ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Pioneer Football League Champion Drake University makes its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Division I Football Championship and meets No. 13 seed Tarleton State in a 3 p.m. (ET), Saturday contest in Stephenville, Texas in a game broadcast on ESPN+.
Drake (8-2) won its eighth PFL title with a 7-1 record, with its lone loss coming in Week 12 to Morehead State. However, the Bulldogs opened the season with a statement win on the road when they defeated Big Sky Conference foe Eastern Washington 35-32 in overtime on Sept. 7.
Drake leans on its defense led by junior defensive lineman Finn Claypool, the 2023 PFL Defensive Player of the Year. Among FCS programs, Drake ranked 16th in scoring defense (19.6 ppg), 11th in rushing defense (109.1 ypg), 10th in pass efficiency defense (112.09), and 14th in total defense (305.0 ypg). On offense, quarterback Luke Bailey has proven one of the PFL’s most accurate passers, ranking second in completion percentage (66.5%) while leading the league in completions per game (22.4).
Tarleton State (9-3) finished second in the United Athletic Conference – and Atlantic Sun and Western Athletic Conference association – with a 6-2 league mark and is making its first FCS Playoff appearance after receiving an at-large bid. Outside of UAC play, the Texans went 3-0 against the Southland Conference, posting three-point wins against SLC second-place Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State at home and a 17-point win at Houston Christian.
The Texans run game is among the nation’s best, ranking 14th with 202 yards per game on the ground. But Tarleton State boasts a balanced offense despite the passing game ranking 66th in the FCS, averaging 202.5 yards per game. That puts the Texas 32nd nationally in total offense at 404.5 yards per game. Meanwhile, the defensive strength is in the secondary, where they posted a UAC-best 16 interceptions (7th in FCS) and were 12th nationally in pass efficiency defense (113.36). They ranked 35th in the FCS in scoring defense (22.8 ppg) and 69th in total defense (369.3 ypg).
Saturday’s meeting will be the first-ever between Tarleton State and Drake, and the winner will be ticketed for a trip to No. 4 seed South Dakota.
The Pioneer Football League has received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship since 2013 and is 2-11 all-time in the tournament. San Diego posted the league’s two victories: a 2001 first-round win at Cal Poly (35-21) and a 2002 first-round win at Northern Arizona (41-10).
The PFL has four wins against FCS opponents this season, with San Diego claiming a win at Cal Poly, Butler winning at Murray State, and Dayton winning at St. Francis. The four FCS wins are the league’s most against other FCS teams since 2019.
