SAN DIEGO – The 2019 PFL Champion San Diego Toreros will open their fourth straight trip to the FCS Playoffs on Saturday when they travel to face Northern Iowa in the UNI-Dome at 1 p.m. CT/11 a.m. PT.

The Toreros, who are PFL champions for the sixth year in a row and eighth time in the last nine years, are on a nine-game overall winning streak thanks to a recently-hot ground game within the nation's second-best offense and a defense that has forced 26 turnovers. They feature Walter Payton Award finalist and Johnston, Iowa native Reid Sinnett at quarterback, unanimous All-American wide receiver from a year ago Michael Bandy, and are led by national coach of the year finalist Dale Lindsey.

The nine-game winning streak for USD is the third-longest active streak in the FCS.

UNI, which finished second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, has won five of its last six games entering the playoffs and will host the Toreros at home, a place it has not lost this season (6-0). The Panthers feature one of the top-15 defenses in the country as they are 11th in total defense and 14th in points allowed.

Saturday's playoff game can be watched on ESPN3, with Jim Barbar (play-by-play) and John Gregory (analyst) on the call. The contest can also be heard on www.USDToreros.com, with the Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin describing the action.

LAST TIME OUT: BINDA, JR., SECOND-HALF TAKEAWAYS LEAD TO 47-28 WIN AT JACKSONVILLE
- JoJo Binda, Jr. rushed for a school record-tying four touchdowns while the San Diego defense forced three turnovers in the second half to lead the Toreros to a 47-28 win at Jacksonville in the regular season finale. The win sealed USD's fourth straight undefeated PFL season and extended their conference winning streak to 37 games, the second-longest streak in FCS history. USD forced a total of four turnovers while the offense gained 491 yards. 

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST UNI
- Saturday will be the first all-time meeting between San Diego and UNI.

- The Toreros are 0-2 all-time against teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, both of which are losses against North Dakota State in the FCS Playoffs (2016, 2017).

ALL-TIME IN THE FCS PLAYOFFS
- San Diego is 2-4 all-time in its four trips to the FCS Playoffs, with its last win occurring in 2017 at Northern Arizona in the first round.

- The Toreros have advanced out of the first round twice in program history: 2016 (at Cal Poly) and 2017 (at NAU). In both cases, they lost to North Dakota State in the second round.

- Last year, USD lost at Nicholls, 49-30. The Toreros fell behind 35-10 at halftime and trailed by as much as 42-10, but three straight touchdown catches by Dalton Kincaid helped pull the game closer.

- The Toreros made their first trip to the FCS Playoffs in 2014 (L, at Montana, 52-14).

LOOKING AHEAD
- The winner of the Toreros and Panthers will face No. 7 seed South Dakota State on Saturday, December 7 at 1 p.m. CT/11 a.m. PT in Brookings, South Dakota.

TOREROS THIS DECADE (2010s)
- The Toreros are one of the best teams in the FCS this decade as they currently hold the third-best winning percentage (.748; 86-29) in the 2010s.

Best FCS Records in the 2010s (By Percentage)

1. North Dakota St. 133-13 (.911) 
2. Kennesaw St. 47-14 (.770) 
3. San Diego 86-29 (.748)
4. Harvard 74-26 (.740)
5. Eastern Wash. 97-35 (.735) 
6. James Madison 93-34 (.732)
7. Sam Houston St. 99-37 (.728)  
8. Jacksonville St. 91-35 (.722)
9. Dartmouth 70-30 (.700)
10. Bethune-Cookman 80-35 (.696)

- The 86 wins this decade, meanwhile, are the sixth-most in the FCS.

- In this decade, the Toreros have won eight out of 10 conference titles, including six outright, and made five 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).

ONE OF THE NATION'S TOP OFFENSES
- A driving force for USD's conference championship this season has been its offense. The Toreros enter the playoffs with the second-best offense in the country, averaging 498.8 yards per game. They are also third-best in the nation - and second among FCS Playoff teams - with a scoring offense of 41.7 points per contest.

- Helping the offense is a team passing efficiency of 176.19, which is second-best in the country (leader: North Dakota State, 183.22). The mark also currently ranks as the second-best in school history and best since the Toreros set the program record at 197.3 in 2007.

SCORING MACHINE
- The Toreros enter the first round of the playoffs having scored 40+ points in six straight games, a first in program history.

- The Toreros have also scored 47+ points in five straight weeks.

- San Diego has scored 30+ points in all 11 games this season and in 14 consecutive games dating back to last year. It is the first time in program history the Toreros have scored 30+ points in at least 14 consecutive games.

- While they are second in the country in scoring offense this year (41.7), the Toreros averaged 37.8 points last year, which was 10th in the FCS.

- The school record for average points in a season is 44.4, set in 2007. That season, the Toreros scored 488 points in 11 games.

IN THE MARGINS
- Over the last four games, USD has outscored its opponents 199-62 (+137).

- The Toreros won six of their PFL games by 20+ points and three by 30+ points.

- This season, USD has a combined margin of win of 218 points in PFL play. For the entire 2018 PFL campaign, it was 149. Two years ago, it was 274 points.

- For the overall season, USD outscored its 11 opponents 459-254 (+205). Its average point margin in the regular season was 18.6 points.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
- It is not all offense for the Toreros as they have been ballhawks on the defensive side, forcing 26 turnovers. That is the seventh-best total in the nation.

- With the help of also only turning the ball over 12 times (11th-fewest in the country), USD is third in the nation in turnover margin (1.27 per game).

- USD has forced four turnovers in each of the last two games and 18 total in the last six.

- A big part of the turnovers are interceptions as the Toreros have picked off 19 passes this year, the second-most in the FCS. David Tolbert has a career-high six interceptions to lead the team. The senior's 0.5 interceptions per game is the fifth-best average in the country.

PUT IT ON THE GROUND
- The USD ground game has powered the offense in the last five weeks, rushing for a total of 1,342 yards on 192 carries. The Toreros are averaging 268.4 yards per game over the five-week stretch.

- The Toreros are currently 27th in the FCS in rushing offense (191.2 yards per game) for the season. Last year, they finished the season 95th.

- The Toreros' rushing offense is currently its best in a season since 2006.

- USD also has 23 rushing touchdowns in the last five games. It had 20 rushing touchdowns all of last season.

- The Toreros have used seven different running backs this season and entered the year with only two returning starters on the offensive line (Aidan Valencia and DJ Wright).

PERFECTION ACHIEVED
- USD is the only team in PFL history to string together four consecutive undefeated seasons in league play.

- The Toreros have six perfect PFL campaigns in program history, which is one behind Dayton (7) for the most all-time.

THE STREAK
- The Toreros have won 37 consecutive conference games, the longest active streak in all of Division I (FCS and FBS).

- The 37-game conference winning streak is the second-longest in FCS history and fourth-longest in Division I. 

- The last time USD fell in a PFL game was at Dayton on October 10, 2015.

- The Toreros are averaging 43.0 points per game and winning by an average margin of 26.7 during the streak. They are nearly identical in home and away games during the stretch, averaging 42.7 points at home and 43.4 points on the road. 

- Since 2014, USD has won 46 of its last 47 PFL games (.979 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. San Diego, 37 games (2015-current)
5. Jacksonville State, 36 games (2013-18)
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. San Diego, 37 games (2015-current) - PFL
3. Jacksonville State, 36 games (2013-18) - OVC
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) - CAA; Penn, 20 games (2001-04) - Ivy

LONGEST ACTIVE CONFERENCE WINNING STREAKS IN DIVISION I (FBS and FCS)

1. San Diego, 37 games (2015-current) - PFL
2. Clemson, 19 games (2017-current) - ACC
3. North Dakota State, 18 games (2017-current) - MVFC

BANDY'S RECORD-SETTING CAREER
- Michael Bandy is wrapping up one of the most accomplished careers in USD history. The consensus All-American a season ago is a candidate for more postseason awards after another stellar season at wide receiver.

- Bandy enters the playoffs as the first wide receiver in USD history to have two seasons of 1,100+ receiving yards. In his junior campaign, he had a school-record 1,698 receiving yards while this year, he has 1,140 so far.

- Bandy is only the seventh Torero to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season - while he is only the second to do it twice (other: Adam Hannula, 2003 & 2005).

- Bandy needs 11 receptions to become only the second Torero in school history to have 200 in a career.

Where Bandy Ranks in USD History
Receiving Yards, Single Season
1. 1,698 (2018)
4. 1,140 (2019)

Receiving Yards, Career
3. 3,282

Receiving Touchdowns, Single Season
3. 14 (2018)
T-7. 12 (2019)

Receiving Touchdowns, Career
5. 28

Receptions, Single Season
1. 88 (2018)
T-6. 72 (2019)

Receptions, Career
T-5. 189

JOJO ON THE GO-GO
- Graduate student JoJo Binda, Jr. has a big piece of the USD offense in the last four games, rushing for 577 yards on 67 carries (8.6 yards per carry). He has 120+ rushing yards in the last three contests.

- Binda, Jr. is averaging 7.4 yards per carry this season, which is currently the second-best mark in USD history.

- He is the team's leader in rushing with 658 yards in only eight games. 

- He also has 10 rushing touchdowns, all of which have been scored in the last four weeks. His four rushing touchdowns at Jacksonville tied the school record.

- Binda, Jr. entered the season with 598 rushing yards in his first two years at USD.

ONE OF THE BEST TE IN THE COUNTRY
- Sophomore Dalton Kincaid has improved upon his impressive freshman campaign by posting career-highs in receptions (38) and receiving yards (772) while also adding eight touchdowns.

- He has proven to be big-play threat as Kincaid is 13th in the FCS and second in the PFL with 20.32 yards per catch. That clip is first among all tight ends in the country (next closest: Matthew Gonzalez of Robert Morris, 16.56).

- Kincaid is second in the country among FCS tight ends with 772 receiving yards (leader: Dayton's Adam Trautman, 916).

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 (177.9), fourth in completion percentage (67.8%) and fifth in total offense (319.5).

- The quarterback is fourth in passing yards per game (303.7) and passing touchdowns (32).

FCS LEADER - REID SINNETT
Passing Efficiency 177.9 2nd
Passing Touchdowns 32 4th
Completion Percentage 67.8% 4th
Passing Yds. Per Game 303.7 4th
Total Offense 319.5 5th
Passing Yds. Per Comp. 14.59 8th
Total Passing Yards 3,341 9th

BANDY
- Senior Michael Bandy is one of the top wide receivers in the FCS once again as he ranks sixth in receiving yards per game (103.6), 10th in receiving yards (1,140) and ninth in receiving touchdowns (12). 

- In the last seven games, Bandy has 49 catches, 754 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. 

- Bandy has 16 100-yard games in his career.