Oct. 26, 2006

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FLYER FACTS... The University of Dayton football Flyers return home Saturday when they host the Drake Bulldogs. Game time for this Pioneer Football League contest is 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Both teams will be looking to regain their mojo. Dayton has lost four straight for the first time in 24 years, and all four setbacks have been by a total of 18 points. The Flyers rallied from 23 down only to lose 37-36 at Davidson last Saturday. Drake had a six-game winning streak snapped when it was shut out by San Diego 37-0 at home last week. Dayton is 3-4 (0-4 PFL), while Drake is 6-2 (3-1 PFL).

SERIES STUFF Dayton leads the series 19-3, and won last season 25-17 in Des Moines.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE Every UD game this season has been decided by a touchdown or less. The closest margin Drake has been involved in this season is 14 points, with an average difference of 30 points.

MAKING HISTORY The 2006 campaign is UD coach Mike Kelly's 26th season as Dayton's head coach, the longest tenure of any UD head coach in any sport.

NO ONE'S DOING IT BETTER The Flyers entered the season with the best winning percentage in I-AA football since 2000 (.831) AND has produced the most football Academic All-Americans at any level of competition in the (12) in the same time frame.

BAD NEWS BARED UD's four-game losing streak is its longest since 1982. No player on the current team was born the last time the Flyers lost four straight games.

KEEPING IT GOING UD has had 29 straight winning seasons, which is the best active streak among NCAA Division I teams. Florida State has also played 29 straight winning seasons. Dayton must win its last three games to keep the streak alive. Over the last ten years, UD has averaged 8.6 wins a season. The Flyers have won outright or shared the Pioneer Football League Championship eight times in the 13-year history of the league.

STREAKING UD has not been shut out in 337 straight games, the best such active string in all of college football. The last team to shut out the Flyers was Marshall, 9-0, on October 16, 1976.

QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY Dayton has just two captains for the first time in ten years, but there's no question they are the two most accomplished football players on the team. John Hoppe, a preseason All-American, and Kevin Hoyng, the 2005 White-Allen Flyer Football MVP, will serve as captains this year. Hoppe is only the second two-time captain in school history.

HOYNG REPORT Kevin Hoyng missed the Jacksonville game with a knee injury, but returned for the Davidson game, where he became the UD career passing yardage record holder (4,041), breaking Steve Keller's old mark of 3,768. Hoyng is second in the PFL in passing efficiency (147.25) and third in total offense (279.3). Through the air, he is 100 of 166 (.602) for 1,548 yards and eight TD's.

TOTALLY Quarterback Kevin Hoyng needs just 90 yards to break the UD career record for total offense (Kelly Spiker is the current record holder with 5,138 yards). Hoyng set the Dayton single-season record for total offense in a season in 2005 (his first year as a starter). He gained 2,547 yards in ten games, breaking Steve Keller's record of 2,460 yards in 14 games in 1991. Hoyng is actually averaging more per game than last year, but because he missed the Jacksonville game with a knee injury, he is on pace to miss breaking his own record by 50 yards.

NOW THAT'S A BULLPEN Junior quarterback Rob Florian made his first start two weeks ago at Jacksonville in place of Kevin Hoyng, who injured his knee against Morehead State. Not only was Florian's first start, but the first pass he threw in the game (16-yard completion to Carlton McFadgen) was the first of his college career. All Florian did was throw for the second-highest single-game passing total in UD history. His 411 yards (308 in the second half) were second only to Kevin Johns' 414 against San Diego in 1996.

AERIAL CIRCUS UD is just 154 yards shy of breaking the UD single-season team record for passing in a season (2,113 yards), which was set last season.

THE GOOD HANDS PEOPLE Starting receivers Nick Ruhe, Matt Champa and Carlton McFadgen have caught 98 of UD's 120 passes so far this season (82%). Split end Ruhe leads with 39 catches for 787 yards (20.2) and three TD's. He leads the PFL in yards per catch and receiving yards a game (112.4), and had nine receptions (one short of the UD record) for 136 yards at Davidson. Flanker McFadgen is next with 36 catches for 632 yards (17.6) and four TD's. Tight end Champa has 23 for 314 yards (13.7) and has two TD's.

CENTURY MARK UD has had seven receiving games over 100 yards this season. Nick Ruhe had six catches for 124 yards against Austin Peay, Carlton McFadgen had four for 130 at Butler, and both did it against Morehead (Ruhe 5 for 144 and McFadgen 8 for 107) and Jacksonville (Ruhe 6 for 159 and McFadgen 7 for 136). At Davidson, Ruhe had nine for 136.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS Senior wideout Nick Ruhe is also the PFL's top punt returner. His 11.0 average leads the PFL. He was all-league as a punt returner in 2005.

NCAA NUMBERS In the latest NCAA Division I-AA statistics, wideout Nick Ruhe leads the nation in receiving yards a game (112.4) and is second in all-purpose yards a game (190.4). As a team, UD is third in passing offense (279.86).

GODSEY A DRADDY SEMIFINALIST Senior tailback Brandon Godsey has been named one of 148 semifinalists for the Draddy Trophy, the National Football Foundation's top award that is considered the "Academic Heisman." The senior Pre-Med major is one of four semifinalists from the PFL .

SOMETHING ABOUT THE NAME, AND BEING A LEADER Senior linebacker Brian Kelly (no relation) leads the PFL in tackles per game (10.7). He had 14 hits (seven solo, two in the backfield) at Wittenberg, and followed that with 16 (five solo) and a forced fumble in the Austin Peay win.

UP NEXT Dayton is home for the final time in 2006 on Saturday, November 4, when Valparaiso comes to town on Senior Day. Game time is 1:00 p.m. EDT. The Flyers will close the year at San Diego on Saturday, November 11.

SCRAMBLE THE INTERCEPTORS UD has intercepted 11 passes this season. Junior safety Brandon Cramer's and freshman corner Scott Horcher's three interceptions lead the PFL and are 18th nationally in interceptions per game (0.5). Defensive end David Walbright pulled in the first pass of his career in the RMU win, and returned it 23 yards. Backup nickel Steve McDonald sealed that win with an interception with 49 seconds left. At Wittenberg, cornerback Casey Klaus intercepted a pass in the first half, and Cramer clinched that win with a pick on the game's last play. Cramer had two against Austin Peay, including one returned 84 yards for what proved to be the game-winning points with 2:27 left in the game. At Butler, John Hoppe returned a pick 12 yards for a TD.

CRAMER EARNS PFL, NATIONAL HONORS Junior safety Brandon Cramer was the September 25 PFL Defensive Player of the Week and one of I-AA.org's four I-AA Weekly All-Stars after his performance in UD's 28-23 win over APSU. The I-AA.org selection covers all of NCAA Division I-AA, not just the mid-major level. He collected three of APSU's four turnovers, and returned his last pick 84 yards for the game-clinching TD.

ON THE HOP Senior John Hoppe has moved from linebacker to "nickel" for the 2006 season, and for Hoppe, it's been business as ususal. Hoppe had nine hits, a forced fumble and pass deflected against RMU, and had eight hits (one in the backfield) and a blocked punt at Wittenberg. He had seven hits (five solo) a pass break up and returned an interception 12 yards for UD's first TD at Butler. Hoppe had ten hits (six solo) against Morehead State. At Jacksonville, he had eight hits (six solo). He is second on the team and fourth in the PFL in tackles per game (7.3). He also leads UD in tackles in the backfield (5.0), passes broken up (4), fumbles recovered (1, tied) fumbles forced (1, tied) and kicks blocked (1).

INVENTING THE WEALE Linebacker Pat Weale is third on the team in tackles (37). He is second on the team in tackles in the backfield (3.5, tied), and leads in sacks (1.0, tied) and fumbles recovered (1, tied).

BIG HOLE TO FILL Cornerback Casey Klaus suffered a career-ending injury just five plays into the Austin Peay game. He fractured the fibula and tibia of his left leg, and after successful surgery to place a rod in the leg, is now recuperating and attending classes back on campus. Freshman Scott Horcher has started into the starting corner spot, and has three interceptions and 13 tackles in the last four games.

GAINING GROUND BY COMMITTEE UD has five players who have gained at least 100 yards this season. Tailback Brandon Godsey has 289 yards on 77 carries (3.8 avg.) to lead the team. Quarterback Kevin Hoyng is second (128 yards), followed by tailback Greg Wimberly (123 yards), fullback Matt Marshall (113 yards) and Ben Shappie (107).

CARLTON YOUR SCORE MAN Flanker Carlton McFadgen leads the Flyers in scoring (32 points, four receiving TD's, one rushing TD, one two-point PAT). Fullback Ben Shappie is next with 30 points, followed by tailback Brandon Godsey with 22 points.

THE SWARTZ Sophomore Matt Swartz is the first Flyers to punt and kick in the same game since 1992. Against Morehead State, he saw his first college action and punted five times for a 40.2 yard average, and left one inside the 20. He has 16 punts for a 38.7 average.

TOPS IN I-AA NON-SCHOLARSHIP In the 13 years I-AA Non-Scholarship has been an option, UD has the best winning percentage (.795, 124-32) of the 21 schools playing at this level. Duquesne's .748 (110-37) is second, followed by Drake (.670, 98-48-1), Robert Morris (.621, 79-48-1) and Albany (.578, 79-57).

PFL POWER The Flyers' 48-12 PFL record is the best in the 13-year history of the league. UD's eight league championships equal those won by the rest of the PFL combined. UD is 0-4 in the PFL for the first time ever.

PFL NUMBERS UD leads the Pioneer Football League in punt returns (12.4) and is second in pass efficiency (137.2), pass offense (279.9), fewest penalties (24) and kickoff coverage (40.2). Brian Kelly leads the PFL in tackles per game (10.7). Brandon Cramer and Scott Horcher are first in interceptions (0.50). Nick Ruhe leads the league in receiving yards per game (112.4) and yards per catch (20.2), and is third in receptions (5.6). Carlton McFadgen is third in receiving yards a game (90.3) and receptions (5.1). Kevin Hoyng is second in the league in passing efficiency (147.2). Nick Ruhe is also first in punt return average (11.0) and all-purpose yardage (190.4).

NCAA NUMBERS In the latest NCAA Division I-AA statistics, UD is third in passing offense (279.88). Nick Ruhe is tied for first in receiving yards a game (112.43) and second in all-purpose yards a game (190.43).

RANKING RUN UD is 12th in the latest Football Gazette rankings. Dayton is unranked in the latest Sports Network poll for the first time since the polls began in 2001. Dayton finished the 2005 season ranked #2 in both the Sports Network and Football Gazette NCAA I-AA Mid-Major rankings. The Flyers have been ranked first in the Sports Network poll at least once in every year since the poll began in 2001.

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 180-36-2 (.830) 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 37 of its last 45 home games, and 20 of its last 24 road games.

GRAB A PAINT BRUSH The University of Dayton, Dayton Public Schools and the Dayton-Montgomery County Port Authority have signed a letter of agreement to work together to renovate Welcome Stadium. Thanks to the agreement, the Port Authority was able to acquire $1 million from the State of Ohio in this fiscal year. Safety improvements, painting and new seating occurred in the program's first phase, with a new FieldTurf playing surface and a new press box to follow.

GREAT GRAD RATES UD'S 96 score in the latest GSR (Graduation Success Rate) is the eighth-best in NCAA Division I football. Central Connecticut and Davidson were atop the rankings with 100, followed by Navy, William & Mary, and Georgetown (98), Furman and Richmond (97) and Boston College, The Citadel and UD were next at 96.

GOTTA PLAY SMART The University of Dayton placed a league-best 11 players on the 2005 Academic All-Pioneer Football League team. Since the league's origin in 1993, over a quarter (124 of 460) of the PFL All-Academic selections have been Dayton Flyers. UD also had 60 players on the PFL Academic Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or better). That was 26 better than the next-best school.

HITTING THE BOOKS The Dayton football program has produced 12 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans since the 2000 season. That's most at any level of college football. Safety Brandon Cramer was named a Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America in 2005. In the history of the Academic All-America program, UD has had 44 football Academic All-Americans. Among schools currently playing Division I football, only Nebraska (80) and Notre Dame (45) have had more. UD has had at least one football player named Academic All-American in 14 of the last 15 years. UD had five players named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, the most of any school in the district for the fifth straight year. Twelve Flyers were nominated for Academic All-America in each of the last four years.

ARTHUR ASHE SCHOLAR Fullback Matt Marshall was one of three Arthur Ashe Scholars from the University of Dayton in 2005-06, the most in UD history.

GODSEY A DRADDY SEMIFINALIST Senior tailback Brandon Godsey has been named one of 148 semifinalists for the Draddy Trophy, the National Football Foundation's top award that is considered the "Academic Heisman." The senior Pre-Med major is one of four semifinalists from the PFL.

THE CREAM DOES RISE TO THE TOP UD's 2006 roster includes a number of what some might call "over-achievers." Forty-three current Flyers were in the National Honor Society, and 100 were team captains in some sport. Twenty-four captained two different teams, and 13 were three-sport captains.

SUPER STAT When Jon Gruden coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl championship in 2003, 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 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 assistants.

GAME #6 -- JACKSONVILLE 28, DAYTON 21 In a season where every game has been decided by a touchdown or less, last week's Dayton at Davidson football game could not have been any closer. Despite trailing by 23 points with just a quarter to play, it came down to a foiled UD two-point conversion attempt with 1:01 to play as Davidson held on to win 37-36. The loss spoiled the return of Flyer quarterback Kevin Hoyng, who missed last week's game at Jacksonville with a knee injury. Hoyng was 22 for 34 on the day, with a passing TD and a rushing TD. The two teams traded touchdown drives in the first quarter. Davidson scored first, and UD answered with a 13-play, 80-yard drive, with Hoyng running it in from two yards out. Davidson then scored the next 23 points. The Wildcats got 13 in the second quarter to lead 20-7 at halftime, and 10 more in the third to take a 30-7 seemingly insurmountable advantage. But Flyer redshirt junior Nick Ruhe had other ideas. After a Davidson field goal put Dayton down by 23, Ruhe took the kickoff and returned it 53 yards to the Davidson 43 to fire up the Flyers. Eight plays later, fullback Ben Shappie scored the first of three one-yard TD runs, Matt Schwartz converted the PAT to make it 30-14, and the climb out of the hole was underway. A three-and-out gave UD the ball at its own 32, and nine plays later (including three Hoyng-to-Ruhe connections for 59 yards), Shappie scored again. On the conversion, Brandon Godsey took the option pitch to the left pylon, and the Flyers trailed 30-22. The Dayton D then forced a turnover to give the Dayton O a short field to work with. John Andryc's fumble recovery set-up a six-play, 24-yard drive (Shappie from the one again) and Hoyng's quick slant pass to Carlton McFadgen on the conversion tied it at 30 with 7:38 left. But Davidson came back behind quarterback Ryan Alexander. Alexander moved the Wildcats 80 yards in five plays, all through the air, and threw the fourth of his four touchdown passes to put Davidson back ahead 37-30. Alexander finished 24-for-39 for 329 yards passing. UD answered with a drive back into the Davidson red zone, but on third-and-12 at the 15, Hoyng was intercepted at the eight. The Flyer defense got the ball back with a quick three-and-out, and Dayton scored its third TD of the quarter on a 40-yard drive. Hoyng ran twice for 18 yards, and then hit Matt Champa for 22 yards. When Champa got to the goal line, the ball was knocked loose, but McFadgen fell on it to make the score 37-36 with 1:01 left on the clock. The decision to go for two had already been made. After timeouts by both teams, UD flooded the right side with receivers, and Hoyng rolled right. But as Brandon Godsey came free, the Davidson defender stepped up and pressured Hoyng's throw, which came up short. Davidson recovered the onside kick, and took two snaps to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Pioneer Football League. Dayton is now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the PFL. The 23-point comeback to tie the game was UD's largest in 26 years. The Flyers came from a 24-0 halftime deficit to defeat Widener in the 1980 NCAA Division III national semifinals. Ruhe led the receiving corps with a career-high nine catches for 136 yards. It was the PFL's leading receiver's third straight game over 100 yards. He also returned three kickoffs for 92 yards and five punts for 45 yards. Champa added five catches for 69 yards and McFadgen had three for 57. Defensively, backup safety Corey Vossler led with a career-high seven unassisted tackles.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK vs. DAVIDSON OFFENSE-Brandon Godsey, Senior TB from Vandalia, OH DEFENSE--Corey Vossler, Sophomore S from St. Marys, OH SCOUT-John Brown, Freshman TB from St. Charles, IL SCOUT-Bobby Burger, Freshman DE from Cincinnati, OH