Sept. 22, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #4: September 25, 2004 at Austin Peay Governors 2:00 p.m. EDT Governors Stadium

The University of Dayton football team takes to the road for the first time in 2004 when the Flyers visit Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tennessee. UD is looking to bounce back after a heart-stopping 24-17 loss to Yale. The Flyers took the powerful Bulldogs to the final seconds when a 62-yard drive with no timeouts ended at the 15-yard-line. UD has won its last nine road games dating back to the 2001 season.

UD was 9-2 overall last season, and finished 2003 ranked fifth in the final Sports Network NCAA I-AA Mid-Major poll and seventh in the final Football Gazette rankings (the Flyers are currently ranked #1 by the Football Gazette and #2 by the Sports Network). Two of the four teams ranked ahead of Dayton in last year's final Sports Network poll-San Diego and eventual PFL champion Valparaiso-are also members of the PFL's North Division.

The Flyers have had 27 straight winning seasons (among D-I schools, only Florida State, who also has 27 in a row, has done as well). And UD has not been shut out in an NCAA-leading 314 games. The Flyers have won outright or shared the Pioneer Football League Championship eight times in the 11-year history of the league.

Since moving to non-scholarship football in 1977, UD has the second-best winning percentage in all of college football (.833, behind Mt. Union's .851). UD's senior class has a 32-5 record (12-2 in PFL action), and are part of two league championships.

The Game At A Glance... DAYTON (2-1) AUSTIN PEAY (0-3) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 217-44-1) Carroll McCray (2nd Yr., 4-8) Avg. Pts. O/D: 27.7/11.0 Avg. Pts. O/D: 14.0/27.3 \Avg. Rush O/D: 215.0/127.3 Avg. Rush O/D: 101.3/175.7 Avg. Pass O/D: 180.0/112.7 Avg. Pass O/D: 201.7/236.7 Total Offense O/D: 395.0/240.0 Total Offense O/D: 303.0/412.3

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/267 Austin Peay D-Line 6-1/242 Dayton D-Line 6-2/243 Austin Peay O-Line 6-2/285

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 4-1, and has won the last four meetings. The Flyers won last year's game 35-13 in Dayton on September 20. Dayton led by a slim 7-6 margin at halftime, then scored the next 28 points to put the game away. APSU is led by tailback Chris Fletcher. A true freshman, Fletcher is averaging 102.7 yards a game. He gained 161 yards in his college debut at Campbellsville. Junior quarterback Jesse Kellogg has put a poor opening-game performance behind him to complete 43 of 80 passes for 408 yards. The Govs offensive line is anchored by returning starters Geoff Stahl at center, Wes Proctor at tackle and Adam Rector at guard. First-year sophomore Earl Williams leads the defense from his middle linebacker position. Williams leads the team in tackles (30), solo hits (16), tackles for loss (3), sacks (tied with 2) and fumbles forced (1).

Flyer Facts... *Dayton's next win will be its 100th win as a I-AA team. Since I-AA Non-Scholarship/Mid-Major football came into being starting with the 1993 season, the Flyers are 99-24. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 73 wins. *UD has won its last nine road games. Dayton's last road loss came in the last regular season game of 2001, a 41-7 loss at then scholarship St. Mary's of California on November 10, 2001. *UD has not been shutout in 314 straight games, the best such string in all of college football. The last team to shut out the Flyers was Marshall, 9-0, on October 16, 1976. *The Flyers are ranked #1 in this week's NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major ranking by the Football Gazette, and #2 in the Sports Network poll. *UD leads the Pioneer Football League in nine of the ten traditional "from scrimmage" statistical categories (offense/defense in rushing, total yardage, scoring and pass efficiency, and pass defense. Only Davidson's 273.5 yards in passing offense prevent a Flyer sweep.

Coach Mike Kelly...Is in his 24th year as a head coach (all at Dayton), and has 217 wins. His win in 2002 at Valparaiso, in the 242nd game of his career, made him the second-fastest football coach to reach 200 wins in NCAA history. Only Florida A&M's Jake Gaither, who got to 200 wins in just 240 career games, did it faster (Since then, Larry Kehres of Mt. Union reached 200 wins in 220 games). When Kelly won his 200th, he replaced Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno in the #2 slot. Paterno did it in 246 games. Other notable coaches to reach 200 relatively quickly are Nebraska's Tom Osborne (did it in 249 games), Michigan's Bo Schembechler (262), Ohio State's Woody Hayes (268), Ithaca's Jim Butterfield (268), Stanford's Pop Warner (276), Florida State's Bobby Bowden (279) and Alabama's Bear Bryant (282). Kelly's .830 winning percentage (217-44-1) ranks third all-time among college coaches with 20+ years as a head coach (#1 among active coaches). He trails Florida A&M legend Jake Gaither (.844) and Osborne (.836).

More Mike Kelly...In addition, only six other active coaches at the Division I level--Florida State's Bobby Bowden (342), Penn State's Joe Paterno (339), South Carolina's Lou Holtz (243), Florida A&M's Billy Joe (234), Sam Houston State's Ron Randleman (207) and Albany's Bob Ford (201)--won more than 200 games going into 2004.

Even More Mike ...Mike Kelly was the Football Gazette NCAA Division I-AA Non-Scholarship and Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2001, the PFL Coach of the Year in 2000, and the Football Gazette's Coach of the Year in 2002. UD's win over Evansville in 1996 gave him 150 career wins, making him the third-fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 150 wins, and one of only four to reach 150 in his 16th season. The other three are certain College Football Hall of Famers--Barry Switzer (2001 inductee), Tom Osborne (1998) and Joe Paterno (not in yet, but do you want to bet against him?). Kelly is UD's winningest football coach, surpassing 1990 College Football Hall of Famer Harry Baujan in 1993.

Kelly Gets Lackner Award...Coach Kelly was awarded one the University of Dayton's top honors when he received the Lackner Award in 2001. The award is presented to the UD employee who best represents the spirit of Brother Elmer Lackner, S.M., who served the University for 45 years.

Coaching Experience...The Flyers are fortunate to have an experienced coaching staff with three of the coaches at UD for at least 20 seasons: Mike Kelly, Head Coach (Manchester '70), 24th season as head coach, 28th at UD Dave Whilding, Off. Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Earlham '71), 27th Rick Chamberlin, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers (Dayton '80), 25th

PFL Stands For Pick The Flyers To Lead...UD was named the preseason favorite to win the Pioneer Football League's North Division once again in the annual vote by the league's coaches. This is the fourth straight season UD has been picked to win the league, although there is more variety in pre-season prognostications than in the past--Dayton has been slotted anywhere from first to fourth in this year's football publications.

PFL Power...The Flyers' 43-6 PFL record is the best in the 11-year history of the league.

Tops In I-AA Non-Scholarship...In the 12 years I-AA Non-Scholarship has been an option, UD has the best winning percentage (.805, 99-24) of the 27 schools playing at this level.

Welcome Mat...The UD Flyers moved to Welcome Stadium in 1974. The word "Welcome" implies hospitality, but Dayton has been anything but hospitable to its opponents at home. UD is 174-32-1 (.843) at home. The "Welcome" in Welcome Stadium is not a greeting, but honors the late Percival Welcome, longtime Director of Athletics for the Dayton Public Schools. UD has won 28 of its last 33 home games, and 12 of its last 13 road games. UD was 4-0 away in 2003, 5-0 away in 2002, and takes a nine-game road winning streak in 2004.

Ranking Run...Dayton is ranked #1 this week in the Football Gazette rankings, and #2 in the Sports Network poll. UD has been ranked either first or second in the Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major poll for 40 of a possible 46 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 almost half of the time (21 of 46 weeks).

Oh Captains, My Captains...Seniors Chris Dearth, Doug Jones and Brandon Staley have been named football captains for the 2004 season. Dearth was a first-team All-Pioneer Football League performer, tallying 51 total tackles, 22 solo tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He was selected a First Team Pre-Season All-American by the Football Gazette. Chris' brother Eric was a captain last season, making the Dearths only the third set of brothers to serve as Flyer football captains. Al (1914), John (1922) and Lou (1925) were the first, and more recently Mark (1998) and Brad (1999) Thobe were the second. Jones earned First Team Division I-AA Mid-Major All-America honors from the Sports Network, and was also named a First Team Academic All-America in his first year as a starter. He led UD in tackles (105), solo tackles (60) and tackles in the backfield (11). He was chosen a pre-season All-American by the Sports Network (first team) and Football Gazette (second team). Staley's 1,961 yards in total offense were the fourth-best single-season total in UD history. He completed 100 of 169 passes (.592) for 1,617 yards and eight touchdowns, with eight interceptions. He was also Dayton's third-leading rusher with 344 net yards and eight rushing TD's. The Football Gazette tabbed him a Second Team Pre-Season All-American.

Strength Of Schedule...UD plays more of the top ten teams in the Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Poll than any other ranked team. The Flyers play five ranked foes from the September 13 poll--#2 Robert Morris, #5 San Diego, #6 Valparaiso, #7 Drake and #10 Morehead State.

Pre-Season All-Americans...The Sports Network and I-AA.org both picked senior safety Doug Jones as one of their Pre-Season First Team All-Americans. The Football Gazette awarded senior defensive tackle Chris Dearth the same honor. In addition, the Football Gazette named Jones to its second team, along with junior quarterback Brandon Staley and junior offensive tackle Ryan Winner. The Gazette also named kicker Jason Resch, punter Brian Gooding and tailback Marques Warner (as a kick returner) Honorable Mention All-Americans.

Shouldn't Two Quarterbacks Equal One Halfback?...Actually no, although based on the running ability they have demonstrated, both of UD's quarterbacks--redshirt junior Brandon Staley and redshirt freshman Kevin Hoyng--would probably make one fine halfback all by themselves. As it is, they give the Flyers a dynamic duo at quarterback. Hoyng is third (34.0 yards a game) on the team in rushing and Staley is fourth (28.0) and tegether they have scored five of UD's seven rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 156.74 quarterback rating would easily lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 23 of 40 passing (no interceptions) for 394 yards and two TD's. In the same scenario, Hoyng's 117.82 rating would place him third in the PFL (behind Staley and Valparaiso's Joe Milazzo). Hoyng is 10 of 20 (one pick) for 146 yards and a TD. Staley leads UD in total offense (478 yards in 60 plays), and Hoyng is second (248 yards in 41 plays).

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack that leads the PFL in rushing (215,0 yards a game) even though no single player averages more than 50 yards a game. Verhoff leads with a 47.0 average. He had a career-high 58 tough yards in the Yale game.

The Mongster Fullback...Junior fullback Matt Mong is not only the biggest UD starting fullback since 1976, he is also second on the team in rushing (37.0 yardsa game), while leading the team in yards a carry (5.6).

Wrobo-Receiver...Junior wideout Ryan Wrobleski has 15 of UD's 33 receptions, 291 of UD's 540 receiving yards and two of the Flyers' three aerial touchdowns this season. The bulk of them came in the Morehead State win. Wrobleski had seven catches for 203 yards and two TD's. He missed the UD game records in all three categories "by that much"--three catches, 20 yards and one score. He was named the PFL co-Offensive Player of the Week. He caught five passes for 67 yards versus Yale, including three straight for 53 in UD's last drive that ended at the Yale 15 and the clock ticking away. A Detroit native, Wrobleski changed his number from #6 this season, following in the University of Michigan tradition of anointing the top Wolverine pass-catcher with #1. He leads the PFL in receiving yards per game (97.0).

To Serve And Protect...The UD offensive line continues to be the unsung heroes of the Dayton attack. Led by Ryan Winner, 6-6 junior offensive tackle who ran a 6:16 mile at the beginning of pre-season camp, the O-line has allowed just two sacks, and has opened holes for seven rushing TD's (compared to just two by Flyer foes). The two sacks allowed are the fewest in the PFL.

Meat-Seeking Missile...Senior safety Doug Jones is the poster boy of the Dayton defense's mantra of "Fly to the Football." Jones leads UD in hits with 30, and only two other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 19 solo tackles. He is third in the PFL and tied for 20th in the country in solo tackles per game (6.33). He led the Flyers with 104 total hits in 2003, and was named a Sports Network Mid-Major All-American, and First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

Dearth To Those Who Oppose Him...Senior defensive tackle Chris Dearth is tied for second on the team in tackles (25) after two games. Chris and his brother Eric (who graduated last year) are the third set of brothers to be Dayton football captains.

Are You Making Tackles, Or Just Hoppe To See Me?...Junior linebacker (and first-year starter) John Hoppe is tied for second on the team in tackles with 25.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is fourth on the team in tackles (19) and leads the team with three passes batted down. He is tied for fourth in the PFL in passes defensed (1.0 per game).

Can't Spell Dayton Without The D...UD's defensive performance this season has truly been a team effort. Name the category, and a plethora of players, a division of defenders, a flock of Flyers...you get the idea. Of the 16 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 11 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' eight passes broken up (5 players), five fumbles forced (5), four fumbles recovered (4) and four sacks (5, with two players each getting credit for a half-sack).

Putting The Special In Special Teams...Senior kicker Jason Resch was named PFL Special Teams Player of the Week after going 5-5 in PAT's and nailing a career-long 48-yard field goal in the Tiffin win.

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 314 games, the longest active streak in college football. When you talk streaks, you should speak of Cal Ripken. Cal ended his streak in 1998, but the Flyers didn't. The last time the Flyers were shut out (versus Marshall on October 16, 1976), Cal Ripken Jr. was a 16-year-old high school student at Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland. Putting it another way, Dayton has not been blanked in nearly three decades. And while Ripken's Farewell Tour is over, the Flyer offense isn't going anywhere, having averaged 31.9 points a game during the streak.

Hitting The Books...The University of Dayton had three football CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in 2003, the most from one school for the third straight year. UD had eight players named to the 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, which was nearly double any other team in the district (Ohio State had five). UD has had 41 football Academic All-Americans. Among schools currently playing Division I football, only Nebraska (78)and Notre Dame (44) have had more. UD has had at least one football player named Academic All-American in 12 of the last 13 years. Twelve Flyers were nominated for Academic All-America last year.

Gotta Play Smart...The University of Dayton placed a league-best 11 players (tied with San Diego) on the 2003 Academic All-Pioneer Football League team. Since the league's origin in 1993, nearly a third (103 of 364) of the PFL All-Academic selections have been Dayton Flyers. UD also had a league-high 49 players on the PFL Academic Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or better). Drake was next with 38.

Best Of The Best...When Mark Kasmer was named one of just 13 National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Scholar-Athletes following the 2002 season, he became the fifth UD player to be so honored. Only 35 football playing schools have five or more National Football Foundation Scholar-Athletes. That list of schools with more includes Nebraska (19), Ohio State (18), Notre Dame (14), Penn State (14), Air Force (13), Army (13), USC (12), Georgia (10), Princeton (10), Stanford (10), Washington (9), Michigan (8), Missouri (8), Texas (8), UCLA (8), Yale (8), Harvard (7), Ole Miss (7), Navy (7), SMU (7), VMI (7), Dartmouth (6), Florida State (6), Furman (6), Illinois (6), MIT (6) and Oklahoma (6).

Super Stat...When Jon Gruden coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XXXVII, he became the second UD grad to coach a Super Bowl winner. Former UD co-captain and 1993 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls (IX, X, XII. & XIV) as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Noll started at center and linebacker for the Flyers and graduated from the University in 1953. Gruden played quarterback at Dayton and earned his degree in 1986. UD became only the third school to have two alumni coach Super Bowl winners. The others are San Jose State, with grads Bill Walsh (XIV, XIX, XXIII) and Dick Vermeil (XXXIV), and Arkansas with grads Jimmy Johnson (XXVII, XXVIII) and Barry Switzer (XXX). Gruden is the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, and Noll is the fourth-youngest. As a matter of fact, UD has ties to 18 Super Bowl rings. In addition to Noll's four and Gruden's one, five former members of Dayton coaching staff own a total of 13 Super Bowl rings between them. They are the late Len Fontes (New York Giants, Super Bowl XXI), Jon's father Jim Gruden (San Francisco 49ers, Super Bowls XXII & XXIV), John McVay (49ers, XVI, XIX, XXII, & XXIV), Tom Moore (Pittsburgh Steelers, XIII & XIV) and George Perles (Steelers, IX, X, XII & XIV). McVay was the Flyers' head coach from 1965-72. The other four were UD assistants.

Game #3--Yale 24, Dayton 17...Brandon Staley's furious game-tying drive in the final seconds came up just short, as did Dayton's bid to upset Yale. The Flyers fell 24-17 in a thriller before an impressive crowd of 6,178 at Welcome Stadium, after leading the Ivy League powerhouse 14-10 at the half. It appeared the Flyers were out of chances as a UD drive ended on its own 26-yard line with 1:46 remaining. Following a timeout on fourth-and-two, a costly illegal formation penalty against UD negated what would have been a first-down run of four yards by Steve Verhoff. Brandon Staley's pass on fourth-and-seven went for just three yards, giving Yale excellent field position and a chance to run out the clock with 1:46 to go. But with the benefit of a solid defensive stand and a pair of timeouts, the Flyers forced the Bulldogs into a fourth-and-three at the 19-yard line with 44 seconds remaining. Instead of attempting a 36-yard field goal to ice the victory, Yale handed the ball to Rob Carr, who was tackled in the backfield by John Hoppe and Casey Klaus. Now with new life and needing to go 78 yards in 40 seconds, Staley marched the Flyers downfield by air. He completed a 10-yard pass to Verhoff and then three consecutive completions to Ryan Wrobleski of 18, 11 and 24 yards to set up the game's final play. From the 15-yard line with 12 seconds on the clock, Staley took the snap in shotgun formation and was forced to scramble after the pocket collapsed. Trying to make something out of nothing, the ball squirted loose after Staley pitched it and Yale's Fred Jelks pounced on it as time expired. Staley put the Flyers on the board first, as he led the offense downfield and capped the game's opening drive with a six-yard touchdown run with 9:45 in the first quarter. But Yale answered right back on its first drive, going 72 yards on six plays in 2:25. Fifth-year QB Alvin Cowan, who was a finalist for last year's Walter Payton award, connected with Chandler Henley for a 31-yard TD reception to tie the game at 7-7. The game's next score didn't come until 8:58 to go in the second quarter when Yale's Andrew Sullivan drilled a 27-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up 10-7. But this time, the Flyers answered on the ensuing drive. Staley guided the Flyers down field and put UD back up, 14-10, on a dazzling 37-yard TD catch in the end zone by Willy Will. UD would take the lead into the half. Henley and Cowan hooked up again with 8:30 to play in third, as the lead flipped back to the Bulldogs. Cowan hit Henley for a 21-yard TD reception to give Yale the 17-14 advantage. UD kicker Jason Resch nailed a 25-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining in the third, equalizing the score again at 17-17. Yale running back Rob Carr's two-yard TD run with 10:45 remaining in the game would prove to be the difference. Carr carried the ball 37 times for a game-high 172 yards, averaging almost five yards per rush. On the eventual game-winning drive, Carr touched the ball on seven of 13 plays, including the two-yard carry for his lone TD of the game. For the game, Staley was 11-of-18 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown. Four Flyers racked up double-digit tackles, led by Doug Jones' 12. Hoppe and Brandon Cramer each made 11 while Klaus was in on 10.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring offense (27.7), scoring defense (11.0), rushing offense (215.0), rushing defense (127.3), pass defense (112.7), total offense (395.0), total defense (240.0), passing efficiency (143.8), passing efficiency defense (87.5), third-down conversions (50.0%), opponent fourth-down conversions (0-6), opponent first downs (37), sacks allowed (2), PAT % (11-11) and red-zone defense (44.4%).

Up Next...Dayton returns home to meet Davidson. Game time at Welcome Stadium is 1:00 p.m. EDT.