The Drake University football team plays its 11th and final game of the 2014 campaign on Saturday afternoon with its first-ever visit to Stetson. Kickoff between the Bulldogs and the Pioneer Football League newcomers is scheduled for noon, CST, with the contest being aired in Des Moines on KRNT 1350-AM.
Drake makes its second trip to the state of Florida this season with a 6-4 overall record and a 5-2 mark in PFL action thanks to four wins in its last five games. Regardless of Saturday's outcome against Stetson (5-6, 3-4 PFL), the Bulldogs have secured their 11th-straight winning season.
In its last outing on Nov. 8, Drake racked up 277 yards rushing, its third highest total in the last eight season, with T.J. James (Des Moines, Iowa) accounting for a career-high 117 yards. Those yards helped Drake rally for a thrilling 34-30 win at Dayton with quarterback Andy Rice (Stevens Point, Wis.) finding Michael Hudson (Urbandale, Iowa) in the endzone for the winning score with 18 seconds left in the contest.
Defensively, the Bulldogs possess one of the nation's top units as the Bulldogs rank 22nd nationally in total defense by allowing just 319.1 yards per game and 24th in rushing yardage at 128.9 yards per game.
Of Drake's six PFL opponents, only two, Jacksonville and Dayton, have amassed more than 300 total yards of offense and two, Davidson and Valparaiso, have been held to less than 200 yards of offense.
Stetson is averaging 23.9 points per game this season on an average of 340.1 yards of offense per game and has recorded more than 400 yards of offense three times this season. Defensively, the Hatters are led by one of the nation's top defenders in Donald Payne. Payne leads the PFL in tackles with 158 to rank second nationally. Stetson, in just its second year in the PFL, has earned league wins over Marist, Campbell and Davidson.
