52.25 points per game. But the win is the most important thing out of all the stats and that's what they did setting them up with an opportunity to win the conference in the final two weeks of the regular season. Their final conference game of the season takes place this week when they take on the Presbyterian Blue Hose who at one point seemed like the clear favorite to win the conference but are now struggling to get to the finish line. Can Presbyterian save their season or will the Tommies continue to stay on fire? Find out at 2:00 p.m. ET, on MidcoSP, when these teams square off in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Butler Bulldogs Athletics

Butler suffered a devastating loss as they fell to Morehead State 31-30 as the Eagles comeback came to fruition with them taking the lead in the final minute of the game. The loss now has the Bulldogs sitting at a 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference. In the devastating loss the Bulldogs put up 135 passing yards and 195 rushing yards giving them a total of 330 yards on the day. While they may have done fine moving the ball they did struggle with maintaining possession of the ball as they turned it over three times in the game. Two of those were from thrown interceptions while the last one was from a lost fumble in the game. Butler also struggled with penalties as they had nine penalties in which they gave up a total of 93 yards. Those are things that they need to have fixed by the end of the season if they want to have some positives for next year, and they get a great opportunity to try and improve themselves when they take on the San Diego Toreros in San Diego at 4:00 p.m. ET. Watch all of the action from this game on ESPN Plus. 

San Diego Toreros Athletics

San Diego picked up their third straight win as they took down the Beacons 43-27, moving them to an overall of 6-4 now on the season. In the conference the Toreros are 4-2 and sitting at 5th in the conference. To get to their fourth win on the season the Toreros took down the Beacons by putting up big stats on the day. In the game the Toreros put up 221 passing yards as well as 241 rushing yards giving them 462 total yards of offense. But it was the defense that really shined in the game as they got three interceptions en route to their victory.

Those interceptions helped set up easy scoring opportunities which their offense took full advantage of. They will look to do that again when they host the Butler Bulldogs at home with the game starting at 4:00 p.m. ET. To watch that game you can tune in on ESPN Plus.