Oct. 13, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #7: October 16, 2004 at Robert Morris Colonials 1:30 p.m. EDT Moon Stadium

The University of Dayton Flyers will take the field Saturday seeking a win that will assure them of their school-record 28th consecutive winning season, and there aren't too many tougher places they could have picked to do it. UD, historically the top team in the Pioneer Football League, travels to Pittsburgh to visit five-time Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris. Dayton is 5-1 and ranked #1 in both the Sports Network and Football Gazette polls, while RMU is 4-2, and ranked fifth. Saturday's game time at Moon Stadium is 1:30 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. Dayton's losses were to two of the four teams ranked ahead of the Flyers in last year's final Sports Network poll (Valparaiso and San Diego). Both teams are in the Pioneer Football League's North Division, along with UD, Butler and Drake.

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 317 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 35-5 record (13-2 in PFL action), and are part of two league championships.

The Game At A Glance... DAYTON (5-1) ROBERT MORRIS (4-2) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 220-44-1) Joe Walton (11th Yr., 71-34-1) Avg. Pts. O/D: 34.3/11.2 Avg. Pts. O/D: 31.7/20.2 Avg. Rush O/D: 261.8/100.2 Avg. Rush O/D: 142.8/71.7 Avg. Pass O/D: 146.3/124.3 Avg. Pass O/D: 259.0/205.2 Total Offense O/D: 408.2/224.5 Total Offense O/D: 401.8/276.8

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/267 Robert Morris D-Line 6-2/250 Dayton D-Line 6-2/243 Robert Morris O-Line 6-2/262

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 5-2. The two teams played seven consecutive seasons between 1996 and 2002. Dayton won the first three games, RMU won the next two, and the Flyers have won the last two meetings, 37-9 at Robert Morris in 2001, and 24-10 in Dayton on September 14, 2002. Saturday's game is a strength-on-strength matchup between Division I-AA's #4 rushing defense (RMU, allowing 71.5 yards a game) against I-AA's #5 rushing offense (UD's 261.8). This is the second time this season the Colonials have faced the I-AA Mid-Major #1 team. Robert Morris knocked off Duquesne 34-14 at home on September 11. Former New York Jets coach Joe Walton has been the only coach in RMU's 11-year football history, and he was honored by his University in a unique way. The Colonials' new on-campus facility, which is slated to open next year, will be named Joe Walton Stadium.

Flyer Facts... *Dayton's next win will assure it of a 28th straight winning season. That will extend the longest such streak in Division I. *The Flyers are the unanimous #1 pick 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 43 of a possible 49 weeks it has been in existence. *UD has not been shut out in 317 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. *UD has won its last 11 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. *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 102-24. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 74 wins.

Coach Mike Kelly...Is in his 24th year as a head coach (all at Dayton), and has 220 wins. His 52-3 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 .832 winning percentage (219-44-1) 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 25 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 was slotted anywhere from first to fourth in this year's football publications.

PFL Power...The Flyers' 44-6 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 (.810, 102-24) 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 175-32-1 (.844) 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 29 of its last 34 home games, and 14 of its last 15 road games. UD has won its last 11 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 43 of a possible 49 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 almost half of the time (24 of 49 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) Mahrt 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 as 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 five ranked foes from this week's polls--#5 Robert Morris, #6 Drake, #8 Morehead State, #10 USD, and #12 Valpo.

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. Staley is second (209 net yards) on the team in rushing and Hoyng is fourth (35.4) and together they have scored five rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 140.33 quarterback rating would easily lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 45 of 78 passing (just one interception) for 634 yards and four TD's. Staley leads UD in total offense (140.5 yards a game), and Hoyng is second (79.4). Hoyng missed the APSU game but returned to action for Davidson.

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack with a 60.5 average. He had a career-high 111 yards at Valparaiso, and has 176 in the last two games.

The Mongster Fullback...Junior fullback Matt Mong is not only the biggest UD starting fullback since 1976, he is also averaging 5.5 yards a carry. He has not been thrown for a loss this season. He missed the Valpo win.

Balancing Act...The Flyers lead the PFL in rushing, yet only one player averages more than 50 yards a game. In fact, six players average 25 or more and nine average 14 or more yards a game. Nine different players have scored at least one rushing touchdown.

Wrobo-Receiver...Junior wideout Ryan Wrobleski is just under the pace (roughly half a catch a game) to break the UD single-season record for receptions (55, held by Bill Franks). Wrobleski has 28 of UD's 62 receptions, 496 of UD's 878 receiving yards and four of the Flyers' five aerial touchdowns this season. His breakout game was 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 had more catches than he had last season (19) in 11 games. He needs just two 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 is second in the PFL in receiving yards per game (82.7).

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 opened holes for 19 rushing TD's (compared to just four by Flyer foes).

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 44, and only two other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 29 solo tackles. He is eighth in the PFL in solo tackles. Jones was also the PFL Special Teams co-Player of the Week after blocking a PAT and scoring a TD in punt coverage against Davidson. 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 fourth on the team in tackles (25) even though he missed the Austin Peay and Davidson games. He came back in a big way at Valparaiso, leading the team with six hits, including three QB pressures, two fumbles forced and a sack. 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 33, even though he missed the Davidson win.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is fourth on the team in tackles (28) and leads the team with five passes batted down. He is tied for eighth 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 (11.2 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 30 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 17 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' 24 passes defensed (13 players), nine fumbles forced (7), nine fumbles recovered (8) and ten sacks (9).

Putting The Special In Special Teams...Senior kicker Jason Resch has been named Football Gazette Special Teams Player of the Week three times in six weeks this 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. Resch leads the PFL in kick scoring (8.33 points a game, which is also third overall in the league), field goals (1.33 field goals a game) and field goal percentage (.667, 8-12).

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 317 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 #6--Dayton 38, Valparaiso 7...The Dayton Flyers used a dominant performance in the first half to propel them to a 38-7 win at Valparaiso. UD led 31-0 at halftime, and out-gained the Crusaders 230 to 23 in the first half in the Pioneer Football League North Division opener for both teams. The game matched up Dayton, this year's pre-season PFL North favorite, against the defending PFL champion Crusaders. They sparred early in the game, exchanging punts the first two times they had the ball, then the Flyers forced a break. Jack O'Dell punted 36 yards to the VU nine, where Bill Groetsema forced a fumble and Scott Wintering fell on it. Three plays later Marques Warner ran it in from the four. After another Valpo three-and-out, UD needed just a pass interference penalty and a 32-yard run by Ryan Wrobleski (along with Jason Resch's second PAT of the day) to lead 14-0. Dayton had 82 yards in total offense in the first period, while holding Valparaiso to a negative two yards. Resch opened the second quarter scoring with a 45-yard field goal (matching his career best), and then Warner and Wrobleski each ran for another TD to build the Flyer lead to 31-0 at halftime. Dayton had 218 yards in the first half, while holding the Crusaders to minus four yards. In the third quarter, VU put together its only scoring drive, and in the process, gained nearly half of its 172-yard offensive output on its 83-yard drive with 8:50 left in the third quarter to make the score 31-7. Neither team was able to put together any offensive rhythm until the Flyers put together a game-defining 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive that ate up six minutes and 39 seconds. Brandon Godsey scored the two-yard TD, but the drive was mostly the handiwork of the Dayton offensive line and starting tailback Steve Verhoff. Verhoff had five carries for 49 yards on the drive, and four of the runs resulted in first downs. Verhoff ended the day with a career-high 11 yards on 24 carries and also caught two of UD's passes for nine more yards. The Dayton defense was led by senior defensive tackle Chris Dearth. The senior co-captain returned to action after suffering a serious knee injury in the Yale game. The two-week layoff didn't affect his production, as Dearth led UD with six tackles, forced two fumbles, was credited with one QB sack, knocked down a pass at the line and also had three QB pressures. The Flyers came up with four turnovers in the game (fumble recoveries by Wintering and Jared McQuiston, and interceptions by Brandon Cramer and Eric Heideloff). The Crusaders were held to just 47 yards rushing, and their quarterbacks completed just nine of 26 passes. Aside from the six-play, 83-yard TD drive, VU averaged 1.1 yards per play.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring offense (34.3), scoring defense (11.2), rushing defense (100.2), total offense (408.2), total defense (224.5), passing efficiency (130.0), passing efficiency defense (84.8), third-down conversions (43.7%), opponent third down conversions (39.2%), opponent fourth-down conversions (10.0%), opponent first downs (66), PAT % (26-26), field goals (8), red-zone defense (61.5%) and time of possession (34:55).

PFL Schedule...In other Pioneer Football League action, Drake is at Butler (2 p.m. EST) and Valparaiso is at San Diego (4:30 p.m. EST). In the South Division, Austin Peay is at Jacksonville (12:30 p.m. EST), and Morehead is at Davidson (1 p.m. EST).

Up Next...Dayton returns home and returns to PFL action when Butler comes to Welcome Stadium on Parent's Weekend. Game time is 1:00 p.m. EDT.