Nov. 3, 2004

2004 University of Dayton Football Notes Game #10: November 6, 2004 vs. San Diego Toreros 10:00 p.m. EST Torero Stadium

The University of Dayton Flyers close out the 2004 season Saturday night when the Flyers travel to San Diego to take on the University of San Diego Toreros. Dayton, 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the Pioneer Football League North Division, and USD, 5-4 and 2-1, will be battling to finish second in the PFL North. Both teams were edged by North champ Drake (USD by three and UD by seven) earlier in the season. Saturday's game time is 10:00 p.m. EST.

The game is not only a matchup between two of the top teams in the PFL, but also two of the top teams in the NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major rankings. The Flyers are third in the Football Gazette rankings and the Sports Network poll (after being #1 the last six weeks) while San Diego is fifth and sixth respectively.

Saturday's game will be the final game wearing the Red & Blue for twenty-one senior 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. UD's senior class has a 36-6 record (15-3 in PFL action).

This is the Flyers' 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 320 games. The Flyers have won outright or shared the Pioneer Football League Championship eight times in the 12-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 (7-2, 2-1) SAN DIEGO (5-4, 2-1) Mike Kelly (24th Yr., 222-45-1) Jim Harbaugh (1st Yr., 5-4) Avg. Pts. O/D: 32.2/11.3 Avg. Pts. O/D: 36.0/24.1 Avg. Rush O/D: 250.8/102.1 Avg. Rush O/D: 169.4/159.1 Avg. Pass O/D: 137.4/132.4 Avg. Pass O/D: 250.6/179.1 Total Offense O/D: 388.2/234.6 Total Offense O/D: 420.0/338.2

Tale Of The Tape...Averages of the starting lineups: Dayton O-Line 6-3/260 San Diego D-Line 6-2/260 Dayton D-Line 6-2/243 San Diego O-Line 6-3/288

Series Stuff...UD leads the series 10-1, but San Diego won last year's meeting 41-30 in Dayton on November 8. First-year coach Jim Harbaugh has guided his team to a 5-4 record. Fifth-year quarterback Todd Mortenen has guided the PFL most-potent offense to a league-leading 36.0 points and 420.0 yards total offense this season. Individually, he leads the PFL in total offense (230.8 yards a game). Mortensen lettered three seasons but never started at Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. After serving a two-year mission and graduating magna cum laude from BYU in 2003, he is completing his eligibility for the Toreros. Junior running back Evan Harney is the league's leading rusher (128.6 yards a game) and scorer (10.0 points a game). This is Jim Harbaugh's first season as a head coach at any level, but he doesn't have to go outside of the family for any head coaching advice he might need. His father Jack is on the USD staff as assistant head coach. The elder Harbaugh was head coach at Western Kentucky for 14 years, ending when his Hilltopper team won the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA national championship. He has 41 years of coaching experience at the college and pro levels, but his coaching roots trace back to the Dayton area. His last high school coaching stop was at Xenia High School (just east of Dayton), where he coached for one season. That happened to be the senior year for a player named Dave Whilding, the same Dave Whilding who is now the offensive coordinator for UD.

Flyer Facts... *Six of Dayton's last eight losses (going back to the 2000 season) are by a touchdown or less. Both of the Flyer's seven-point losses this year ended with UD having the ball inside the red zone as time ran out. *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 (heck, then-football-playing)St. Mary's of California on November 10, 2001. *UD has not been shut out in 320 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. *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 104-25. The next closest team at this level is Duquesne, with 76 wins.

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 .830 winning percentage (222-45-1) 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 Power...The Flyers' 45-7 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, 104-25) 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 176-33-1 (.840) 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 36 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 #3 this week in both the Football Gazette rankings and Sports Network poll, after being a unanimous #1 for the last five weeks. UD has been ranked either first or second in the Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major poll for 45 of a possible 52 weeks the Sports Network poll has been in existence. The Flyers have been #1 exactly half of the time (26 of 52 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 four ranked foes from this week's polls--#2 Drake, #6 San Diego, #7 Robert Morris, and #9 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 (289 yards), and Staley is third (287). Together they have scored six rushing touchdowns this season. Staley's 138.21 quarterback rating would lead the PFL if he maintained that level of excellence while throwing enough balls to qualify. Staley is 61 of 108 passing (just two interceptions) for 902 yards and five TD's. Staley leads UD in total offense (132.1 yards a game), and Hoyng is second (75.0). Hoyng missed the APSU game but returned to action for Davidson.

And......Verhoff...Senior tailback Steve Verhoff leads the Flyer rushing attack with a 62.1 average. He had a career-high 111 yards at Valparaiso, and has 372 in the last five games.

The Mongster Fullback...Junior fullback Matt Mong is not only the biggest UD starting fullback since 1976, he is also averaging 5.1 yards a carry. He has not been thrown for a loss this season, and returned to action against Butler after but missing the 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's 40 catches have more than doubled the number of receptions he had last season in 11 games (19). Wrobleski has 40 of UD's 85 receptions, 721 of UD's 1,237 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 69, and only four other Dayton defenders have more total tackles than his 38 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 fifth 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 51, even though he missed the Davidson win.

Casey At The Ball...Sophomore cornerback Casey Klaus is fourth on the team in tackles (42) and leads the team with six passes batted down.

Can't Spell Dayton Without The D...UD is second in NCAA Division I-AA in scoring defense (11.33) and total defense (234.56 yards per game) in the latest NCAA stats. 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 52 tackles in the backfield by Dayton this season, 20 players have done the deed. Same goes for the Flyers' 34 passes defensed (13 players), ten fumbles forced (8), ten fumbles recovered (8) and 18 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. Resch leads the PFL in kick scoring (7.9 points a game, which is also second overall in the league), field goals (1.33 field goals a game, also tied for tenth in I-AA) and PAT % (35-35).

Shutout String Continues...The University of Dayton has not been shutout in a school-record 320 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 #9--Drake 13, Dayton 6...UD came up just two yards short on Senior Day as the Flyers lost to visiting Drake, 13-6. After Drake dominated the first half, Dayton made an inspired effort at a comeback setting up the game-ending drive that ended two yards short of tying the game. With the victory, Drake clinched the Pioneer Football League North Division Championship and a berth in the PFL Championship Game on Nov. 20 at Morehead State. Drake outgained UD in the first quarter 136 to 38, and 209 to 104 in the first half, but led only 10-3 after a Jason Resch (Poland, Ohio) 28-yard field goal put the Flyers on the board on the last play of the first half. In the second half, the Dayton defense held Drake to just 89 yards, while the UD offense had 164. But the two teams could only exchange field goals, setting up the final drive of the game. After Dayton gained possession of the ball on its own 27 with just 1:20 remaining in the game, the Flyers marched down the field in an attempt to send the game into overtime. After nine plays covering 72 yards, UD had the ball and the game in its control just two yards short of the goal line as the game reached its final seconds. However, a fumble on the handoff between quarterback Brandon Staley (Perry, Ohio) and tailback Steve Verhoff (Wellington, Ohio) at the line of scrimmage ended the game and gave Drake a 13-6 victory. Drake won the game in the trenches as the Bulldogs out gained the Flyers 197 to 134. The visitors were also efficient on third and fourth down as Drake was 6-of-16 on third-down conversions and 2-of-3 on fourth down conversions. The Flyers were led offensively by Staley as the junior quarterback completed 8-of-17 passes for 124 yards to go along with a team-high 36 yards rushing. His counterpart, sophomore Kevin Hoyng (Coldwater, Ohio) matched Staley with 36 yards rushing, but was just 1-of-7 passing for 10 yards. Classmate Jack O'Dell (Coldwater, Ohio) contributed on both offense and special teams with two receptions for 40 yards and 10 punts for 326 yards, including a 54-yard kick. Defensively, senior safety Doug Jones (Zanesville, Ohio) had a big day for the Flyer defense with 10 tackles and an interception. Jones was followed by junior linebackers Pat Weale with nine tackles and John Hoppe (Northbrook, Ill.) with eight stops.

PFL Numbers...UD leads the Pioneer Football League in scoring defense (11.3), rushing defense (102.1), pass defense (132.4), total defense (234.6), first downs (204), passing efficiency defense (88.0), third-down conversions (43.4%), opponent third down conversions (29.2%), opponent first downs (110), PAT % (36-36), field goals (12), and time of possession (33:51).