Oct. 17, 2005
After their convincing 48-24 win at No. 1 Dayton this past Saturday, the San Diego Torero football team vaulted one spot to claim the No. 1 ranking in The Sports Network Mid-Major Top 10. USD, which had been at No. 2 the past four weeks, earned the top spot for the first time in the program's history. San Diego claimed all 28 first-place votes and 280 points. The Toreros will put the No. 1 ranking on the line this week when they host No. 7 Drake on Saturday, October 22nd, at 7 pm in Torero Stadium.
Dayton (6-1) fell just one spot to No. 2 after the loss to USD. Morehead State (6-1) and Marist (4-2) are up one position to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Monmouth (4-2) fell two rungs to No. 5 after a 26-20 loss to Wagner. Wagner (5-2) is up three spots to No. 6, followed by Drake (3-3), Duquesne (3-3), Central Connecticut State (4-3) and Stoney Brook (3-3). The poll includes I-AA mid-major teams from the PFL, MAAC and NEC.
USD also moved to No. 1 in two other I-AA rankings (Don Hansen's Football Weekly Gazette and Dopke.com). The Toreros also moved up to No. 42 for all I-AA programs in this week's Sagarin Ratings.
USD was also honored by the PFL office with three players earning PFL Player of the Week awards. Redshirt freshman running back JT Rogan (Coronado, Calif.) and sophomore QB Josh Johnson (Oakland, Calif.) shared the PFL offensive player of the week honor, while junior linebacker Kyson Hawkins (Fallbrook, Calif.) was tabbed the PFL defensive player of the week.
The 1-2 offensive punch of Rogan and Johnson helped USD to big 48-24 win over Dayton. Rogan rushed 30 times for a personal-best 180 yards while finding the endzone three times by rush (7, 35 and 4 yards). He also tallied a touchdown through the air with a 3-yard pass reception in the 3rd quarter. Johnson was also outstanding, finishing 21-of-29 in the passing department for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns (19, 17, and 3 yards), in addition to 84 yards rushing on 10 carries, including an 11 yard TD run. Hawkins led the way defensively with 12 tackles (7 solo), including 4 tackles for loss, a PFL single-game best this season.
USD, which has gone 11-1 over its last 12 games, will now finish their regular-season schedule with 3-of-4 games at Torero Stadium. The Toreros are currently riding a 9-game win streak in home contests.
