San Diego at Drake
DES MOINES (Interstat) — The Saturday NCAA Football Championship Division game at Drake Stadium will match visiting San Diego against Drake, with both teams looking to build on wins in their most recent outings. San Diego enters at 4-5, while Drake is 3-6. The forecast at game time calls for 45 degrees.
San Diego’s offense will center on quarterback Dom Nankil, who has produced at a high volume in recent weeks. In his latest game, Nankil completed 34 of 41 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns while adding 13 rushing yards and another score. The previous week, he completed 37 of 56 throws for 471 yards and one touchdown. Two games back, he went 14 of 25 for 140 yards and ran for 44 yards. The Toreros’ most recent result was a 41-40 win against Marist. River Abenroth, Jae’Von Reels and Dillon Kellner each recorded four tackles in that victory, and Kellner added one quarterback hurry. San Diego has alternated difficult stretches with productive offensive showings this season, including a 63-point output against Davidson and a 38-point game against Valparaiso. The Toreros also have road wins against Cal Poly and losses against Dayton, Butler, Saint Thomas (Minn.), Idaho State and UC Davis. San Diego returns home to face Stetson next.
Drake counters with quarterback Braylon Wilson, whose dual-threat production powers the Bulldogs. In the most recent game, Wilson completed 18 of 33 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 29 times for 107 yards and two more scores. He completed 4 of 11 passes for 39 yards and ran for 21 yards in the previous game against Butler, and he ran four times for 17 yards against Marist. Drake’s last result was a 45-35 win at Morehead State. Braylon Wilson led the way, while Spencer Halvorson recorded three tackles and one quarterback hurry and Zach Adamo added three tackles. The Bulldogs have scored 30 or more points in three games this season and will try to protect home field at Drake Stadium. Drake visits Saint Thomas (Minn.) next.
San Diego’s other results include a 37-32 loss at Dayton, a 63-14 win against Davidson, a 50-17 loss at Saint Thomas (Minn.), a 38-35 win at Cal Poly and a 59-17 loss at Idaho State. Drake’s other results include a 33-21 loss to Butler, a 27-22 loss to Marist, a 30-22 win against Dayton, a 51-32 win at Davidson, a 56-14 loss at Northern Iowa and a 45-10 loss at Montana.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Drake 42, San Diego 37. Interstat’s ELO system gives Drake a 64.1 percent probability to win.