SAN DIEGO – San Diego will look for a share of its seventh-straight Pioneer Football League title when it travels to face Valparaiso on Saturday at Brown Field.

The Toreros (4-1, 3-1 PFL) will wrap up the 2021 spring PFL season against Valpo (3-2, 3-2 PFL) with kickoff set for 10 a.m. (PT). With a win, USD will clinch a share of its 12th league championship in program history.

The game will be streamed on ESPN3. Live audio will be available with Jack Cronin on the call as well as live statistics via USDToreros.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• San Diego closed out its home schedule last Saturday with a 34-10 victory over Stetson in Torero Stadium.
 
• USD finished the day with 458 total yards (279 passing, 179 rushing) while allowing holding the hatters to 244 total yards (188 passing, 56 rushing).
 
•  Mason Randall completed 15 of 29 attempts for 279 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
•  Michael Carner hauled in five receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown, while Christian Brown also finished with five catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Alex Spadone also added two catches for 57 yards in his first game of the spring.
 
•  Emilio Martinez had a big day on the ground, totaling 127 yards on 20 rushes, including a long of 84 yards. Terrence Smith finished with 51 yards on 11 attempts and two rushing touchdowns.
 
•  Michael Hawkins led the defense with nine tackles (six solo) and two interceptions on back-to-back possessions for the Hatters. Kyle Bilchik finished with eight tackles (six solo), including two sacks for a loss of nine yards and four total tackles for loss (11 yards).
 
•  Five Toreros registered at least a half sack and seven were credited with a tackle for loss.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST VALPARAISO
• Saturday will be 26th meeting between San Diego and Valpo, with USD leading the all-time series 20-5.
 
• San Diego has scored 40+ points in the last two meetings, five of the last seven and 13 times overall.
 
• Last season the Toreros won a 42-17 contest in Torero Stadium. San Diego holds a 14-game winning streak dating back to Oct. 18, 2003.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE ON SATURDAY
• With a win, San Diego will clinch a share of the PFL title, which would be its seventh straight league championship and 12th overall.
 
• The Toreros would also tie Dayton (12) for most PFL trophies in league history.
 
• With a San Diego win and Davidson loss on Saturday the Toreros were set to receive the automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. However, Davidson's game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within its opponent's (Stetson) Tier 1 personnel.
 
• The league office announced on Thursday that the Wildcats will receive the PFL's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Prior to the start of this season, the PFL Presidents' Council affirmed that teams with the same number of league losses and within one game of the league leader by win percentage would be considered tied if they did not play an equal number of games.
 
• Davidson and San Diego each entered this weekend with one league loss. The previously announced cancellation assures Davidson will finish its season with one loss while a San Diego win at Valparaiso would assure it a one-loss season as well. In that scenario, the tiebreaker would be utilized to determine the automatic qualifier.
 
• The first determining factor in the tiebreaker is the head-to-head result between the teams. Davidson defeated San Diego, April 3, thus Davidson wins the tiebreaker and receives the league's automatic bid.
 
TOREROS IN THE NCAA
• Several Toreros rank among the top in the country in multiple categories.

Category	National Ranking	Value	Player
Kickoff Returns (72 ranked)	4	29.4	Hunter Nichols
Completion Percentage (78 ranked)	12	0.653	Mason Randall
Completions Per Game (90 ranked)	9	22.6	Mason Randall
Passing Yards Per Game (133 ranked)	11	271.4	Mason Randall
Total Offense (200 ranked)	15	272.2	Mason Randall
Receptions Per Game (193 ranked)	17	6.2	Michael Carner
Combined Kick Returns (197 ranked)	20	265	Hunter Nichols
Passing Yards (133 ranked)	16	1,357	Mason Randall
Receiving Yards Per Game (200 ranked)	15	91.6	Michael Carner
Passing Efficiency (78 ranked)	28	136.1	Mason Randall
Punting (68 ranked)	32	40.0	Connor Strode
Yards Per Pass Attempt (78 ranked)	16	7.84	Mason Randall
Field Goal Percentage (67 ranked)	24	0.800	Brandon Eickert
Sacks (176 ranked)	11	1.00	Kevin Glajchen

 
AS A TEAM IN THE NCAA
• USD ranks among the nation's best as a team in the following categories:

­­Category	National Ranking	Value
Blocked Punts (4 ranked)	1	3
Blocked Kicks (24 ranked)	3	4
Completion Percentage (95 ranked)	11	0.653
Time of Possession (95 ranked)	4	34:41
Kickoff Returns (94 ranked)	18	23.5
Sacks Allowed (95 ranked)	9	1.00
Passing Offense (95 ranked)	16	271.4
Rushing Defense (95 ranked)	15	98.2
Total Defense (95 ranked)	15	281.0
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense (95 ranked)	19	0.309
Scoring Defense (95 ranked)	14	17.0
3rd Down Conversion (95 ranked)	20	0.455

 
2021 SPRING FOOTBALL
• USD begins its 58th season of play this spring, and 28th season as a member of the Pioneer Football League during the 2020-21 academic year. The Toreros own the second-most PFL titles with 11 (Dayton leads with 12) and have won eight of the last nine PFL championships (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015c, 2014, 2012c, 2011c) and 11 overall when adding in titles from 2007c, 2006 and 2005.
 
• USD has made four consecutive trips to the FCS Playoffs and twice advanced to the second round. The Toreros are the only non-scholarship program in FCS history to earn wins in the postseason tournament.
 
COACH LINDSEY BEGINS EIGHTH SEASON
• Head coach Dale Lindsey enters his eighth season at the helm of USD. The three-time PFL Coach of the Year and four-time national coach of the year finalist has 67 wins in his head coaching career as well as a 57-4 record in conference play.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS
DJ Wright (OL) and Kyle Bilchik (LB) were selected as the team captains for 2020-21.
 
UNIQUE SPRING
• The spring 2021 season marks the 28th year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The league will feature seven league members and Presbyterian, which joins the PFL as part of a scheduling agreement for the spring 2021 schedule, each playing three home and three away contests. Individual members may schedule nonconference games prior to the league's March 13-April 17 window.
 
• The Division I Football Championship will feature 16 teams, with the bracket announced Sunday, April 18, and the championship game, May 16 in Frisco, Texas. The spring 2021 field includes automatic bids from 11 FCS conferences, including the PFL, and five at-large selections.