League-leading Drake has an opportunity to create some breathing room as it begins a stretch of back-to-back games against teams currently with one PFL loss. First up is a Saturday road trip to a St. Thomas squad looking to rebound from its first loss at Morehead State last week.
Morehead State, the league’s other one-loss team and Drake’s Week 12 opponent, has its own road test as it travels to Davidson. The week opens with a matchup between the PFL’s two teams with the most championships when Dayton hosts San Diego. The Battle for the “Hoosier Helmet” sees Butler travel north to meet in-state foe Valparaiso. Marist makes the snowbird trip south for an outing at Stetson in Florida.
WEEK 11 SCHEDULE
| • San Diego at Dayton | Noon | DAY, 16-12 | SAN, W5 | San Diego def. Dayton, 40-25 (9/23/23 at San Diego) |
| • Morehead State at Davidson | 1 PM | MOR, 14-11 | MOR, W1 | Morehead State def. Davidson, 47-17 (11/11/23 at Morehead St.) |
| • Marist at Stetson | 1 PM | MAR, 8-2 | MAR, W4 | Marist def. Stetson, 34-24 (9/30/23 at Marist) |
| • Drake at St. Thomas | 2 PM | STT, 2-1 | DRA, W1 | Drake def. St. Thomas, 52-21 (10/14/23 at Drake) |
| • Butler at Valparaiso | 2 PM | BUT, 53-30 | BUT, W2 | Butler def. Valparaiso, 17-7 (10/28/23 at Butler) |
PFL NOTES
- The Valparaiso-Stetson game originally scheduled for Oct. 12 and postponed by Hurricane Milton has been canceled by mutual agreement of the Beacons and Hatters.
- Drake now has the second-longest PFL win streak in league history after shutting out Marist last week. The Bulldogs’ 16-game PFL win streak is the FCS’ longest current streak. The Bulldogs’ last conference loss was on Oct. 22, 2022, when they dropped a 48-14 decision to Davidson as part of a then-season-opening eight-game losing streak. Since snapping that streak, Drake is 16-5 overall.
- The PFL leads all FCS conferences with 30 blocked kicks in 94 games played during 2024. Dayton leads the league and all FCS squads with seven blocked kicks this season, while Drake and Presbyterian have three blocks to their credit, 14th-most in the FCS.
- The PFL is fourth among FCS leagues with nine pick-sixes in 2024, trailing the Southern Conference (11), the OVC/Big South and CAA (10). 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.
- 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.
- The PFL’s coaches picked Drake to win the 2024 PFL title after winning the 2023 title, their seventh PFL championship and first since 2012. The Bulldogs received eight of the 11 first-place votes from the league’s coaches. St. Thomas was second in the preseason poll, followed by Butler and San Diego.
- 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’s 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 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Carter Cravens, Morehead State Junior, Quarterback, Cypress Texas
Cravens was responsible for all three Morehead State touchdowns in a 21-7 victory against St. Thomas on Saturday. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 196 yards with touchdown tosses of 22-, 20, and 12 yards to three different receivers. Cravens also had 18 rushing yards (35 sack-adjusted rushing yards) on five attempts.
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jerry Riggins, San Diego Senior, Linebacker, San Diego, California
Riggins’ 73-yard scoop-and-score sparked San Diego’s 22-point second quarter in a 40-13 victory against Davidson on Saturday. After San Diego took a 10-7 lead, Davidson lost the handle on a handoff attempt in the backfield. Riggins picked up the loose ball and rumbled 73 yards for the score. He also had four tackles and a sack in the victory. It was San Diego’s FCS-leading sixth defensive touchdown this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Peter Lipscombe, Presbyterian Junior, Kicker, Catonsville, Maryland
Lipscombe became the 11th FCS kicker to make four or more field goals in a game and was responsible for 14 points in Presbyterian’s 28-7 victory against Dayton on Saturday. He connected on all four of his field goal attempts, scoring from 37, 27, 22, and 34 yards, and added a pair of PATs. Before Saturday’s outing, Lipscombe had just two field goal attempts this season.
