2019 Valparaiso Crusaders football team

The 2019 Valparaiso Crusaders football team represents Valparaiso University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by first-year head coach Landon Fox and play their home games at Brown Field. They compete in the Pioneer Football League. It is the school's centennial football season.

2019 Valparaiso Crusaders football
Conference	Pioneer Football League
2019 record	1–11 (1–7 PFL)
Head coach	Landon Fox (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Chris Limbach (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Brian Dougherty (1st season)
Home stadium	Brown Field (Capacity: 5,000)

2019 Pioneer Football League standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
San Diego $^		8	–	0					9	–	3
Dayton		6	–	2					8	–	3
Drake		6	–	2					6	–	5
Davidson		5	–	3					8	–	4
Stetson		4	–	4					7	–	4
Marist		4	–	4					4	–	7
Morehead State		3	–	5					5	–	7
Butler		2	–	6					3	–	9
Jacksonville		1	–	7					3	–	9
Valparaiso		1	–	7					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant

Preseason

Preseason coaches' poll

The Pioneer League released their preseason coaches' poll on July 30, 2019. The Crusaders were picked to finish tied for ninth place.[1]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	San Diego	79 (7)
2	Dayton	66 (2)
3	Drake	64
4	Marist	52
5	Davidson	48
6	Stetson	44
7	Butler	37
8	Jacksonville	30
9	Morehead State	15
	Valparaiso

Preseason All–PFL teams

The Crusaders had two players selected to the preseason all–PFL teams.[2]

Defense First team Drew Snouffer – LB

Special Teams Second team Bailey Gessinger – RS

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 29	6:00 p.m.	at Eastern Kentucky*	Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 7–53	11,130
September 14	1:00 p.m.	Central Connecticut*	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	L 13–42	2,110
September 21	3:00 p.m.	at Truman*	Stokes Stadium Kirksville, MO	GLVCSN	L 7–38	3,087
September 28	1:00 p.m.	Charleston (WV)*	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	L 13–19	4,399
October 5	2:00 p.m.	at Drake	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	Bulldog Vision	L 6–35	3,060
October 12	1:00 p.m.	Dayton	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	L 28-41	2,388
October 19	4:00 p.m.	at San Diego	Torero Stadium San Diego, CA	WCC Network via Stadium	L 17–42	1,323
October 26	12:00 p.m.	Stetson	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	W 19–10	878
November 2	12:00 p.m.	at Davidson	Richardson Stadium Davidson, NC	ESPN+	L 21–27	3,849
November 9	1:00 p.m.	Morehead State	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	L 21–27	1,477
November 16	11:00 a.m.	at Butler	Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl Indianapolis, IN (Hoosier Helmet Trophy)	YouTube	L 21–24	2,194
November 23	1:00 p.m.	Marist	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	L 14–26	1,088
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at Eastern Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Crusaders 0 0 7 0 7 • Colonels 15 17 7 14 53 Date: August 29, 2019 Location: Roy Kidd Stadium • Richmond, Kentucky Game start: 7:05 pm EDT Elapsed time: 2:59 Game attendance: 11,130 Game weather: Temperature: 79-80°F • Weather: Sunny, 40% humidity • Wind: 6 mph[3] Referee: Daniel Ingram TV announcers (ESPN+): Greg Stotelmyer, Jim Tirey[4]

See also: 2019 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–3	2015	L, 10–52

Central Connecticut

1 2 3 4 Total • Blue Devils 0 14 21 7 42 Crusaders 6 0 7 0 13 Date: August 29, 2019 Location: Brown Field • Valparaiso, Indiana Game start: 1:04 pm CDT Game attendance: 2,110 Game weather: Temperature: 76°F • Weather: Sunny, perfect day • Wind: SW 8 mph[5] Referee: Jason Berg TV announcers (ESPN+): Todd Ickow, Dave Huseman[6]

See also: 2019 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Truman

1 2 3 4 Total Crusaders 0 0 0 7 7 • Bulldogs 10 7 21 0 38 Date: September 21, 2019 Location: Stokes Stadium • Kirksville, Missouri Game start: 3:00 pm, moved up from 7:00 pm due to forecast thunderstorms[7] CDT Elapsed time: 2:42 Game attendance: 3,087 Game weather: Temperature: 80°F • Weather: Overcast/Rain • Wind: W 15–25 mph[8] Referee: Craig Demaree TV announcers (GLVCSN): Brad Boyer, Eric Duick, Kevin White, Hank Janssen[9]

See also: Truman Bulldogs football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–1	2018	L, 20–34

Charleston (WV)

1 2 3 4 Total • Golden Eagles 7 3 6 3 19 Crusaders 7 6 0 0 13 Date: September 28, 2019 Location: Brown Field • Valparaiso, Indiana Game start: 1:04 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:49 Game attendance: 4,399 Game weather: Temperature: 68°F • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: N 8 mph[10] Referee: Craig Demaree TV announcers (ESPN+): Todd Ickow, Dave Huseman[11]

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Drake

1 2 3 4 Total Crusaders 0 3 3 0 6 • Bulldogs 0 21 14 0 35 Location: Drake Stadium • Des Moines, Iowa Game start: 2:00 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:47 Game attendance: 3,060 Game weather: Temperature: 58°F • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: N 8 mph[12] Referee: Michael Hoffman TV announcers (Bulldog Vision): [13]

See also: 2019 Drake Bulldogs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–23	2018	L, 25–42

Dayton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flyers	14	7	13	7	41
Crusaders	7	0	14	7	28

See also: 2019 Dayton Flyers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–24	2018	L, 20–53

at San Diego

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	3	0	14	0	17
Toreros	7	21	14	0	42

See also: 2019 San Diego Toreros football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–18	2016	L, 10–49

Stetson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hatters	10	0	0	0	10
Crusaders	3	10	6	0	19

See also: 2019 Stetson Hatters football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–2	2018	L, 31–45

at Davidson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	6	7	8	21
Wildcats	7	7	7	6	27

See also: 2019 Davidson Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–8	2018	L, 35–40

Morehead State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	0	0	13	27
Crusaders	0	0	14	7	21

See also: 2019 Morehead State Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–19	2018	L, 24–31

at Butler

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	14	0	7	21
Bulldogs	0	7	7	10	24

See also: 2019 Butler Bulldogs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
27–50	2018	W, 35–17

Marist

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Foxes	7	9	0	10	26
Crusaders	0	8	0	6	14

See also: 2019 Marist Red Foxes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–7	2018	L, 24–35

References

1. "Defending Champion San Diego again edges Dayton in PFL Preseason Coaches’ Poll". Pioneer-Football.org. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
2. "Four-Time First-Team selections Christian and Smith Highlight 26th All-PFL Teams". Pioneer-Football.org. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
3. "EKU Box Score Game 1". EKU Sports. EKU Sports Communications. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
4. Britton, Kevin. "EKU Game Notes Game 1" (PDF). EKU Sports. EKU Sports Communications. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
5. "CCSU Box Score Game 2". Blue Devils Athletics. Central Connecticut State University. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
6. "Valparaiso Game Notes Game 2". Valpo Athletics. Valparaiso University Athletics. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
7. "Football Falls at Truman State on Saturday". valpoathletics.com. Valparaiso University. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
8. "TSU Box Score Game 3". Truman Bulldogs. Truman State University Bulldog Athletics. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
9. "TSU Game Notes Game 3" (PDF). Truman Bulldogs. Truman State University Bulldog Athletics. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
10. "Week 4". UC Golden Eagles. University of Charleston. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
11. "Week 4" (PDF). Valpo Athletics. Valparaiso University. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
12. "Week 5" (PDF). Go Drake Bulldogs. Drake University Athletics. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
13. "Week 5" (PDF). Go Drake Bulldogs. Drake University Athletics. Retrieved 24 November 2019.