Football climbs to No. 23 in AFCA national poll

Waco, Texas - Riding an eight-game winning streak, St. Thomas Football moved up two spots in the latest AFCA top-25 poll for FCS teams, released on Monday.

The Tommies (8-1 overall, 6-0 Pioneer) come in at No. 23, one week after they broke into the top 25 for the first time in the two seasons of the Division I era.

The FCS top five stayed the same led by No. 1 South Dakota State, although No. 2 Sacramento State moved ahead of No. 3 Montana State. They are followed by North Dakota State and Jackson State.

Co-No. 16 Princeton, the Ivy League leader, and the Tommies remain the lone non-scholarship programs in this week's top 25.

St. Thomas moves onto a short list of teams to be ranked in the top-25 at two different NCAA levels during one five-year span. It joined Mary Hardin-Baylor and Mount Union as the only three Division III teams to finish in the top-20 of D-III polls for 11 consecutive years from 2009-2019.

Eye on the Prize

Coach Glenn Caruso's team is coming off a 34-7 road victory at Valparaiso. St. Thomas needs one win in its last two last games to secure at least a share of the Pioneer Football League championship. The Toms are home next Saturday to play Stetson (noon kickoff), and finish the season on the road Nov. 19 at Butler.

Davidson, Dayton and Butler are all 5-1 in the Pioneer, one game behind 6-0 St. Thomas. Next Saturday, Davidson is at San Diego and Dayton hosts Morehead State. Davidson and Dayton play on Nov. 19. Butler is at Drake next Saturday and hosts St. Thomas Nov. 19.

Did You Know?

The balanced Toms have 3,500 total yards of offense through nine games (389 ypg) after gaining 3,200 yards in 10 games last season (320 ypg).
This season's total includes averaging 195.6 rushing yards and 193.3 passing yards a game. Offensive backs have 19 rushing TDs, receivers have 17. Last season, the Toms averaged 168 rushing yards and 152 passing yards a contest.
St. Thomas is tied for 10th among all Division I football teams for consecutive season victories with eight (Georgia 11; Ohio State 10, Princeton 10; TCU 9, Michigan 9, Sacramento State 9, Holy Cross 9, Jackson State 9, South Dakota State 9; Oregon 8; St. Thomas 8).
The Purple have won 25 in a row at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, the third most consecutive home-field wins in NCAA football behind only Clemson (38) and Cincinnati (31).
The Toms also have eight consecutive Pioneer Football League victories, tied for seventh among all Division I programs for most conference wins in a row (Sacramento State 16, Holy Cross 16, Jackson State 16; Michigan 11; Clemson 9, Sam Houston State 9; South Dakota State 8; St. Thomas 8)
The Toms also have 36 consecutive regular-season home-field wins; and 10 consecutive wins in games played on Saturdays.
Nineteen different Toms have scored the team's 43 touchdowns, and five different players contributed the five scores on Saturday at Valparaiso.
The Toms have received seven specials teams or defensive touchdowns by seven different players during their current eight-game win streak.
St. Thomas has held opponents to 17 or less points in 10 of 14 conference games in the FCS era.
The Toms have had three different tailbacks rush for a 100-yard game over the six conference games thus far as freshman Gabriel Abel rushed for 100 vs. Drake; sophomore Shawn Shipman rushed for 105 yards and a TD against San Diego; and redshirt sophomore Hope Adebayo rushed for 132 at Marist and 128 at Valpo. That trio has combined to gain 1,381 yards on 241 carries (5.7 ypr) and run for 12 touchdowns.
Senior QB Cade Sexauer has thrown a TD pass in all nine games this season. He has 16 touchdown passes with just six interceptions, and his offensive line has only allowed four sacks in six conference games.
St. Thomas has come from behind to win in three of its last four games.

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Click HERE to access AFCA news release

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University of St. Thomas Athletics

Football climbs to No. 23 in AFCA national poll

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