DAYTON -- After a record-setting win over Jacksonville, the University of Dayton goes on the road this week, taking on Valparaiso.  

Saturday's game is believed to be a first for Flyer football, as UD will face a head coach who was previously a Dayton assistant coach.  The Crusader's new coach is Landon Fox, who spent 13 seasons on the UD coaching staff, the last 11 as the Dayton defensive coordinator.  

Tight end Adam Trautman set two records in the JU win.  He took sole possession of the Dayton career receptions record (now 139).  He also set the Flyer single-game record for touchdown receptions (4).

Quarterback Jack Cook set the UD record for TD passes in a game with six.

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 480 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 124-45 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 88-39.
• 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 382 of UD's 682 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 88 as a head coach.  He has also been a part of 497 of UD's 1,031 games. 

THE MAN AT THE TOP IN THE PFL
• Rick Chamberlin is the winningest coach in Pioneer Football League history, with 64 wins. 
• No other PFL coaches have 60 league wins. 

TRAUT FISHING IN AMERICA
• Adam Trautman broke two Flyer records in the Jacksonville win.  
• His first reception was a 17-yard touchdown from quarterback Jack Cook that gave Trautman sole possession of the Dayton career receptions record.  Trautman entered the game tied with Bill Franks for 133 receptions.  Interestingly, Saturday was UD's annual Alumni Game and Franks was in attendance. 
• The Flyer tight end's final catch of the day was a 34-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter that was his fourth TD of the day, giving him the Flyer single-game record for touchdown receptions.  It was also the last time he was targeted with a pass, as UD led 35-14 at halftime and threw just three passes in the second half. For the day, he had six catches for 107 yards.
• For the season, Trautman has 31 receptions for 410 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and six touchdowns.  He leads the PFL in receptions per game (7.8), receiving yards per game (102.5) and touchdown catches (6).  In FCS football, he is the top-ranked tight end in all three categories.  Overall, he is ninth, sixth and sixth respectively.
• His four touchdowns in the Jacksonville win give him 23 for his career, one behind the Flyer record held by Pat Hugar (1994-97).

UP AND...
• Adam Trautman was named a Preseason All-America Tight End by two different media outlets this year.  Phil Steele's College Football has him on the second team, while STATS has him on the third team.  
• STATS has also named him to the Walter Payton Award Watch List (the Payton Award goes to the top FCS offensive player.
• 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 31 catches this year are 17 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.  
• In 2017, he led Dayton in receptions with 43 (12.5 yards per catch).
• He was third on the team in receptions with 24 (9.9 avg.) in 2016.
• Those 24 catches were more than the previous freshman record (18), but Ryan Skibinski was in the process of setting a new record with 40.
• 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.

RECORD COOK
• Jack Cook joined in on the record parade in the Jacksonville win, throwing for a Dayton record six TD's.
• Cook was 13 of 16 passing for 198 yards in the Jacksonville win.  His passer efficiency rating was a remarkable 308.95 (roughly double what a normal "solid" rating would be).  Both the rating and touchdowns are the second-most this season in FCS football.
• He was the CFPA FCS Performer of the Week.
• Records are nothing new for Cook.  He had two record-breaking days last season.  At San Diego, Cook threw for a UD-record 432 yards (29 of 40, .725) and had a hand in all five Flyer TD's (4 passing, 1 rushing).  
• At Butler, he tied his current position coach, Kevin Hoyng, for the then-UD record for touchdown passes in a game (5).  Cook completed 16 of 19 passes for 254 yards.

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. 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 66 of 98 passing (.673) for 906 yards and 13 touchdowns.
• Among active FCS quarterbacks, Cook is first in career passing efficiency (163.06).

 JACKED UP
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jack Cook was named to the HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America Team and was also the Pioneer Football League's Freshman Offensive Player of the Year in 2018.
• He was thrust into the starting quarterback role after redshirt senior and four-year starter Alex Jeske tore his ACL in the first quarter of the season's first game. Cook's first two starts came against teams that not only reached the FCS playoffs last season, but they both won their first-round game.
 • Cook led all FCS freshmen in passing efficiency (155.5, 8th overall) and was ranked third among all FCS freshmen in passing yardage (2,421) and passing touchdowns (20).
• He was 170 of 280 passing (.607) for 2,421 yards and 20 touchdowns (with just two interceptions) for the year.  Both of his interceptions were in late-game desperation downfield situations.  The yardage was the second-best single-season mark in UD history, and the passing TD's were third.
• Cook was also Dayton's second-leading rusher, with 421 net yards on 91 attempts. (4.6 avg.).  He ran for eight touchdowns.
• In the PFL, Cook was fourth in total offense per game (258.5).  The next closest freshman was Stetson RB Jareem Westcott at 78.2.   Cook was also fifth in passing yards (220.2) behind then-seniors Anthony Lawrence of USD, Colin McGovern of Stetson, Grant Kraemer of Drake and Will Marty of Butler.
• He is on the 2019 College Football Performance FCS Performer of the Year Award Watch List.

EASTER BONNET
•Brandon Easterling leads FCS football in tackles per game (14.8), after having 19 tackles against Duquesne and 16 vs. JU.
• 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 7.8 solo tackles lead the PFL and are third 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 0.5 picks per game are tied for second in FCS. 
• This year, Simon is second on the team and third in the PFL in tackles (37, 18 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).

CHISHOLM TRAIL
• Jake Chisholm has returned eight kickoffs, and averages 35.2 yards per return.  That leads the PFL and is third in FCS.
• He returned four kickoffs a 36.2 yard average at Indiana State.  He also had seven carries for 43 yards at ISU.
• Chisholm's 97-yard TD return in the Duquesne game was Dayton's first since Cameron Stubbs' 94-yard return against Marist in 2016, and UD's longest since Gary Hunter's 100-yard return in 2012.
• He was named PFL Special Teams Player of the Week after Duquesne. He also had six carries for 34 yards and caught a TD pass.
• He had his first career 100-yard rushing game against Jacksonville with 101 yards on just 10 carries (79 in the second half).
• For the season on offense, he has 178 yards on 23 attempts (team-high 7.7 yards per carry).

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, 22-for-22 on PATs, and 13 of his 15 kickoffs have been touchbacks. 

MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Rick Chamberlin


Mike Stodola


UP NEXT
• The Flyers remain on the road, taking on Stetson on Oct. 19.
• UD's next home game is against PFL defending champion San Diego on Oct. 26. 
• The San Diego game kicks off at 12 noon ET.