DAYTON -- The University of Dayton football team will begin the pursuit of the Flyers' 12th Pioneer Football League championship Saturday when UD opens PFL play at Stetson. Game time in DeLand, Fla. is 1 p.m. ET.
Dayton (3-0) finished non-conference action undefeated for the first time since 2007. Stetson already has a PFL game under its belt, and is 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the PFL.
The Flyers came from behind for the third straight game to edge Kennesaw State 31-27 on Sept. 26 behind a second straight PFL Player of the Week performance by
Connor Kacsor (229 yards, 3 TD's). It was Kacsor's second consecutive 200-yard game, and sixth overall.
The Flyers were picked to finish second in the PFL in this year's poll of the league's coaches. This is the 23rd season of the PFL. UD's 11 titles to date are the most in league history.
Dayton finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the PFL in 2014. The Flyers finished tied for second in the Pioneer Football League and had their 37th winning season in the last 38 last year.
Rick Chamberlin is in his eighth season as UD's head coach and returns 14 starters (seven offense, six defense, one specialist) from 2014.
Dayton is led by senior running back
Connor Kacsor, who is UD's career record holder in rushing yardage. A preseason All-American, Kacsor was the 2014 PFL Offensive Player of the Year after gaining 1,547 yards with 17 TD's. He currently leads FCS in rushing (181.7).
GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATINGThe Flyers enter the season with the fourth-best winning percentage (.738, 124-41) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (22) at any level of competition in the same time frame. The top five in winning percentage are North Dakota State (.845), Harvard (.799), Montana (.775), Dayton (.738), and San Diego (.698).
STREAKINGUD has not been shut out in a school-record 434 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 Oct. 16, 1976. That is also the all-time FCS record.
SERIES STUFF Dayton and Stetson have only met once before.
The Flyers beat Stetson 49-20 in DeLand on Oct. 13, 2013 in the Hatters' first season of their current edition of their football program. .
Dayton scored on four of its first 10 plays en route to a 28-0 first-quarter lead.
Connor Kacsor had 22 carries for 128 yards and three TD's in the game.
Christopher Beaschler (7 tackles) and
Danny Leach (6) led the defense.
Stetson QB Ryan Tentler was 11 of 18 passing for 173 yards with two TD's. In addition, the top five Hatter tacklers return from that game.
SCOUTING THE HATTERS Saturday's game will feature a matchup between the PFL's reigning Offensive Player of the Year (Dayton's
Connor Kacsor) and Defensive Player of the Year (Stetson defensive back Donald Payne).
Payne was a First Team All-American in 2014, and led FCS football in tackles per game (14.5).
Even though injuries have impacted the Hatters this year, 17 projected starters for Saturday's game played vs. Dayton two years ago (including 10 who also started in 2013).
Quarterback Ryan Tentler has completed 41 of 66 passes (.621) for 486 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
19 different Hatters have receptions in 2015.
PFL POWER The Pioneer Football League is in its 23rd 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 96-31 PFL mark is the best in PFL history.
600 CLUB The Flyers were the 11th NCAA FCS team (and the first west of the Alleghenies) to win 600 games in its football history in 2008.
The 16 members of the club, heading into the 2015 season are: Yale (884), Harvard (848), Penn (830), Princeton (804), Dartmouth (676), Delaware (674), Lehigh (671), North Dakota State (671), Lafayette (669), Dayton (649), Northern Iowa (641), Cornell (633), North Dakota (625), Colgate (625), Holy Cross (613) and Brown (601).
Of the 600 Club members, Dayton has played the fewest seasons (106, nine fewer than Northern Iowa's 115).
NATIONAL LEADERS Eight PFL players lead FCS football in a statistical category, and five of them are led by Flyers.
Connor Kacsor leads rushing yards per game (181.7), total rushing yards (545), rushing TD's (6) and all-purpose yards (194.0)
Cameron Stubbs leads in interceptions (1.33).
UP NEXT Dayton returns home to take on PFL preseason favorite San Diego on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET.
The San Diego game is UD's Alumni Game, and is also Bandcoming.
