SAN DIEGO —  USD Football will kick off the 2025 season with a home contest against the Cal Poly Mustangs with kick off inside Torero Stadium set for 5 p.m.

The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with The Voice of the Toreros Jack Cronin (play-by-play) on the call alongside Braden Surprenant (analyst). Live statistics will be available on USDToreros.com.

ALL TIME SERIES AGAINST CAL POLY

•  The Toreros are 2-8 all-time against Cal Poly, however having topped the Mustangs 27-21 in last year's season opener on Aug. 31, 2024 in front of a sold-out Torero Stadium crowd

2024 IN REVIEW

• The Toreros returned to winning ways in Head Coach Brandon Moore's second year at the helm, finishing with an 8-3 overall record, 6-0 at home, and 6-2 in conference action.

• It was the first time with six home wins in the same season since going a perfect 6-0 across the 2015 season and the first time USD had won six straight at home since winning the last four at home in 2021 and first two of the 2022 season.

• USD finished alone in second in the Pioneer Football League, falling just behind Drake (7-1), who clinched the PFL outright title and a spot in the FCS playoffs ... The Bulldogs topped USD 30-28 on a walk-off field goal on Sept. 28 in Des Moines, Iowa, proving the difference for San Diego's postseason hopes. 

• Despite having two bye weeks and ten games played, the Toreros'  six total defensive touchdowns entered the season finale as the: 

          - Tied-most defensive touchdowns in FCS, and across all of DI (FCS/FBS)

          - Tied-most pick-sixes (4) in FCS

• In the Toreros' first 2-0 start in a non-shortened season in 13 years, Co-defensive coordinators Mike McGlinchey and Isaac Carter's unit has scored as many touchdowns as it had surrendered in the first two games in 2024; Two week one vs. Cal Poly and one week two vs. Central Washington

•   Toreros swept the PFL Offensive and Defensive player of the Year awards as defensive back Eric Haney and wide receiver Ja'Seem Reed were pinned as the conference's best ... Linebacker Giovanni Iovino was also picked as first team all-conference five Toreros on the second team and 11 USD players as All-PFL Honorable Mentions.

LAST TIME OUT AGAINST CAL POLY

• San Diego football recorded three interceptions, including two for touchdowns in a 27-21 victory against Cal Poly evening in front of a sold-out crowd of 5,792 at Torero Stadium

DOMINANT DEFENSE

• In the Torero victory over Cal Poly, the USD defense secured the win by hauling in a pair of pick sixes alongside an additional interception to score 14 of its 27 total points from the defensive side of the ball.

• Trey Sena-Ortega got the first pick-six from 38 yards out with 3:14 in the first quarter before Matt Ballentine recorded the other from 40 yards with 13:37 in the fourth quarter. Both defensive touchdowns gave USD respective 10-point leads.

• The other interception came from Eric Haney with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter to stop any momentum by the Mustangs (0-1, 0-0 Big Sky).

• Additionally, the Torero defense recorded 41 total tackles, including five tackles-for-losses combining for 24 yards, as well as four total pass breakups. 

A SIGNATURE VICTORY UNDER THE LIGHTS

• San Diego's thrilling victory over Cal Poly in the 2024 opener marked the third time since 2016 that it has defeated a scholarship opponent.

• It was also just the third night football game that USD has hosted since 2016 and the Toreros' first since 2022 when they defeated La Verne 58-0 in a kickoff that began at 6:00 p.m. ... This Saturday will be the not only the fourth night football game at Torero Stadium since 2016 but the first of two to start the season, also playing Southern Utah under the Torero Stadium lights on Saturday, Sept. 6

USD PICKED TO WIN PFL IN PRESEASON POLL

•  For the first time since 2019, San Diego football has been tabbed as the Pioneer Football League's preseason favorite in the league's 2025 Preseason Coaches Poll, released Monday, July 28. 

•  San Diego picked up five first-place votes and was not ranked lower than third by any of the league's head coaches to earn the poll's top spot with 94 points.

•  Drake, the 2024 PFL Champion, was first on three ballots and was picked in the top three on six ballots to earn second in the poll with 78 points. St. Thomas, with 72 points, including a first-place vote, was third with 72 points.

•  Butler, Dayton, and Morehead State were tightly packed in the next three spots. Butler was fourth with 66 points thanks to five votes in the top three. Dayton was a point behind in fifth place at 65 points. Morehead State nabbed a first-place vote and was sixth in the poll with 65 points for its best preseason positioning since 2022, when it was picked fifth. 

•  Presbyterian had one vote for each of the top three spots and edged out Davidson for the No. 7 position in the poll with 55 points. Davidson was eighth with 53 points. Marist, Valparaiso, and Stetson rounded out the PFL Preseason Coaches' Poll, ranked ninth, 10th, and 11th, respectively.

•  The poll reflects the vastly different landscape in the PFL entering the 2025 season with five programs helmed by new head coaches: Kevin Lynch at Butler, Saj Thakkar at Davidson, Joe Woodley at Drake, Mike Jasper at Stetson, and Andy Waddle at Valparaiso.

•  The upcoming 2025 season marks the 33rd year of the Pioneer Football League. The league will feature 11 teams, each playing an eight-game schedule to determine the league champion and recipient of the automatic bid to the NCAA FCS Championship. The 2025 schedule gets underway Thursday, August 28, with Dayton, Drake, and St. Thomas set to kick off on opening night. Marist opens its season on Friday, August 29, followed by the league's remaining seven teams on Saturday, August 30.

FIVE TOREROS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE

•  Five Toreros were named to the Pioneer Football League Preseason All-Conference Team: Evans Bowling, Malachi Cooper, Aydan Corrales, Ruben Lopez and Maicah Talavou

• Two USD offensive linemen make the cut, grad Evans Bowling, who was Second Team All-PFL in 2024, and senior Maicah Talavou, who was an honorable mention last season

•  On the defensive line, grad Malachi Cooper is honored as one of the best at his position in the league after earning second team honors in 2024 ... Senior defensive back and team captain Ruben Lopez was also picked after being a second-teamer last season

•  The Toreros are also represented on the special teams all-PFL list by junior Ayden Corrales who is picked as the leagues top punter to start the season ... he was an All-PFL honorable mention in 2025

KEY SAN DIEGO RETURNERS

Quarterback Dom Nankil: Appeared in eight games (seven starts) in 2023 as a true freshman, completing 109 of 183 pass attempts (58.6%) for 1158 total yards and five touchdowns. Averaged 144.75 yards per game, posted a 115.47 quarterback rating and threw four interceptions. Won the summer camp quarterback battle to earn the starting role.

Safety Ruben Lopez: Returns for fourth straight season in the USD secondary racking up a tied-for-team-high three interceptions, one sack, four tackles-for-losses, 34 total tackles, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in 2024. Co-captains the 2025 team.

Wide Receiver Josh Heverly: Started all 11 games in 2024, tallying 412 receiving yards (37.45 yards per game), and six receiving touchdowns.

Wide Receiver Cole Monach: Hauled in 29 receptions for 362 yards in 2024 with three touchdown receptions and an average of 32.91 yards per game. 

Running Back Matt Colombo:  Tallied 152 rushing yards on 36 carries across only four games in 2024, as he battled injury throughout the season. 

Defensive Line Malachi Cooper: Co-led the Toreros with 4.5 sacks for 16 yards, totaling nine tackles-for-loss (25 yards), and 36 total tackles. 

Defensive Line Brian Coburn: Co-led the Toreros with 4.5 sacks for 31 yards, totaling six tackles-for-loss (34 yards), 25 total tackles, and a forced fumble. Co-captains the 2025 team.

Safety Trey Sena-Ortega: Tallied a tied-for-team-high three interceptions in 2024 with a trio of tackle-for-losses, 37 total tackles, two pass break-ups, and a forced fumble. 

FROM USC TO USD

• Running back Matt Colombo has joined San Diego for the 2024 season as a graduate student after spending the first four years of his college career at the University of Southern California.

• Coloombo was limited in four games before ultimately sitting the rest of the season due to injury, accumulating 152 rushing yards on 26 carries (5.8 ypc) in 2024 and six receptions for 37 yards ... he rushed for 88 yards on 15 carries as the lead back in last season's opener against Cal Poly.

• He appeared in four games as a redshirt junior in 2023, totaling seven yards on one rushing attempt, and was named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll for the 2022-23 season.

• Colombo, who attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, has amassed a sizable audience on Instagram and TikTok, where he boasts 11.3 thousand and nearly 60 thousand followers respectively.