San Diego (2-3, 1-1 PFL)   at   Butler (4-1, 1-0 PFL)
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026  •  10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET)  •  Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl  •  Indianapolis
Watch: ESPN+   |   Listen: USDToreros.com  (Jack Cronin)  |   Social: @USDFootball

LAST TIME OUT: SAN DIEGO 63, DAVIDSON 14

• San Diego forced turnovers on four of Davidson's first five possessions and rolled to a 63-14 win in its PFL home opener on Oct. 3 at Torero Stadium, where it was 94 degrees at kickoff.
• The Toreros led 28-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. Interceptions by Ruben Lopez and CJ Castille and a fumble forced by Mason Charles and recovered by Ezekiel Swayne each set up a touchdown. With Castille's fourth-quarter pick-six, San Diego scored 28 points off turnovers — its first points off takeaways this season.
• Dom Nankil completed 24 of 33 passes for 321 yards and a season-high four touchdowns without an interception — three to Cole Monach, who caught eight balls for 124 yards, and a 35-yarder to Christopher Hall on third-and-19 for the game's first score. Elijah Taylor added eight catches for 114 yards, his second straight 100-yard game.
• The 63 points, 529 total yards and 7.9 yards per play were all season highs, and San Diego did not turn the ball over. Adam Criter ran for 75 yards and scored from 13 and 25 yards out, Omar Mbakwe added a 1-yard score after a 28-yard burst, and Zamar Reese's 26-yard run with 1:03 left capped an 11-play drive led by backup quarterback CJ Ceron.
• Davidson finished with 210 total yards and 27 rushing yards on 24 carries, both the fewest by a Torero opponent this season. Castille picked off two passes, returning the second 42 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown, and was named PFL Defensive Player of the Week. Lopez made a team-high eight tackles, and Joe Bolder had a sack among his two tackles for loss.
• Major Givens' 51-yard kickoff return set up Monach's third touchdown two plays later, and Emiliano Salazar went 9-for-9 on extra points and averaged 44.7 yards on three punts. San Diego won time of possession for the fifth straight game, 30:09 to 29:51.

TAKEAWAYS ARE BACK

• San Diego's five takeaways against Davidson — four interceptions and a fumble recovery — were more than it had in its first four games combined (three). The Toreros are now plus-one in turnover margin, with eight takeaways and seven giveaways.
• CJ Castille's 42-yard interception return was the Toreros' first defensive touchdown of 2026. Castille and Ruben Lopez have two interceptions apiece, and Ezekiel Swayne had an interception and a fumble recovery against Davidson.
• On the other side of the ledger, San Diego has not lost a fumble since the season opener and played turnover-free against Davidson.
• Something has to give Saturday: Butler has not lost a fumble or thrown an interception in five games.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BUTLER

• Saturday is the 29th meeting between the programs, and San Diego leads the all-time series 22-6, including 8-4 in Indianapolis.
• The Toreros have won 17 of the last 19 meetings dating to 2002, a stretch that includes a nine-game winning streak from 2010-21. Butler's most recent win in the series was 26-23 at Torero Stadium on Nov. 5, 2022.
• San Diego won last year's meeting 29-7 at Torero Stadium on Nov. 15, scoring 23 fourth-quarter points after trailing 7-6 through three quarters. Cole Monach caught four passes for 119 yards, Adam Criter ran for a touchdown, Emiliano Salazar kicked field goals of 35 and 32 yards, and Cayden Gibson made eight tackles.
• The Toreros have won their last four trips to Indianapolis — 27-21 in 2014, 44-10 in 2016, 42-13 in 2018 and 52-21 on Oct. 9, 2021 — and Butler's last home win in the series came 25-24 on Oct. 3, 2009.

AROUND THE PFL

• Butler (1-0), Drake (2-0) and Marist (2-0) are the only PFL teams without a league loss. San Diego is one of four teams at 1-1, along with St. Thomas, Presbyterian and Valparaiso.
• St. Thomas, which beat the Toreros 50-17 on Sept. 26, fell 55-21 at Presbyterian last week. Drake beat Dayton 30-22, and Marist won 28-14 at Stetson.
• Butler opened league play with a 33-28 win at Valparaiso on Sept. 26 and is coming off a bye. The Bulldogs are 4-1 overall, with their lone loss at then-No. 1 Montana State on Sept. 5.
• San Diego is 12-4 in PFL play over the last two seasons and has finished second in the league both years.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

• San Diego faced two ranked nonconference opponents — UC Davis, No. 6 in the AFCA coaches poll at the time, and Idaho State, No. 24 — and won the third, at Cal Poly, on Emiliano Salazar's last-second field goal.
• UC Davis is No. 11 and Idaho State is No. 17 in the latest AFCA coaches poll (Oct. 5).

BACK ON THE ROAD

• Saturday is San Diego's fourth road game in six weeks and its first in the Eastern time zone this season. The Toreros are 1-2 on the road, with a win at Cal Poly and losses at Idaho State and St. Thomas.
• The 10 a.m. PT kickoff — 1 p.m. in Indianapolis — is the Toreros' earliest of the season so far. Butler hosts San Diego on its Family Weekend.
• San Diego returns to Torero Stadium to host Valparaiso for homecoming on Oct. 17, the first of three home games in its final five.

BALL CONTROL

• San Diego has won time of possession in all five games, averaging 33:00 a game, and has run 365 offensive plays to its opponents' 303.
• The Toreros are averaging 181.8 rushing yards on 4.8 per carry, and five players have combined for 11 rushing touchdowns: Adam Criter, Omar Mbakwe and Dom Nankil three apiece, and CJ Ceron and Zamar Reese one each. Criter's 55-yarder at Cal Poly and Ceron's 53-yarder at Idaho State remain the Toreros' two longest runs of the season.
• Criter leads USD with 426 rushing yards (85.2 per game) through five games, Mbakwe has 208, Ceron has 114 on just nine carries — a 12.7-yard average — and Reese has 93 at 6.6 per carry.
• Butler also leans on the run: the Bulldogs average 228.8 rushing yards and 34:30 of possession a game.

SALAZAR'S PAT STREAK REACHES 60

• Emiliano Salazar has made all 60 extra points he has attempted in his career — 40-for-40 in 2025 and 20-for-20 this season, including a 9-for-9 afternoon against Davidson.
• His 32 points rank second on the team behind Cole Monach's 36. He is 4-for-6 on field goals this season with a long of 38 — both misses came against Davidson — and 19-for-24 for his career.
• The junior also handles punts and kickoffs: he is averaging 40.2 yards on 26 punts with nine inside the 20, six of 50 yards or longer and one touchback, and his kickoffs average 52.9 yards with six touchbacks, four of them against Davidson.
• 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.

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 five-game winning streak, outscoring Davidson, Dayton, Valparaiso, Butler and Stetson by a combined 185-83.
• 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
• Touchdown passes: 4 — Dom Nankil vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• 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)
• Touchdown catches: 3 — Cole Monach vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Longest reception: 35 — Cole Monach at St. Thomas (Sept. 26), and Elijah Taylor and Christopher Hall vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Tackles: 8 — Tim Hays vs. UC Davis (Sept. 5), Jack Munro at Cal Poly (Sept. 19) and Ruben Lopez at St. Thomas (Sept. 26) and vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Tackles for loss: 2 — River Abenroth at St. Thomas (Sept. 26) and Joe Bolder vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Interceptions: 2 — CJ Castille vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Longest kickoff return: 51 — Major Givens vs. Davidson (Oct. 3)
• Longest field goal: 38 — Emiliano Salazar at Cal Poly (Sept. 19)
• Longest punt: 55 — Emiliano Salazar at Idaho State (Sept. 12)
• Team: 63 points, 529 total yards and 7.9 yards per play vs. Davidson (Oct. 3); 263 rushing yards at Cal Poly (Sept. 19)

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	W, 63-14	ESPN+
Oct. 10	at Butler	10 a.m.	ESPN+
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 105 of 166 passes (63.3%) for 1,210 yards and eight touchdowns through five games, has run for three scores, and his 1,268 yards of total offense (253.6 per game) lead San Diego by more than 800.
• Threw for 321 yards and a season-high four touchdowns on 24-of-33 passing with no interceptions against Davidson, a week after setting season highs with 29 completions, 50 attempts and 354 yards at St. Thomas.

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.
• Has completed 371 of 599 career passes for 4,313 yards and 26 touchdowns.

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

• Leads San Diego with 87 carries, 426 rushing yards (85.2 per game) and 453 all-purpose yards through five games, and his three rushing touchdowns share the team lead.
• Scored on runs of 13 and 25 yards against Davidson, finishing with 75 yards on 11 carries. Ran 28 times for a season-high 179 yards at Cal Poly, including a 55-yard touchdown that remains the longest run by a Torero this season.

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 374 receiving yards, six touchdown catches (of the team's eight) and 36 points, and shares the team lead with 29 receptions through five games.
• Caught eight passes for 124 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, from 28, 22 and 34 yards, against Davidson. He had eight catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns 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 118 career receptions for 1,631 yards and 15 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-6 on field goals, with makes from 30, 34, 37 and 38 yards, and 20-for-20 on extra points through five games. His 32 points rank second on the team.
• Averaging 40.2 yards on 26 punts with nine inside the 20, six of 50 yards or longer and one touchback, including a season-long 55-yarder at No. 24 Idaho State. Also handling kickoffs at 52.9 yards per boot, with six touchbacks.

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.
• Is 60-for-60 on extra points in his career.

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

• Has 27 tackles — a team-high 21 of them solo — with two tackles for loss, two interceptions and three pass breakups through five games.
• Led San Diego in tackles for the second straight week with eight against Davidson and intercepted a pass on the Wildcats' second snap, setting up a touchdown three plays later. Also made an end-zone interception against No. 6 UC Davis and stopped Cal Poly quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to protect a 35-28 fourth-quarter lead in the 38-35 win.

Career

• Entered 2026 tied for fourth in program history with 11 career interceptions and has 13 after picks against UC Davis and Davidson.
• 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.

#20  CJ Castille   CB  •  Sophomore  •  5-11  •  180  •  Eastvale, Calif.  •  Centennial HS
2026

• PFL Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 4 after intercepting two passes against Davidson — the first two of his career — and returning the second 42 yards for a touchdown, San Diego's first defensive score of the season.
• His first pick, on the opening play of the second quarter, set up Cole Monach's 28-yard touchdown catch two plays later. Has three tackles in four games this season.

Career

• Appeared in 11 games as a freshman in 2025.

Before San Diego

• Was his league's Defensive MVP at Centennial High, where he made more than 150 tackles with two interceptions, a pick-six and more than 20 pass breakups. Also ran track, with bests of 11.1 in the 100 meters and 22.2 in the 200.

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

• Has played in four of San Diego's five games, including starts at LEO at Cal Poly and against Davidson, and has five 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 4.5 tackles for loss and has nine tackles through five games, including two stops behind the line at St. Thomas and one against Davidson. 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 nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss through five games, including a tackle for loss at St. Thomas. Against Davidson he and Glenn Baranoski pressured the quarterback on CJ Castille's 42-yard interception return for a touchdown.

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 five 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 29 catches — tied with Cole Monach for the team lead — for 352 yards and a touchdown through five games.
• Has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games: a season-high 10 catches for 144 yards at St. Thomas — the first 100-yard game by a Torero in 2026 — and eight for 114 against Davidson.
• 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 15 tackles through five 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 30 tackles through five games, topping the team in each of the first two — eight against No. 6 UC Davis and seven at No. 24 Idaho State — and adding seven against Davidson.
• 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 and broke up a fourth-quarter pass against Davidson.
• 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.