Sept. 29, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #5: October 2, 2004 vs. Davidson Wildcats 1:00 p.m. EDT Welcome Stadium

The University of Dayton football team returns home for the only time in a four-game stretch Saturday when Davidson visits Welcome Stadium. UD (3-1) is coming off a dominant 40-0 win at Austin Peay last week, while Davidson (1-3) grabbed its first win of 2004 with a 21-14 triumph over Butler. Saturday's game time is 1:00 p.m. EDT.

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 in the Football Gazette and Sports Network rankings). 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 315 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 33-5 record (12-2 in PFL action), and are part of two league championships.

The Game At A Glance... DAYTON (3-1) DAVIDSON (1-2) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 218-44-1) Mike Toop (4th Yr., 16-17) Avg. Pts. O/D: 30.8/8.2 Avg. Pts. O/D: 16.0/23.7 Avg. Rush O/D: 224.5/104.0 Avg. Rush O/D: 115.3/211.3 Avg. Pass O/D: 171.8/106.8 Avg. Pass O/D: 222.7/194.0 Total Offense O/D: 396.2/210.8 Total Offense O/D: 338.0/405.3

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/267 Davidson D-Line 6-0/252 Dayton D-Line 6-1/233 Davidson O-Line 6-1/267

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 2-0. The first meeting was in 1989, when the Wildcats came to Dayton and were defeated 49-7. While Dayton also won last year's game 32-25 at Davidson, the flow of the game couldn't have been more different. The Flyers came from behind to score the winning TD with 19 seconds to go. Quarterback Brandon Staley accounted for all 80 yards in UD's game-winning drive (four passes for 62 yards, three runs for 18 yards, including the game-winning 12-yard TD). He also was a part of all four UD touchdowns--running for two and passing for two. Davidson's win over Butler last week was spearheaded by senior free safety Kevin Saunders. Saunders was named the PFL Defensive Player of the Week after coming up with nine tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass at the goal line in the third quarter when the `Cats were protecting a seven-point lead. The win over Butler snapped a six-game losing streak for Davidson. The Wildcat offense is led by quarterback Damion White, who is second in the PFL in total offense (208.0).

Flyer Facts... *Dayton's win at Austin Peay was the Flyers' 100th win as a I-AA team. Since I-AA Non-Scholarship/Mid-Major football began at the start of the 1993 season, the Flyers are 100-24. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 73 wins. *UD has not been shut out in 315 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. Davidson has not been blanked in 53 games, the second-longest streak in the Pioneer Football League. *The Flyers are ranked #1 in this week's NCAA I-AA Mid-Major rankings by the Football Gazette, and the Sports Network. UD has been ranked #1 or #2 in the Sports Network poll for 41 of a possible 47 weeks the poll has been in existence. *UD leads I-AA in scoring defense, allowing just 8.3 points a game. *Kicker Jason Resch was named Football Gazette and PFL Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time in four weeks after kicking a UD-record-tying four field goals at Austin Peay.

Coach Mike Kelly...Is in his 24th year as a head coach (all at Dayton), and has 218 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 .831 winning percentage (218-44-1) 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 (.806, 100-24) 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 13 of its last 14 road games. UD has won its last ten road games dating back to the last regular-season game of 2001.

Ranking Run...Dayton is ranked #1 this week in both the Football Gazette rankings and Sports Network poll. UD has been ranked either first or second in the Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major poll for 41 of a possible 47 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 almost half of the time (22 of 47 weeks).

Oh Captains, My Captains...Seniors Chris Dearth, Doug Jones and Brandon Staley are the Flyer 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 one of the toughest schedules among I-AA Mid-Major teams. The Flyers play four ranked foes from this week's poll--#2 Robert Morris, #6 Drake, #8 Valparaiso and #10 San Diego. Davidson plays two this year.

Pre-Season All-Americans...The Sports Network and I-AA.org both picked senior safety Doug Jones as one of their pre-season 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 fourth (34.0 yards a game) on the team in rushing and Staley is fifth (26.2) and together they have scored five of UD's ten rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 157.73 quarterback rating would easily lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 35 of 56 passing (no interceptions) for 517 yards and three TD's. In the same scenario, Hoyng's 117.82 rating would place him second in the PFL (behind Staley). Hoyng is 10 of 20 (one pick) for 146 yards and a TD. Staley leads UD in total offense (517 yards in 86 plays), and Hoyng is second (248 yards in 41 plays). Hoyng missed the APSU game but is back on the depth chart this week.

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack 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 (36.0 yards a game), while averaging 5.3 yards a carry.

Balancing Act...The Flyers are second in the PFL in rushing, yet no player averages more than 50 yards a game. In fact, four players average 30 or more, six 20 or more and nine average 10 or yards a game. Seven different players have scored at least one rushing touchdown.

Wrobo-Receiver...Junior wideout Ryan Wrobleski has 22 of UD's 47 receptions, 390 of UD's 687 receiving yards and three of the Flyers' four 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. After four games this year, he already has more catches than he had last season (19) in 11 games. He needs just eight more to match last year's season leader, Jason Schmidt. 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 (97.5).

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 six sacks, and has opened holes for ten rushing TD's (compared to just two by Flyer foes). The two sacks allowed are the second-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 32, and only three other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 21 solo tackles. He is fifth in the PFL in solo tackles (21). 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 third on the team in tackles (25) even though he missed the Austin Peay game. 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 second on the team in tackles with 30.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is fourth on the team in tackles (22) and leads the team with four passes batted down. He is tied for third in the PFL in passes defensed (1.0 per game).

Can't Spell Dayton Without The D...UD leads NCAA Division I-AA in scoring defense (8.3 points allowed per game) The Flyers' 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 20 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 13 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' 14 passes broken up (8 players), six fumbles forced (6), five fumbles recovered (5) and four sacks (5, with two players each getting credit for a half-sack).

Putting The Special In Special Teams...Senior kicker Jason Resch has been named Football Gazette and PFL Special Teams Player of the Week twice in the first four weeks of the season. At Austin Peay, he tied a UD record with four field goals, and was also 5-5 in PAT's. He was first named after going 5-5 in PAT's and nailing a career-long 48-yard field goal in the season-opening Tiffin win. He became the 38th player in UD history to score more than 100 career points at APSU. He now has 106.

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 315 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.

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 #4--Dayton 40, Austin Peay 0...In business, the old saying goes "Location, location, location." In football, substitute "field position" for "location" and you get the same meaning. And that's a great place to start in describing Saturday's 40-0 win by the University of Dayton over Austin Peay. APSU was in Dayton territory once the entire game (late in the second half), while Dayton finished 12 of its 14 possessions in Austin Peay's side of the 50. In fact, just five plays were run from scrimmage in Dayton territory in the second half (all by Dayton), and that included the last three of the game when Dayton got the ball on its own 20 to run out the clock. Austin Peay's average field position for the game was its own 22-yard line, while UD's was its own 47. The Flyers took the opening kickoff and drove 46 yards to set up the first of four Jason Resch field goals to give UD a 3-0 lead. Resch's four field goals tied the UD record for field goals in a single game. It had been done six other times by five different Dayton kickers (Greg Schwarber, Mike Duvic, Tim Duvic, Jesse Obert and John Bianchi twice). The Flyers dominated two key statistical areas. They had 26 first downs, compared to just five for Austin Peay, and Dayton had a virtual two-to-one advantage in time of possession. UD had the ball for 39 minutes and 50 seconds, compared to 20 minutes and 10 seconds for the hosts. Staley completed his first seven passes of the game en route to a 12-for-16, 123-yard day passing. Dence was two-for-two for 24 yards to complete his first career passes in a Dayton uniform as well. Wrobleski continued his breakout season with seven catches for 99 yards. His 22 catches in the first four games of 2004 are already more than he had last year in 11 games (19), when he was second on the team. UD out-gained the Govs 253 to 34 on the ground. Nine Flyers carried the ball, and all had ten yards or more. Six had more than 20 yards and three had more than 30. Warner led with 57 yards on 10 rushes. The Dayton defense had a tremendous day across the board. APSU tailback Chris Fletcher came into the game averaging 102.7 yards a game, but had no room to operate and was held to just nine net yards on 10 carries. UD's secondary allowed Governor quarterbacks to complete consecutive passes on just two occasions. Linebacker John Hoppe led the Flyers with five hits. Six more Dayton defenders had three tackles-Brian Kelly, Casey Klaus, Chance Walton, Pat Weale, Mike Neuberger and Chris Cowan. Cowan joined Resch as a special teams hero. He returned a total of seven punts for 114 yards, and in the third quarter he made certain the Flyers would have a short field to work with. He returned back-to-back punts of 30 and 26 yards to the APSU 25 and 38 respectively.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring offense (30.75), scoring defense (8.25), rushing defense (104.00), pass defense (106.8), total offense (396.2), total defense (210.8), passing efficiency (148.6), passing efficiency defense (80.3), punt returns (10.0), third-down conversions (44.4%), opponent third down conversions (30.6%), fourth-down conversions (0-7), opponent first downs (42), PAT % (11-11), red-zone defense (44.4%) and time of possession (33:42). Individually, Jason Resch leads the PFL in scoring (8.2 points a game), field goals per game (1.50), field goal % (.600, 6-10) and PAT% (15-15). Ryan Wrobleski leads the league in receiving yards per game (97.5), and Jack O'Dell leads in punting (38.1). Wrobleski is second in receptions per game (5.50). Chris Cowan is second in put return average (10.0).

Up Next...Dayton opens Pioneer Football league action next Saturday, playing at defending league champion Valparaiso. Game time at Brown Field is 2:30 p.m. EDT.