San Diego (0-0, 0-0 PFL)   vs.   No. 6 UC Davis (1-0)   * ranking according to the Stats Perform FCS Top 25
Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026  •  7 p.m. PT  •  Torero Stadium (6,000)  •  San Diego, Calif.
Watch: ESPN+ (Jack Cronin, George Whitfield Jr.)   |   Live Stats: USDToreros.com   |   Social: @USDFootball

PICKED FIRST IN THE PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

• San Diego was tapped as the PFL's preseason favorite for the second straight year in the league's 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll, released Monday.
• The Toreros drew five first-place votes and 90 points, edging three-time defending champion Drake, which matched them with five first-place votes and finished with 88. St. Thomas was third at 87 — three points off the top spot in the tightest top three the poll has produced.
• Dayton (69) and Butler (67) followed, 18 points adrift of the leading trio.
• San Diego opens league play Sept. 26 at St. Thomas.

LEAGUE-HIGH NINE ON THE PRESEASON ALL-PFL TEAM

• San Diego placed a league-best nine players on the 2026 Preseason All-PFL Team, filling 10 of the 31 spots. Dayton was next with seven; St. Thomas had four.
• Emiliano Salazar was chosen at both placekicker and punter — the only player in the league selected twice — and returns as the PFL's reigning Special Teams Player of the Year.
• Three Toreros return off the 2025 All-PFL First Team: running back Adam Criter, offensive lineman Maicah Talavou and Salazar. Wide receiver Cole Monach and defensive back Ruben Lopez return from the Second Team.
• River Abenroth and Sean Scheck are two of the five preseason defensive linemen, a group the coaches expanded from four because of a tie in the voting.
• Return specialist Yosei Takahashi and long snapper Carter Shupper round out the group, giving San Diego a selection at every phase of special teams.

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.
• USD beat No. 24 Southern Utah 30-27 in overtime at Torero Stadium on Sept. 6, the program's signature win of the year.
• 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.
• The defense recorded 37 sacks for 253 yards, against 21 for 132 by the opposition, and held opponents to 3.1 yards per carry.
• USD converted 34 of 38 red-zone trips (89%) and was perfect on extra points, 40-for-40.
• Nineteen Toreros earned All-PFL honors, six of them on the First Team, and three were named Academic All-PFL.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. UC DAVIS

• San Diego is 1-9 all-time against UC Davis — 1-3 in San Diego and 0-6 in Davis.
• The lone win came Nov. 22, 2008, a 28-20 decision at home in that year's season finale. The Toreros have dropped seven straight in the series since.
• Saturday will mark the teams' first meeting since 2022. USD and UCD did not play in 2023, 2024 or 2025.
• Two of San Diego's nine losses in the series have come by a field goal: 38-35 in 2019 and 49-46 in 2007.

 
ALL-TIME RESULTS – SAN DIEGO VERSUS UC DAVIS

2022	at Davis	L 13-43	2011	at Davis	L 3-31
2021	San Diego	L 7-53	2010	San Diego	L 24-38
2019	San Diego	L 35-38	2008	San Diego	W 28-20
2018	at Davis	L 21-54	2007	at Davis	L 46-49
2017	at Davis	L 7-35	2006	at Davis	L 27-37

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
#9  Dom Nankil   QB  •  Senior  •  6-0  •  175  •  Chula Vista, Calif.  •  Mater Dei Catholic HS
2025

• Started all 12 games and ranked fourth in the PFL in completions (157), attempts (246), passing yards (1,945) and touchdown passes (13), and third in passing efficiency (145.2).
• Completed 63.8% of his throws and was intercepted three times — tied for the fewest in the league and tied for the eighth-fewest in a single season in program history (minimum 100 attempts).
• Threw 147 passes before his first interception of the season, which did not come until Oct. 25 at Davidson.
• Season-high 288 passing yards in the 40-28 win at Davidson; completed 81% (13-of-16) at Princeton on Sept. 20.
• Ran for both of his rushing touchdowns against Southern Utah on Sept. 6.
• His 2,058 yards of total offense led the team by more than 1,100.

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.
• His 452 career pass attempts rank ninth in program history.

#4  Adam Criter   RB  •  Graduate  •  6-3  •  205  •  Downers Grove, Ill.  •  St. Francis HS
2025

• All-PFL First Team. Led the league in rushing attempts (180) and rushing touchdowns (12) and finished second in rushing yards (921) in his first season at the position after moving over from wide receiver.
• PFL Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21 and an Opta Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week honorable mention the following day.
• Four 100-yard rushing games, topped by 120 yards and a touchdown in the 30-27 win over St. Thomas on Sept. 27.
• Career-best 35 touches at Princeton on Sept. 20 — 25 carries for 105 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns, plus 10 catches for 68 yards in a 42-35 comeback.
• Added 23 receptions for 136 yards and led the team in all-purpose yards (1,129, 94.1 per game).
• His 79-yard run against Cal Poly on Aug. 30 was the longest by a Torero in 2025.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL First Team in 2026.
• His only appearance as a freshman in 2022 came against UC Davis on Sept. 17, when he was a wide receiver.

#17  Cole Monach   WR  •  Graduate  •  6-1  •  185  •  San Juan Capistrano, Calif.  •  San Juan Hills HS
2025

• All-PFL Second Team. Led USD in receptions (55), receiving yards (822) and receiving yards per game (68.5), and tied for the team lead with six touchdown catches.
• Ranked among the PFL's top 10 in seven receiving categories, including fourth in yards and third in yards per game.
• His 14.9 yards per catch led every Torero with at least 19 receptions.
• Four 100-yard games, headlined by 119 yards on four catches against Butler on Senior Day, Nov. 15.
• Scored in five straight games from Sept. 27 to Nov. 1 and caught at least three passes in eight of his final nine.
• His 73-yard catch against Drake on Oct. 11 was San Diego's longest reception of the season.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL Second Team in 2026.
• 89 receptions for 1,257 yards and nine touchdowns across three seasons, including 29 catches for 362 yards and three scores in 2024.

#41  Emiliano Salazar   K/P  •  Junior  •  6-1  •  170  •  Orange, Calif.  •  Villa Park HS
2025

• PFL Special Teams Player of the Year. All-PFL First Team as a punter and honorable mention as a placekicker.
• Led the league with 85 points and 40 extra points and tied for the league lead with 15 field goals in 18 attempts (83.3%).
• Perfect on extra points — 40-for-40.
• Made a season-long 47-yarder twice, against Drake on Oct. 11 and Dayton on Nov. 1, and hit three field goals in a game on three occasions.
• Averaged 44.8 yards on 37 punts, a single-season program record (minimum 15 punts), with a league-high 16 downed inside the 20 and 13 travelling 50 yards or more.
• FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 29; PFL Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 28 and Oct. 26.
• Handled kickoffs as well, averaging 61.9 yards on 65 attempts with 27 touchbacks.

Career

• Preseason All-PFL selection at both placekicker and punter in 2026, the only player in the league chosen twice.

 
#6  Ruben Lopez   FS  •  Graduate  •  6-0  •  180  •  Mission Viejo, Calif.  •  Mission Viejo HS
2025

• All-PFL Second Team and All-PFL Academic Second Team. A captain who played all 12 games in the heart of the defense.
• Recorded 53 tackles (37 solo), three tackles for loss and a sack.
• Tied for second in the PFL with five interceptions, returning them 50 yards, and added four pass breakups and a forced fumble.
• Intercepted a pass in three consecutive games from Oct. 25 to Nov. 8 and in four of his final five.
• Season-high seven tackles twice — at Montana State on Sept. 13 and at Stetson on Nov. 22.

Career

• His 11 career interceptions are tied for fourth in program history.
• 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
2025

• Played all 12 games and tied for seventh on the team with 41 tackles (24 solo), including 3.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks.
• Season-high eight tackles in the 29-7 win over Butler on Nov. 15.
• Forced a fumble and recorded an interception at Marist on Oct. 4, then forced another the following week against Drake.
• All 2.5 of his sacks came in a three-game stretch between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11.

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
2025

• All-PFL Honorable Mention. Appeared in all 12 games with 32 tackles (14 solo), five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
• Season-high six tackles against Butler on Nov. 15.
• Recorded at least half a tackle for loss in four consecutive games from Sept. 27 to Oct. 25.

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
2025

• All-PFL Honorable Mention. Recorded 20 tackles in 10 games with six tackles for loss and five sacks, second on the team in both.
• Season-high 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in the 31-13 win over Dayton on Nov. 1 — the best single-game sack total by a Torero in 2025.
• Got to the quarterback in back-to-back games at Princeton (Sept. 20) and against St. Thomas (Sept. 27).

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
2025

• Played nine games with 10 tackles and a tackle for loss.
• Recorded half a tackle for loss against St. Thomas on Sept. 27 and again at Davidson on Oct. 25.

2024

• All-PFL Honorable Mention. Put up 19 tackles (10 solo) in nine games with three tackles for loss, half a sack, an interception and a pass breakup.

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 of them open the season on the two-deep — Taylor at first-team wide receiver, Hays at first-team WILL, Story at second-team STAR and Williams at second-team left corner.

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

• Opens the season as a first-team wide receiver.
• 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.
• Two of his longest catches in 2022, 22 yards apiece, came at UC Davis and Idaho State — San Diego's first two opponents this season.
• 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

• Listed as the second-team STAR to open the season.
• 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

• Opens as the first-team WILL linebacker.
• 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

• Listed as the second-team left cornerback.
• 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.