DAYTON – The University of Dayton Flyers fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter against Davidson before rallying back with 42 unanswered points in front of 4,700 fans on Family Weekend. A late Davidson touchdown ended the run, but it was too late for the Wildcats, as the Flyers won 42-21.

Tucker Yinger led UD with 80 yards rushing on 17 carries with two touchdowns, he added another two receptions for 44 yards and a TD.  Redshirt freshman QB Jack Cook was 11 of 18 passing for 193 yards with a pair of touchdowns.  Matt Tunnacliffe led all receivers with 62 yards on three catches.  Safety David Leisring led UD in tackles (12), solo tackles (8), and added an interception.   

Dayton climbs to 2-2 on the year and 1-0 in the PFL, while Davidson falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in the PFL.  

FIRST QUARTER

•   Davidson found the end zone on both of their opening drives to take a 14-point lead.
•   Dayton was shutout in the first quarter.
•   The Wildcats were very successful on fourth down, converting on all three attempts.
•   Davidson held a decided 171-to-17 yard advantage in total offense..

 

SECOND QUARTER

•    After two punts, the Flyers marched down the field and scored to cut the lead to seven, redshirt freshmen Richie Warfield scored the six-yard touchdown.
•    With just under nine minutes in the half, the Flyers stopped Davidson on fourth down for the first time in the game, taking the ball over at the Davidson 38-yard line.
•   On 3rd-and-16, Matt Tunnacliffe made a 43-yard catch down to the three-yard line, leading to another Warfield touchdown.
• The first half ended tied at 14-14, despite the Wildcats dominating possession 21:41 to 8:19.  Dayton out-gained Davidson 113 to 71.

 

THIRD QUARTER

•   The Flyers took the second-half kickoff and drove 65 yards down the field, ending the drive with an 18-yard touchdown by Tucker Yinger.
• After forcing a stop, Dayton drives 66 yards, capped off by an eight-yard Yinger TD.
•   Dayton continued to shut down Davidson's offense forcing another punt.
• A 30-yard pass from Cook to Trautman gave Dayton a 35-14 lead.
• David Leisring made an interception with under a minute left in the third quarter, giving the Flyers the ball in Davidson territory..

 

FOURTH QUARTER

• Dayton was unable to convert the interception into points, but the defense continued to hold Davidson forcing another punt.
• Matthew Rightnour with the Flyers second interception led to a 29 yard touchdown pass from Cook to Yinger.
• Davidson had a late touchdown drive to cut the lead to 21 with four minutes left before Dayton ran out the clock.

 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

•    Dayton has out-gained its opponent in every game this year, this week it was 392-371.
•    In the second half, UD had 262 yards, compared to Davidson's 129.
•    The Flyers went four-for-five in the red zone, with the only non-scoring possession ending at the Wildcat 10-yard line at game's end.  
•    Sean Smith averaged 42.0 yards per punt, with all three of his kicks inside the 20.
•    The run game was a big factor for Dayton with 199 yards on 35 carries and four touchdowns. With Yinger and Warfield both scoring two touchdowns on the ground.  The Flyers averaged 5.7 yards per carry, while UD's defense held Davidson to 3.5 yards per attempt.
•    Dayton extended its NCAA all-division record by scoring in its 469th consecutive game
•    Tucker Yinger rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.  He moved into third place on UD's all-time rushing list, and now has 2,874 career yards.  Next on the list is Sylvester Monroe, who ran for 2,940 yards in his career.
•    Key stat was the turnover battle as the Flyers forced two turnovers without giving up the ball.
•    Leisring's interception was the 12th of his career, which is tied for second among active FCS players.
•    Linebacker Jake Buerkle also matched Leisring's 12 hits, backed up by Nick Surges, who had 10 tackles, a 13-yard TFL and two quarterback hurries.
  

 

UP NEXT

•    Dayton travels to face Marist next Saturday, Sept. 29.  Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET.
•    The Flyers will return home Saturday, October 6th, to play Valparaiso.  That game is Dayton's football alumni game, and the guests of honor will be the 1978 team, UD's first NCAA playoff team.