Oct. 4, 2005
GAME #6: The USD Toreros (4-1) will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Butler Bulldogs (0-5) on Saturday, October 8th, at 2:00 pm. San Diego owns an 8-game winning streak in games played at Torero Stadium. This is both teams Pioneer Football League opener, and also USD's annual homecoming game.
WEBCAST: Jack Murray (play-by-play) and Rick Hill (color analyst) call the action (all home games) that can be heard via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com. You can also follow all of the statistics and play-by-play through the Gametracker link found on the website as well.
SERIES RECORD: The Toreros lead the overall series 8-4, and have won three straight including last year's 41-12 win in Indianapolis on October 30th.
HEAD COACH Jim Harbaugh: Harbaugh is his 2nd season after a 7-4 mark in his rookie year. Off to a 4-1 start, he heads into the Butler game with an 11-5 record. Prior to being named USD's 11th head coach, he spent two seasons in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders. He spent 15 years in the NFL with five different teams - Chicago (1987-1993), Indianapolis (1994-97), Baltimore (1998), San Diego (1999-00) and Carolina (2001). A 1987 first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Jim played in 117 NFL games with 140 starts. For his career he completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 yards with 129 touchdowns. In 1995 he led Indianapolis to the AFC Championship game; was voted to the Pro Bowl; was named the 1995 Comeback Player of the Year and the AFC Player of the Year; and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting. A 1986 graduate of Michigan, Jim was a 3-year starter for legendary coach Bo Schembechler. In his senior year in '86, Jim guided Michigan to a No. 2 national ranking while earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors and finishing 3rd in the Heisman race. Jim and his wife, Miah, have three kids - Jay, James, and Grace.
PFL NORTH STANDINGS/SCHEDULE: Dayton (5-0), SAN DIEGO (4-1), Drake (3-2), Valparaiso (1-4), Butler (0-5). OCT. 8TH SCHEDULE: USD vs. Butler (2pm), Dayton at Drake (1 pm), St. Joseph's at Valparaiso (1:30 pm).
TOREROS REMAIN AT NO. 2 IN THE SPORTS NETWORK MID-MAJOR POLL: The USD Toreros stayed at No. 2 for the third straight week in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10 Poll. The Toreros (4-1) trail PFL-foe Dayton (5-0), but rank ahead of Monmouth (3-1), Duquesne (2-2), Drake (3-2), Morehead State (4-1), Marist (3-2), Central Connecticut State (3-2), Wagner (4-1) and Robert Morris (1-3). The poll includes only I-AA Mid-Major teams from the PFL, MAAC, and NEC.
TOREROS IMPROVE TO 4-1 ON SEASON: (San Jose, CA) - The USD Torero football team soundly defeated Menlo College by the score of 56-0 last Saturday to improve to 4-1 on the year. Sophomore QB Josh Johnson threw for three first half touchdowns, two to Nick Garton and one to Adam Hannula, as the Toreros led 49-0 at halftime. Senior DB Philip Bretsch added an interception return for a TD to help the cause. USD set the tone early as they took the opening kickoff with John Matthews returning it to midfield. After three straight completions by Josh Johnson, redshirt freshman running back JT Rogan rambled 38 yards for a TD and 7-0 lead just 1:57 into the game. The Toreros would also score on their next three possessions in the period to jump to a 28-0 first quarter lead. Johnson connected with senior WR Nick Garton for a 17-yard TD strike at the 7:17 mark; he hit Garton again for 45 yards with 3:55 to go; and the Toreros closed out the quarter with Kevin Herron busting in from 3-yards with 1:24 to go. USD continued its offensive onslaught in the 2nd quarter scoring on their next two offensive possessions with junior fullback Jon Polk rumbling in from 3 yards at the 12:09 mark, and Johnson connecting with WR Adam Hannula for a 15-yard score with 8:17 left in the half to extend the lead to 42-0. Senior DB Philip Bretsch picked off Menlo QB Dustin Guglielm's pass at the Menlo 28 yard line and returned it for a TD with 8:01 to go for USD's commanding 49-0 halftime advantage. In the second half the Torero coaching staff emptied their bench and elected to run the ball and the clock while finding the endzone just once more. The final score came in the final period with freshman QB KC Patterson connecting with a wide open Eric Gregg for a 39-yard score with 4:03 left in the game. The USD defense turned in another stellar performance as they notched their second shutout and kept their streak alive by not allowing a touchdown in the 2nd half through five games this season. Mark Johnson totaled a team-best 7 tackles while Bretsch added 5 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception return for a 28 yard TD. Eric Stern also turned in a solid effort with 6 tackles and 2 QB sacks for -18 yards. USD totaled a season-best 508 yards of offense (178 rush, 330 pass) while limiting Menlo to just 230 yards (26 rush, 204 pass). JT Rogan finished with 60 yards rushing and 1 TD on 5 carries. Josh Johnson completed 11-of-15 passes for 204 yards and 3 TDs in the 1st half before turning it over to David Perez late in the half.
TOREROS RANK IN I-AA TOP-25 STATISTICS - DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY: The USD defense finds itself ranked in the Top-15 in eight different NCAA I-AA categories, and in the Top-5 in four areas... USD's defense also ran its streak of not giving up a TD after intermission to 5 games... the Torero defense is 2nd in scoring defense (8.0 ppg), 3rd in total defense (227.4 ypg), 5th in rushing defense (56.0 ypg) and 4th down defense efficiency (10%), 6th in 3rd down defense efficiency (25%), 10th in passes intercepted (8), 13th in turnovers gained (13), and 15th in turnover margin (+1.20)... the USD offense ranks 4th in 4th down efficiency (81.8%), 18th in kickoff returns (23.2 yards per return), 22nd in total offense (428.2 ypg), 23rd in passing offense (266.6 ypg) and 24th in passing efficiency (141.94). Individually, QB Josh Johnson is 16th in completions per game (20.2), 18th in points responsible for (15.2), and 25th in total offense (256.4) and pass efficiency (142.4)... Hutch Parker ranks 19th in field goals (1.4 made pg, 7x10).
5-GAME STATISTICAL LEADERS: Through five games the Toreros are being led by QB Josh Johnson (101-158 for 1,163 yards and 11 TDs; 256.4 yards of total offense per game), RB JT Rogan (380 yards rushing with 1 TD; 17 receptions for 100 yards, 1 TD), WRs Adam Hannula (27 catches for 332 yards and 2 TDs), Nick Garton (23 for 256 yards, 4 TDs) and Wes Doyle (16 catches for 177 yards and 1 TD), kicker Hutch Parker (7-10 FG; 20-20 PAT; 41 points), punter George Villa (37.5 ave.), LB Kyson Hawkins (40 tackles, 7 for loss), Strong Safety Philip Bretsch (26 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 TD), DB Adam Burke (21 tackles, 7 pass breakups), LB Ronnie Pentz (21 tackles), LB Tyler Evans (19 tackles, 1 forced fumble), DE Eric Bakhtiari (17 tackles; 4 for loss; 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), DB Chase McBride (15 tackles, 6 pass breakups) and FS Scott Cooper (15 tackles, 2 interceptions).
HOW USD STACKS UP AGAINST PFL FOES: The Torero team and players also ranks among the statistical leaders against their PFL counterparts - as a team USD is 1st in rushing defense (56.0), scoring defense (8.0 ppg), red zone defense (50%), pass offense (266.6 ypg), total defense (266.6 ypg), opponent 3rd down conversion percentage (.250), PAT kicking (20-for-20) and possession time (34:36). USD players that rank among the top-5 in PFL statistics include JT Rogan (5th in rushing, 76.0 ypg), Josh Johnson (1st in passing, 232.6 ypg; 2nd in total offense, 256.4 ypg; 4th in pass efficiency, 142.4), Adam Hannula (t-1st in receptions per game, 5.4; 3rd in receiving yards, 66.4), Nick Garton (4th in receptions per game, 4.60; 5th in receiving yards, 51.2; 4th in punt returns, 6.5), and Hutch Parker (1st in scoring, 8.2 ppg; 2nd in field goals, 1.40 made pg; t-1st in PAT kicking percentage, 1.000; 2nd in field goal percentage, 0.70). This Saturday's game will be USD's 13th PFL opener dating back to 1993... the Toreros are 4-8 overall in PFL openers and are 1-1 against the Butler Bulldogs in PFL openers... in other PFL openers, USD is 2-4 vs. Drake, 0-3 vs. Dayton, and 1-0 against former PFL opponent Evansville.
Adam Hannula CAREER WATCH: Senior receiver Adam Hannula became USD's all-time receptions leader in the Toreros' 17-14 win over Yale... with 3 catches for 51 yards and 1 TD in Saturday's win over Menlo, he also becomes the first Torero receiver to crack 200 career receptions... Adam's current 4-year totals are 201 receptions for 2,715 yards and 27 touchdowns... having already passed Dylan Ching's 189 receptions, Adam has his sights on Ching's other two career marks of 3,111 receiving yards and 32 TD receptions... during his Torero career (36 games) Adam has caught at least 1 pass in every game; has caught at least 1 TD in 20 contests; and hauled in 5 or more receptions in 24 games.
SCOUTING THE BUTLER BULLDOGS: Butler (0-5) comes to town in search of their first win this season... this past weekend they dropped a 58-10 home decision to Morehead State... other losses are to Albion (23-28), at Tiffin (7-30), at Robert Morris (13-49), and at Jacksonville (21-55)... 4th year head coach Kit Cartwright returns 36 lettermen and 16 starters from last year's 1-10 club (0-4 PFL)... this year Butler is being led by senior QB Bob Farmer (81-165 for 837 yards and 5 TDs), senior WR Phil Vorndran (23 catches for 312 yards and 2 TDs), RB Billy Nardini (369 yards, 2 TDs), punter Phil Buchanan (41.1 ave.), and LB Mike Marzotto (51 tackles)... Butler is averaging 282 yards of offense per game, while the Bulldog defense is surrendering 477.4 yards (285.4 rush).
THE LAST MEETING: The USD Toreros traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana last year and faced the Bulldogs on October 30th... San Diego came away with a 41-12 victory, but had to overcome an early 9-0 deficit... with just over 6 1/2 minutes left in the 1st half, USD scored 17 unanswered points - a 13-yard TD pass from QB Todd Mortensen to WR Michael Gasperson; a 1-yard TD run from Evan Harney; and a 25-yard field goal from Hutch Parker... after Butler pulled to within 17-12 on their second field goal, USD added a 2-yard TD pass from Mortensen to TE Dustin Owen; a 3-yard Harney run; a 29-yard Parker field goal; and a 60-yard TD sprint by RB Kevin Herron.
WIN OVER YALE A FIRST FOR USD & PFL: USD's 17-14 come-from-behind win over the Yale Bulldogs on Sept. 17th was the Toreros' first win over an Ivy League opponent in six tries... it also marked the first time a PFL team has beaten an Ivy opponent... in the win USD overcame a 14-0 deficit to record the historic victory... redshirt freshman back JT Rogan hauled in a 2-yard TD pass from QB Josh Johnson with 6:37 to go for the game-winner.
TRI-CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Torero players picked three of their senior teammates to represent them as 2005 Team Captains - wide receiver Nick Garton, defensive back Philip Bretsch, and honorary captain Evan Harney. Harney, USD's two-time All-America running back, was lost for the season just prior to the start of football camp after suffering head injuries in a freak accident. Over the past two seasons, the 6-1, 215 lb. running back from Fallbrook, California, rewrote USD's record book for rushing by totaling 2,809 yards and 35 touchdowns on 588 attempts.
2005 PRESEASON PFL COACHES POLL: The Toreros are picked 3rd in the PFL Preseason Coaches Poll - 2004 champion Drake is the top pick for the North Division as they received 5 first place votes - the Bulldogs are followed by Dayton, San Diego, Butler & Valparaiso.
2005 PFL CHAMPIONSHIP SITE: The 2005 PFL Championship will be hosted by the PFL North Champion on November 19th. It is the 5th PFL Championship since the beginning of the divisional era in 2000. The PFL North is undefeated in the four previous championships.
PFL TO RETURN TO SINGLE-DIVISION FORMAT IN 2006: The Pioneer Football League will return to a single-division, round-robin format in 2006, the conference announced on Sept. 7th. The league voted this summer on the move back to a single-division format, which the league used in its first eight seasons. The change resulted from the league's reduction to eight members for the 2006 campaign - Austin Peay leaves the conference at the conclusion of the 2005 season. The final round-robin schedule will provide seven league games annually for all teams with alternating seasons of four home/three road games and three home/four road.
POSITIVE CHANGE AT TORERO STADIUM: Some positive changes have taken place for Torero Fans at Torero Stadium this season. The biggest change is the USD football team will now be on the south sideline to provide our season ticket holders with a better experience. Also, all non-reserved seating will now be General Admission seating. The USD student section is now located in the east endzone. The End Zone Grill is located near the south side of the endzone and will provide Torero fans with exceptional food from the Johnsonville product line. Ticket prices are $10 reserved, $ 8 general admission adult and $6 general admission for children.
UP NEXT: The Toreros head to Dayton, Ohio to take on the Flyers in a pivotal PFL contest on Saturday, October 15th (1 p.m. kickoff @ Welcome Stadium).
