Drake football drops season opener vs. South Dakota Mines

The Drake football team lost to South Dakota Mines 38-35 on Aug. 27 at Drake Stadium. The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter but came up short in their season opener.

"I'm searching for words right now," Drake's first-year coach Matt Walker said. "That was not the way any of us wanted to start. So much credit to (South Dakota Mines), but we made mistakes that you just cannot have."

The two teams totaled nearly 1,100 yards of offense, with Drake racking up 559. Bulldogs quarterback Riley Warzynski passed for a school-record 535 yards, outdoing the previous mark of 455 set by Mike Grejbowski in 1970.

Drake's Willis Nofsinger finished with 168 receiving yards. Hank Foley added 146.

Linebacker J.R. Flood led Drake with a career-best 18 tackles.

Drake's next game is at Montana on Sept. 5.

Drake sports information contributed to this report .