University of St. Thomas Athletics
Drake
Football set for boarder battle at Drake
10/12/2023 8:21:00 AM | Football
St. Thomas 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs
DES MOINES, IOWA – It's hard to believe, but the University of St. Thomas football team is already past the midway point of its 2023 season. With week six behind them, the Tommies hit the road for another key Pioneer Football League (PFL) showdown, this time against Drake University. St. Thomas hopes to extend its win streak against the Bulldogs to three consecutive games, with kickoff for week seven scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Tommies are coming off a huge victory over Butler on Saturday, October 7. In a homecoming showdown for the ages, St. Thomas came away with a 17-10 win, improving to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in PFL play. Drake found similar success in its first two PFL games of 2023. After opening the season with three consecutive losses, including two to top-25 opponents, the Bulldogs rebounded with two close wins over Morehead State (16-9) and Valparaiso (20-14), improving to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in PFL play.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, and tickets for the game can be purchased at godrakebulldogs.com. Additionally, fans who cannot attend the game can follow along via ESPN+ and listen to the live radio call on 1500 ESPN.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: It was another thrilling weekend for St. Thomas, as the team improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in PFL play with a 17-10 victory over Butler. The Tommies raced out to a 10-3 halftime lead before extending it to 17-3 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs, though, made things interesting in the fourth. With under 10 minutes left in regulation, Butler scored its first touchdown of the game, making it 17-10 with 8:34 left to play. While the St. Thomas defense held strong on three consecutive Bulldogs possessions, the Tommies offense was unable to put the visitors to bed. After a failed third down conversion by St. Thomas, Butler found itself with the ball and 1:57 left on the clock. The Bulldogs marched downfield, advancing to the Tommies one yard line, before a huge defensive stand secured the 17-10 victory for St. Thomas.
TUNE IN: Football fans can follow the Tommies in Des Moines by tuning into ESPN+. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and follow Live Stats on godrakebulldogs.com.
THE OPPOSITION: Drake may be 2-3 overall, but don't let its record fool you. The Bulldogs played two nationally ranked opponents to open the 2023 season, including #17 North Dakota and #1 South Dakota State. Drake opened the year with a 55-7 loss to the then #17 Fighting Hawks before traveling to Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota to take on the #1 Jack Rabbits. The Bulldogs fell 70-7 to the national powerhouse before rattling off two PFL wins over Morehead State and Valparaiso.
COMING UP CLUTCH: The Tommies won their 29th consecutive game at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Saturday, October 7 and did so in dramatic fashion. Thanks to a goal line stand, St. Thomas upended Butler 17-10, winning at home by a single score for the second consecutive weekend. It marks the first time in the Glenn Caruso era the Tommies have won back-to-back home games by a touchdown or less, according to available records.
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE: St. Thomas will face a Bulldog for the second consecutive week, as Butler and Drake both share the mascot. All time, the Tommies are undefeated against bulldog mascots thanks to their 3-0 record against the Bulldogs (Butler) and 2-0 record against the Bulldogs (Drake). In fact, until it joined the PFL, St. Thomas did not play a single team with a bulldog mascot.
HAWKEYE STATE: The Tommies have spent quite a bit of time in Iowa over the past 119 years. According to available records, St. Thomas has played nine different Iowa universities/colleges in the history of the football program and 17 total games. In those 17 games, the Tommies own a 8-8-1 record with wins over Coe, Drake, Loras, St. Ambrose and Upper Iowa. Since making the jump to Division I in 2021, St. Thomas is 2-1 against teams from Iowa, with both wins coming over conference foe Drake.
HOME SWEET HOME: Thanks to home losses by Clemson and Cincinnati, the Tommies entered the 2023 season with the longest home field win streak at any level of college football. St. Thomas kept the streak alive this past weekend, winning its 29th consecutive game at O'Shaughnessy Stadium with a 17-10 win over Butler. The Tommies have not lost on their home field for over 2500 consecutive days, and their last loss came at the hands of UW-Oshkosh on December 3, 2016.
LAW OF AVERAGES: In the last 10 seasons, St. Thomas played 109 total football games and outscored its opponents 4514-1643. Additionally, the Tommies won those games by an average of 26.41 points, though their victories have looked a bit different in recent weeks. St. Thomas has won three consecutive games on the final drive of the game, something that has not happened in the regular season for an extended period of time. In the September 30 victory over Morehead State, first year QB Tak Tateoka led a 73-yard drive in the closing minute to secure the 35-28 victory. The Tommies needed goal line stands in back-to-back weeks to pick up tight wins over Dayton and Butler.
SOS: On paper, Drake put together one of the toughest nonconference schedules for the 2023 season, facing two ranked opponents in #17 North Dakota and #1 South Dakota State. St. Thomas' nonconference strength of schedule has improved each week, with South Dakota and Harvard cracking the FCS Top-25 in recent weeks. Though they weren't ranked at the time of the game, both the Coyotes and Crimson have climbed the top-25 rankings, with South Dakota landing at #17 and Harvard #19 in the most recent poll.
HALFTIME LEAD: The Tommies have now won 16 consecutive games in the Division I era when leading at the half. In fact, St. Thomas' last loss when leading at the half occurred on October 19, 2019 when they were still a member of the MIAC. The Tommies led rival Saint John's 14-13 entering the half in a neutral site game at Allianz Field. The Johnnies outscored St. Thomas 25-6 in the second half of the game, beating the Tommies 38-20 in the final meeting between the teams in the Division III era. St. Thomas has yet to lose a game when leading at the half in the Division I era.
POINTS ARE A GOOD THING: The Tommies have had no issue scoring points during the regular season, a fact that has brought them plenty of success in recent years. St. Thomas improved to 105-0 in the Glenn Caruso era when scoring at least 25 points in regular season games, according to available records. The Tommies lone 25+point losses occurred in the postseason (2014 vs. Wartburg, 2015 vs. Mount Union, 2016 vs. UW-Oshkosh), and in all three games, the team scored an average of 32.3 points.
OCTOBER SUCCESS: The month of October has treated St. Thomas well since head coach Glenn Caruso took over in 2008. The Tommies are 54-7 in October during Caruso's tenure and 9-1 since making the leap to Division I. In that span, St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 292-162 with its lone loss coming at the hands of San Diego in 2021 (27-24).
THE GOOD KIND OF STREAKING: St. Thomas has now won 13 consecutive PFL games thanks to its win over Butler last weekend. Who, though, was the team that started it all? Why, the Drake Bulldogs. In their first Division I season, the Tommies opened November with a 42-15 loss at Davidson before rattling off wins at Drake and versus Presbyterian to close 2021. That win in Des Moines kick started the 13-game conference winning streak St. Thomas looked to extend this weekend. Additionally, the Tommies defeated every team in the PFL at least once during the streak thanks to wins over Morehead State and Dayton earlier this year.
SPOILERS AHEAD: St. Thomas has really enjoyed ruining "perfect records" this season. The Tommies last two games have been against teams who were undefeated in PFL play, excluding the conference opener against Morehead State. St. Thomas spoiled Dayton's hopes of a perfect PFL record before the team upended Butler's hopes of perfection last weekend.
