University of St. Thomas Athletics
San Diego
Rested Tommies return to action at San Diego
11/7/2023 1:42:00 PM | Football
St. Thomas enjoyed a November 4 bye
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It may be hard to believe, but the final month of the University of St. Thomas 2023 football season is upon us. After enjoying a bye last week, the Tommies are ready to hit the road running, as they face San Diego in their final road contest of the season.
On paper, this was projected to be one of the best games of 2023 for St. Thomas and the Pioneer Football (PFL). Both the Tommies and Toreros were projected to finish near or atop the conference standings, with this game projected to have potential championship consequences. That scenario is still true for the Tommies. With a St. Thomas win and losses by Drake and Davidson, the Tommies would find themselves in a tie atop the PFL standings with a chance to clinch at least a share of the title at home next weekend. San Diego, though, does not look like its old self. The Toreros enter Saturday's game with a 3-6 record and are 3-3 in PFL play.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CT at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at usdtoreros.com. Otherwise, fans can follow the game by tuning in to ESPN+ or 1500 ESPN Radio in the Twin Cities and Metro area.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas put together one of its most dominant performances in PFL play this season, closing October with a resounding 49-14 win over Marist to improve to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. The Tommies scored 21 points in the first quarter, as a 41-yard reception by Colin Chase and two rushing touchdowns by Hope Adebayo made it 21-0 St. Thomas after the first 15 minutes of play. The Tommies continued to pack on the points, as Gabe Abel and Andrew McElroy got in on the team's scoring efforts, helping St. Thomas take a 35-7 lead into the locker room at the half. Tremendous defensive play in the second, and touchdowns from Shawn Shipman and Abel, helped the Tommies score their highest point total of the 2023 season, winning their 30th consecutive game at home 49-14.
TUNE IN: Football fans can follow Saturday's game on ESPN+, the official streaming partner of San Diego athletics. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and follow Live Stats on usdtoreros.com.
THE OPPOSITION: It's been a disappointing season for the Toreros, who were expected to be one of the top teams in the PFL this season. After offseason turmoil, which saw the departure of long time head coach Dale Lindsay, San Diego and new head coach Brandon Moore are 3-6 overall and 3-3 in PFL play. The Toreros lost six of seven games to open the season but seem to have found their stride in recent weeks. After a close 25-20 loss to Drake on October 21, San Diego has rattled off two consecutive wins, defeating Morehead State and Presbyterian the last two weeks.
RUSH HOUR: The Tommies saw three different running backs score touchdowns against Marist between Abel, Adebayo and Shipman. The last time St. Thomas had three different individuals score at least one rushing touchdown in a game occurred in the season opener against Black Hills State on September 3 (Adebayo, Shipman, Powell). The last time the Tommies saw three or more running backs score at least one touchdown occurred on November 20, 2021, when four different St. Thomas running backs scored in a 54-15 win over Presbyterian (at home). The Tommies also set the Division I program record for team rushing touchdowns in that game with seven total.
BEWARE THE GROOVE: Not only did St. Thomas rush for five touchdowns in its win over the Red Foxes. The team also tallied 252 rushing yards as a team, with three different running backs rushing for over 50+ yards in the victory. It marked the first time in the 2023 team the Tommies rushed for 200+ yards back-to-back weeks, having gained over 300 rushing yards in a win over Stetson on October 21. So far this season, St. Thomas is 6-0 when rushing for over 100 yards in a game as a team and 4-0 in PFL play.
NOTABLE FIRST: The Tommies have suffered very few losses in PFL play since joining the conference in 2021. San Diego is one of the few teams St. Thomas has lost to in its first three seasons in the conference. In fact, the Toreros handed the Tommies their first ever PFL loss on October 2, 2021 by a final score of 27-24.
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 two weeks ago, winning its 30th consecutive game at O'Shaughnessy Stadium with a 49-14 win over Marist on October 28. The Tommies have not lost on their home field in over 2500 consecutive days, and their last loss came at the hands of UW-Oshkosh on December 3, 2016.
HALFTIME LEAD: The Tommies have won 18 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 it was still a member of the MIAC. The Tommies led rival Saint John's 14-13 at halftime 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.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: The Tommies put together one of their best defensive performances of the 2023 season against Marist, holding the Red Foxes to 52 rushing yards on 29 attempts in four quarters of work. It marks the fifth time this season St. Thomas has held an opponent to under 100 rushing yards in a game, and four of those five games have been in conference play. The Tommies also tied their season-high in tackles (77) and interceptions (2) and tallied a season-high 14 quarterback hurries in the victory.
A TITCH CLOSE: Both meetings between St. Thomas and San Diego have been determined by a single score. The first meeting in 2021 went the Toreros way, as they converted a fourth quarter field goal to defeat the Tommies 27-24 in their first ever meeting. The second game was a high scoring affair, as St. Thomas won a shootout with San Diego 49-42. To this point, the Toreros are the only team the Tommies have either defeated or lost to in PFL play by seven points or less in multiple games.
SOARING TO VICTORY: St. Thomas has established itself as one of the best running teams in the PFL since joining the conference in 2021. However, it was the Tommies receiving core that led the team to victory over San Diego in 2022. In fact, St. Thomas' only 300+ receiving yard performance in the Division I era came in the 49-42 win last season, as former QB Cade Sexauer threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, while Bryce Boyd added 36 passing yards and a touchdown in the win. Andrew McElroy was the Tommies top receiver and was named the PFL Offensive Player of the week after recording 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the win.
GRAND ENTRANCE: McElroy made a name for himself in that victory over the Toreros. In addition to his 200 receiving yards, McElroy additionally recorded 121 yards on kick returns, closing the game with a DI program record 321 all-purpose yards. To this day, McElroy is still the only St. Thomas wide receiver in the Division I era to record multiple 100+ receiving yard performances and record at least one 200 + receiving yard performance. He currently holds the DI program record for receiving yards in a game (200), return yards in a game (121) and single game receiving touchdowns (2).
TIGHT END APPRECIATION POST: While McElroy may be the Tommies top wide receiver in 2023, he is not the leader in receiving touchdowns this season. That title belongs to tight end Patrick Wagner, who is tied with Jacob Wildermuth with three receiving touchdowns this season. In fact, with his two touchdown receptions against Stetson on October 21, Wagner tied McElroy for most touchdown receptions in a game, becoming the first tight end with two receiving touchdowns in a game in the Division I era.
RESET, REBOUND: Since its 52-21 loss to Drake on October 14, St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 87-20 and held teams to a combined 105 rushing yards in two games. The Tommies secondary also did not given up a single receiving touchdown to Stetson or Marist, though they still surrendered over 200 receiving yards.
