The lead in the Pioneer Football League will be on the line Saturday night in Des Moines when Drake hosts the University of San Diego. At 6-1 overall, the Bulldogs are off to their second best start in school history and they take on a San Diego team that is the defending PFL champion and brings a 14 game winning streak into the contest.
Drake coach Rob Ash says it’s a “monstrous” game for them with only two undefeated team in the conference. The winner has all the tiebreakers in the conference race. During its 14 game winning streak San Diego has outscored its opponents by an average of 48 to 15. The Toreros are ranked 21st in the latest Sports Network one-double-a top 25.
Ash says San Diego is as good as any team he’s ever seen in the Pioneer Football League. Ash says they’ve always been good on offense and now they’ve made huge improvements on defense.
Drake nearly pulled an upset last year in San Diego before falling 31-26 and the Bulldog’s physical style of play has matched up well against a San Diego team that is built on speed and finesse. Ash says they’re old fashioned and run the football and line up in pro sets and are physical. Ash says San Diego isn’t as physical and he hopes that’s to their advantage.
San Diego quarterback Josh Johnson already has passed for more than 16-hundred yards and 19 touchdowns in their 6-0 start. Ash says the best way to stop Johnson is to keep him on the bench by moving the ball with their offense.