WEEK 8 SCHEDULE
| SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 | Kickoff (ET) | Series History | Streak | Last Meeting |
| • Stetson at Davidson | 1 PM | DAV, 9-6 | DAV, W5 | Davidson def. Stetson, 61-41 (11/4/23 in DeLand) |
| • Drake at Presbyterian | 1 PM | Tied, 1-1 | DRA, W1 | Drake def. Presbyterian, 16-14 (11/11/23 in Des Moines) |
| • Dayton at Butler | 1 PM | DAY, 33-14-1 | BUT, W2 | Butler def. Dayton, 37-10 (10/21/23 in Dayton) |
| • St. Thomas at Valparaiso | 2 PM | STT, 2-0 | STT, W2 | St. Thomas def. Valparaiso, 34-7 (11/5/22 in Valparaiso) |
| • Marist at San Diego | 5 PM | SAN, 15-1 | MAR, W1 | Marist def. San Diego, 30-16 (10/14/23 in Poughkeepsie) |
Unbeaten Butler travels to defending PFL Champion Drake in Week 7’s marquee matchup. The Battle of the Bulldogs matches a Butler squad putting its unblemished 5-0 record on the line while Drake antes up its 13-game PFL win streak.
Another key Week 7 matchup opens Week 6 action when Davidson travels to meet Dayton with both teams at 1-0 in league play. Elsewhere, St. Thomas, the league’s other 1-0 squad, travels to Marist while Presbyterian is on the road for a third straight week, trekking across the Appalachians to face Morehead State. This week’s Valparaiso-Stetson contest was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
PFL Notes
- The marquee matchup of Week 8 is in Indianapolis when Butler hosts Dayton. The Flyers are 2-0 on the young season after holding off Davidson in Week 7. Butler returns home and seeks to bounce back after seeing its unbeaten run to start the season ended by defending champion Drake in Des Moines last week.
- Drake, on top of the standings at 3-0, heads to South Carolina for only its third meeting all time against Presbyterian, which hosts its home PFL game this season. St. Thomas, the other unbeaten team, travels to Valparaiso seeking to stay at the top of the standings. Davidson looks to rebound from its first conference loss when it hosts Stetson. The week’s long trip belongs to Marist, who heads from New York to San Diego, for a meeting against the Toreros.
- Phil Steele Magazine released its 2024 FCS Mid-Season All-American Team on Friday. Butler junior offensive lineman Adam Doland and Drake junior defensive lineman Finn Claypool were fourth-team honorees at the halfway point.
- Drake brings a 14-game PFL win streak into Saturday’s tilt at Presbyterian after downing Butler last week to extend the streak. It is the third longest conference win streak in the FCS. 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 15-5 overall.
- 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 22 student-athletes named to the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, announced Sept. 17.
- 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 PerformPerform’sson 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.
- Seven PFL alumni are currently on active NFL and CFL rosters. A complete list of PFL alumni in professional football is on page 11 of the PDF.
PFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week
Tak Tateoka, St. Thomas Sophomore, Quarterback, Waukesha, Wisconsin
Tateoka was responsible for four touchdowns to help St. Thomas edge past Marist, 39-32, on Saturday. He threw two touchdowns and ran for two more to lead the Tommies offense. Tateoka completed 16-of-21 passes for 122 yards, posting a league-best 156.42 pass efficiency rating for the week, and ran for 13 yards on 12 carries. He pushed St. Thomas out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter with a touchdown pass followed 11 seconds later by a touchdown run from the one-yard line after a Tommies interception. Tateoka opened the second half by leading an eight-play, 70-yard drive that he capped with a 21-yard touchdown pass to give St. Thomas the lead for good, 25-18. He extended the lead early in the fourth quarter with a two-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 32-18.
OTHER NOTABLES
Defensive Player of the Week
Brandan Stearman, Morehead State Sophomore (RS), Linebacker, Louisville, Kentucky
Stearman’s interception in the dying minutes helped Morehead State secure a 14-7 victory against Presbyterian on Saturday. In addition to the interception, he recovered a fumble to end another long Blue Hose drive and recorded 12 tackles (five solo), including one for loss. Stearman’s fumble recovery came with Presbyterian threatening on 1st-and-Goal from the nine-yard line, helping Morehead State take a 7-0 into halftime. His interception was even more critical as Presbyterian scored its first touchdown and forced a turnover on downs with 8:25 left. The Blue Hose’s 15-play drive went to the Morehead State 26-yard line before Stearman intercepted the pass to secure the lead.
OTHER NOTABLES
Special Teams Player of the Week
Gideon Lampron, Dayton Sophomore (RS), Linebacker, LaGrange, Ohio
Lampron had two blocked kicks and led a special teams unit that blocked four kicks, helping Dayton post a 16-14 victory against Davidson on Saturday. His first block came late in the first half on a 42-yard attempt and allowed Dayton to take a 13-7 lead into the break. Then, on the drive after Dayton took a 16-14 lead, Lampron blocked a 46-yard attempt with 3:56 remaining in the game. In addition, he had 11 tackles (five solo), including one for loss.
