University of St. Thomas Athletics
Butler
Game Notes -- Football seeks 10-win season, solo Pioneer title
11/18/2022 2:04:00 PM | Football
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Coming Up
St. Thomas Football (9-1 overall, 7-0 Pioneer) has won nine in a row this season since a 44-13 opening loss at FCS scholarship team Southern Utah (Southern Utah scored game's final 16 points). The Toms are away this Saturday at Butler (7-3, 5-2) in Indianapolis, Ind. with an 11 a.m. (Minnesota time) kickoff.
The contest can be heard live on AM-1500 Radio Skor North, with Corbu Stathes on the play-by-play call with Ayo Idowu as the color analyst. Saturday is the last day of the regular season across FCS and the Pioneer Football League, as FCS playoffs start Nov. 26.
Big Picture
The 7-0 Toms sit atop the Pioneer Football League with one game to go, holding a one-game lead over Dayton (6-1 in the PFL). This week, Dayton heads to North Carolina to take on Davidson, and that winner gets the Pioneer automatic bid into the FCS playoffs. The Toms have already secured at least a share of the Pioneer championship, and can clinch a solo title with a win at Butler or with a Dayton loss.
The Toms climbed in the national AFCA Coaches poll this week to No. 21 – the best national team ranking in any sport thus far in St. Thomas' D-I era. Only two non-scholarship teams are in the top 25: St. Thomas, and Ivy League leader Princeton.
St. Thomas also moved into the CBS Sports.com FCS Power Rankings at No. 25.
Do You Remember?
In its inaugural Pioneer Football League season in 2021, St. Thomas was picked for 8th place out of 11 teams in the preseason poll, and later finished tied for third place. In 2022, the Toms were picked for third place and now sit 7-0 with at least a share of the title.
Milestone Watch
St. Thomas comes into this week 99-14 in games against conference opponents in the Glenn Caruso era. That includes an 87-10 record against league foes since 2010. Caruso's overall 14-season record at St. Thomas is 142-25.
Is That Right?
Nearly two dozen teams have joined FCS football since 2004, and St. Thomas is the first program during that span to win a conference championship in its first or second season at the new level. The Purple also has the best two-season record of that group (16-4). In its third FCS season in 2017, Kennesaw State went 5-0 to win the Big South Conference. In 2006 in its third FCS season, North Dakota State won the Great West Conference at 4-0 as part of a 10-1 overall record.
Hundred Year Cycle
St. Thomas' Pioneer Football League title share comes 100 years after the Tommies' first official football conference championship, won in 1922, in season three of its MIAC era. That St. Thomas head coach, Joe Brandy, was a former Notre Dame QB under Coach Knute Rockne and played in the same Irish backfield as legendary RB George Gipp (of "Win one for the Gipper" fame).
Steady Growth
Glenn Caruso improved his team's win totals from the previous season in each of his first seven seasons as a D-III head coach, and has improved his team's record now from year one to year two in FCS:
2006, Macalester (first season): 2-7 (0-9 previous year)
2007, Macalester: 4-5 (2-7 previous year)
2008, St. Thomas (first season): 7-3 (2-8 previous year)
2009, St. Thomas: 11-2 (7-3 previous year)
2010, St. Thomas: 12-1 (11-2 previous year)
2011, St. Thomas: 13-1 (12-1 previous year)
2012, St. Thomas: 14-1 (13-1 previous year)
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2021, St. Thomas: 7-3, first season in FCS (no games previous year)
2022, St. Thomas: 9-1 (7-3 previous year)
Longest Current D-I Football Win Streaks/FBS or FCS
12, Georgia
11, Ohio State
10, Michigan
10, TCU
10, Holy Cross
10, Jackson State
10, Sacramento State
10, South Dakota State
9, St. Thomas
8, Florida A&M
8, Saint Francis (Pa.)
8, Samford
Snazzy Stats
- The Toms are now 14-0 on Senior Days in the Caruso era (last home regular season game).
- The Toms were 13-0 in season openers under Caruso before losing in 2022 at Southern Utah, 44-13 (SUU scored the last 16 points to pull away).
- The Toms also have 11 consecutive wins in games played on Saturdays.
- The Toms are 102-0 in regular-season games in the 14-season Glenn Caruso era in games when they score 25 or more points.
- The conference title share secured thus far marks the eighth conference solo or shared title in the Caruso era. The Toms have finished first, second or third in the conference all 14 seasons under Caruso.
- The Tommies' have won 26 in a row on their home field, third most consecutive current wins across all of NCAA Football (top seven are Clemson 39, Cincinnati 32, St. Thomas 26, Oregon 23, Linfield (Ore.) 23, Alabama 18, NW Missouri 18).
- St. Thomas has held a second-half lead in 22 of its last 23 conference games (MIAC, Pioneer). The exception was a 2021 season loss at Davidson.
- The Toms are trying to win 10 regular-season games and finish 8-0 in the conference for just the sixth time in program history (all under Caruso).
- St. Thomas has won nine consecutive games after a season-opening loss. No Tommie team has ever lost an opener then won its next 10. Coach Mark Dienhart's 1983 Tommie team fell in week one to UW-La Crosse, reeled off nine consecutive victories, then lost a first-round NAIA playoff game at Northwestern (Iowa) to close 9-2. That was the only previous time a Tommie team started 9-1 with an opening defeat.
- The Toms are 14-0 in the FCS era in games when they record two or more sacks
2022 Highlight Reel
- St. Thomas' 24 starters include 14 freshmen or sophomore eligible players .
- Approximately 20 current seniors and fifth-year seniors were part of St. Thomas' Division III conference co-championship squad in 2018 and are now part of a Division I (FCS) co-championship in 2022.
- The Tommies rank in the top 10 out of 130 FCS teams in fewst points allowed, rushing yards allowed, total yards allowed, sacks, tackles for loss, fewest first downs allowed and third-down conversions allowed.
- Senior DB Luke Glenna had his 15th career takeaway (13th interception) last Saturday in the Stetson win.
- The Purple average 203.4 rushing yards and 186.3 passing yards a game. Offensive backs have 21 rushing TDs, receivers have 18. Last season, the Toms averaged 168 rushing yards and 152 passing yards a contest.
- Senior QB Cade Sexauer has thrown a TD pass in all 10 games this season. He has 17 touchdown passes with just eight interceptions, and his offensive line has only allowed five sacks in seven conference games.
- The Toms have received seven special teams or defensive touchdowns by seven different players during their current nine-game win streak.
- The Purple's 46 touchdowns have come from 19 different athletes. Five different players contributed the five scores Nov. 5 at Valparaiso.
- St. Thomas has come from behind to win in three of its last five games.
- The Toms are 9-1 despite a minus-6 in season takeaways vs. their foes' totals (20 lost, including nine fumbles; 14 gained, including 11 pickoffs).
- Shawn Shipman's 31 carries last Saturday (168 yards) were the most for a St. Thomas rusher so far in the 20-game FCS era.
- Freshman Stephen Shagen is 19-of-19 in PAT kicks and 3-of-5 in FG tries
- St. Thomas won two home games in October against returning conference co-champion teams Davidson (27-16 win) and San Diego (49-42 win).
Diggin' into Butler
Butler (7-3, 5-2) enters Saturday's game coming off of a close loss against Drake and 2-3 on the road. Butler's roster includes 62 freshmen or redshirt freshman, and 16 seniors, redshirt seniors, or graduate students. The Bulldogs were picked for 10th in the conference preseason poll and are looking tp pull off an eight-win season. This will be the second game between these programs -- the Tommies shutout the Bulldogs at home last season, 36-0.
Butler's defense sits second in the Pioneer League in scoring defense, behind St. Thomas (only allowing 19.4 pts/game), and are first in net yards per punt (37.3 net/punt) and field goals made (nine so far this season).
QB Bret Bushka, a redshirt junior from Lombard, Ill., leads the Pioneer League in total offensive yards with 396 rushing yards, 1,617 passing yards, 2,013 total yards, and an average of 287.6 yards/game.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Butler's defense has averaged 374 yards allowed per game. They score an average of 27.7 points a game and allow 19.4, and they have a turnover margin of minus-5 with 15 turnovers and 10 takeaways.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Bulldogs have made 12-of-13 field goals. Their kick-return game has an average of 22.9 yards/return.
Bulldog Banter
The Bulldogs' 108-player roster has 16 Indiana natives.
Mike Uremovich, who was named head coach of the Bulldogs in December 2021, spent his past six seasons as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for Temple University and Northern Illinois, respectively. Uremovich played a role in coaching receiver Jadan Blue, who surpassed the century long Temple school record with 1,067 receiving yards and 95 receptions. At Northern Illinois he assisted the team to the 2018 Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship.
