Davidson (2-3, 0-1 PFL)   at   San Diego (1-3, 0-1 PFL)
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026  •  1 p.m. PT  •  Torero Stadium  •  San Diego, Calif.  •  Military Appreciation Game
Watch: ESPN+   |   Listen: USDToreros.com  (Jack Cronin & George Whitfield Jr.)  |   Social: @USDFootball

LAST TIME OUT: ST. THOMAS 50, SAN DIEGO 17

• St. Thomas rushed for 304 yards at 9.2 a carry and pulled away from San Diego 50-17 in the rain on Sept. 26 in St. Paul, the PFL opener for both teams.
• The Tommies built a 36-7 halftime lead on touchdowns of 75, 57, 25 and 38 yards, and five of their seven scores on the day covered 17 yards or more.
• Dom Nankil threw for a season-high 354 yards on 29-of-50 passing, with the completions and attempts also season highs, and Elijah Taylor caught 10 balls for 144 yards and a 31-yard touchdown — the catches and yards both season bests and the first 100-yard receiving game by a Torero in 2026.
• Down 29 at the break, San Diego took the third quarter 10-7. Nankil capped an eight-play, 75-yard drive to open the half with a 16-yard touchdown run, and Emiliano Salazar's 30-yard field goal finished a nine-play, 53-yard march midway through the period.
• The Toreros won the volume battle — 25 first downs to 22, 82 plays to 54 and 33:04 of possession — but St. Thomas averaged 10.3 yards a snap to San Diego's 5.2 and finished with a 554-429 edge in total offense.
• Ruben Lopez paced the defense with eight tackles, a tackle for loss and two pass breakups, and River Abenroth got into the backfield twice. San Diego's lone giveaway was the pick-six — the Toreros have not lost a fumble since the opener.

SALAZAR STILL PERFECT

• Emiliano Salazar has not missed in 2026 — 4-for-4 on field goals between 30 and 38 yards and 11-for-11 on extra points — and his 23 points lead the team.
• He has converted 51 consecutive extra points dating to the start of the 2025 season, when he went a perfect 40-for-40, and is 19-of-22 on field goals over the same stretch.
• The junior also handles punts and kickoffs: he is averaging 39.7 yards on 23 punts with nine inside the 20, five of 50 yards or longer and no touchbacks, plus 53.6 yards per kickoff.
• A Preseason All-PFL pick at both placekicker and punter — the only player in the league selected twice — Salazar owns two game-winning field goals in the final seconds as a Torero, including this season's 38-yarder at Cal Poly that made him PFL Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 20.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. DAVIDSON

• Saturday is the 22nd meeting between the programs, and San Diego leads the all-time series 16-5 after taking the last two: 40-13 at Torero Stadium on Nov. 2, 2024, and 40-28 at Davidson last Oct. 25.
• In last year's win in North Carolina, Dom Nankil completed 25 of 36 passes for a season-high 288 yards and two touchdowns, both to Cole Monach, who caught six balls for 113 yards, and Adam Criter ran for two scores.
• The Toreros won 13 of the first 15 meetings from 2000-19, including nine straight from 2010-19, before Davidson took three of four from 2021-23 — among them a 31-25 win in the spring of 2021 that snapped San Diego's 39-game PFL winning streak.
• San Diego is 7-3 against the Wildcats at Torero Stadium and 9-2 in Davidson. The last time the teams met in San Diego, the Toreros scored 30 second-quarter points — highlighted by Jerry Riggins' 73-yard fumble return for a touchdown — in the 40-13 win on Nov. 2, 2024.

AROUND THE PFL

• San Diego and Davidson both dropped their league openers and are among four PFL teams starting 0-1. Butler, St. Thomas, Marist and Drake each won in Week 1, with the Bulldogs beating the Wildcats 51-32 in Davidson.
• San Diego is 12-4 in PFL play over the last two seasons and has finished second in the league both years.
• The rest of the schedule is all league play: after Saturday, the Toreros visit Butler on Oct. 10 before returning home to face Valparaiso on Oct. 17.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• Both of San Diego's ranked nonconference opponents were in the AFCA coaches poll when the Toreros played them — UC Davis at No. 6 and Idaho State at No. 24 — and the lone nonconference win came on the final play at Cal Poly.
• UC Davis is currently ranked No. 15 with Idaho State coming in at No. 14 in the latest AFCA coaches poll (Sept. 28).

BACK AT TORERO STADIUM

• Saturday is San Diego's first game at Torero Stadium since the Sept. 5 opener against UC Davis, ending a four-week stretch that ran through Pocatello, San Luis Obispo and St. Paul. Four of the Toreros' final seven games are at home.
• Davidson makes its first trip outside North Carolina this season — the Wildcats' first five games were all played at Davidson College Stadium.

BALL CONTROL

• San Diego has won time of possession in all four games and is holding the ball for 33:43 a night — including a 33:04 edge at St. Thomas — while running 298 offensive plays to its opponents' 230.
• The Toreros are averaging 179.8 rushing yards on 4.6 per carry through four games, and four players have run for a touchdown: Dom Nankil three times, Omar Mbakwe twice, and Adam Criter and CJ Ceron once apiece. Criter's 55-yarder at Cal Poly and Ceron's 53-yarder at Idaho State remain the two longest runs of the season.
• Criter leads USD with 351 rushing yards (87.8 per game) through four games, Mbakwe has 148 and two of the team's seven rushing touchdowns, and Ceron has 99 on just six carries — a 16.5-yard average.

PICKED FIRST IN THE PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

• San Diego was picked to win the PFL for a second straight year, edging three-time defending champion Drake 90-88 in the preseason coaches poll, with St. Thomas third at 87.
• The Toreros placed a league-best nine players on the Preseason All-PFL Team, filling 10 of the 31 spots, with Emiliano Salazar the only player selected at two positions.

2025 IN REVIEW

• San Diego went 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the PFL, finishing second in the league for a second straight season.
• The Toreros closed on a four-game winning streak, outscoring Dayton, Valparaiso, Butler and Stetson by a combined 145-55.
• The fourth quarter belonged to San Diego. The Toreros scored 137 of their 341 points in the final period — more than they managed in the first and third quarters combined (98) — and outscored opponents 137-72 after three.
• San Diego turned takeaways into points better than anyone it played, scoring 64 points off turnovers against seven the other way, and finished plus-12 in turnover margin with 18 takeaways to six giveaways.

2026 SEASON HIGHS

• Passing yards: 354 — Dom Nankil at St. Thomas (Sept. 26), where his 29 completions and 50 attempts were also season highs
• Rushing yards: 179 — Adam Criter at Cal Poly (Sept. 19)
• Longest run: 55 — Adam Criter at Cal Poly (Sept. 19)
• Receptions: 10 — Elijah Taylor at St. Thomas (Sept. 26)
• Receiving yards: 144 — Elijah Taylor at St. Thomas (Sept. 26)
• Longest reception: 35 — Cole Monach at St. Thomas (Sept. 26)
• Tackles: 8 — Tim Hays vs. UC Davis (Sept. 5), Jack Munro at Cal Poly (Sept. 19) and Ruben Lopez at St. Thomas (Sept. 26)
• Tackles for loss: 2 — River Abenroth at St. Thomas (Sept. 26)
• Longest field goal: 38 — Emiliano Salazar at Cal Poly (Sept. 19)
• Longest punt: 55 — Emiliano Salazar at Idaho State (Sept. 12)

2026 SCHEDULE

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT / TIME (PT)	TV
Sept. 5	UC Davis	L, 17-49	ESPN+
Sept. 12	at Idaho State	L, 17-59	ESPN+
Sept. 19	at Cal Poly	W, 38-35	ESPN+
Sept. 26	at St. Thomas	L, 17-50	Midco Sports Plus / FOX9+
Oct. 3	Davidson	1 p.m.	ESPN+
Oct. 10	at Butler	10 a.m.	TBA
Oct. 17	Valparaiso	1 p.m.	ESPN+
Oct. 24	at Dayton	9 a.m.	TBA
Oct. 31	Marist	1 p.m.	ESPN+
Nov. 7	at Drake	10 a.m.	TBA
Nov. 21	Stetson	5 p.m.	ESPN+

PLAYERS TO WATCH
#9  Dom Nankil   QB  •  Senior  •  6-0  •  175  •  Chula Vista, Calif.  •  Mater Dei Catholic HS
2026

• Has completed 81 of 133 passes (60.9%) for 889 yards and four touchdowns through four games, has run for a team-high three scores, and his 939 yards of total offense (234.8 per game) lead San Diego by more than 550.
• Set season highs with 29 completions, 50 attempts and 354 passing yards at St. Thomas and added a 16-yard touchdown run, a week after completing 25 of 30 for 236 yards and two scores — plus a 1-yard scoring run — in the 38-35 win at Cal Poly.

Career

• A Jerry Rice Award finalist as a freshman in 2023, finishing 15th in the voting after throwing for 1,158 yards and five touchdowns in eight games.
• Entered 2026 ninth in program history with 452 career pass attempts and has 585 through four games.

#4  Adam Criter   RB  •  Graduate  •  6-3  •  205  •  Downers Grove, Ill.  •  St. Francis HS
2026

• Leads San Diego with 76 carries, 351 rushing yards (87.8 per game) and 375 all-purpose yards through four games.
• Ran 28 times for a career-high 179 yards at Cal Poly, including a 55-yard touchdown that remains the longest run by a Torero this season, after 61 yards on 16 carries at No. 24 Idaho State and a 31-yard run that sparked the first touchdown drive against No. 6 UC Davis.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL First Team in 2026.

#17  Cole Monach   WR  •  Graduate  •  6-1  •  185  •  San Juan Capistrano, Calif.  •  San Juan Hills HS
2026

• Leads San Diego with 250 receiving yards and three of its four touchdown catches, and shares the team lead with 21 receptions through four games — highlighted by eight catches for 87 yards and scores of 7 and 22 yards in the 38-35 win at Cal Poly.
• Also the holder on Emiliano Salazar's placekicks, including the game-winner at Cal Poly.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL Second Team in 2026.
• Has 105 career receptions for 1,439 yards and 12 touchdowns, including 29 catches for 362 yards and three scores in 2024 and 55 for 822 and six in 2025.

#41  Emiliano Salazar   K/P  •  Junior  •  6-1  •  170  •  Orange, Calif.  •  Villa Park HS
2026

• PFL Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 20 after his 38-yard field goal with 2 seconds left won at Cal Poly, 38-35.
• Is 4-for-4 on field goals (30, 34, 37 and 38 yards) and 11-for-11 on extra points through four games, and his 23 points lead the team.
• Averaging 39.7 yards on 23 punts with nine inside the 20, five of 50 yards or longer and no touchbacks, including a season-long 55-yarder at No. 24 Idaho State. Also handling kickoffs at 53.6 yards per boot.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL selection at both placekicker and punter in 2026, the only player in the league chosen twice.
• Has two game-winning field goals in the final seconds as a Torero: a 25-yarder as time expired to beat St. Thomas 30-27 on Sept. 27, 2025, and the 38-yarder at Cal Poly on Sept. 19.

 
#6  Ruben Lopez   FS  •  Graduate  •  6-0  •  180  •  Mission Viejo, Calif.  •  Mission Viejo HS
2026

• Has 19 tackles — a team-high 15 of them solo — with a tackle for loss, an interception and three pass breakups through four games, and led San Diego with eight stops at St. Thomas. Made the Toreros' only interception of the season in the end zone against No. 6 UC Davis, then stopped Cal Poly quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to protect a tie in the 38-35 win.

Career

• Entered 2026 tied for fourth in program history with 11 career interceptions; the pick against UC Davis was his 12th.
• All-PFL Second Team in 2024 and PFL Co-Defensive Player of the Week that Oct. 6, after an 87-yard walk-off fumble return for a touchdown in overtime against Presbyterian.
• Preseason All-PFL Second Team in 2026.

#49  Cayden Gibson   OLB  •  Junior  •  6-2  •  220  •  Chandler, Ariz.  •  Arizona College Prep
2026

• Has played in three of San Diego's four games, starting at LEO at Cal Poly, and has four tackles.

Before San Diego

• Piled up 285 tackles, 61 tackles for loss and 50 sacks at Arizona College Prep, with three blocked punts as a senior.
• A two-time all-region defensive player of the year and four-time Arizona all-state honoree who also wrestled, placing second in the state as a senior.

#96  River Abenroth   DT  •  Junior  •  6-2  •  270  •  San Diego, Calif.  •  Point Loma HS
2026

• Leads San Diego with 3.5 tackles for loss and has seven tackles through four games, including two stops behind the line at St. Thomas. At Cal Poly he shared a tackle for loss with Jae'Von Reels on the Mustangs' opening series.

Career

• A 2026 Preseason All-PFL selection, one of two Toreros among the league's five preseason defensive linemen.
• A San Diego native who played at Point Loma High, roughly 10 minutes from campus.

#76  Sean Scheck   DT  •  Senior  •  6-3  •  260  •  Batavia, Ill.  •  Marmion Academy
2026

• Has seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss through four games, including a tackle for loss at St. Thomas.

Career

• A 2026 Preseason All-PFL selection.
• Earned four all-conference honors at Marmion Academy, two in football and two in wrestling, and was an all-state wrestler.

#95  Jae'Von Reels   NT  •  Senior  •  6-1  •  280  •  San Jose, Calif.  •  Bellarmine College Prep
2026

• Has eight tackles and half a tackle for loss through four games, five of the tackles at Cal Poly, where he stuffed Jaden Green for no gain on third-and-goal from the 1 a play before Ruben Lopez's fourth-down stop.

Career

• W-Cal Defensive Lineman of the Year at Bellarmine College Prep in 2023.

NEW FACES

• San Diego brought in 10 transfers for 2026: Doug Williams (Stetson/Glendale CC), Elijah Taylor (Northern Arizona), Nolan Story (Moorpark College), Alex Whitman (Notre Dame), Robert Tucker III (Cornell), Michael Roni (San Diego State), Tim Hays (Boston College), Jake Arellano (Bentley), Mansfield Owsley (Georgetown) and Jack Hinchey (Modesto JC).
• Four are on the two-deep — Taylor and Hays as starters, Story and Williams on the second unit — and all four played in the opener, along with Robert Tucker III.

#3  Elijah Taylor   WR  •  Graduate  •  6-0  •  190  •  Phoenix, Ariz.  •  Higley HS  •  Northern Arizona
 

• Started his Torero debut at wide receiver against No. 6 UC Davis and has 21 catches — sharing the team lead with Cole Monach — for 238 yards and a touchdown through four games. His 10 receptions for 144 yards at St. Thomas were both season highs and the first 100-yard receiving game by a Torero in 2026.
• Spent five seasons at Northern Arizona, playing 11 games in 2025 largely on special teams with three special teams tackles and two catches for 28 yards.
• His most productive year came in 2022: 20 receptions for 198 yards in 10 games, including a season-high six catches for 57 yards against Montana State and his first career rushing touchdown at Idaho State.
• Made seven starts in 2023 and averaged 21.8 yards on four catches, among them a 60-yard reception against Sacramento State.
• Recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown against Lincoln in 2024.
• Big Sky All-Academic in 2025. Pursuing a graduate degree in educational leadership.

#5  Nolan Story   OLB  •  Sophomore  •  6-0  •  210  •  Thousand Oaks, Calif.  •  Newbury Park HS  •  Moorpark College
 

• Has 13 tackles through four games as the second-team STAR, six of them in his Torero debut against No. 6 UC Davis.
• Put up 199 tackles in 19 games across two seasons at Moorpark College — 10.5 per game — with 17.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles, six interceptions and two sacks.
• Junior College Gridiron All-American First Team and National Northern All-Conference First Team in both 2024 and 2025.
• Moorpark's defensive MVP in 2024, then team captain and team MVP in 2025.
• Unanimous Southern California Football Association Defensive Utility Player of the Year and an All-California Community College First Team Defense pick in 2025. Named MVP of the 2025 Patriotic Bowl.
• A First Team All-Canyon League linebacker and First Team All-Ventura County running back as a senior at Newbury Park.

#42  Tim Hays   OLB  •  Graduate  •  6-1  •  227  •  Concord, Mass.  •  Carlisle HS  •  Boston College
 

• Started at WILL in his Torero debut and leads San Diego with 23 tackles through four games, topping the team in each of the first two — eight against No. 6 UC Davis and seven at No. 24 Idaho State — before adding four apiece at Cal Poly and St. Thomas.
• Played 12 games at Boston College over three seasons, at linebacker and on special teams, recording tackles against Notre Dame and Georgia Tech.
• ACC All-Academic Team in 2025. Graduated magna cum laude with a degree in finance and computer science.
• Majoring in applied artificial intelligence at USD.
• His cousin, Garrett Reilly, punted at Boston College in 2018.

#2  Doug Williams   CB  •  Junior  •  5-9  •  180  •  Hollywood Hills, Calif.  •  Heritage Christian  •  Stetson / Glendale CC
 

• Second-team left cornerback who made his Torero debut against No. 6 UC Davis.
• Arrives by way of Stetson — the PFL opponent San Diego closes the regular season against on Nov. 21 — and Glendale Community College.
• Named Community College Student Athlete of the Year at Glendale, where he carried the highest grade-point average of any athlete on campus.
• Recorded 50 tackles at Heritage Christian with six pass breakups, five tackles for loss, an interception, a forced fumble and a blocked punt, earning First and Second Team All-Conference honors.
• A first-generation college athlete. Both of his parents work in entertainment — his father as an actor and comedian, his mother as an actress — and his younger brother, Adan, plays cornerback at Glendale.