DAYTON – The University of Dayton football team closes out the non-conference portion of the 2017 schedule, when the Flyers host NEC preseason favorite Duquesne.  It's UD's Family Weekend game, and kickoff is 1:00 p.m. ET.

Dayton and Duquesne both enter the game 1-1 with wins last week.  The Flyers defeated Southeast Missouri 25-23 at home, and Duquesne won at Valparaiso 45-40.  This will be the Dukes' third straight road game.

Because it is Family Weekend, gates to the Welcome Stadium parking lots will not open until 11:00 a.m. ET.  The University's tailgating guidelines will be enforced.  Tailgating is prohibited in the City of Dayton Neighborhood Park that is adjacent to the Welcome Stadium parking lots.

• Dayton coach Rick Chamberlin is in his 10th season as UD's head coach.
• Quarterback Alex Jeske, linebacker Jack Crain and defensive end Nick Surges are the Flyer football captains this year. 
• Christian Searles, a preseason All-America kick returner, is UD's special teams captain.
• Dayton had two Flyers earn Pioneer Football League Player of the Week honors in last week's exciting 25-23 win over Southeast Missouri.  Safety David Leisring was Defensive POtW, while kicker Patrick Sandler was Special Teams POtW.
• Dayton was 6-0 at home last year.  UD's last loss at Welcome Stadium was in the first round of the 2015 FCS Playoffs.  UD has won 14 straight regular-season home games.

GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATING
The Flyers entered the season with the third-best winning percentage (.761, 143-45) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (26) at any level of competition in the same time frame.  The top five in winning percentage are Harvard (.799), North Dakota State (.761), Dayton (.757), Montana (.755), and San Diego (.719).

STREAKING
UD has not been shut out in a school-record 456 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.

SCOUTING THE DUKES
• Duquesne is the preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference, whose league rules allow for 55 scholarships in the football program.
• The Dukes were 8-3 in 2016, and won the NEC with a 5-1 record. 
• New quarterback Tommy Stuart, a graduate transfer from Boise State, is off to a hot start.  Stuart has completed 70% of his passes (42 of 60) for 467 yards and two TD's.
• Running back A.J. Hines gained a Duquesne-record 1,293 yards and 12 TD's last year, and was named the winner of the Jerry Rice Award as the top FCS freshman.  He ran for 189 yards against Dayton last season.
• Hines, offensive guard, Ben Huss and linebacker Nathan Stone were named Preseason All-NEC heading into the season. Stone has started all 36 games in his career and is a three-time All-NEC performer.
• Offensive guard Matt Fitzpatrick, safety Abner Roberts and defensive end Andy Struttmann were also All-NEC in 2016.
• The Dukes return 13 starters from last year's NEC champs -- five on offense and eight on defense.  Three of the five starters back on offense are on the offensive line.

THE MAN AT THE TOP
• Rick Chamberlin is now in his tenth season in charge of the Flyer football program. His record is 75-28.
• He is third all-time in wins at Dayton, behind two members of the College Football Hall of Fame -- Mike Kelly (246 wins) and Harry Baujan (124).
• Chamberlin is also in his 43rd season as part of the Flyer football program.  A Flyer All-American linebacker in his playing days, he has been a part of 369 of UD's 659 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 75 as a head coach.  He has also been a part of 473 of UD's 1,058 games.

CAPTAINS FROM THE FLIGHT DECK
• The Flyer co-captains for the 2017 season are linebacker Jack Crain, quarterback Alex Jeske and defensive end Nick Surges.
• Crain has played in every game for the last three years (34 games) for the Flyers. In that time he has accumulated 216 tackles.  He was Second Team All-PFL Selection in 2016.
• Jeske was UD's 2016 White-Allen Most Valuable Player. He was a dual-threat weapon on offense in in his second season as a starter, leading the Flyers in rushing yards (676), passing yards (1,936), and touchdowns (29).  These numbers helped Jeske lead the PFL in TDS responsible for (29), and finish fourth in total offense (2,623), and second in scoring (90 points). Jeske was Second-Team All-PFL.
• Surges was also Second Team All-PFL and Second Team Academic All-PFL in 2016.  He led the Flyers in sacks (8.5), QB hurries (8, tied) and fumbles forced (2).  He was also second in tackles for loss (12.0).

UP NEXT
• The Flyers begin their quest for a 13th Pioneer Football League title when they travel to Morehead State next week.  Game time is 1 p.m. ET.
• Dayton returns home Sept. 30 to take on PFL preseason favorite San Diego.  The battle between the teams picked 1 and 2 in the league kicks off at 12 Noon ET.