Reusse: With autumn on full display, St. Thomas football finds its groove behind Hope Adebayo

The NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision is the second level of Division I football. The Pioneer Football League is located in FCS and gets a spot in the playoffs, yet there’s no secret the competition bears no resemblance to the competitive levels of that division.

Example: Drake went 8-0 to win the Pioneer in 2023, while also making the rash decision to schedule non-conference games with both South Dakota State and North Dakota. The Bulldogs were outscored 125-14.

Drake then received the traditional fate for a Pioneer champion: going on the road to face a potent program. In this case, it was to Fargo, N.D., to suffer a 66-3 loss to North Dakota State.

In the early ‘90s, the NCAA declared schools that were Division 1 (primarily basketball schools) could no longer compete in Division III football. That has made the Pioneer home to those schools that still want to offer football but are financially unable to handle the cost of full-service FCS — $7 million annually, at a minimum.

St. Thomas made the transition to Division 1 in 2021. The athletic department was taking on high scholarship costs for basketball, hockey, etc., and there was no chance to handle the financial burden of scholarship football.

“The Pioneer has worked well for us,” athletic director Phil Esten said Saturday. “The schedule puts us in contact with alums all over the country. And we now have 11 like-minded colleges that are committed to this approach.”

St. Thomas started the season with four non-conference games: splitting with Division II University of Sioux Falls (L) and Black Hills State (W) and losing narrowly to once-mighty Northern Iowa.

Then, on Sept. 21, the Tommies traveled to St. Charles, Mo. to take on Lindenwood, from the FCS Ohio Valley Conference. Final: Lindenwood 64, Tommies 0, with the final six points in being fourth-quarter field goals.

Classic pouring it on, which was a charge often faced by Tommies coach Glenn Caruso as his teams lit up the scoreboard against overmatched MIAC foes.

There was much happiness arriving in MIAC-sourced texts to my cell phone when that score was posted.

The Tommies had a week off to get ready for the conference schedule. Caruso didn’t get the last laugh, but he is smiling again.

St. Thomas started with victories over Stetson, Marist and Valparaiso, lower-level PFL teams. Saturday, the competition increased with San Diego, once such a conference power the Toreros won an FCS playoff game in 2016.

The Toreros are now more a contender than the power. It was another gorgeous afternoon here in our autumnal paradise, although the crowd at O’Shaughnessy Stadium was modest.

There were a few reasons for this: A), the Tommies weren’t playing St. John’s, Bethel or Concordia; B) the undergraduates were on fall break; and C), the men’s hockey team offered Saturday’s hottest attraction, playing the Gophers at 8 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

Those St. Thomas’ loyalists not willing to take in a Saturday doubleheader missed out on an extra-entertaining football game.

The Tommies went to 4-0 in the PFL with a 34-14 victory. This put them at 25-3 in 3½ seasons of conference play, although whether it’s good or bad, they remain ineligible for the playoff berth due to the NCAA’s five-year transition period from D3 to D1.

And yes, it might not be hardcore FCS, but it was fun.

Hope Adebayo, the fifth-year running back from Simley, sped, hurdled and darted his way to 277 yards rushing. You can get to that total quickly with touchdown runs of 42, 60 and 70 yards.

The first put St. Thomas ahead 7-0 in the first quarter, the 60-yard burst came on the first play of the second half, and the 70-yarder came after a St. Thomas defensive stand with 12 minutes clinched the 34-14 victory.

Caruso has had some great running backs — Jordan Roberts, the seminarian; Josh Parks; others; and Adebayo belongs in that company.

Adebayo was banged up for a share of the season and missed the Lindenwood game (heck, it could have been 64-14). But Saturday, he was full speed and tremendous, and in a game when the Tommies made spectacular catches, key interceptions, and put well-timed pressure on San Diego quarterback Grant Sergent.

You don’t see this on every spectacular fall Saturday:

Cornerback Grif Wurtz completed a pass (on a fake field goal) and intercepted a pass.

Plus, there was also defender-hurdling by Adebayo.

He said the scouting report on the San Diego safeties was that they came hard, and he had a thought, “hurdle,” during the week, but then he let that go.

Until the time came to explode 60 yards to start the second half, push the lead to 27-7, and let the Toreros know for certain these Tommies are a much better team at the end of October than they were at the end of September.