The Drake Bulldogs will play their first home game in nearly a month when they host Valparaiso in Pioneer Football League action this weekend. The Bulldogs are 2-1 and have not played since a September 19th loss at South Dakota and coach Chris Creighton says the off-week was good for his team.

Creighton says it allowed them to heal up and work on some fundamentals and be sure they have all their academic things in order. He says waking up Saturday and not playing is hard.

This will be the league opener for Valparaise which is 1-2 on the season. The Crusaders led the PFL in rushing and interceptions in 2008. He says they have two good corners and set the defensive scheme around them.

A victory would give Drake a 2-0 start in the league race with a pair of long road trips coming up from coast to coast in back-to-back weekends. Creighton says it is tough because they have to be in airports and away from home.

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