University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, November 2
Morehead, Kent.
12:00 p.m. CT
at
Morehead State
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Tommies trek to Morehead State for PFL contest
10/30/2024 9:17:00 AM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It was a very impressive October for the University of St. Thomas football team. After posting a 1-3 record during the month of September, the Tommies rattled off four straight wins in October, compiling a 4-0 record in Pioneer Football League (PFL) play. St. Thomas will put that perfect conference record to the test on Saturday, as the team travels to Kentucky to take on Morehead State University for just the second time in program history.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT in Morehead, Kentucky and tickets can be purchased at msueagles.com. The game will also steam on ESPN+. Subscriptions start at $10.99/month for just ESPN, with the price set to increase on October 17, 2024. Additionally, fans can list to the game on 1500 ESPN and through the Varsity Network App. Live stats will also be available on Morehead State's athletic website.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas did not have a case of the scaries against San Diego on Saturday. On the legs of Hope Adebayo and a stellar performance by the defense, the Tommies ran away with a 34-14 win over the Toreros on October 26, improving to 4-0 in PFL play. Adebayo was nothing short of superhuman in the victory, rushing for a career-high and Division I record 277 yards on 18 carries, becoming the first running back to rush for over 200 yards since 2018 (more on that later). Additionally, the Tommie defense stifled the San Diego offense, holding the Toreros to 343 yards of combined offense.
THE OPPOSITION: Morehead State pulled off the upset of the season against Dayton on Saturday. The Flyers entered the contest with a formidable 3-0 record and were expected to contend for a conference title. However, that maybe in question thanks to the Eagles. Morehead State defeated Dayton 14-6 last weekend thanks to a 284-yard passing performance from Carter Cravens.
GOTTA HAVE HOPE: But actually... senior running back Hope Adebayo was making history and headlines in Saturday's win over San Diego, earning both the PFL and Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week honors for his performance. The senior running back pirouetted his way through the Torero defense, becoming the first running back in the DI era to rush for over 200 yards in a game. He additionally set DI era records for single-game yards per game (15.4), and his three rushing touchdowns were the most by any St. Thomas offensive player this season.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: Adebayo's legacy was cemented in Tommie lore on Saturday, as he became just the sixth running back in the Glenn Caruso era, and fourth in the last 10 years, to record 200+ rush yards in a game. He joins an elite list of Division III All-Americans, including Josh Parks (2018), Jordan Roberts (3x 2015), Brenton Braddock (2014, 2012) and Colin Tobin as the only running backs to achieve the feat since 2009.
PLEASE NO MORE HOPE PUNS...: Adebayo's performance was simply too historic to fit in a single note (or two). In addition to being just the fifth running back to rush for 200+ yards in the Glenn Caruso era, Adebayo rushed for the most yards of that crew, eclipsing the former record of 261 set by Brenton Braddock in 2012. He additionally ranks second all-time in single-game rush yards in PFL history, which was set at 289. However, Adebayo could make more history this weekend against Morehead State. Only two Tommie running backs have every rushed for 200+ yards multiple times in the same season (in the Caruso era), and none have done so in back-to-back games. Those two running backs? None other than Jordan Roberts, who did it three times in 2015, and Colin Tobin, who did it twice in 2011.
FIRST FOR EVERYTHING: While Adebayo received the attention and recognition, other St. Thomas student-athletes found success on the gridiron on Saturday. Senior defensive back Grif Wurtz became the first Tommie in the DI era to record and interception and complete pass in the same quarter against San Diego. Wurtz tallied his first interception of the season in the first quarter on Saturday then quickly completed a pass on a fake field goal attempt to extend the St. Thomas drive. He was also the holder for both field goals in the victory.
STILL A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING...: This will be the final first road trip for St. Thomas in PFL play. The Tommies have officially played every conference opponent on the road except for Morehead State. This is also the first time head coach Glenn Caruso has ever faced a Kentucky program in his tenure with St. Thomas. The Commonwealth is home to only one Division III football program: Centre College. Despite deep playoff runs, the Tommies never faced the Colonels before making the DI jump in 2021.
CARDIAC CATS: St. Thomas had a penchant for waiting until the last moment to win games in 2023. One of those games came against the Eagles, as the two-minute drive by Tak Tateoka and the Tommie offensive secured the 35-28 comeback win. After falling behind 7-0 in the first half, the Tommies scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, taking a 14-7 lead over Morehead State on a 60-yard touchdown run by Shawn Shipman and a blocked punt return TD by Matthew Rink. However, three ties later, St. Thomas found itself deadlocked with the Eagles 28-28. With one minute on the clock, storms looming, and the ball in Tateoka's hand, the Tommies marched in Eagles territory and won the game on a beautiful touchdown reception by senior Jacob Wildermuth.
MULTI-THREAT OFFENSE: Colin Chase isn't the only receiver to find success during the 2024 season. Earlier this year, Patrick Wagner became the first receiver since 2022 to record 100+ receiving yards in a game. The junior tight end tallied a career-high 104 in a loss to UNI, becoming the first tight end to record over 100+ receiving yards in the DI era. They are the only receiving duo in the DI era to record 100+ yard receiving games in the same season, and account for two of the four 100+ receiving yard games in the DI era.
SEEING RED: The Tommies were once again perfect in the red zone on Saturday, despite not exactly seeing much of the red zone. St. Thomas went 1-1 against San Diego on Saturday, improving to 9-9 on red zone chances in the last three weeks. In that stretch, the Tommies are also 14-14 on PATs, 1-1 on two-point conversions and 3-3 on field goal attempts.
ROCKIN' 30s: St. Thomas scored 30+ points in its fourth consecutive game, the longest such stretch in the DI era. In fact, the Tommies haven't scored 30+ points in four or more consecutive games since 2018, when they did so in five consecutive games. During that stretch, St. Thomas scored an average of 61.2 points per game while holding opponents to just 5.6.
160 AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Head Coach Glenn Caruso won his 160th game against Marist in early October, cementing his legacy as one of the winningest coaches in college football. Caruso needed just 203 games to reach 160 wins and owns a career winning percentage of .788. By comparison, the current coach with the most wins at the FCS level, Monmouth's Kevin Callahan, owns a career winning percentage of .561 and UNI's Mark Farley is currently 182-107 all-time with a career winning percentage of .630.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT in Morehead, Kentucky and tickets can be purchased at msueagles.com. The game will also steam on ESPN+. Subscriptions start at $10.99/month for just ESPN, with the price set to increase on October 17, 2024. Additionally, fans can list to the game on 1500 ESPN and through the Varsity Network App. Live stats will also be available on Morehead State's athletic website.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas did not have a case of the scaries against San Diego on Saturday. On the legs of Hope Adebayo and a stellar performance by the defense, the Tommies ran away with a 34-14 win over the Toreros on October 26, improving to 4-0 in PFL play. Adebayo was nothing short of superhuman in the victory, rushing for a career-high and Division I record 277 yards on 18 carries, becoming the first running back to rush for over 200 yards since 2018 (more on that later). Additionally, the Tommie defense stifled the San Diego offense, holding the Toreros to 343 yards of combined offense.
THE OPPOSITION: Morehead State pulled off the upset of the season against Dayton on Saturday. The Flyers entered the contest with a formidable 3-0 record and were expected to contend for a conference title. However, that maybe in question thanks to the Eagles. Morehead State defeated Dayton 14-6 last weekend thanks to a 284-yard passing performance from Carter Cravens.
GOTTA HAVE HOPE: But actually... senior running back Hope Adebayo was making history and headlines in Saturday's win over San Diego, earning both the PFL and Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week honors for his performance. The senior running back pirouetted his way through the Torero defense, becoming the first running back in the DI era to rush for over 200 yards in a game. He additionally set DI era records for single-game yards per game (15.4), and his three rushing touchdowns were the most by any St. Thomas offensive player this season.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL: Adebayo's legacy was cemented in Tommie lore on Saturday, as he became just the sixth running back in the Glenn Caruso era, and fourth in the last 10 years, to record 200+ rush yards in a game. He joins an elite list of Division III All-Americans, including Josh Parks (2018), Jordan Roberts (3x 2015), Brenton Braddock (2014, 2012) and Colin Tobin as the only running backs to achieve the feat since 2009.
PLEASE NO MORE HOPE PUNS...: Adebayo's performance was simply too historic to fit in a single note (or two). In addition to being just the fifth running back to rush for 200+ yards in the Glenn Caruso era, Adebayo rushed for the most yards of that crew, eclipsing the former record of 261 set by Brenton Braddock in 2012. He additionally ranks second all-time in single-game rush yards in PFL history, which was set at 289. However, Adebayo could make more history this weekend against Morehead State. Only two Tommie running backs have every rushed for 200+ yards multiple times in the same season (in the Caruso era), and none have done so in back-to-back games. Those two running backs? None other than Jordan Roberts, who did it three times in 2015, and Colin Tobin, who did it twice in 2011.
FIRST FOR EVERYTHING: While Adebayo received the attention and recognition, other St. Thomas student-athletes found success on the gridiron on Saturday. Senior defensive back Grif Wurtz became the first Tommie in the DI era to record and interception and complete pass in the same quarter against San Diego. Wurtz tallied his first interception of the season in the first quarter on Saturday then quickly completed a pass on a fake field goal attempt to extend the St. Thomas drive. He was also the holder for both field goals in the victory.
STILL A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING...: This will be the final first road trip for St. Thomas in PFL play. The Tommies have officially played every conference opponent on the road except for Morehead State. This is also the first time head coach Glenn Caruso has ever faced a Kentucky program in his tenure with St. Thomas. The Commonwealth is home to only one Division III football program: Centre College. Despite deep playoff runs, the Tommies never faced the Colonels before making the DI jump in 2021.
CARDIAC CATS: St. Thomas had a penchant for waiting until the last moment to win games in 2023. One of those games came against the Eagles, as the two-minute drive by Tak Tateoka and the Tommie offensive secured the 35-28 comeback win. After falling behind 7-0 in the first half, the Tommies scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, taking a 14-7 lead over Morehead State on a 60-yard touchdown run by Shawn Shipman and a blocked punt return TD by Matthew Rink. However, three ties later, St. Thomas found itself deadlocked with the Eagles 28-28. With one minute on the clock, storms looming, and the ball in Tateoka's hand, the Tommies marched in Eagles territory and won the game on a beautiful touchdown reception by senior Jacob Wildermuth.
MULTI-THREAT OFFENSE: Colin Chase isn't the only receiver to find success during the 2024 season. Earlier this year, Patrick Wagner became the first receiver since 2022 to record 100+ receiving yards in a game. The junior tight end tallied a career-high 104 in a loss to UNI, becoming the first tight end to record over 100+ receiving yards in the DI era. They are the only receiving duo in the DI era to record 100+ yard receiving games in the same season, and account for two of the four 100+ receiving yard games in the DI era.
SEEING RED: The Tommies were once again perfect in the red zone on Saturday, despite not exactly seeing much of the red zone. St. Thomas went 1-1 against San Diego on Saturday, improving to 9-9 on red zone chances in the last three weeks. In that stretch, the Tommies are also 14-14 on PATs, 1-1 on two-point conversions and 3-3 on field goal attempts.
ROCKIN' 30s: St. Thomas scored 30+ points in its fourth consecutive game, the longest such stretch in the DI era. In fact, the Tommies haven't scored 30+ points in four or more consecutive games since 2018, when they did so in five consecutive games. During that stretch, St. Thomas scored an average of 61.2 points per game while holding opponents to just 5.6.
160 AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Head Coach Glenn Caruso won his 160th game against Marist in early October, cementing his legacy as one of the winningest coaches in college football. Caruso needed just 203 games to reach 160 wins and owns a career winning percentage of .788. By comparison, the current coach with the most wins at the FCS level, Monmouth's Kevin Callahan, owns a career winning percentage of .561 and UNI's Mark Farley is currently 182-107 all-time with a career winning percentage of .630.
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