DAYTON -- The University of Dayton opens the pursuit of its 13th Pioneer Football League championship when the Jacksonville Dolphins visit Welcome Stadium.   Kickoff on Saturday is at 12 Noon ET.

This week is UD's Football Alumni Game.  More than 50 football alums will be on hand and introduced at halftime.  UD's 1989 NCAA Division III national championship team is this year's guests of honor.

Tight end Adam Trautman enters the Jacksonville game tied for first in career receptions at Dayton.  Trautman's 133 catches match Bill Franks (1988-91).

Flyer safety Tim Simon is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy.  Dayton has had a semifinalist in each of the last 14 years.

GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATING
The Flyers entered the season with the fifth-best winning percentage (.733, 154-56) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (31) at any level of competition in the same time frame.  The top five in winning percentage are North Dakota State (.792), Harvard (.772), Montana (.744), San Diego (.742) and Dayton (.733). 

STREAKING
UD has not been shut out in a school-record 479 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.

PFL POWER
• The Pioneer Football League is in its 27th 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 123-45 record is the best in PFL history. 
• The Flyers' 12 league championships are more than any other PFL team.  

THE MAN AT THE TOP
• Rick Chamberlin is now in his 12th season in charge of Flyer football. His record is 87-39.
• He is third all-time in wins at UD, behind two College Football Hall of Fame members-- Mike Kelly (246 wins) and Harry Baujan (124).
• After coaching the Flyers to the FCS playoffs in 2015, Chamberlin was named the 2015 AFCA District Coach of the Year and the PFL Coach of the Year.  He was the school's first AFCA District Coach of the Year, and his PFL honor was the ninth for a Dayton coach.
• Chamberlin is also in his 45th season as part of the Flyer football program.  A Flyer All-American linebacker in his playing days, he has been a part of 381 of UD's 681 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 87 as a head coach.  He has also been a part of 496 of UD's 1,030 games. 

TRAUT FISHING IN AMERICA
• Adam Trautman is tied with Bill Franks for the Flyer record for career receptions (133). 
• He leads the PFL in receptions per game (8.3) and is eighth in FCS football.
• Trautman's 19 receiving touchdowns are tied with Matt Champa and Justin Watkins for second all-time at UD, behind Pat Hugar's 24.  It is also tied with Champa for the Flyer record for TD catches by a tight end.
• Trautman was named a Preseason All-America Tight End by two different media outlets.  Phil Steele's College Football has him on the second team, while STATS hash him on the third team.  
• STATS has also named him to the Walter Payton Award Watch List (the Payton Award goes to the top offensive player in FCS football).
• Phil Steele's College Football projects him to be the PFL Offensive Player of the Year. 
• He opened 2019 with a career-high 11 catches (third-best ever for UD) for 132 yards at Indiana State.
• His team-leading 25 catches this year are 14 more than anyone else on the team.
• Last year, Trautman led UD in receptions (41) and TD catches (9).  He had a 14.7 yards per catch average.  
• Trautman lined up at tight end, slot receiver, flanker and even as a wildcat QB in 2016.
• His Elk Rapids (Michigan) high school team had 18 players on it his junior year, and 21 in his senior season.

COOKIN'
• Jack Cook was 21 of 29 passing (.724), for 251 yards and two TDs in the win over 14th-ranked Indiana State.  He also ran 13 times for 52 yards and two more scores.  
• With the score tied in the fourth quarter, Cook engineered a 10-play, 85-yard drive for the winning touchdown.  He completed all four of his passes on the drive for 48 yards, and each of his runs in the drive resulted in a first down.
• He was named the PFL Player of the Week.
• For the season, Cook is 53 of 82 passing (.646) for 708 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Among active FCS quarterbacks, Cook is second in career passing efficiency (156.11) behind Kevin Thomson of Sac State (159.18).

EASTER BONNET
•Brandon Easterling leads FCS football in tackles per game (14.3), after having 19 tackles against Duquesne.
• Those 19 tackles are the most by a Dayton player since James Vercammen had 19 at San Diego in 2009.
• Easterling was UD's top tackler at ISU, putting his hat on 13 Sycamores (5 solo).  He also had a pass broken up.
• At Robert Morris, he led again with 11 tackles and nine solo hits.
• His 7.7 solo tackles lead the PFL and are fourth in FCS.

SIMPLY SIMON 
• Senior safety Tim Simon is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, which is sometimes referred to as "the Academic Heisman."
• Simon was the Pioneer Football League Player of the Week vs. Indiana State after getting in on 11 tackles (6 solo), an interception, two other passes broken up and 0.5 TFL.
• His red-zone interception and 64-yard return with just over two minutes to go sealed the win at Robert Morris. 
• His 0.7 picks per game are tied for the FCS lead.
• This year, Simon is second on the team and the PFL in tackles (32, 17 solo), with two interceptions and three passes broken up.
• He was second for UD in tackles last season (75) and solo hits (41).
• He played in 10 games in 2017, but did not see any action on defense until the Drake game (game 6) when he subbed in for David Leisring, intercepted two passes and was named PFL Defensive Player of the Week.
• Three weeks later, he started for Reagan Malas against Butler and led UD with 12 hits and had an interception. 
• He had another pick in the Marist win and was tied with David Leisring for second in the PFL in interceptions per game (0.41).

SLAMMIN' SAMMY
• True freshman Sam Webster has made an immediate impact in the UD kicking game.
• He was 6-for-6 in PAT's in his college debut at 14th-ranked Indiana State.
• At Robert Morris, his very first college field goal was a 53-yarder that was the third longest in Flyer history, the longest by a freshman, and the second-longest so far in 2019.
• He scored 10 points in the three-point win at RMU, and was named PFL Special Teams Player of the Week.
• For the season, Webster is 3-for-3 on field goals, 14-for-14 on PATs, and seven of his nine kickoffs have been touchbacks. 

UP NEXT 
• The Flyers are on the road for two weeks (Valparaiso on Oct. 11 and Stetson on Oct. 18). 
• UD's next home game is against San Diego on Oct. 25. 
• That game also kicks off at 12 noon ET.