The Lead
With a win, Drake clinches the 2024 PFL Championship outright and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship. The Bulldogs look to clinch their second-straight NCAA FCS Playoffs bid at Stetson.
Should Drake fall at Stetson, they would still claim the PFL automatic bid in a ties with Butler and/or San Diego. However, should Drake lose and Morehead State defeat San Diego, Morehead State would have the inside track on the automatic bid. The PFL automatic bid tiebreaker can be found on page 13.
Butler travels to red-hot Presbyterian this week with the Blue Hose riding their first three-game win streak since officially joining the PFL in 2021. Morehead State’s five PFL wins are its most since a 6-2 since in 2015 while San Diego seeks its best finish in the PFL since 2021. In the last matchups, Davidson, Dayton and St. Thomas all are at 4-3 and seeking winning seasons in their final outings.
WEEK 13 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23
Kickoff (ET)
Series History / Streak
Last Meeting
• Butler at Presbyterian
1 PM
BUT, 1-0 BUT, / W1
Butler def. Presbyterian, 27-27 (9/30/23 at Butler)
• Drake at Stetson
1 PM
DRA, 5-2 DRA, / W2
Drake def. Stetson, 33-7 (10/28/23 at Drake)
• San Diego at Morehead State
1 PM
SAN, 16-0 SAN, / W16
San Diego def. Morehead State, 17-11 (10/28/23 at San Diego)
• Dayton at St. Thomas
2 PM
STT, 1-0 STT, / W1
St. Thomas def. Dayton, 20-14 (9/30/23 at Dayton)
• Davidson at Valparaiso
2 PM
DAV, 10-4 DAV, / W3
Davidson def. Valparaiso, 42-21 (10/21/23 at Davidson)
PFL Notes
- Drake saw the second-longest PFL win streak in league history end against Morehead State in Week 12. The Bulldogs’ 17-game PFL win streak was the longest in the PFL since San Diego’s 39-game win streak (2015-21).
- Davidson running back Mari Adams and St. Thomas’ Hope Adebayo are two of the FCS’ 23 1,000-yard rushers entering the final weekend. Adams has gained 1,137 yards and scored 14 touchdowns on the ground this season, while Adebayo has 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns.
- There is only one 1,000-yard receiver in the PFL so far this season: San Diego’s Ja’seem Reed and his 1,004 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
- The league’s passing title will go down to the final pass this season with four quarterbacks bunched up. San Diego’s Grant Sergent leads the pack with 2,219 passing yards followed closely by Presbyterian’s Collin Hurst at 2,210 yards. Drake’s Luke Bailey (2,145) and Stetson’s Brady Meitz (2,023) are also in the hunt.
- Three Pioneer Football League student-athletes were among a record 203 semifinalists for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, presented by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame: Dayton redshirt senior center Dylan DeMaison, Marist graduate student and defensive lineman Gannon McCorkle, and Valparaiso senior defensive lineman Sam Hafner.
- Davidson defensive end Julian Rawlins was one of 13 student-athletes named to the FedEx Doris Robinson Award Watch List on Oct. 30. Earlier this season, he was among 22 student-athletes named to the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
- PFL teams claimed four wins against their scholarship FCS brethren. Butler (at Murray State), Dayton (vs. Saint Francis), Drake (at Eastern Washington), and San Diego (vs. Cal Poly) victories helped the league post its most wins against FCS nonconference teams since 2019.
- Drake defensive end Finn Claypool, the reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List presented by Stats Perform. He also was named to the Stats Perform Preseason All-America Team.
- Davidson running back Mari Adams and Drake quarterback Luke Bailey were named to the 35-player Walter Payton Watch Award Watch List, also presented by Stats Perform.
PFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive
Collin Hurst, Presbyterian Freshman (RS), Quarterback, Davie, Florida
Hurst was responsible for four touchdowns and led Presbyterian to its third straight PFL win, 42-23, at Marist on Saturday. He completed 21-of-27 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including TD throws of 51 and 36 yards, and added a touchdown on the ground. Hurst opened the game by completing his first 11 passes. That bled over into the second quarter, where he completed 12-of-13 attempts for 162 yards and two touchdowns. It was Hurst’s fourth consecutive game without an interception, and he led the Blue Hose to their first three-game win streak since 2021.
Defensive
Gideon Lampron, Dayton Sophomore (RS), Linebacker, LaGrange, Ohio
Lampron led a defense that held Valparaiso to 170 offensive yards as Dayton snapped its losing streak with a 26-14 victory. He recorded 11 tackles (six solo) with two for loss. He made two critical tackles in the second quarter that helped swing the momentum in the Flyers’ favor. On 3rd-and-1 in Dayton territory, he made a stop for no gain and followed up on 4th-and-1 with a tackle for a loss of two yards. The resulting turnover on downs set up Dayton’s offense at midfield, where they drove the ball to a touchdown that took the lead for good. His second tackle for a loss pinned Valparaiso against its own goal line and set up a safety on the next play
Special Teams
Thomas Schwartz V, Morehead State Sophomore (RS), Kicker, Treynor, Iowa
Schwartz’s trip back to his home state of Iowa helped him end a string of bad luck as he hit a 30-yard field goal with 14 seconds left to help Morehead State upend league-leading Drake, 29-20 on Saturday. It was his first made field goal since Sept. 28, ending a streak of five misses. Schwartz also converted both his PATs and handled kickoff duties for the Eagles.
NOTE: All individuals recognized on this page were nominated by the athletics communications staff at their respective schools.
PFL Notes
THE PFL KICK BLOCKING CAMP
The PFL leads all FCS conferences with 39 blocked kicks in 114 games played during 2024. St. Thomas leads the league and all FCS squads with nine blocked kicks. Dayton in second with seven blocked kicks this season, while Drake is third with six blocks. Valparaiso (4), Butler (3), and Presbyterian (3) are also among the FCS Top 20 in blocked kicks.
TO THE HOUSE
The PFL is fifth among FCS leagues with nine pick-sixes in 2024. The Southern Conference leads the way with 12 pick-sixes followed by the CAA, Big South/OVC, and Southland at 11 each. Among PFL teams, San Diego has returned an FCS-best four of their seven interceptions for TDs, with Davidson (2), Butler (2), and St. Thomas (1) claiming the others
