Oct. 20, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #8: October 23, 2004 vs. Butler Bulldogs 1:00 p.m. EDT Welcome Stadium

The University of Dayton Flyers enter the home stretch of the 2004 regular season with three straight games that will determine their fate in the quest to win the Pioneer Football League championship. UD plays three straight games against PFL North Division foes, beginning Saturday with the Butler Bulldogs. Dayton is currently 1-0 in the PFL, and is second in the division behind next week's opponent, Drake who is 2-0. Saturday's Parent's Weekend game time is 1:00 p.m. EDT.

UD is 6-1 overall and ranked #1 in both the Sports Network and Football Gazette polls. The Flyers have clinched their 28th straight winning season. That's the longest streak in Division I (among D-I schools, only 5-1 Florida State, who also entered 2004 with 27 in a row, can match the Flyers). And UD has not been shut out in an NCAA-leading 318 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 36-5 record (14-2 in PFL action), and are part of two league championships.

After Saturday's Butler game, UD is home against Drake on October 30, and then closes the regular season at San Diego on November 6. The PFL Championship Game will be hosted by the South Division winner on November 20.

The Game At A Glance... DAYTON (6-1, 1-0) BUTLER (1-6, 0-1) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 221-44-1) Kit Cartwright (3rd Yr., 7-21) Avg. Pts. O/D: 33.6/11.3 Avg. Pts. O/D: 10.0/28.4 Avg. Rush O/D: 253.4/95.1 Avg. Rush O/D: 103.0/229.1 Avg. Pass O/D: 136.6/141.3 Avg. Pass O/D: 168.1/163.0 Total Offense O/D: 390.0/236.4 Total Offense O/D: 271.1/392.1

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/267 Butler D-Line 6-2/260 Dayton D-Line 6-2/243 Butler O-Line 6-2/266

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 21-7-1, and has won the last nine meetings between the two teams. Last year's game was a 40-0 Dayton win at the Butler Bowl on October 25. The Flyers and Bulldogs played in Dayton the last time on October 5, 2002 (a 41-0 UD victory). Butler's 1-6 record includes three losses by a touchdown or less. Injuries haven't helped coach Kit Cartwright's cause. On offense, three starters are currently out--tailback Justin Campbell, wideout Phil Vondran, and tight end Mike Jasinski. Two starting defenders in the middle of the "Dog defense--middle linebacker Dave Inman and free safety Ben Hess--are out. Even special teams are hit, with punter Bob Farmer suffering a knee injury while seeing time at quarterback last week against Drake. But it wasn't all bad news last week. Senior strong safety Andy Nelson tied the Butler record for interceptions in a game with three a week ago. Senior quarterback Ian Nelson not only has completed 57.4% of his passes (93 of 162) for 922 yards, but he is also the team's leading rusher, with 291 net yards and two of the team's four rushing TD's.

Flyer Facts... *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 44 of a possible 50 weeks it has been in existence. *UD has not been shut out in 318 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 12 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 103-24. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 75 wins. *Senior safety Doug Jones was the PFL's Defensive Player of the Week last week after leading UD in hits (7), intercepting a pass that he returned for a TD and blocking a punt that resulted in a safety. Jones, a 2003 First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, headed the list of 12 Flyers who were nominated for Academic All-America this week.

Coach Mike Kelly...Is in his 24th year as a head coach (all at Dayton), and has 221 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 .833 winning percentage (221-44-1) 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 (.811, 103-24) 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 15 of its last 16 road games. UD has won its last 12 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 44 of a possible 50 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 exactly half of the time (25 of 50 weeks).

Oh Captains, My Captains...Seniors Chris Dearth, Doug Jones and Brandon Staley are the Flyer football captains for the 2004 season. Last 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 Drake, #6 Robert Morris, #8 San Diego, #10 MSU, and #14 Davidson.

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 on the team in rushing (36.0 yards per game), and Staley is fifth (29.0). Together they have scored five rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 137.40 quarterback rating would easily lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 49 of 86 passing (just one interception) for 690 yards and four TD's. Staley leads UD in total offense (127.6 yards a game), and Hoyng is second (76.3). Hoyng missed the APSU game but returned to action for Davidson.

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack with a 63.5 average. He had a career-high 111 yards at Valparaiso, and has 255 in the last three 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, but has missed the last two games.

Marshall, Marshall, Marshall...Sophomore fullback Matt Marshall has come through in two starts while Mong has been out. Marshall has 122 yards in 15 carries (8.1 yards a carry) and has 25 knockdown blocks. For the season, he has the best per-carry average of any of UD's backs (7.3).

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 12 or more yards a game. Nine different players have scored at least one rushing touchdown.

Wrobo-Receiver...Junior wideout Ryan Wrobleski needs just seven catches to double what he had last season in 11 games (19). Wrobleski has 31 of UD's 68 receptions, 551 of UD's 956 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. 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 (78.7).

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 21 rushing TD's (compared to just five 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 51, and only three other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 32 solo tackles. Jones was the PFL Defensive Player of the Week after the Robert Morris win. He intercepted a pass and returned it 30 yards for a TD, blocked a punt that resulted in a safety, led UD in tackles (7) and had a sack. He 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 (34) 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 39, even though he missed the Davidson win.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is third on the team in tackles (35) and leads the team with six passes batted down. He is tied for sixth in the PFL in passes defensed (0.86 per game).

Can't Spell Dayton Without The D...UD leads NCAA Division I-AA in scoring defense (11.3 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 36 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 18 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' 30 passes defensed (13 players), ten fumbles forced (8), ten fumbles recovered (8) and 13 sacks (11).

Putting The Special In Special Teams...Senior kicker Jason Resch was named Football Gazette Special Teams Player of the Week three times in the first six weeks this season. Resch leads the PFL in kick scoring (8.4 points a game, which is also second overall in the league), field goals (1.43 field goals a game) and field goal percentage (.667, 10-15) and PAT % (29-29).

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 318 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.

The Cream Does Rise To The Top...UD's 2004 football roster includes a number of what some might call "over-achievers." A total of 48 members of the team were members of the National Honor Society (including four valedictorians), and 88 current Flyers were team captains.

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 in each of the last two years (2003 and 2004).

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 #7--Dayton 29, Robert Morris 12...The Flyer football team extended three streaks en route to its 29-12 win at Robert Morris on Saturday. UD scored for the 318th straight game, won its 12th straight road game, and biggest of all, the win assured the Flyers of their 28th straight winning season. The game looked to be a contest between a great rushing defense (RMU came into the game fourth in NCAA I-AA, allowing 71.5 yards a game) and a great rushing offense (UD was fifth in I-AA, averaging 261.8). In the end, the Flyers won that tug-of-war by gaining 203 yards. In fact, Dayton gained more rushing yards in one drive (76 yards in its second TD drive) than the Colonials allowed per game (71.5) coming into the day. UD jumped out to 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, and looked to be in control, but ten RMU points made it a 17-10 game at the half. The Dayton defense took over in the third quarter. The Flyers allowed just 30 yards in the quarter, and stuffed the Colonials on consecutive third-and-one and fourth-and-one plays at midfield. The only points of the quarter were scored when Doug Jones came off the right edge and blocked a Robert Morris punt. The ball caromed into the end zone, where the RMU punter wisely slapped it out of the end zone for a safety. But Jones wasn't done as he returned an interception in the fourth quarter 30 yards for the TD that made the score 29-12. Dayton's defense held Robert Morris to a three-and-out, and then used up all but three seconds of the game's last 4:52. The Colonials gained a meaningless 35 yards on the game's final play, but prior to that, the Flyers had allowed just 68 yards in total offense in the second half (after allowing 205 yards in the first half). Jones led the Dayton defense across the board. The senior safety was UD's co-leader in tackles (seven, with corner Casey Klaus), blocked the punt, returned the interception for a touchdown and batted down two more passes. He also had a sack and two quarterback pressures on blitzes. Cornerback Bill Groetsema added an interception to go with Jones' and Cowan's. Linebacker Pat Weale recovered a fumble that was caused by middle guard Trent Warren. Klaus and Groetsema led UD in solo hits with five, and defensive tackle Jared McQuiston added a sack. Offensively, tailback Steve Verhoff was the game's leading ground gainer with 79 yards on 22 carries. He scored Dayton's first TD from eight yards out. Fullback Matt Marshall had 60 yards on just eight carries, including a 17-yard TD. Flyer quarterbacks Brandon Staley and Kevin Hoyng combined to go six-for-twelve for 78 yards, with three of the completions going to wideout Ryan Wrobleski for 55 yards.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring offense (33.6), scoring defense (11.3), rushing defense (95.1), total defense (235.4), passing efficiency defense (85.6), third-down conversions (42.2%), opponent third down conversions (27.7%), opponent fourth-down conversions (8.3%), opponent first downs (84), PAT % (29-29), field goals (10), red-zone defense (58.8%) and time of possession (34:25).