SAN DIEGO — Coming off four straight wins, San Diego football will look to carry its momentum back on the road, taking on the Stetson Hatters on Saturday for their final game of the 2025 season.
Kick-off at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium is set for 10 a.m. PST, while the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Jack Cronin will have the call over the radio waves on USDToreros.com.
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST THE HATTERS
• Since the two teams' first matchup in the 2013 season, the Toreros have not lost to the Hatters, boasting a perfect 11-0 overall record … The last matchup between the two schools came last season when San Diego hosted Stetson on Nov. 16, 2024, taking down the Hatters by a 45-6 margin at Torero Stadium for senior day.
• USD last traveled to Stetson to take on the Hatters at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium two seasons ago on Nov. 18, 2023, and defeated Stetson 47-20.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS FOR THE TOREROS
• A Pioneer Football League co-championship is still on the table for the Toreros, needing a win over Stetson, and a Drake loss to Morehead State ... Drake and MSU face off at the same time as USD and Stetson, 10 a.m. PST.
• There are two scenarios at play that involve a potential PFL CO-Championship for the Toreros, but neither would result in automatic qualification to the FCS Playoffs, due to Drake holding the head-to-head matchup tiebreaker.
1. Drake and San Diego would share the title, tying at 6-2 in conference play IF... San Diego defeats Stetson, Drake is defeated by Morehead State, and Presbyterian is defeated by Marist.
2. Drake, Presbyterian and San Diego would all share the PFL title at 6-2 IF... San Diego defeats Stetson, Drake is defeated by Morehead State, and Presbyterian wins against Marist.
LAST TIME OUT
- San Diego sent off its 25 seniors in style on Saturday afternoon, defeating Butler by a commanding 29-7 margin at Torero stadium on Senior day for its final home game of the 2025 season.
- After finding themselves down 7-6 in a mud fight in the fourth quarter, the Toreros scored 23 unanswered points in the last 11 minutes of the game. Seniors Josh Heverly, Cole Monach, Matt Colombo, and Adam Criter led the way for USD, scoring three touchdowns and combining for 380 yards of total offense between the four.
- With just over two minutes left to go until the end of the first quarter, Colombo had an explosive 43-yard run to set up the Toreros in the red zone, where sophomore kicker Emiliano Salazar scored the first points of the game, a 35-yard field goal to make it 3-0 heading into halftime.
- A clutch fourth down stop from the Torero defense in the third quarter set the stage for a 46-yard strike from Dom Nankil to Heverly, putting Salazar in position for his second field goal of the game, this time a 32-yarder to make it 6-0 with 4:39 left in the game.
- Butler scored a 10-yard touchdown to make it 7-6 heading into the final quarter.
- The San Diego defense forced a Butler punt with 10:58 in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs long snapper sailed it over the punter's head and into the endzone as the punter dove on it, giving USD an 8-7 lead with two points and the football.
- Colombo and Monach single-handedly drove the ball 58 yards down the field on the ensuing drive (on both of their senior days), with Monach hauling in back-to-back chunk plays to allow Colombo to claim the eight yard rushing touchdown, giving San Diego the lead back at 15-7 with eight minutes to play.
- Heverly captured a 43-yard touchdown pass from Nankil to add another touchdown with 6:35 to go, making it 22-7 in favor of the Toreros.
- Criter put the icing on the cake with a four-yard touchdown rush to make it 29-7 with 30 seconds left on the clock, his 11th score of the season.
NOTABLE VS. THE BULLDOGS
- The San Diego defense allowed no points in the first half, the lowest since it played Southern Utah earlier in the season (also allowed zero first half points).
- The Torero Defense held the visiting Bulldogs to a 1-for-5 conversion rate on fourth down.
- Sophomore linebacker Nate Fischer led the San Diego defense with nine total tackles (seven solo), one interception and one forced fumble.
- Monach recorded a season-high 119 receiving yards on four receptions (29.8 yards-per-reception).
TOREROS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The San Diego offense has had just two passes intercepted all season, which leads the country as the fewest.
• The Toreros are second in the country in least total turnovers lost with five, trailing only Villanova (four), and tied with William & Mary.
• The San Diego rushing defense is currently ranked eighth nationally, and ranks first in the PFL.
• Individually, senior safety Ruben Lopez ranks tied for second nationally with four interceptions on the season ... Senior linebacker Tre Moore ranks tied for third nationally and tied for first in the conference with three forced fumbles in 11 games.
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