PDF GAME NOTES

The University of Dayton football team will close out the non-conference part of the 2013 season on Saturday, September 14 when the Flyers travel to Moon Township, Pa. to take on Robert Morris. Game time is 12 noon ET.
Both teams are coming off their first wins of the season, both at home last Saturday. Dayton came from 10 points down to beat Duquesne 23-20, while RMU beat Morgan State 31-14.
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.

PAIR NAMED PFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Flyer placekicker William Will was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week and linebacker Colin Monnier was co-Defensive Player of the Week after the Duquesne win. Will was three-for-three in field goals in the three-point win, and Monnier had 14 hits and a sack.

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 410 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.

SERIES STUFF
Dayton leads the series with RMU 13-2, and has won the last 10 meetings. The Flyers won 20-14 in Dayton on Sept. 15. Taylor Harris ran for 106 yards and two TD's in the last game he would suit up for UD. The Dayton defensive effort was led by corner Howard Savage, who had nine tackles, three passes batted down, an interception, a fumble forced and one TFL.

SCOUTING the COLONIALS
Robert Morris comes into the game 1-1, after opening the year with a 38-6 loss at #19 EKU, and then downing Morgan State 31-14 last week at home.
This is the final season on the sidelines for head coach Joe Walton, who is the only coach RMU has had in its 20 years of football. Walton, a Beaver Falls, Pa. native literally came home to build the Robert Morris program from scratch. He was an All-American and Academic All-American at Pitt, played nine seasons in the NFL and coached in the pros for 25 years, including being head coach of the Jets (1983-89).
Assistant head coach John Banaszak will succeed Walton next season.
The Colonial offense is led by quarterback Paul Jones, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound transfer from Penn State. Jones has completed 29 of 54 passes (.537) for 371 yards and four TD's in his first two games.
Cornerback Antwan Eddie has RMU's only interception this season, and is also the reigning Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. Eddie averaged 24.0 yards on four punt returns in the Morgan State win.

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 335 of UD's 635 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 41 as a head coach. He has also been a part of 430 of UD's 1,015 games.

LONG TIME STARTERS
Eight Flyers own start totals of 10 or greater. Cornerback Kyle Sebetic has 30 starts in his career. QB Will Bardo has 23. OT Tom Corcoran and LB Colin Monnier have 21. WR Branden Johnson has 17. DT Brannon Dunn has 15. CB Howard Savage has 13 and DE Pat Dowd has 12. Monnier's 21 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 will be 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 will miss the RMU game with an 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 Trophy 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
Senior linebacker Colin Monnier is second in the PFL and tied for fifth in FCS football in tackles per game (13.0). 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.

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 second among PFL defensive backs in tackles (8.0).

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.

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.

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 first nationally. He also has 10 tackles in the first two games.

PRODUCTION FROM THE BENCH
Non-starters have made their presence felt on the Dayton defense. Safety Zack Elias has both passes broken up for UD this year and a big forced fumble. Linebackers Chris Hagan and Mitch Sanders have two of UD's four fumble recoveries. LB Chris Beaschler has nine hits.

TAKEAWAYS
Dayton leads the PFL in turnover margin (1.5) and fumbles recovered (2.0). The Flyers are fourth and third respectively in FCS football.

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 4,384 yards. Kelly Spiker is third with 5,138. In 11 games last year, Bardo passed for 1687 yards (152 of 306, .497, 8 TD, 9 INT) and rushed for 405 yards and three touchdowns. After beginning the year 58 of 131 (.443), Bardo completed 94 of 175 passes (.537) for 1,087 yards in his last seven games. He threw for a career-high 255 yards at Butler (25 of 47). A dual threat, he averaged over five yards a carry on designed run plays in 2012. (5.7 per carry without sacks, 3.9 with sacks factored in). He leads UD in rushing (111), yards per carry (4.3) and has both rushing TD's in 2013.

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.

HAND IT TO BRANDEN
Wide receiver Branden Johnson (28 catches for 270 yards, 9.6 avg) is back after missing the last five games of the season with an injured shoulder. Even though he missed those five games, Johnson was still the Flyers leading receiver with 28 catches. Before the injury, Johnson set career highs in catches (eight at Butler) and yardage (98 at Duquesne). He was the second-leading Flyer receiver in 2011 (25 catches for a team-high 15.9 yards per catch average). He missed the first two games of the year due to disciplinary reasons.

SPREAD IT AROUND
Dayton had eight different pass catchers with at least 10 receptions in 2012. Seven receivers caught passes at YSU.

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).

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.

STEW
Redshirt freshman Cory Stuart is second on the team in receptions this season, with eight catches for 65 yards.

MR.SMITH
Dayton senior Ross Smith has caught at least one pass in 11 straight games. He had three receptions in the opener. Smith was second on the team with 26 catches in 2012.

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.

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 four-for-four in field goals. He leads the PFL and is tied for fourth in FCS 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. Four of his punts have been inside the 20, with just one touchback. At YSU, he punted a career-high eight times for a 40.4 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. His career-long 63-yard punt at Davidson was the third-longest in the PFL last season.
SPEICAL SPECIAL TEAMS
Dayton leads the PFL in net punting (38.7). Against Duquesne, Flyer coverage teams limited DU to 5.5 yards on two returned punts and 16.5 yards on four kick returns. Meanwhile, UD averaged 19.3 yards on three punt returns and 27.5 yards on four kickoffs.

2013 PLAYER OF THE WEEK SCORECARD
Tom Corcoran, Gary Hunter, Colin Monnier, Kyle Pignatiello, Kyle Sebetic, William Will

2013 SCOUTS OF THE WEEK SCORECARD
Jack Adams, Shane Companey, Nick German, Mike Ryan, 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 seven straight years. This season, linebacker Colin Monnier is UD's nominee. Semifinalists will be announced in late September. 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.

PFL POWER
The Pioneer Football League is entering 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. The Flyers' 84-26 PFL record is the best in the history of the league. The league will expand by two members this season as
Mercer and Stetson begin varsity play. Dayton has won 11 (shared or outright) league championships, the most of any Pioneer Football League member.

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 206-43-2 (.825). 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.

LAST TIME OUT--DAYTON 23, DUQUESNE 20
DAYTON -- Trailing 20-14 at halftime, the University of Dayton football team allowed Duquesne to run one play in Dayton territory and used three William Will field goals to edge the Dukes 23-20 in the Flyers' home opener. UD quarterback Will Bardo ran for 79 yards and two TD's while completing 16 of 32 passes for 171 yards. Linebacker Colin Monnier had 14 tackles for the Dayton defense, which forced three turnovers.
Duquesne put the Flyers back on their heels early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. Quarterback Dillon Buechel hit Gianni Carter for a 76-yard TD on the Dukes' third play from scrimmage and then added a 26-yard Austin Crimmins field goal set up by a 38-yard fumble return.
UD took advantage of a turnover when a high punt snap was recovered at the one-yard line, getting on the board when Will Bardo scored. Bardo added a 71-yard touchdown run to put the Flyers up 14-10. Duquesne answered with 10 straight points to lead 20-14 at halftime.
No adjustment made by either team in the locker room was bigger than the one made by the Dayton defensive coaches. At halftime Carter had six receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. During the break, the Flyers assigned cornerback Kyle Sebetic, last year's FCS leader in passes defensed, on Carter wherever he lined up. Carter was held to one catch for four yards in the second half.
In the second half, the Dayton defense allowed less than 30 yards on five of the Dukes' six series, and UD's special teams kept the visitors pinned deep. Punter Kyle Pignatiello averaged 42.8 yards on five punts, and Flyer coverage teams limited DU to 5.5 yards on two returned punts and 16.5 yards on four kick returns. Meanwhile, UD averaged 19.3 yards on three punt returns and 27.5 yards on four kickoffs.
Of course, the most critical special teams contributions came from snapper Ian Palin, holder Luke Johnson and redshirt freshman kicker William Will, who split the uprights on three straight possessions – 32 yards with 7:27 left in the third, 25-yards with 1:27 left in the third and 25 yards again with 7:42 left in the game.
Dayton held Duquesne to just three first downs in the second half and one of those first downs resulted in a turnover. Right after Dayton took the lead, Buechel hit Dave Thomas on a 28-yard catch-and-run, but UD backup safety Zach Elias chased Thomas down and caused a fumble that was recovered by UD cornerback Howard Savage. Elias also had two passes broken up in the game, including one on Duquesne's last play of the game that clinched the Flyer win.
In addition to his game-high 14 tackles, Monnier had UD's only sack and 2.5 tackles in the backfield. Ryan Schwenke had his second interception of the year, and Chris Hagan recovered a fumble to account for the three turnovers forced by UD. The Flyers allowed just 62 yards on the ground, and 47 came on one play.
Bardo was the game's leading ground gainer with 79 yards on 18 attempts with the two TD's. He was also 16 of 32 passing for 171 yards. Hunter (59 yards) and Cory Stuart (39 yards) each caught five passes.

UP NEXT
UD has a week off before entering the conference season at home against Marist on Saturday, Sept. 28. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.