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The University of Dayton football team, one of the original members of the Pioneer Football League when it formed in 1993, will visit one of the newest PFL members when Flyers play at Stetson football on Saturday.

UD is 3-2 overall this season, and 1-1 in the PFL after last week's 40-8 win over Davidson. Stetson is 1-4 overall, and have lost four straight, including its first two games in the PFL.

Flyer tailback Connor Kacsor is coming off a near-record performance, gaining 244 yards on 26 carries in the Davidson win. It was the second-highest single-game total in Flyer football history. He was named PFL Offensive Player of the Week.

Dayton won five of its last six games in 2012 to finish the year 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the Pioneer Football League. It was UD's 35th winning season in 36 years as a non-scholarship program.

GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATING

The Flyers entered the season with the third-best winning percentage (.762, 109-34) in FCS football since 2000 AND the most football Academic All-Americans (22) at any level of competition in the same time frame. The top five are Harvard (.775), Montana (.769), Dayton (.762), Appalachian State (.739) and North Dakota State (.710).

STREAKING

UD has not been shut out in an NCAA-record 413 straight games, the best such active string in all of college football. The last team to shut out UD was Marshall, 9-0, on Oct. 16, 1976.

PFL POWER

The Pioneer Football League is in its 21st season. The original (and now the only) Division I strictly need-based football league began with charter members Butler, Dayton, Drake, Evansville, San Diego and Valparaiso. UD's 85-27 PFL record is the best in league history. Dayton has won 11 (shared or outright) league championships, the most of any PFL team.

SERIES STUFF

This is the first meeting, but one connection the Flyers and Hatters have is Bob Jacoby. Jacoby graduated from UD in 1956 and was a letterman on teams that won 75 games in three years and was ranked as high as #2 in the nation. He was the Stetson AD from 1984 to 1996.

SCOUTING the HATTERS

Stetson is playing its first season of football since 1956. Coach Roger Hughes and his staff have spent the last two years putting this team together. The Hatters won the first game of the new era, and had a player do something in their first three weeks that had not happened in the first 20 years of the PFL.

Redshirt freshman safety Donald Payne was named PFL Defensive Player of the Week after each of the first three games of the season. No other player has ever been named PFL Defensive POTW three times.

Payne leads the PFL in fumbles caused (0.4 per game) and passes defended (1.8), is second in fumbles recovered (0.4) and solo tackles (7.0), and is third in interceptions (0.4) and tackles for loss (1.3).

THE MAN AT THE TOP

Head coach Rick Chamberlin guided UD to 40 wins in his five seasons, going 9-3, 9-2, 10-1 and 6-5 the last two years. Dayton won a share of PFL championships in two of his first three years, and missed the third by just five points at Jacksonville in the last game of 2008.

MORE THAN HIS FAIR SHARE

Rick Chamberlin has been a part of 337 of UD's 637 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 43 as a head coach. He has also been a part of 433 of UD's 1,018 games.

LONG TIME STARTERS

Ten Flyers own start totals of 10 or greater. Cornerback Kyle Sebetic has 33 starts in his career. QB Will Bardo has 26. OT Tom Corcoran and LB Colin Monnier have 24. WR Branden Johnson has 19. DT Brannon Dunn has 18. CB Howard Savage has 16 and DE Pat Dowd has 15. WR Ross Smith has 12. OG Chris Cortopassi has 11 and S Matt Bianco has 10. Monnier's 24 is the longest string of consecutive starts on the team.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS

The Flyers had a glut of injuries in 2012 that resulted in 45 starts missed by players who were considered starters in the pre-season. The other side of that coin is that UD has 22 players back this season who have previous starting experience. Still, five Dayton players made their first collegiate start at Youngstown State -- center Grant Georgic, guard Jimmy Vogel, slot receiver Gabe Macis, wideout Cory Stuart and defensive end Nate Sudnic. It was Vogel, Stuart and Sudnick's first action in college.

LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN, CAPTAIN

The Flyers are being led by four co-captains in 2013 -- Brannon Dunn, Ben Estey, Colin Monnier and Kyle Sebetic.

Dunn started at defensive tackle in 2012, but was limited to six games due to an in-season appendectomy. He was in on 14 tackles and 2.5 hits in the backfield with 1.5 sacks. In 2011, he played in all 11 games with seven starts and had 38 tackles with eight sacks.

Estey started the last six games of 2012 at offensive tackle when the Flyers finished the season by winning five of their last six contests. He played in all 11 games last year after seeing action in just four career games heading into the season. He was the 2009 Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year. He has missed the last three games (injury).

Just the fifth two-time captain in Dayton football history, Monnier is a preseason First Team All-PFL selection. He was the team's White-Allen Most Valuable Player in 2012. The only member of the defense to start every game, Monnier led the team in tackles (92), solo hits (46) and tackles in the backfield (12.0). He was also tied for second in interceptions (2) and batted away another pass and had a quarterback hurry.

A three-year starter at cornerback, Sebetic led NCAA FCS football in passes defensed in 2012. He had 15 passes broken up and three interceptions in nine games, for a 2.0 per game average. He also had 52 total tackles and was second on the team with 39 solos. Sebetic was also named preseason First Team All-PFL.

"We've got a great mix" according to coach Rick Chamberlin. Colin is the veteran of the bunch, having been a captain already last year. He's an outstanding player and the emotional leader of the team. Brannon is a down and gritty kind of leader. The tougher things are, the more he likes it and he showed that by battling back from having his appendix removed to play that last part of the year."

"Ben may have shown the biggest improvement as a football player of anyone on the team, and his hard work, maturity and leadership have earned him the respect of all of his teammates and coaches. Kyle is the quiet one of the group. He lets his play and work ethic do his talking for him. But when he does speak, everyone listens."

DOWD GOES THE QUARTERBACK

One of three Flyer preseason First Team All-PFL selections, senior defensive end Pat Dowd led UD and was third in the PFL in sacks (0.85 per game). All but one of his 8.5 sacks in 2012 were in PFL action. Dowd was in on 36 hits and was also second on the team in TFL (10).

BIG-TIME BACKER

Linebacker Colin Monnier is fourth in the PFL in tackles per game (10.2). UD's MVP and leading tackler in 2012, Monnier picked up right where he left off by leading all players with 12 tackles at Youngstown State. He had eight solo hits and one TFL. He was PFL co-Defensive Player of the Week after getting 14 hits and UD's only sack in the Duquesne win. He's had at least 10 hits in three of the five games this year.

GOTTA HAVE HEART

Senior cornerback Kyle Sebetic had 10 tackles at YSU, but none of his seven solos were as impressive as the one when he ran down Adaris Bellamy from behind to prevent an 83-yard TD. Bellamy had a15-yard lead on everyone on the Dayton defense when he broke free on a third-and-one, but Sebetic refused to concede and erased the gap. Sebetic is tied with Howard Savage for solo tackles on the team (19).

SHUTDOWN CORNER

Even though he made just one tackle on a running play, cornerback Kyle Sebetic's performance in the second half was a key in Dayton's come-from-behind win over Duquesne. At halftime, the Dukes' Gianni Carter had six receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. During the break, the Flyers assigned Sebetic, last year's FCS leader in passes defensed, on Carter wherever he lined up. Sebetic blanketed him so thoroughly that Carter was held to one catch for four yards in the second half. Sebetic had a similar effort last year against Marist's Michael Rios, holding Rios to three catches for 24 yards when matched on him.

SAVAGE HITS

Senior cornerback Howard Savage returns after missing the last half of 2012 with an injury (ironically, the injury happened against Butler in his hometown of Indianapolis). He was second on the team in tackles per game (6.6) and also had two interceptions and four passes broken up. He had five hits (four unassisted) at YSU. He had six tackles and a fumble recovery in the Duquesne win. He is tied for the PFL lead in fumbles forced per game (0.4). He is also tied with Kyle Sebetic for honors for solo tackles on the team (19), and is second in hits (32).

RYAN'S HANDS

Ryan Schwenke, who plays the hybrid linebacker/safety position called "Flyer" in the Dayton defensive system, has shown a nose for the ball in his move into the starting lineup. The soph's two interceptions are tied for second in the PFL (with, among others, teammate Nick Weston). He is also third on the team in tackles (30).

GO WESTON

Safety Nick Weston was the PFL Defensive Player of the Week after the RMU win when he had 11 hits, an interception and a pass broken up . He is also tied for second in the PFL in interceptions (0.4)

WHERE THERE IS A WILL (LEFT-HANDED VERSION)

Will Bardo returns for his third season at the helm of the Flyer offense. He accounted for 227 yards total offense at Youngstown State, and moved into fifth place in career total offense at UD. Then he had 250 (79 rushing with 2 TD's, 16 of 32 for 171 passing) vs. Duquesne to move into fourth. He now has 4,949 yards. Kelly Spiker is third with 5,138. A dual threat, he is averaging 6.9 yards a carry on running plays in 2013 (6.9 per carry without sacks, 4.7 with sacks factored in). He is second at UD in rushing (249) and yards per carry (4.7). His three rushing TD's are tied for first on the team. Despite throwing seven straight incompletions at one point, Bardo was 13 of 26 passing for 188 yards and two TD's in the RMU win. Against Davidson, he was 12 of 17 passing for 103 yards and also had eight runs for 69 yards (8.6 avg.).

SEE CONNOR RUN

Running back Connor Kacsor had one of the greatest single-game rushing performances in Flyer football history in the Davidson win. Kacsor carried the ball a career-high 26 times for 244 yards. He was just seven yards short of Jermaine Bailey's Dayton single-game record of 251 yards set against Drake on Oct. 21, 2000. Kacsor ran for two touchdowns and averaged 9.4 yards per carry. Five of his carries went for 20 yards or more. It was the best rushing performance in the PFL this season, and sixth-best in FCS football. He is fifth in the PFL in rushing, averaging 82.0 yards per game. It was Kacsor's fourth game of 100 yards or more in just 14 career games.

FRESHMAN FEAT

Connor Kacsor was the first Flyer freshman football player to run for 100 yards in a game three times in a season last year as a redshirt freshman. He had 135 at Davidson, 106 in the Morehead State win and 124 vs. Valpo in back-to-back-to-back weeks. He is only the second freshman to rush for 100 yards in a game at UD. The first was quarterback Kelly Spiker, who ran for 142 yards vs. Morehead State and 157 vs. Butler in back-to-back weeks in the 2000 season. Kacsor led the PFL with a 10.6 yard-per-carry average in 2012. Kacsor missed most of his senior season in high school, and then redshirted his first year at UD in 2011.

BAD LUCK BRANDEN

For the second straight season, wideout Branden Johnson has suffered a season-ending injury while leading the team in receptions. This year, he sat out the first two games, but came through in the next two games with 13 catches for 207 yards (15.3) and four touchdowns. He broke his collarbone on the fourth TD, which was UD's last play from scrimmage in the Marist game. He was UD's top pass catcher in 2012 (28 catches for 270 yards, 9.6 avg) even though he missed the last five games of the season with an injured shoulder. He was the second-leading Flyer receiver in 2011 (25 catches for a team-high 15.9 yards per catch average).

SPREAD IT AROUND

Dayton had eight different pass catchers with at least 10 receptions in 2012. Nine receivers have already caught passes this season.

THE HUNTER

Flyer senior slot receiver Gary Hunter had a career-high six receptions for 56 yards at Youngstown State. He had another five for 59 in the Duquesne win. Also against Duquesne, Hunter averaged 17.5 yards on two punt returns and 43.5 on two kickoff returns. In 2012, he averaged 22.6 yards per touch as a pass receiver (25.0 yards on 7 catches), punt returner (25.5 on 4) and kick returner (21.2 on 20). He missed the last two games with an injury before returning for a few plays against Davidson.

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HUNTER THE HISTORY MAKER

The Dayton career record holder in kickoff returns, Gary Hunter is believed to be only the second Flyer football player to have three special teams touchdowns in his career (available statistics are incomplete prior to 1950). Kelvin Kirk (the original Mr. Irrelevant) had three from 1974-77. Hunter had what is believed to be the first kickoff return for a TD by a freshman in the history of University of Dayton football when he had an 82-yard scamper against Valparaiso in 2010. He returned a kickoff for a TD in both of his first two seasons at Dayton and had a 77-yard punt return in the 2012 opener at Illinois State.

PLAYING THE SLOTS

Slot receiver Gabe Macis leads the team in receptions (16 for 10.1 avg). Ross Smith, who can play both outside and inside, is tied for second (13 or 10.6 avg.). Gary Hunter leads the team in receptions per game (3.3).

Mr.SMITH

Dayton senior Ross Smith has caught at least one pass in 14 straight games. He is second on the team in reception (13) and yards per catch (10.6). Smith was second on the team with 26 catches in 2012.

STEW

Redshirt freshman wideout Cory Stuart had eight catches for 65 yards in the first two games, and then missed the last two games with an injury. He now has 10 for 85.

IT'S WHAT'S UP FRONT THAT COUNTS

Dayton returns three players with starting experience in 2013 on the offensive line. Tackles Ben Estey and Tom Corcoran are back from a year ago, and Chris Cortopassi, who has also started in the past at tackle and is now at guard, give the Flyer o-line experienced depth. The Flyers led the PFL in rushing (196.9 yards a game) in 2012, averaging 5.0 yards a carry.

BIG BAD TOM

Redshirt senior offensive tackle Tom Corcoran was named UD's offensive player of the week in the Duquesne win. The primary blocker assigned to the Dukes' Buck Buchanan Award finalist Dorian Bell. Bell, a transfer from Ohio State who averaged double-digits in hits last year, was held to four tackles (1 solo, three assists) in the game. Corcoran will miss the Stetson game while attending his brother's wedding.

WHERE THERE IS A WILL (right-footed VERSION)

Redshirt freshman kicker William Will was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week after scoring the last nine points in UD's come-from-behind 23-20 win over Duquesne. Will was three-for-three in field goals in the three-point win. On the year, he is six-for-seven in field goals.

PIGGY'S PUNTS

Kyle Pignatiello is back for his second season as UD's punter. He is averaging 41.3 yards a punt, third in the PFL. Eight of his punts have been inside the 20, with just two touchbacks. At RMU, he punted six times for a 42.5 average, with three kicks inside the 20. As a redshirt freshman, he averaged 37.4 yards a punt in 65 kicks. Twenty-four of his punts were inside the 20 (with only three touchbacks), and 19 were fair caught. Pignatiello was the first UD player to be named a team player of the week twice this season.

SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS

Dayton leads the PFL in net punting (39.1). Against Robert Morris, Flyer coverage teams limited the Colonials to one total return yard on three returned punts and 16.7 yards on three kick returns. RMU return man Eddie Antwan came into the game averaging over 13 yards a punt return. The Flyers also lead the league in kick return average (22.7).

2013 PLAYER OF THE WEEK SCORECARD

Twice: Branden Johnson, Kyle Pignatiello; Once: Christopher Beaschler, Tom Corcoran, Gary Hunter, , Connor Kacsor, Clay Krafft, Colin Monnier, Kyle Sebetic, Cameron Stubbs, Nick Weston, William Will

2013 SCOUTS OF THE WEEK SCORECARD

Twice: Jack Adams, Danny Dudek, Nick German; Once: Shane Companey, Tommy Fanning, Ricky Lawniczak, Alex Middleton, Graham Peters, Mike Ryan, Michael Scott, Cory Stufflebeam, Owen Williams

LET'S TALK CAMPBELL TROPHY

Dayton has had at least a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, the major award of the NFF's Scholar-Athlete Award program (the academic Heisman if you will), for eight straight years. This season, linebacker Colin Monnier is UD's semifinalist. Previous Flyer picks were Bill Petraiuolo (2012), Devon Langhorst (2011), Brandon Wingeier (2010), Sean Heenan (2009), Bart Bergfeld (2008), Brandon Cramer (who was also a finalist in 2007), and Brandon Godsey (2006). Dayton is the only PFL team to even have three straight (Drake has two). Among Division I schools, the Flyers are one of 10 institutions with a semifinalist in the last seven years. The others are Austin Peay, Bucknell, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, Rutgers, South Dakota State, Texas, and Wisconsin.

600 CLUB

The Flyers became the 11th NCAA FCS team (and the first west of the Alleghenies) to win at least 600 games in its football history when UD beat Davidson on October 18, 2008. Here are the 15 members of the club heading into the 2013 season: Yale (871), Harvard (829), Penn (824), Princeton (791), Dartmouth (662), Delaware (661), Lehigh (660), Lafayette (659), North Dakota State (641), Dayton (634), Cornell (629), Northern Iowa (625), North Dakota (617), Colgate (618) and Holy Cross (605). Of the 600 Club members, Dayton has played the fewest seasons (104, nine fewer than Northern Iowa's 113). UD moved into the Top 10 in 2010. The Flyers' .640 all-time winning percentage is fourth among the "600 club" and ninth all-time. The top 10 FCS winning percentages going into 2013 consists of Yale (.701), Grambling (.698), Harvard (.677), Florida A&M (.663), Princeton (.662), Tennessee State (.656), Georgia Southern (.647), Appalachian State (.6403), Dayton (.6395) and Penn (.634).

WELCOME MAT

The UD Flyers moved to Welcome Stadium in 1974. The word "Welcome" implies hospitality, but UD has been anything but hospitable to its opponents at home, where it is 207-44-2 (.822). The "Welcome" is not a greeting, but an honor to the late Percival Welcome, longtime AD for the Dayton Public Schools.

FLYER FAMILY

Six current members of the Flyer football team have had relatives who also played for UD, including three players whose fathers played -- Austen Alber (Tim, 1986-88), Alex Husted (Jon, 1986-89) and Kyle Pignatiello (Mike, 1980-82).

SUPER STAT

When Jon Gruden coached the Tampa Bay Bucs to the Super Bowl championship in 2003, he became the second UD grad to coach a Super Bowl winner. Former UD co-captain and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Noll won four as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Noll started at center and linebacker for the Flyers and graduated in 1953. Gruden played quarterback at Dayton and earned his degree in 1986. UD became only the third school (now there are four) to have two alumni coach Super Bowl winners. The others are San Jose State (Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil), Arkansas (Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer), and Eastern Illinois (Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton). At the time of their wins, Gruden was the second-youngest coach to win a Super Bowl and Noll was the fifth-youngest. As a matter of fact, UD has ties to 19 Super Bowl rings. In addition to Noll's four and Gruden's one, six former members of Dayton coaching staffs own a total of 14 Super Bowl rings between them. They include current Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi (XLIV). Lombardi, an Air Force Academy grad and the grandson of Vince Lombardi, began his coaching career at Dayton. He coached for three seasons on Mike Kelly's staff while stationed at Wright-Pat AFB. Noll and Gruden are honored in the main entryway of UD's newly-renovated Football Offices.

LAST TIME OUT--DAYTON 40, DAVIDSON 8

DAYTON -- Connor Kacsor ran to daylight until Mother Nature brought storm clouds in Dayton's 40-8 win over Davidson Saturday at Welcome Stadium. Kacsor ran 26 times for 244 yards and two touchdowns on the day. His 244 yards were just seven yards short of Jermaine Bailey's school record of 251 yards (set against Drake in 2000).

But just as Kacsor's day was done and the second unit was coming into the game, a storm front with lightning moved into the area, first sending the teams to the locker room and eventually ending the game with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter.

Kacsor carried the ball a career-high 26 times in the game, averaging 9.4 yards a carry. He gained 59 yards in the first quarter, and another 51 to give him 110 by halftime. He exploded for 94 in the third and then added 40 during Dayton's only possession of the fourth quarter. The 94 yards coming out of halftime were more than any Dayton runner had gained in a game this season.

For the game Dayton averaged 8.2 yards per carry. Kacsor and quarterback Will Bardo combined for 34 carries and 303 yards (8.9 average) themselves. Bardo ran the ball eight times for 69 net yards and a score. He also threw a TD pass, and was 12 of 17 for 103 yards with an interception. Gabe Macis caught five passes for 46 yards to lead UD.

The Dayton defense held Davidson to 46 yards in the first half and 191 yards and a 2.8 yard per play average in the game. Seven Flyer defenders had at least five tackles, including linebacker Chris Beaschler, who had five hits and returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown. Ryan Schwenke led UD from his Flyer position with seven tackles, including 2.5 in the backfield.

Dayton received the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in nine plays to dent the scoreboard first, and then took advantage of a Davidson punting miscue to take a short field drive of 31 yards to take a 14-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. William Will nailed a field goal as time expired in the first half to give UD a 17-0 halftime lead.

UP NEXT

The Flyers return home to host San Diego. Game time is 6:00 p.m. ET. It will be the first time the Flyers have played a PFL foe at night since they beat Morehead State 28-0 on September 11, 2004. Interestingly, the first touchdown of that game was scored by then-redshirt freshman QB Kevin Hoyng. Hoyng is now the Flyers' quarterbacks coach. Stetson is at Marist.