Oct. 27, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #9: October 30, 2004 vs. Drake Bulldogs 1:00 p.m. EDT Welcome Stadium

The biggest game so far this year in the Pioneer Football League will be played Saturday between the two teams who have played more PFL-deciding games in the history of the league. The University of Dayton Flyers, 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the PFL North Division will host the Drake Bulldogs, 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the PFL North, in UD's final home game of the year. Saturday's Senior Day game time at Welcome Stadium is 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Dayton is the nation's top-ranked team in the NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major rankings, while Drake is the fourth-ranked team. The Bulldogs will be shooting for a win that will clinch the division title. A Dayton win would keep the Flyers' title hopes alive (along with San Diego's) going into the regular season finale at USD on November 6. Whoever wins the PFL North will play at Morehead State on Saturday, November 20. Morehead earned its third straight trip to the PFL Championship game with a 28-14 win over Jacksonville Saturday.

Saturday's game will be UD's Senior Day. Twenty-one Flyers--Wayne Artuso, John Bosse, Chris Cowan, Chris Dearth, Brian Gooding, Bill Groetsema, Grahm Halcomb, Eric Heideloff, Doug Jones, Kyle Magoteaux, Jared McQuiston, Ryan Morris, Mike Neuberger, Steve Norton, Andrew Ottmar, Jason Resch, Jeff Schmidt, Robby Schwab, Brandon Staley, Trent Warren, Willy Will--will be honored in pre-game ceremonies. One of them will be named the 2004 winner of the Lt. Andy Zulli Award, a character-driven award that is among the most prestigious in the program. UD's senior class has a 36-5 record (15-2 in PFL action), and are gunning for their third league championship.

The Flyers have already clinched their 28th straight winning season. That's the longest streak in Division I (tying UD with Florida State among D-I schools). And UD has not been shut out in an NCAA-leading 319 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).

The Game At A Glance... DAYTON (7-1, 2-0) DRAKE (6-2, 3-0) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 222-44-1) Rob Ash (16th Yr., 106-57-2) Avg. Pts. O/D: 35.5/11.1 Avg. Pts. O/D: 31.1/17.9 Avg. Rush O/D: 265.4/90.2 Avg. Rush O/D: 200.9/109.9 Avg. Pass O/D: 137.9/136.4 Avg. Pass O/D: 186.6/189.9 Total Offense O/D: 403.2/226.6 Total Offense O/D: 387.5/299.8

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/267 Drake D-Line 6-2/241 Dayton D-Line 6-2/243 Drake O-Line 6-3/300

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 18-2, and has won the last five meetings. Last year's game was a 31-15 Dayton win in Des Moines on November 1. The Bulldogs returned 18 starters from last year's team (UD returned six by comparison), but a pair of freshman halfbacks--Scott Phaydavong and Michael Bialas--have accounted for over two-thirds of Drake rushing yardage this season. Phaydavong is I-AA's top freshman runner (10th overall nationally and second in the PFL), averaging 118.9 yards a game. He needs just 49 yards to become the first Drake freshman to gain 1,000 yards in a season. Drake has already clinched its first winning season since the 2000 campaign. A big key has been a secondary that leads the PFL in interceptions (15). Only one player, linebacker Eric Papp, has as many as three INT's, but nine different `Dog defenders have interceptions. Papp also is Drake's leader in tackles (68).

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 45 of a possible 51 weeks it has been in existence. *UD has not been shut out in 319 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 104-24. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 75 wins. *Quarterback Brandon Staley has a 16-3 record as a starter.

Coach Mike Kelly...Is in his 24th year as a head coach (all at Dayton), and has 222 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 (222-44-1) 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' 45-6 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 (.813, 104-24) 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 176-32-1 (.845) 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 30 of its last 35 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 45 of a possible 51 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 more than half of the time (26 of 51 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--#4 Drake, #7 San Diego, #8 Robert Morris, 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 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 second on the team in rushing (253 yards), and Staley is third (251). Together they have scored six rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 143.79 quarterback rating would easily lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 53 of 91 passing (just two interceptions) for 778 yards and five TD's. Staley leads UD in total offense (128.6 yards a game), and Hoyng is second (79.1). Hoyng missed the APSU game but returned to action for Davidson.

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack with a 66.2 average. He had a career-high 111 yards at Valparaiso, and has 343 in the last four games.

The Mongster Fullback...Junior fullback Matt Mong is not only the biggest UD starting fullback since 1976, he is also averaging 5.4 yards a carry. He has not been thrown for a loss this season, and returned to action against Butler after but missing the last Valparaiso and Robert Morris games.

Marshall, Marshall, Marshall...Sophomore fullback Matt Marshall came through in two starts while Mong was out. Marshall had 122 yards in 15 carries (8.1 yards a carry) and had 25 knockdown blocks. For the season, he has the best per-carry average of any of UD's backs (7.1).

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. Ten different players have scored at least one rushing touchdown.

Wrobo-Receiver...Junior wideout Ryan Wrobleski needs just one more catch to double what he had last season in 11 games (19). Wrobleski has 37 of UD's 76 receptions, 669 of UD's 1,103 receiving yards and five of the Flyers' seven 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. Versus Butler, he had six of UD's eight receptions for 118 yards. A Detroit native, Wrobleski changed his number from #6 to #1 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 (83.6).

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 26 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 59, and only two other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 36 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 third on the team in tackles (38) 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 43, even though he missed the Davidson win.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is fourth 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 total defense (226.6 yards per game) and is second in scoring defense (11.1). 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 44 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 20 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' 32 passes defensed (13 players), ten fumbles forced (8), ten fumbles recovered (8) and 16 sacks (13).

Putting The Special In Special Teams...Senior kicker Jason Resch has been named PFL and Football Gazette Special Teams Player of the Week three times this season (including PFL this week). Resch leads the PFL in kick scoring (8.1 points a game, which is also second overall in the league), field goals (1.25 field goals a game), field goal percentage (.667, 10-15) and PAT % (36-36).

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 319 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 32.0 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 #8--Dayton 49, Butler 10...The Flyers recovered from a rocky first-quarter start to rout Butler 49-10. Dayton wideout Ryan Wrobleski caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while 14 different Flyers racked up 345 yards on the ground. UD marched downfield on its first possession and was in sure scoring position at the two when junior QB Brandon Staley fumbled into the end zone. Butler's Buck Ullery scooped up the loose ball and ran 86 yards to the 14. Butler the Flyer defense came up with a huge goal-line stand. If the 86-yard fumble return didn't stun the 6,045 Flyer Faithful in attendance on Parent's Weekend, the following possession did as UD turned the ball over again. Staley had his pass picked off on the sideline by Mike Seidl, who returned it 21 yards to give the Bulldogs good field position at the UD 31. The defense again held and Butler had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Eric Neumeier to take the 3-0 lead. Dayton answered with a two-play, 51-yard drive. Quarterback Kevin Hoyng took the helm and called his own number for a 15-yard first down with a personal foul late hit out-of-bounds tacked on to cover the first 30 yards. On the next snap, Hoyng handed off to Matt Mong who broke free for a 21-yard touchdown run. After a three-and-out by BU, Hoyng guided the Flyers 46 yards to paydirt, capped by a four-yard TD run to put UD up 14-3. The defense held Butler again and the Flyers began to pull away as Staley returned for his next two series at quarterback. Wrobleski caught two passes on the 55-yard drive, including a 30-yard touchdown grab for a 21-3 lead. Dayton pushed the lead to 28-3 headed into halftime as a 40-yard grab by Wrobleski set up a one-yard TD plunge by Matt Mong with 32 seconds before halftime. At the half, UD had 279 yards in total offense, while holding Butler to 36. On the day, Dayton gained 345 yards rushing on 64 carries while holding Butler to just 52 on 36 attempts. The Flyers owned a 492-154 edge in total offense, holding Butler to 3.0 yards per play. Steve Verhoff finished with 84 yards rushing on 16 carries, most coming in the first two drives for the Flyers. Staley finished with 48 while Mong added 49. Godsey (38), Hoyng (37) and Watson (34) also finished above 30-yards for UD. Both UD's regular quarterbacks, Hoyng and Staley, were four-of-five passing with a touchdown. Staley totaled 88 yards through the air while Hoyng passed for 59.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring offense (35.5), scoring defense (11.1), rushing defense (90.2), total defense (226.6), first downs (187), passing efficiency (136.6), passing efficiency defense (89.2), third-down conversions (46.4%), opponent third down conversions (28.1%), opponent first downs (95), PAT % (36-36), field goals (10), red-zone defense (60.0%) and time of possession (34:15).