Oct. 10, 2015.
That's the last time the University of San Diego lost a Pioneer League football game. Last week's win over Davidson put them in the playoffs and the Top-25 and the Toreros are not sitting on their laurels.
Now ranked No. 21 in the nation, USD put in a bid to host a Football Championship Subdivision post-season game. Running the conference table once again would be a nice way to impress the selection committee and that’s exactly what they did with a 31-14 win over Marist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., extending their conference winning streak to 29 games.
A week ago the Toreros defense gave up more than 700 yards. This week they were much better, allowing just 358 yards by thoroughly harassing Marist quarterback Austin Day for most of the game. USD sacked Day three times and forced him into a pair of interceptions.
Of course, the Toreros offense was led by quarterback Anthony Lawrence. The senior completed 20 of 26 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns in his final regular season game. Lawrence moved past Josh Johnson to become the program’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 116. He could have padded his lead but didn’t play the final 20 minutes of the game.
Lawrence’s third TD toss, a 56-yarder to Michael Armstead, put the Toreros up 31-0 so head coach Dale Lindsey pulled him to get ready for the playoffs.
USD finds out Sunday morning whether it gets to host that first playoff game. The selection show begins at 9:30 a.m. San Diego time.
