SAINT LOUIS – Pioneer Football League co-leaders Butler and Marist highlight the Week 7 action with key matchups as they look to extend their starts. Butler returns to Indianapolis to host Dayton in the PFL's version of the I-70 Series. The Bulldogs are unbeaten at the Sellick Bowl this season and own a four-game win streak. Marist is on the road to face defending PFL champion Drake, with the Red Foxes looking to extend their 2-0 league start while the Bulldogs seek to add a team to the group of one-loss teams.

Presbyterian and Valparaiso, the league's other 2-1 teams, are both on the road in Week 7. The Blue Hose look to extend their two-game win streak when they meet Stetson. The Beacons are also on a two-game win streak and are off to the West Coast to meet San Diego. Morehead State heads to Davidson with both teams seeking their first PFL wins.

This Week's Schedule

SATURDAY, OCT. 17	Kickoff	Series	Streak	Last Meeting
Dayton at Butler	1 PM	UD, 34-15-1	BU, W1	Butler def. Dayton, 23-17 (10/18/2025)
Morehead State at Davidson	1 PM	MSU, 16-11	MSU, W1	Morehead State def. Davidson, 28-24 (11/1/2025)
Marist at Drake	1 PM	DU, 11-2	DU, W4	Drake def. Marist, 31-17 (10/25/2025)
Presbyterian at Stetson	2 PM	PC, 10-3-2	PC, W2	Presbyterian def. Stetson, 42-7 (10/18/2025)
Valparaiso at San Diego	4 PM	USD, 22-7	USD, W1	San Diego def. Valparaiso, 42-27 (11/8/2025)

PFL Notes

• After three weeks of PFL play, the standings bear little resemblance to the league's Preseason Poll, with Butler and Marist, picked fifth and sixth, respectively, tied for first at 2-0. Behind them is a foursome of 2-1 teams, which includes Drake (picked 2nd in the preseason poll), Presbyterian (7th), St. Thomas (3rd), and Valparaiso (11th). But six weeks remain in the 2026 schedule, so teams still have plenty of time to move in the standings.  
  Butler University senior quarterback Reagan Andrew, Marist University graduate student and offensive lineman Will Aaronson, and Valparaiso University redshirt quarterback Rowa Keefe represent the Pioneer Football League as two of a record 206 semifinalists for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Football Hall of Fame. 
• The PFL welcomes two new head coaches in 2026: Drake's Matt Walker and Presbyterian's Matt Rahl. The league has seen 9 of its 11 head coaches join the league in the past three seasons. St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso becomes the dean of PFL head coaches as he begins his sixth PFL season and 17th at St. Thomas. Dayton head coach Trevor Andrews starts his fourth season, making him the league's second-longest-tenured head coach. 
• San Diego is the PFL preseason favorite by a narrow margin in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Toreros received five first-place votes and 90 points. Drake was picked second with five first-place votes and 88 points. St. Thomas earned the third-place nod with 87 points, as the only team to earn a spot in the Top 3 on all 10 possible ballots. 
• Dayton, which was picked fourth in the league's preseason coaches' poll, had the PFL's representatives on the Walter Payton and Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch Lists, presented by Stats Perform. All-purpose back Gavin Lochow and defensive lineman Mirko Jaksic, both returning First Team All-Pioneer Football League selections, earned the preseason recognition. 
• Lochow and Jaksic are two of just seven returning First Team All-PFL selections. The other five returning first-teamers are San Diego running back Adam Criter, St. Thomas fullback Luke Schuler, Butler offensive lineman Charles Mackley, San Diego offensive lineman Maicah Talavou, and San Diego punter Emiliano Salazar.
• Salazar, the reigning PFL Special Teams Player of the Year, was one of 14 selections to the 2026 FCS Punter of the Year Watch List and one of 15 FCS placekickers named to the 18th annual Fred Mitchell Award Watch List.