Tuesday, November 25, 2014
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

AHEAD IN WEEK 14: NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Saturday, Nov. 29

San Diego [RV/RV] at Montana [12/11], 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Location: Missoula, Montana (Washington-Grizzly Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: Pioneer Football League champion San Diego will face Big Sky Conference member Montana in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Division I Football Championship, the NCAA Division I Football Championship committee announced Sunday. San Diego will play a 4 p.m. (ET), Saturday contest in Missoula, Montana.
     San Diego (9-2) claimed the PFL’s championship for the third time in the last four seasons, posting a 7-1 mark in league action. It will be the Toreros first trip to the Division I Football Championship and second-ever by a PFL member after the league received an automatic bid to the now 24-team tournament beginning with the 2013 championship.
     Torero’s running back Jonah Hodges is one of the best ground-gainers in the FCS this season, ranking second in all-purpose yardage (159.7 ypg) and 19th in rushing yardage (108.5 ypg). San Diego owns the FCS’ eighth-ranked red-zone offense, converting on 90.2 percent of its opportunities. Kicker David Last has contributed a perfect 12-of-12 field-goal conversion rate to that effort, the only FCS kicker without a miss this season.
     Montana (8-4) finished tied for second in the Big Sky Conference and received an at-large bid The Grizzlies are one of three Big Sky teams in the championship, joining No. 4 national seed Eastern Washington and Montana State. It will be Montana’s 23rd appearance in the championship, which they have won twice (1995 and 2001).
     The Grizzles own the nation’s best turnover margin, a +1.33 rate that includes 23 turnovers gained while committing only seven turnovers. Zack Wagenmann leads that defensive effort with 5 fumbles forced, but also has 18.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks this season. He ranks fifth among FCS defenders in both fumbles forced (0.42) and sacks (1.13 per game).

SAN DIEGO IN THE DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

SAN DIEGO RETURNS TO POSTSEASON | San Diego returns to the postseason for the third time in program history. The Toreros previous NCAA postseason experience came in 1973 when it played in the Division III Championship and fell to eventual national champion Wittenberg in that four-team championship, 21-14. Since then, San Diego played in and won the 2005 PFL Championship game, 47-40, against Morehead State. The next year they won the 2006 Gridiron Classic – a postseason event between the Northeast Conference and Pioneer Football League champions – by a 27-7 count against Monmouth.

THE ROAD TO FRISCO | This is the second consecutive year the PFL regular-season champion has received an automatic bid into the Division I Football Championship. Last season, the championship expanded to 24 teams with 11 automatic bids and 13 at-large berths. Butler was the first PFL team to earn a Division I Football Championship berth, hosting and falling to Tennessee State, 31-0, in the first round.

THREE IN FOUR | With its 2014 crown in hand, San Diego has won three of the last four PFL championships. It is the Toreros sixth PFL title all-time, tied for second-most in PFL history with Drake and behind Dayton’s 11 PFL titles. All six of San Diego’s titles have been won since the 2005 season, an impressive six titles in 10 seasons.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE PFL

PFL AWARDS WEEK STARTS MONDAY | The Pioneer Football League will begin announcing its awards next Monday. The league’s major award winners will be announced that day followed by the 2nd All-PFL Teams, Tuesday. The Academic All-PFL team and the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year will round out the awards, Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO CLAIMS 2014 PFL TITLE | San Diego scored a touchdown on the final play of the game to defeat Valparaiso, 32-27, Saturday and win the 2014 Pioneer Football League Championship and the league’s automatic qualifying spot in the 2015 NCAA Division I Football Championship. It is San Diego’s third PFL title in four years and sixth title all-time.

JACKSONVILLE WITHDRAWS FROM 2014 PFL RACE | The Pioneer Football League and Jacksonville University jointly announced the Jacksonville football team will not be eligible for the 2014 conference championship, Nov. 14. Jacksonville voluntarily withdrew from championship contention and postseason play for 2014 as a result of its internal review of compliance matters regarding the PFL’s financial aid rules. The process is ongoing and final resolution of the matter is not expected before Spring 2015.

THREE PFL ALUMNI ON NFL ROSTERS | Marist alumnus Terrence Fede, the 2013 PFL Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the Miami Dolphins’ active 53-man roster. Fede, a 7th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, recorded his first tackle as a professional against Oakland, Sept. 29. Drake alumnus and 12-year NFL veteran Billy Cundiff is in his second year as a member of the Cleveland Browns. San Diego alumnus Josh Johnson is in his seventh NFL campaign, joining the San Francisco 49ers and former San Diego head coach Jim Harbaugh in 2014.

STETSON’S PAYNE NAMED TO BUCHANAN AWARD WATCH LIST | Dayton senior running back Donald Payne has been named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, for the FCS’ top defensive player. Payne was named the national freshman of the week after Stetson’s return to football in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since then, filling the stats sheet in incredible ways at the Pioneer Football League school. He has 150 tackles in 10 games after a recent four-game run in which he has collected over 20 tackles three times.

DAYTON’S KACSOR NAMED TO PAYTON AWARD WATCH LIST | Dayton senior running back Connor Kacsor has been named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, for the FCS’ top offensive player. Kacsor currently leads the PFL and is second in FCS football in rushing yards per game (148.0) His 301 yards against Georgetown in the season opener is the best in Division I this season, and he is the only FCS player with three rushing performances of 200 yards or more this season.

BUTLER’S SCHRADER NAMED TO RICE AWARD WATCH LIST | Butler freshman running back Sam Schrader has been named to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List, for the FCS’ top freshman player. Schrader, of Mishawaka, Indiana, is the PFL’s top freshman running back, with 526 yards (75.1 ypg) and eight touchdowns in seven conference games. He ranks sixth among FCS freshmen in rushing (60.4 ypg) and seventh in scoring (6.6 ppg). Schrader rushed for 193 yards against Stetson, Oct. 4, and had a four touchdown performance against Morehead State, Nov. 1.

THIRTEEN NAMED TO CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS | Thirteen Pioneer Football League student-athletes were named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District® teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association, Thursday. Seven of the league’s 11 members had one student-athlete recognized on the teams. A complete list of the PFL student-athletes selected is available on the PFL website.