How Drake football’s win over Stetson in 2022 jump-started the team’s 2023 season
Following a 24-17 win at Stetson on Oct. 29, 2022, Drake football coach Todd Stepsis gathered his team on the field at Spec Martin Municipal Stadium in DeLand, Fla.
Stepsis watched as his players and coaches celebrated the monumental win that ended a 13-game losing streak dating to the previous season with hugs and tears of joy. He then made a bold prediction.
This is just the beginning, he told them.
"This is where we start this thing and we can see how far we can take it," Stepsis recalled saying.
Stepsis’ prognostication seemed bold at the time. But it proved to be accurate. The victory turned around their season and jump-started the Bulldogs, who have become one of the best teams in the Pioneer Football League. They enter Saturday’s game at San Diego tied for first with Davidson with a 3-0 record.
“It definitely was the start,” said Drake linebacker Jake Thompson.
To many outside the Drake football team, it was hard to see what was coming. The Bulldogs, once one of the most consistent teams in the PFL, had gone through tough times. They went 2-3 during the COVID-19 pandemic spring season in 2021. Then 2-9 with a 1-7 mark in PFL play that fall. Drake opened the 2022 season with eight straight losses. The Bulldogs, who had lost their final five games of the 2021 season, watched their losing streak reach double digits.
It took a toll on everyone. Stepsis admits it was hard to stay positive. Thompson said frustration even boiled over on the team with the offense and defense pointing fingers at each other.
“It was just tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Thompson said.
Still, Stepsis saw slivers of hope during the struggles. His team had been through several close calls. All they needed to do was get a win and they’d finally break through, Stepsis thought. A victory, just one, could get them going.
When it finally happened with the emotional road win at Stetson, the Bulldogs celebrated in a big way. They high-fived family, friends and fans who had made the trip. Stepsis hugged all his players covered in sweat. Then he made his prediction. The win and the wise words fired up the entire team.
“It resonated with everyone because it showed that we can do it — we deserve to be here, we deserve to be in the league and there’s not a team that can stop us if we’re playing on all cylinders,” Thompson said.
The victory was a turning point for the Bulldogs. Two weeks later, a confident and cohesive Drake team beat Butler. They then closed out the season with a victory at Valparaiso. The three-game winning streak to end the regular season was enough to send the Bulldogs into the offseason with newfound momentum. When Stepsis met individually with all of his players following the season, he asked them if they believed a PFL championship was within their grasps.
“They’re like, ‘100,000%, with the guys that we’ve got coming back and with a great offseason, we can get this done,’” Stepsis recalled.
Stepsis saw a difference in the offseason. Players were hitting personal records in the weight room in January. The team put together a strong spring and rolled into the regular season in good health. The Bulldogs then embarked on a brutal non-conference schedule that included a road trip to North Dakota, a home game against the reigning NAIA national champions from Northwestern and a visit to Target Field to take on last season’s FCS title team, South Dakota State.
While it resulted in a 0-3 start to the season, Stepsis once again saw signs of potential. He liked how his defense had played, including their pass rush. Quarterback Luke Bailey had made some impressive plays. And the Bulldogs’ offensive line had done a great job of protecting him. If Drake did that during the PFL season, Stepsis thought the Bulldogs could have a successful season. His players believed it as well.
“How they saw those games is as opportunities to better themselves,” Stepsis said. “Opportunities to go against really good players that can expose some of their weaknesses so we can work on some of those weaknesses. But then on the flip side, show us some of our strengths and how we can continue to build on those strengths.”
Those tough games properly prepared the Bulldogs for the PFL season. They opened the campaign with a 16-9 win against Morehead State on Sept. 30. Drake followed that up with a 20-14 victory against Valparaiso. But the marquee moment of the season came on Oct. 14 when Drake knocked off St. Thomas, last year’s league champion and this season’s preseason pick to win it all, with a 52-21 victory.
Bailey threw for a career-high 411 yards and five touchdowns. Mitchell January caught two touchdown passes and tallied 169 receiving yards. The 52 points were the most points scored by Drake in a conference game since a 52-7 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 18, 2017. Drake’s strong start is the best for the Bulldogs since opened PFL play with four-straight wins in 2019, Stepsis’ first season at the helm. Their six-game winning streak in the league is the longest among PFL teams.
“I think we’ve always had belief that we could do it and I think it comes down to executing all the little things and executing the explosive plays,” Bailey said. “Last year, I feel like we were in a lot of the games. We just couldn’t finish. And this year, starting with Morehead State with conference play, we’re really able to finish those games. And offensively, we’ve been throwing more.”
Stepsis also credits the team's depth and buy-in from the players who have stuck around and grinded through the tough times. He says they're playing with more confidence, as well. When tough times pop up with his team in games, he thinks they can handle it after having already experienced it.
"I did believe that hey, this is just a matter of time before this thing gets going around and the people that are here today, are our kind of people," Stepsis said.
The Bulldogs have their sights set on finishing the season strong and celebrating a championship.
"Why not us?" Thompson asked.
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake football team regains its form to become a contender again
