Daniel Tolbert

Football

Aiming for Sixth Straight PFL Title

San Diego can clinch a share of the championship with a win on Saturday

San Diego Toreros (7-2, 6-0 PFL)  •  Morehead State Eagles (5-5, 3-3 PFL)
Saturday, November 16  • 2 p.m.
Torero Stadium (6,000)  • San Diego, Calif.
Live Stream   • WCC Network  |  Live Statistics
Social  • Facebook.com/USDFootball  • Twitter: @USDFootball • Instagram: @USDFootball

SAN DIEGO San Diego, on a seven-game overall winning streak and 35-game conference winning streak, aims to secure its sixth straight Pioneer Football League (PFL) title on Saturday when it hosts Morehead State at Torero Stadium on Senior Day.

The Toreros, holding the nation's longest active conference winning streak in Division I, have dominated league play so far, averaging 43.3 points per game and 515 yards of offense to post the perfect record in six games. It is not all offense for San Diego, though, as it has held PFL opponents to 15.5 points per game and under 260 yards or less four times.

Morehead State enters Saturday with a .500 record in both overall and league play following a 27-21 win on the road in Week 11 at Valparaiso. The Eagles have lost two of their last three, with both of those losses coming against two of the top-four teams in the PFL standings (Dayton, Drake).

Saturday's game will be available on the WCC Network, with the Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin on the call. Live stats are available here.

LAST TIME OUT: TOREROS RUN OVER STETSON, 51-7
- San Diego used a second-half ground game to score five touchdowns in the final 30 minutes and pulled away to beat Stetson, 51-7, on the road in Week 11. The Toreros rushed for 294 yards in the second half and 353 in the game to pick up their seventh straight win. JoJo Binda, Jr. ran for a career-high 227 yards on 13 carries while RJ Gonzalez scored three touchdowns - the first of his career - on four carries to lead the run game. The USD defense, meanwhile, surrendered only one touchdown when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter and limited the Hatters, which entered the game with the fourth-best total offense in the FCS, to 228 yards. The Toreros forced Stetson into 10 punts and two turnovers on its 16 drives. The Tolbert twins, Daniel and David, each had an interception to make up the pair of takeaways.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE
- Saturday will be the 13th all-time meeting between San Diego and Morehead State, with the Toreros holding a 12-0 advantage in the series.

- The Toreros have scored 50+ points in the last two meetings, including last year's matchup in Morehead, Kentucky when they won 51-34.

- USD has scored 40+ points in six straight meetings and nine times overall.

- The Toreros' 12-game winning streak against the Eagles is their third-longest active streak against a PFL opponent (Longest: Marist, 15 games; followed by Valparaiso, 14 games).

LOOKING AHEAD
- The Toreros conclude their regular season at Jacksonville on November 23 at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. The Dolphins are 2-8 overall, 0-6 in conference.

WHAT'S AT STAKE ON SATURDAY
- With a win, San Diego will clinch a share of the PFL title, which would be its sixth straight league championship, eighth this decade (2010-current) and 11th overall. 

- The Toreros are looking to inch closer to Dayton (12) for the most PFL trophies in league history. 

- A victory would also secure San Diego's fourth straight trip to the FCS Playoffs and fifth in program history - all in the last six years. The Toreros hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against second-place Drake (5-1) for the automatic qualifier into the playoffs due to their 49-7 win over the Bulldogs in Week 10.

- San Diego could clinch a share of the PFL title and trip to the FCS Playoffs no matter its result on Saturday if Drake loses against Dayton on Saturday (11 a.m. PT kickoff/1 p.m. CT). The Toreros are 3-0 against Drake, Dayton and Davidson - which represent the PFL teams with two or less losses other than USD.

- If San Diego loses and Drake wins, it will come down to the final week of play to determine the PFL champion and the league's entrant into the FCS Playoffs. The Toreros play at Jacksonville in Week 13 while Drake is at Davidson.

THE STREAK
- The Toreros hold a perfect 6-0 record in PFL play this year and have won 35 consecutive conference games, the longest active streak in all of Division I (FCS and FBS).

- The 35-game conference winning streak is the third-longest in FCS history and fifth-longest in Division I. They are one win away from tying the second-longest streak in the FCS (Jacksonville State, 36 games - 2013-18).

- On Saturday, it will have been nearly 1,500 days (1,498 days to be exact) since USD lost a conference game. The last time USD fell in a PFL game was at Dayton on October 10, 2015.

- The Toreros are averaging 42.7 points per game and winning by an average margin of 26.8 during the streak. They are nearly identical in home and away games during the stretch, averaging 42.2 points at home and 43.2 points on the road. Their average margin of win at home is 24.2 points (29.6 on the road).

- Since 2014, USD has won 44 of its last 45 PFL games (.978 winning pct. over that stretch).

LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAKS IN DIVISION I HISTORY (FBS and FCS)
  1. Oklahoma, 44 games (1952-59)
  2. Nebraska, 40 games (1992-98)
  3. Duquesne, 39 games (1999-06)
  4. Jacksonville State, 36 games (2013-18)
  5. San Diego, 35 games (2015-current)
  6. Oklahoma, 31 games (1984-88) & Boise State, 31 games (2001-05)

LONGEST CONFERENCE WINNING STREAKS IN FCS HISTORY
  1. Duquesne, 39 games (1999-06) - MAAC
  2. Jacksonville State, 36 games (2013-18) - OVC
  3. San Diego, 35 games (2015-current) - PFL
  4. Grambling State, 26 games (2005-17) - SWAC, Eastern Kentucky, 26 games (1992-95) - OVC, Appalachian State, 26 games (2007-10) - Southern
  5. Montana, 25 games (1999-02) - Big Sky
  6. South Carolina State, 21 games (2007-10) - MEAC
  7. James Madison, 20 games (2014-18) - CAAPenn, 20 games (2001-04) - Ivy

LONGEST ACTIVE CONFERENCE WINNING STREAKS IN DIVISION I (FBS and FCS)
  1. San Diego, 35 games (2015-current) - PFL
  2. Clemson, 18 games (2017-current) - ACC
  3. North Dakota State, 16 games (2017-current) - MVFC

THE STREAK, PART 2
- In addition to winning 35 straight PFL games, San Diego has won 37 consecutive conference home games. It is the longest active streak in all of Division I as well.

- The last time USD lost a conference home game was October 9, 2010 vs. Dayton - more than nine years ago (or 3,325 days ago on Saturday).

- Head coach Dale Lindsey has never lost a conference home game, going 27-0.

- Since 2005, USD has won 76 of its last 87 overall home games (.874 winning pct.). Only five of those losses in 14 years have been in conference play. 

- Since 2003, the Toreros are 55-5 at home in PFL action (.917 winning pct.).

PUT IT ON THE GROUND
- Even with a Walter Payton Award candidate at quarterback and wide receiver, the USD ground game has come alive in the last three weeks as it is averaging 283.7 yards per game.

- The Toreros have rushed for 300+ yards in two of the last three weeks, including last week's season-high of 353. It was their most rushing yards in a game since 2011 (Oct. 8, 2011 vs. Valparaiso). 

- Prior to this season, USD had gained 300+ yards on the ground twice over the course of three seasons from 2016 to 2018. 

- The Toreros are currently 38th in the FCS in rushing offense (179.1 yards per game). Last year, they finished the season 95th.

- In PFL-only games, the Toreros are averaging 205.5 yards per contest, which is fifth-best.

- USD also has 14 rushing touchdowns in the last three games. Three different players - Terrence Smith, JoJo Binda, Jr. and RJ Gonzalez - have each turned in games of three touchdowns.

IN THE MARGINS
- Over the last two games, USD has won by a combined score of 100-14.

- The Toreros have won by 44 and 42 points the last two weeks, making it the first time since 2017 they put together back-to-back wins with 40+ point margins.

- The Toreros have won five of their six PFL games by 20+ points and two by 40+ points.

- This season, USD has a combined margin of win of 167 points. For the entire 2018 PFL campaign, it was 149. Two years ago, it was 274 points.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP FOR KINCAID
- Sophomore Dalton Kincaid has improved upon his impressive freshman campaign by posting career-highs in receptions (32) and receiving yards (698) while also adding six touchdowns.

- He has proven to be big-play threat as Kincaid is eighth in the FCS and second in the PFL with 21.81 yards per catch. That clip is first among all tight ends in the country (next closest: Matthew Gonzalez of Robert Morris, 17.30).

- Kincaid is second in the country among FCS tight ends with 698 receiving yards (leader: Dayton's Adam Trautman, 755).

ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATES: SINNETT AND BANDY
SINNETT
- In his first season as a starter, redshirt senior Reid Sinnett is among the nation's leaders and commanding one of the top offenses in the FCS. The quarterback is second in the FCS in passing efficiency (179.7), third in total offense (331.0) and fourth in completion percentage (68.6%).

- The quarterback is fourth in passing yards per game (317.9) and fifth in passing touchdowns (28).

FCS LEADER - REID SINNETT
Passing Efficiency 179.7 2nd
Total Offense 331.0 3rd
Completion Percentage 68.4% 4th
Passing Yds. Per Game 317.9 4th
Touchdowns 28 5th
Passing Yds. Per Comp. 14.52 9th
Total Passing Yards 2,861 10th

BANDY
- Senior Michael Bandy is one of the top wide receivers in the FCS once again as he ranks seventh in receiving yards per game (106.7), ninth in receiving yards (960) and sixth in receiving touchdowns (11). 

- In the last five games, Bandy has 36 catches, 569 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. 

- Bandy has 100+ yards in eight of his last 12 games dating back to last year and 15 100-yard games in his career.

- In the PFL, Bandy leads the league in receiving yards, receiving yards per game, and receptions per game while he is second in receiving touchdowns.

SINNETT JOINS BANDY ON THE WALTER PAYTON AWARD WATCH LIST
- Last week, Reid Sinnett joined teammate Michael Bandy on the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award Watch List. The two Toreros are among the 41 players on the midseason list. They also help make USD one of seven schools with multiple players on the list.

SCORING OUTPUT
- San Diego has scored 42 or more points in each of the last four weeks, helping it average 43.3 points per PFL game this year (second-best in the league).

- Over the last two weeks, San Diego scored 49+ points in back-to-back games, a first since 2006.

- San Diego has scored 30+ points in all nine games this season and in 12 consecutive games dating back to last year. It is the first time in program history the Toreros have scored 30+ points in at least 12 consecutive games.

- For the season, the Toreros are averaging 40.0 points per game, which is fourth in the FCS and second in the PFL. Last year, the Toreros averaged 37.8 points, which was second in the conference and 10th in the FCS.

- The Toreros have scored 30+ points in 19 of their last 20 PFL games, a stretch that goes back to 2017.

TURNOVER BATTLE
- A key part of USD's current seven-game winning streak has been winning the turnover battle as it is +10 in turnover margin over the stretch.

- In conference-only games, USD is first in the PFL with a +10 turnover margin.

- The Toreros are second in the FCS with 15 interceptions as David (17th) and Daniel (21st) are among the FCS leaders in interceptions per game.

TOREROS THIS DECADE (2010s)
- The Toreros are one of the best teams in the FCS this decade as they currently hold the fourth-best winning percentage (.743; 84-29) in the 2010s.

Best FCS Records in the 2010s (By Percentage)
  1. North Dakota St. 131-13 .910 
  2. Kennesaw St. 45-14 .763 
  3. Harvard 74-24 .755 
  4. San Diego 84-29 .743 
  5. Jacksonville St. 91-33 .734
  6. Sam Houston St. 98-36 .731 
  7. Eastern Wash. 95-35 .731 
  8. James Madison 91-34 .728 
  9. Dartmouth 69-29 .704
  10. Bethune-Cookman 79-34 .699
  11. Georgia Southern 35-16 .686

- The 84 wins this decade, meanwhile, are the sixth-most in the FCS.

- In this decade, the Toreros have won seven out of nine conference titles, including five outright, and made four trips to the FCS playoffs. There are only two teams in the country this decade with that many conference titles and trips to the FCS playoffs: San Diego and North Dakota State.

- Also this decade, the Toreros have 26 All-America honors, 13 Academic All-Americans, 144 All-PFL selections and 30 PFL All-Academic awards.

- In the 2000s, San Diego had the 11th-best winning percentage among FCS schools (.692; 74-33).
 
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Players Mentioned

Michael Bandy

#5 Michael Bandy

WR
5' 10"
Senior
RJ Gonzalez

#32 RJ Gonzalez

RB
5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
Dalton Kincaid

#46 Dalton Kincaid

TE
6' 5"
Sophomore
Reid Sinnett

#7 Reid Sinnett

QB
6' 4"
Redshirt Senior
Terrence Smith

#28 Terrence Smith

RB
5' 11"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Michael Bandy

#5 Michael Bandy

5' 10"
Senior
WR
RJ Gonzalez

#32 RJ Gonzalez

5' 9"
Redshirt Sophomore
RB
Dalton Kincaid

#46 Dalton Kincaid

6' 5"
Sophomore
TE
Reid Sinnett

#7 Reid Sinnett

6' 4"
Redshirt Senior
QB
Terrence Smith

#28 Terrence Smith

5' 11"
Junior
RB