SAINT LOUIS – A slate of high-impact games awaits in the Pioneer Football League's Week 8 schedule. League-leading Marist returns to its den at Tenney Stadium seeking its first-ever win against St. Thomas, which could reset the championship race.

Original PFL members San Diego and Dayton square off in Ohio with the Flyers seeking to stay unbeaten at Welcome Stadium. Second-place Presbyterian leaves the safety of Bailey Memorial Stadium for a trip to Valparaiso with the Blue Hose looking for their second road win of 2026. Another pair of original PFL squads square off on Saturday, with Butler traveling to Drake to try to end the latter's 10-game win streak in the series.  Stetson and Morehead State close the Week 8 slate.

This Week's Schedule

SATURDAY, OCT. 24	Kickoff	Series	Streak	Last Meeting
San Diego at Dayton	Noon	UD, 16-14	USD, W7	San Diego def. Dayton, 31-13 (11/1/2025)
St. Thomas at Marist	Noon	UST, 5-0	UST, W5	St. Thomas def. Marist, 45-0 (11/1/2025)
Butler at Drake	1 PM	DU, 21-5	DU, W10	Drake def. Butler, 24-19 (11/1/2025)
Presbyterian at Valparaiso	1 PM	VU, 2-1	PC, W1	Presbyterian def. Valparaiso, 43-14 (11/1/2025)
Stetson at Morehead State	2 PM	SU, 5-4	SU, W1	Stetson def. Morehead State, 21-14 (10/11/2025)

PFL Notes

• Presbyterian extended its home win streak to 11 games with its Week 6 victory against Davidson. It is the FCS' third-longest active home win streak behind Rhode Island (17 games) and Montana State (12 games), and it ties Stephen F. Austin. 
• St. Thomas quarterback Nick Peipert and Drake safety Dax Wiskur were among 30 student-athletes named to Stats Perform's 2026 Jerry Rice Award Watch List on Wednesday. Peipert leads the PFL in passing efficiency (171.7) and ranks sixth nationally, thanks to a FCS-leading 16.85 yards per completion. Wiskur ranks 2nd in the PFL in solo tackles (4.5 per game) and 13th in total tackles (6.2 per game). 
• Valparaiso senior punt returner Chris Gundy (2nd Team) and St. Thomas senior offensive lineman James Morrison (4th Team) were named to Phil Steele Magazine's 2026 FCS Mid-Season All-American Teams this week. Gundy has an FCS-best three punt-return touchdowns and is No. 2 among FCS return specialists in combined kick return yardage (597) and punt return average (23.6 yards per return). Morrison leads a Tommies line group that anchors an offense ranked No. 1 among PFL teams in team passing efficiency (150.38), fewest sacks allowed (0.57), and total offense (444.3 yards per game). 
• San Diego was 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.