Thursday, August 28
Upper Iowa at Drake, 6 p.m.
Friday, August 29
Marist at San Diego, 10 p.m.
Saturday, August 30
Birmingham-Southern at Campbell, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Savannah State, 3:30 p.m.
Southern Virginia at Morehead State, 7 p.m.
Sunday, August 31
Dayton at Central State, 5 p.m.
Off Week: Butler, Davidson, Valparaiso
All Times Eastern.
Drake Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
at Upper Iowa Peacocks (0-0)
Thursday, August 28 • 6:00 p.m. ET
Drake Stadium (14,000) • Des Moines, Iowa
Live Stats Link
Series Record: Drake leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Drake def. Upper Iowa, 40-7 (2006)
Drake Last Week: n/a
Upper Iowa Last Week: n/a
GAME NOTES: Drake, under new head coach Chris Creighton, opens its 115th season of collegiate football when it hosts in-state foe Upper Iowa. The Bulldogs stunned Illinois State, 27-24, in their 2007 opener which snapped a streak of six consecutive season-opening losses. Drake is an experience-laden squad led captains senior quarterback Cole Ingle, senior receiver Mike Bialas and senior linebacker Cole Douglas as well as sophomore linebacker Cole Hunt.
Marist Red Foxes (0-0)
at San Diego Toreros (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
Friday, August 29 • 10:00 p.m. ET
Torero Stadium (7,000) • San Diego, Calif.
Live Stats Link
Series Record: San Diego leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: San Diego def. Marist, 38-17 (2007)
Marist Last Week: N/A
San Diego Last Week: N/A
GAME NOTES: San Diego hosts future PFL member Marist and puts its 24-game home winning streak – the longest such streak in FCS – on the line. The Toreros have not lost at home since Sept. 25, 2004, a 24-17 loss to Ivy League foe Princeton. USD will enter the game with several question marks, most notably how they will respond to the departure of two-time All-PFL quarterback Josh Johnson and PFL Defensive Player of the Year Eric Bakhtiari. The Toreros return 14 starters from last season's squad that won a share of the PFL regular-season crown – USD's third straight conference title won outright or shared.
Birmingham-Southern Panthers (0-0)
at Campbell Camels (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
Satuday, August 30 • 1:00 p.m. ET
CU Football Stadium (5,000) • Buies Creek, N.C.
Live Stats Link
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Birmingham-Southern Last Week: N/A
Campbell Last Week: N/A
GAME NOTES: Campbell returns to the gridiron for the first time in 58 years when it hosts Birmingham-Southern. The Camels have spent over a year (104 practice days to be precise) on the practice field preparing for their first collegiate football contest since 1949. They will face a Panthers squad that is also fairly new to the gridiron with just one year of play under their belt, posting a 3-7 mark in 2007 after 68 years without football.
Jacksonville Dolphins (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
at Savannah State Tigers (0-0)
Saturday, August 30 • 3:30 p.m. ET
Memorial Stadium (UNK) • Savannah, Ga.
Live Stats: Unavailable
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Jacksonville Last Week: N/A
Savannah State Last Week: N/A
GAME NOTES: Jacksonville opens its 11th season of football on the road at Savannah State, a Division I FCS Independent. The Dolphins are 3-7 in their previous season openers, including losses in their last five season openers. JU will open the season with a new quarterback, sophomore Erik Stepelton will make his first start at SSU after a season behind starter Chris Horton. However, the Dolphins will see senior defensive back Robson Noel return after posting a school-record 80 tackles last season.
Southern Virginia Knights (0-0)
at Morehead State (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
Saturday, August 30 • 7 p.m. ET
Jayne Stadium (10,000) • Morehead, Ky.
Live Stats Link
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Southern Virginia Last Week: N/A
Morehead State Last Week: N/A
GAME NOTES: Morehead State begins 2008 with a matchup against NAIA foe Southern Virginia. The Eagles return 12 starters from last season's squad, including senior cornerback David Hyland – the reigning NCAA Division I FCS interceptions leader – who was named first-team preseason All-America by College Sporting News after nabbing third-team preseason recognition from The Sports Network. MSU also will feature a new starting quarterback in 2008, but returns its leading rusher and leading receiver, Jerrod Pendleton and Nick Feldman, respectively.
Dayton Flyers (0-0, 0-0 PFL)
at Central State Marauders (0-0)
Sunday, August 31 • 5 p.m. ET
Welcome Stadium (11,000) • Dayton, Ohio
Live Stats Link
Series Record: Dayton leads, 3-1
Last Meeting: Dayton def. Central State, 40-0 (2007)
Dayton Last Week: N/A
Central State Last Week: N/A
GAME NOTES: No that isn't an error, Dayton will be the visitor on its own field when NAIA member Central State hosts its Dayton Classic IV at Welcome Stadium. The game is part of an annual fundraiser for the Central State athletics department. The contest will be the first for Rick Chamberlin, Dayton's new head coach, who inherits a team that returns only eight starters from last season team that won a share of the PFL regular-season title and won the Gridiron Classic. The Flyers biggest question mark resides on the offensive side of the ball where only two starters – both linemen – return.
