Drake Bulldogs Football takes third consecutive loss of 2022 season

The Drake Bulldogs football team’s struggles continued this past weekend, falling 42-14 to the Idaho Vandals, struggling once again to find any offensive consistency. 

Thus far, the Bulldogs have scored just 14 points in each matchup of their season whilst allowing an average of 38 points per game. 

The struggles have come on both sides of the ball, but a good defensive performance against the Missouri S&T Minors provided some confidence in their ability against lesser-statured opponents. The same could not be said about the offense. 

On the bright side of their recent loss, the Bulldogs managed a second-quarter 7-point lead after a Dorian Boyland touchdown, the sophomore running back who attributed his recent success to his offensive line last week. 

The issue for Drake was holding this lead, as they eventually fell to a 6-point deficit at half-time and failed to score in the second half. 

The Bulldogs have found early leads in this season but have simply failed to find consistency through the full 60-minute span of games. Against North Dakota, the Bulldogs managed to score a touchdown on the opening drive but didn’t score again until they were down by 35 points in the third quarter. 

North Dakota head coach Matt Entz spoke on the early success of the Bulldogs against the stout North Dakota defense in their opener, taking the blame for overpreparing his defense. 

“We need to be more on the attack, early and make people react to us,” Entz said. 

Ian Corwin, the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, has struggled to find consistency on a week-to-week basis. He has averaged just 131 yards per game through the air and has thrown four touchdowns to three interceptions in the team’s first three games. 

Drake hasn’t been able to find much consistency on the ground either, with a team average of just under 1.9 yards per carry against the Vandals. 

Unless Drake can right the ship quickly against some lesser-statured opponents in upcoming weeks, pushing for a league championship will continue inching towards an impossibility.