SAINT LOUIS – The final Saturday before the start of PFL play sees nine teams in action – all against FCS opponents. Butler, Davidson, and St. Thomas are the only PFL squads hosting in Week 3, while the league's other six teams are on the road..
Stetson faces the week’s toughest test when it meets FCS nationally-ranked foe UC Davis in a cross-country trip for the Hatters. San Diego's tough pre-conference slate continues at a Cal Poly squad that is receiving votes in both polls; the Toreros faced back-to-back Top 25 teams to begin the season. St. Thomas hosts Southern Utah, another team receiving recognition in both national polls. The week starts with Butler hosting first-year program Chicago State as well as a pair of long-running series as VMI visits Davidson and Valparaiso travels to Indiana State.
This Week's Schedule
| SATURDAY, SEPT. 19 |
Kickoff |
Series |
Streak |
Last Meeting |
| Chicago State at Butler |
1 PM |
1st Meeting |
|
|
| VMI at Davidson |
1 PM |
VMI, 39-17-3 |
VMI, W11 |
VMI def. Davidson, 12-7 (9/2/2023) |
| Valparaiso at Indiana State |
1 PM |
ISU, 20-20-2 |
ISU, W5 |
Indiana State def. Valparaiso, 28-0 (10/19/1968) |
| Southern Utah at St. Thomas |
2 PM |
SUU, 1-0 |
SUU, W1 |
Southern Utah def. St. Thomas, 44-13 (9/1/2202) |
| Presbyterian at Western Carolina |
2:30 PM |
WCU, 4-1 |
WCU, W2 |
Western Carolina def. Presbyterian, 77-21 (9/17/2022) |
| Dayton at Eastern Kentucky |
6 PM |
EKU, 4-3 |
EKU, W2 |
Eastern Kentucky def. Dayton, 17-3 (10/17/1981) |
| Morehead State at Western Illinois |
7 PM |
WIU, 1-0 |
WIU, W1 |
Western Illinois def. Morehead State, 31-6 (8/31/2006) |
| San Diego at Cal Poly |
8 PM |
CPU, 9-2 |
CPU, W1 |
Cal Poly def. San Diego, 41-17 (8/20/2025) |
| Stetson at UC Davis |
10 PM |
1st Meeting |
|
|
PFL Notes
- Drake, Morehead State, and Presbyterian are among the FCS' top passing teams entering Week 3. Drake and Morehead State are the only two FCS squads with over 1,000 passing yards already in 2026, at 361 and 335.3 yards per game, respectively; they lead the FCS in passing.
- Morehead State freshman Cross Watson is the Week 1 Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week. He needed just four receptions to score three touchdowns and amass 132 yards in the Eagles' 75-24 win against Kentucky Christian last week.
- 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.