Football Preview: Davidson

Bulldogs return home for date with Davidson

The Basics
The Bulldogs are back in action at Drake Stadium this weekend for another PFL clash. Drake is set to host Davidson with kickoff slated for noon in Des Moines.

LAST TIME OUT
Drake fought back after an early deficit to escape San Diego with a 19-16 victory. The Bulldogs secured the victory on a 55-yard field goal off the foot of Harry Balke, a San Diego native.

NIFTY FIFTY
Balke's 55-yard field goal was the first successful kick of 50+ yards since a 50-yarder by Shane Dunning last season.

SEEING RED(ZONE)
Drake's offense has been elite when traversing inside their opponents' 20-yard line. The Bulldogs are the only team in the PFL to score on every possession that reaches the red zone.

FEELIN' IT ON FOURTH
The Bulldogs are also first in the Pioneer Football League in fourth down conversions with an 85.7 rate. Drake also leads the PFL in defensive' fourth down conversion rate as opponents convert on only 14.3 percent of fourth down tries.

DRAKE BEING DRAKE
After posting a 15-1 record the past two seasons, Drake has done awfully well in avoiding the spotlight in 2025. With its walkoff win at San Diego last week, Drake has won 20 of its last 21 PFL games.

SAN DIEGO SUSPENSE
After last week's win in San Diego, the Bulldogs have now beaten USD on the final play of the game for three straight years. 2025 and 2024 ended on field goals while the 2023 edition concluded on a hail mary TD pass.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman running back Nick Herman added to his stellar start as a Bulldog, rushing for nearly 100 yards in Drake's win at San Diego. Herman's day included a stretch of 5-straight runs on as many plays to move the Dogs from the shadow of their own endzone into USD territory.

DRAKE STAT LEADERS

Rushing Leaders
Nick Herman                        28 rush, 194 yds, 2 TD
Logan Inagawa                    42 rush, 186 yds, 4 TD
Luke Woodson                     34 rush, 125 yds, 2 TD

Passing Leaders
Chase Spellman                   38-56, 67.9%, 489 yds, 2 TD
Logan Inagawa                    38-55, 69.1%, 393 yds, 2 TD

Receiving Leaders
Jackson Voth                        24 rec, 282 yds
Hank Foley                            15 rec, 269 yds, 4 TD
Taj Hughes                           11 rec, 148 yds

Tackles
Sean Allison                          44 tck, 18 solo, 2.5 TFL
JR Flood                                35 tck, 13 solo, 1.5 TFL
Garrison Codde                    29 tck, 22 solo

Sacks
Gene Blalock                         3.0 sacks
Trystan Anderson                2.5 sacks
Jacob Auen                           2.0 sack

SCOUTING DAVIDSON
The Wildcats enter this weekend at 1-5 overall and 0-2 in Pioneer Football League action. Davidson lost its first three matchups of the year against Georgetown, Elon, and #15 Tennessee Tech before blowing Greensboro College out, 48-0. Davidson has since dropped two more contests in league play to Stetson and St. Thomas.

Drake leads the all-time series with Davidson by an 8-3 margin. The Wildcats have won the last two meetings after six straight Bulldog victories. Drake is seeking its first win over Davidson since 2019 and first home win vs. the Wildcats since 2017.

Davidson is led by first year head coach Saj Thakkar. The Wildcat leader is 1-5 in his initial season at Davidson after two years at Bentley where he amassed a 14-6 mark.

Up Next
Drake heads back out on the road for the first of two straight tilts away from home. The Bulldogs will visit Marist on Oct. 25 before kicking off November with a trip to Indianapolis and a date with Butler.

Print Friendly Version