The Basics
Drake football's 2026 season is set to finish this weekend when the Bulldogs travel to the Twin Cities for a date with rival St. Thomas. The Bulldogs and Tommies will kick off at 1 p.m. in St. Paul.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake is looking to win its regular season finale for the sixth straight season. The Bulldogs haven't ended their regular season slate with a loss since a 45-14 defeat at Davidson in 2021. The Bulldogs dropped its home finale to rival San Diego last week. The Toreros rode their bruising rushing attack to over 300 yards on the ground and a 40-17 win in Des Moines.
Sam Bruno has been a quiet star for Drake this season. The second-year punter currently leads the Pioneer Football League with a net punting average of 46.4 yards per kick. Freshman
Dax Wiskur was one of two PFL representatives on the Jerry Rice Award Watch List, an honor given to the best freshman player in all of FCS.
Drake is leading the PFL in passing with an average of 303.3. yards per game. The Bulldogs are one of four PFL teams with at least 20 passing touchdowns on the season.
Key Players
Riley Warzynski | 236-394, 59.9%, 2577 yards, 17 TD, 10 INT
Braylon Wilson | 31-68, 45.6%, 402 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT, 60 carries, 197 yards, 2 TD
Willis Nofsinger | 48 receptions, 716 yards, 4 TD
Mitchell January | 39 receptions, 437 yards, 3 TD
Kavaughn Clark | 59 carries, 252 yards, 4 TD
J.R. Flood | 64 tck, 28 solo, 1.5 TFL, 3 QBH
Skylar James | 55 tackles, 32 solo, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 QBH
Dax Wiskur | 56 tackles, 35 solo, 1.0 TFL, 3 PBU, INT
Scouting St. Thomas
St. Thomas is still well within contention for the 2026 PFL title with records of 7-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Tommies are coming off a 41-14 loss at Butler, which snapped a 3-game winning streak.
St. Thomas leads a relatively new series against Drake with a 3-2 margin. The Tommies won last year's meeting after Drake earned both its wins in 2023 and 2024. Drake is currently 1-1 when playing St. Thomas on the road.
St. Thomas is led by long-time head coach Glenn Caruso, who is in his 18th season leading the Tommies. He is 171-41 at St. Thomas and 177-54 overall including two previous seasons at Macalester.
Key Players
Nick Peipert | 111-172, 64.5%, 1617 yards, 13 TD, 6 INT, 9 carries, 548 yards, 11 TD
Gabriel Abel | 106 carries, 651 yards, 9 TD
Pierce McCrary | 46 receptions, 691 yards, 4 TD
Quentin Cobb-Butler | 53 receptions, 663 yards, 6 TD
Nash Tichy | 59 tackles, 29 solo, 5.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 13 QBH, 4 PBU, 2 FR
Ty Nielsen | 46 tackles, 31 solo, 1.0 TFL, INT, PBU
Charlie Boucher | 45 tackles, 21 solo, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 QBH, PBU
