2018 Drake Bulldogs football team

The 2018 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Rick Fox, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

2018 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 25 San Diego $^	8	–	0	9	–	3
Stetson	6	–	2	8	–	2
Drake	6	–	2	7	–	4
Marist	5	–	3	5	–	6
Dayton	5	–	3	6	–	5
Davidson	3	–	5	6	–	5
Butler	2	–	6	4	–	7
Morehead State	2	–	6	3	–	8
Valparaiso	2	–	6	2	–	9
Jacksonville	1	–	7	2	–	8

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

On December 10, Fox resigned.^[1] He finished his five-year tenure at Drake with a record of 33–22.

Preseason

The PFL released their preseason all-PFL team on July 30, 2018, with the Bulldogs having four players selected.^[2]

Offense

Steven Doran – WR

Jordan Lewinsky – OL

Defense

Nathan Clayberg – DL

Sean Lynch – DB

The PFL released their preseason coaches poll on July 31, 2018, with the Bulldogs predicted to finish in third place.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
May 26	12:00 a.m.	at China All-Stars (AFLC, CAFL, & CBL)*	UIBE Stadium Beijing, China (Drake-China Ambassadors Bowl)	QQLive	W 77–0^[a]
September 1	6:00 p.m.	William Jewell*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	Cancelled^[b]
September 8	2:00 p.m.	at No. 14 Montana*	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT	GoGriz	L 16–48	23,132
September 15	1:00 p.m.	Missouri S&T*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 52–12	1,881
September 29	12:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville	D. B. Milne Field Jacksonville, FL	ESPN3	W 41–9	1,738
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Butler	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 36–6	3,011
October 13	1:00 p.m.	Stetson	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	L 21–23	1,439
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at Dayton	Welcome Stadium Dayton, OH (rivalry)	Facebook Live	W 28–17	2,168
October 27	1:00 p.m.	at Valparaiso	Brown Field Valparaiso, IN	ESPN+	W 42–25	1,945
November 3	1:00 p.m.	San Diego	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	L 10–27	1,522
November 10	1:00 p.m.	Marist	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	BV	W 13–10	1,348
November 17	1:00 p.m.	at Morehead State	Jayne Stadium Morehead, KY	ESPN+	W 43–6	3,287
December 1^[c]	11:00 a.m.	at No. 24 (FBS) Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	Cyclones.tv	L 24–27	56,738
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^ Exhibition game
^ The season opening game vs. William Jewell was cancelled due to severe weather.^[4]
^ This game was added on November 20, 2018 to make up for the cancellation of the season opener.^[5]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	3	7	6	16
No. 14 Grizzlies	3	7	21	17	48

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miners	0	6	0	6	12
Bulldogs	14	14	14	10	52

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	14	17	0	10	41
Dolphins	0	0	2	7	9

	1	2	3	4	Total
BU Bulldogs	0	0	0	6	6
DU Bulldogs	7	7	13	9	36

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hatters	0	7	10	6	23
Bulldogs	3	0	11	7	21

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	7	7	28
Flyers	7	3	0	7	17

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	14	0	21	42
Crusaders	3	0	7	15	25

	1	2	3	4	Total
Toreros	13	7	7	0	27
Bulldogs	0	7	3	0	10

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Foxes	0	0	3	7	10
Bulldogs	3	0	0	10	13

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	9	13	7	14	43
Eagles	6	0	0	0	6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	10	0	24
No. 24 (FBS) Cyclones	7	13	7	0	27