The Basics
The Drake football team welcomes NCAA Division II member Missouri S&T to Drake Stadium for the Bulldogs' home opener on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m.
Broadcast Information
The game will be streamed worldwide on ESPN3.
Michael Admire will handle the TV play-by-play with Jeff Woody providing the analysis.
1350/102.1 ESPN Des Moines is back as the radio home of Drake Bulldog football. Chuck Reed will once again be the play-by-play man. Craig Wederquist joins Reed as the analyst for all home games. Live audio is available on the Varsity Network App.
About Last Week
Drake kicked off the 2022 season at defending NCAA FCS National Champion and Preseason FCS No. 1 North Dakota State inside the thunderous Fargodome on Saturday, Sept. 3. The Bulldogs marched down the field on nine plays for 75 yards to score a touchdown on the game's opening drive and take an early 7-0 lead at the 10:25 mark of the first quarter. Special teams sparked NDSU as the top-ranked Bison won 56-14.
NDSU Postgame Thoughts from Head Coach Todd Stepsis
On Drake's opening drive: "We are doing some different things on offense this year so we might have caught them (North Dakota State) off guard at times. As a coach, it was neat to hear the crowd get really loud and then get quiet."
On Playing the No. 1 team in the nation: "I told the team after the game that we try to be the best 'us' that we can be. If you go against the best, it gives you the opportunity to do that. Overall, we will take some good things from the game."
First Timers
Dorian Boyland (RB) and
Tim Nesslage (TE) both scored their first collegiate touchdowns in the season opener at NDSU.
Hitting the Field Again
Last Saturday, graduate student linebacker
Ryan Kriceri played in his first game since Oct. 9, 2021, against Dayton. Junior offensive lineman
Daniel Bowers was able to make his collegiate debut after two years at Drake.
Home Openers
Drake is 10-8 in home openers dating back to 2004 (1-2 under head coach
Todd Stepsis). The Bulldogs trounced West Virginia Wesleyan, 45-3 at Drake Stadium in last year's home opener.
No Re-Entry Policy
Beginning with the 2022 athletic season, Drake has instituted a No Re-Entry policy for all of its home athletic events.
Scouting Missouri S&T
The Miners are coming off a 6-5 campaign in 2021 and lost their season opener, 43-20 to South Dakota Mines on Thursday, Sept. 1. Missouri S&T junior quarterback Max Conard threw for 241 yards on 19-of-30 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Wright caught five passes for 119 yards in the season opener.
On the other side of the ball, S&T surrendered 534 yards of total offense after scoring a touchdown on the first drive of the game in the loss to the Hardrockers. First Team All-GLVC linebacker Ben Straatman made nine total tackles (five solo) to open the season including three tackles for loss. Straatman also forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles.
Missouri S&T was predicted to finish fifth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll.
Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Andy Ball takes over as head coach after previous head coach Todd Drury accepted the defensive coordinator position at Western Illinois. Ball was on the S&T staff from 2008-10 and returned in 2018 as the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach. Coaching runs in the family as Ball's father Randy was the head coach at Western Illinois and Missouri State.
Series History vs. Missouri S&T
Drake leads the all-time series against Missouri S&T, 7-0 with the last meeting occurring on Sept. 15, 2018 (52-12 Drake win). The first meeting between the two teams was all the way back on Oct. 10, 1923, a 52-0 victory for Drake.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will travel to Moscow, Idaho, for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff inside the Kibbie Dome against the Idaho Vandals of the Big Sky Conference.
