2017 Drake Bulldogs football team

The 2017 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Rick Fox and played their home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 7–4, 6–2 in PFL play to finish in second place.

2017 Drake Bulldogs football
Conference	Pioneer Football League
2017 record	7–4 (6–2 PFL)
Head coach	Rick Fox (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Todd Stepsis (4th season)
Home stadium	Drake Stadium (Capacity: 14,557)

2017 Pioneer Football League standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 23 San Diego $^		8	–	0					10	–	3
Drake		6	–	2					7	–	4
Jacksonville		5	–	3					7	–	4
Campbell		5	–	3					6	–	5
Valparaiso		5	–	3					6	–	5
Butler		4	–	4					6	–	5
Dayton		4	–	4					5	–	6
Marist		3	–	5					4	–	7
Morehead State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Stetson		1	–	7					2	–	9
Davidson		0	–	8					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2016 season 7–4, 6–2 in PFL play to finish in third place.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	South Dakota*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	L 7–77	3,332
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Southwestern (KS)*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 55–14	864
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at No. 4 South Dakota State*	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	L 10–51	15,806
September 23	1:00 p.m.	Valparaiso	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 38–13	2,956
September 30	12:00 p.m.	at Butler	Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl Indianapolis, IN	Facebook Live	W 27–16	2,387
October 7	1:00 p.m.	Dayton	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	L 10–20	1,734
October 21	12:00 p.m.	at Marist	Leonidoff Field Poughkeepsie, NY		W 19–14	1,318
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Davidson	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 17–12	1,406
November 4	4:00 p.m.	at San Diego	Torero Stadium San Diego, CA	TheW.tv via STADIUM	L 15–45	1,582
November 11	12:00 p.m.	at Campbell	Barker–Lane Stadium Buies Creek, NC	BSN	W 45–10	4,261
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Jacksonville	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 52–7	1,487
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Coyotes	28	28	7	14	77
Bulldogs	0	7	0	0	7

See also: 2017 South Dakota Coyotes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–7	2015	SODK, 52–0

Southwestern (KS)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Moundbuilders	0	14	0	0	14
Bulldogs	7	21	10	17	55

See also: Southwestern Moundbuilders football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	3	7	0	10
No. 4 Jackrabbits	12	29	7	3	51

See also: 2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–3	2016	SDSU, 56–28

Valparaiso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	6	7	0	0	13
Bulldogs	14	3	14	7	38

See also: 2017 Valparaiso Crusaders football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–3	2016	DRAKE, 35–21

at Butler

	1	2	3	4	Total
DU Bulldogs	7	14	3	3	27
BU Bulldogs	6	7	3	0	16

See also: 2017 Butler Bulldogs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
17–8–1	2016	DRAKE, 28–14

Dayton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flyers	0	3	14	3	20
Bulldogs	3	0	0	7	10

See also: 2017 Dayton Flyers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–25	2016	DAY, 35–10

at Marist

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	6	3	3	19
Red Foxes	0	7	0	7	14

See also: 2017 Marist Red Foxes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–0	2014	DRAKE, 21–6

Davidson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	3	3	6	12
Bulldogs	7	7	0	3	17

See also: 2017 Davidson Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–1	2014	DRAKE, 51–14

at San Diego

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	0	0	8	15
Toreros	7	10	7	21	45

See also: 2017 San Diego Toreros football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–13	2016	USD, 38–7

at Campbell

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	21	10	45
Fighting Camels	0	3	7	0	10

See also: 2017 Campbell Fighting Camels football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–1	2016	DRAKE, 32–21

Jacksonville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	0	7	0	0	7
Bulldogs	14	21	10	7	52

See also: 2017 Jacksonville Dolphins football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–3	2016	DRAKE, 31–27

References