University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, October 5
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. CT
vs
Stetson
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Tommies host Stetson in PFL opener
10/1/2024 9:07:00 AM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas football team is back in action. After enjoying their bye week, the Tommies will officially open their Pioneer Football League (PFL) schedule on Saturday. St. Thomas will host Stetson University in its 2024 conference debut, with kickoff scheduled for 1:04 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Tommies are looking to get back in the win collum after a disappointing end to their nonconference schedule. With an injury-riddled roster, St. Thomas wrapped up nonconference play with a 64-0 road loss at Lindenwood, falling to 1-3 for the first time in the Glenn Caruso era. However, the Tommies were without several key players on both offense and defense in the loss, many of whom are expected to return for the PFL opener against Lindenwood.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's contest and can be purchased online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas football through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and the Varsity Network App and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
PREGAME FESTIVITES: St. Thomas will once again host Purple in the Plaza before all home games in 2024 and will kickoff at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. This week's Purple in the Plaza will feature several activities including the inflatable field goal challenge, and other opportunities to win prizes.
GIVEAWAYS/SPONSORS: Saturday's contest is presented by Wings Financial Credit Union, the official banking partner of St. Thomas Athletics. As part of the sponsorship and Family Weekend festivities, Wings Credit Union will be giving out Tommie socks to all students in attendance at Saturday's game. Wings will also sponsor Saturday's $10K Kick For Cash Challenge, where one luck St. Thomas student will have a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship. Interested parties can sign up online at tommiesports.com.
In addition to the $10K Kick for Cash, Tommie undergraduate students will have a chance to win the Pride and Passion Scholarship at Saturday's game versus Stetson. The first 500 students in attendance will receive a voucher and card, and, if selected, must be present during the first timeout of the fourth quarter to claim their prize. Only St. Thomas undergraduate students are eligible, not student-athletes.
LAST TIME OUT: An injury depleted St. Thomas team was unable to leave St. Charles, Missouri with a win two weeks ago. The Tommies were stifled by Lindenwood University on September 21, suffering a 64-0 loss at the hands of the Lions. St. Thomas' defense held its own early in the contest, holding Lindenwood to just seven points in the first quarter. However, the Loins overpowered the Tommies in the second, jumping out to a 42-0 halftime lead before outscoring St. Thomas 22-0 in the second half, resulting in the 64-0 loss.
THE OPPOSITION: Like St. Thomas, Stetson also enjoyed a bye week the weekend of September 28 and put together a strong opening to the 2024 season. The Hatters opened their 2024 campaign with a 2-0 record, defeating Ave Maria and Warner (Fla.) by a combined score of 76-3. Since then, Stetson's offense has gone cold, mustering just seven points total in its last two games. Prior to the break, the Hatters fell to Furman 48-7 and Harvard 35-0, bringing their overall record to 2-2 this season.
TIP OF THE HAT: St. Thomas has had Stetson's number in the first three meetings between the two programs. The Tommies are 3-0 all time against the Hatters and have yet to surrender more than seven points in a game. In fact, St. Thomas' defense against Stetson has been demoralizing, especially at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. The Tommies last hosted the Hatters in 2022 and held them to just 113 yards of combined offense and just 11 first downs, two of which were gained on St. Thomas penalties. It was also the second shutout in the DI era for the Tommies.
Of note: Both St. Thomas' shutouts in the DI era were recorded at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
GOTTA HAVE HOPE: Senior running back Hope Adebayo has been superhuman in his two performances against Stetson. In just two games against the Hatters, Adebayo has rushed for 379 combined yards and scored six touchdowns, including four as a freshman in 2021. Though Adebayo missed the 2022 contest due to injury, his 379 career yards against Stetson ranks second in the DI era against a single PFL opponent. The record holder is none other than former standout Andrew McElroy, who tallied 380 combined all-purpose yards in three games against San Diego.
FUMBLEROOSKY: There is one thing the Hatters have been quite sufficient at in 2024: protecting the football. Stetson is one of just 15 teams in the FCS to not fumble the ball this season. This may be a credit to fourth year head coach Brian Young's offensive scheme. Part of the reason the Hatters don't fumble is because they don't really run the ball on offense. Currently, Stetson ranks 21st in the FCS and third in the PFL in passing offense, averaging 253.0 passing yards per game, and tallied 1012 passing yards this season. Conversely, Hatter running backs have gained just 338 total yards this season and scored only one touchdown compared to 10 by the receiving core.
MAY HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF: If history is any indicator, St. Thomas should find plenty of success at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Saturday. The Tommies are 3-0 in their first three PFL openers, tallying wins over Butler, Marist, and Morehead State. In those three contests, St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 109-52, averaging 36.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 17.3 points per game. In fact, the Tommies have never scored less than 35 points in their PFL opener, scoring exactly that number in a last-second 35-28 comeback victory over Morehead State in 2023.
KOCH IS IN THE KITCHEN: Joseph Koch has had quite the rookie debut. The true freshman rushed for 95 yards in his St. Thomas debut against Black Hills State on September 14 before leading the team with a 41 yards performance against Lindenwood on September 21. He is currently tied for the team lead in total rushing yards this season, racking up 136 total in two games to average 4.4 yards per game.
TIS BUT A FLESH WOUND: The Tommies are hoping the bye week gets them back to full strength after playing without several key members of their offensive and defense. In the loss to Lindenwood, St. Thomas was without several key starters, including Adebayo, Gabe Abel, Jacob Wildermuth, C.J. Warren, David Ayeni, Emmanuel Olagbaju and Branden Smith.
TOP-3 EXPECTATIONS: For the third consecutive season, the Tommies are expected to finish top-3 in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) standings. St. Thomas was picked to finish second, receiving 87 total votes, including one first place vote, from the PFL coaches. Since joining the conference in 2021, the Tommies have only lost three games in PFL, going undefeated in 2022 and losing just one game to Drake in 2023.
The Tommies are looking to get back in the win collum after a disappointing end to their nonconference schedule. With an injury-riddled roster, St. Thomas wrapped up nonconference play with a 64-0 road loss at Lindenwood, falling to 1-3 for the first time in the Glenn Caruso era. However, the Tommies were without several key players on both offense and defense in the loss, many of whom are expected to return for the PFL opener against Lindenwood.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's contest and can be purchased online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas football through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and the Varsity Network App and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
PREGAME FESTIVITES: St. Thomas will once again host Purple in the Plaza before all home games in 2024 and will kickoff at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. This week's Purple in the Plaza will feature several activities including the inflatable field goal challenge, and other opportunities to win prizes.
GIVEAWAYS/SPONSORS: Saturday's contest is presented by Wings Financial Credit Union, the official banking partner of St. Thomas Athletics. As part of the sponsorship and Family Weekend festivities, Wings Credit Union will be giving out Tommie socks to all students in attendance at Saturday's game. Wings will also sponsor Saturday's $10K Kick For Cash Challenge, where one luck St. Thomas student will have a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship. Interested parties can sign up online at tommiesports.com.
In addition to the $10K Kick for Cash, Tommie undergraduate students will have a chance to win the Pride and Passion Scholarship at Saturday's game versus Stetson. The first 500 students in attendance will receive a voucher and card, and, if selected, must be present during the first timeout of the fourth quarter to claim their prize. Only St. Thomas undergraduate students are eligible, not student-athletes.
LAST TIME OUT: An injury depleted St. Thomas team was unable to leave St. Charles, Missouri with a win two weeks ago. The Tommies were stifled by Lindenwood University on September 21, suffering a 64-0 loss at the hands of the Lions. St. Thomas' defense held its own early in the contest, holding Lindenwood to just seven points in the first quarter. However, the Loins overpowered the Tommies in the second, jumping out to a 42-0 halftime lead before outscoring St. Thomas 22-0 in the second half, resulting in the 64-0 loss.
THE OPPOSITION: Like St. Thomas, Stetson also enjoyed a bye week the weekend of September 28 and put together a strong opening to the 2024 season. The Hatters opened their 2024 campaign with a 2-0 record, defeating Ave Maria and Warner (Fla.) by a combined score of 76-3. Since then, Stetson's offense has gone cold, mustering just seven points total in its last two games. Prior to the break, the Hatters fell to Furman 48-7 and Harvard 35-0, bringing their overall record to 2-2 this season.
TIP OF THE HAT: St. Thomas has had Stetson's number in the first three meetings between the two programs. The Tommies are 3-0 all time against the Hatters and have yet to surrender more than seven points in a game. In fact, St. Thomas' defense against Stetson has been demoralizing, especially at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. The Tommies last hosted the Hatters in 2022 and held them to just 113 yards of combined offense and just 11 first downs, two of which were gained on St. Thomas penalties. It was also the second shutout in the DI era for the Tommies.
Of note: Both St. Thomas' shutouts in the DI era were recorded at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
GOTTA HAVE HOPE: Senior running back Hope Adebayo has been superhuman in his two performances against Stetson. In just two games against the Hatters, Adebayo has rushed for 379 combined yards and scored six touchdowns, including four as a freshman in 2021. Though Adebayo missed the 2022 contest due to injury, his 379 career yards against Stetson ranks second in the DI era against a single PFL opponent. The record holder is none other than former standout Andrew McElroy, who tallied 380 combined all-purpose yards in three games against San Diego.
FUMBLEROOSKY: There is one thing the Hatters have been quite sufficient at in 2024: protecting the football. Stetson is one of just 15 teams in the FCS to not fumble the ball this season. This may be a credit to fourth year head coach Brian Young's offensive scheme. Part of the reason the Hatters don't fumble is because they don't really run the ball on offense. Currently, Stetson ranks 21st in the FCS and third in the PFL in passing offense, averaging 253.0 passing yards per game, and tallied 1012 passing yards this season. Conversely, Hatter running backs have gained just 338 total yards this season and scored only one touchdown compared to 10 by the receiving core.
MAY HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF: If history is any indicator, St. Thomas should find plenty of success at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Saturday. The Tommies are 3-0 in their first three PFL openers, tallying wins over Butler, Marist, and Morehead State. In those three contests, St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 109-52, averaging 36.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 17.3 points per game. In fact, the Tommies have never scored less than 35 points in their PFL opener, scoring exactly that number in a last-second 35-28 comeback victory over Morehead State in 2023.
KOCH IS IN THE KITCHEN: Joseph Koch has had quite the rookie debut. The true freshman rushed for 95 yards in his St. Thomas debut against Black Hills State on September 14 before leading the team with a 41 yards performance against Lindenwood on September 21. He is currently tied for the team lead in total rushing yards this season, racking up 136 total in two games to average 4.4 yards per game.
TIS BUT A FLESH WOUND: The Tommies are hoping the bye week gets them back to full strength after playing without several key members of their offensive and defense. In the loss to Lindenwood, St. Thomas was without several key starters, including Adebayo, Gabe Abel, Jacob Wildermuth, C.J. Warren, David Ayeni, Emmanuel Olagbaju and Branden Smith.
TOP-3 EXPECTATIONS: For the third consecutive season, the Tommies are expected to finish top-3 in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) standings. St. Thomas was picked to finish second, receiving 87 total votes, including one first place vote, from the PFL coaches. Since joining the conference in 2021, the Tommies have only lost three games in PFL, going undefeated in 2022 and losing just one game to Drake in 2023.
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