DAYTON -- The University of Dayton Flyers football team will wrap up the 2019 season on Saturday, Nov. 23 against Butler at Welcome stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST.

Dayton's overall 7-3 record has clinched its 41st winning season in the last 43 years. The Flyers currently sit tied for second in the PFL with a conference record of 5-2.
Saturday is Senior Day.  UD's 33 seniors -- Will Bobek, Matt Brandeis, Brennan Burdo, Kyle Butz, Matt Clifford, Turner Cook, Sam Costantino, Ryan Culhane, Matt Durkin, Brian Gillen, Clayton Hamby,Ryan Harkleroad, Markus Hurd, Zack Jablonski, Cole Kaparos, Justin Karem, Andrew Lutgens, Drew Melarango, Jaxon Mills, Michael Newbold, Michael Niese, Zach Pipoly, Sean Prophit, Tim Roell, Andrew Rothstein, Dom Sciaretti, Tim Simon, Ryan Skibinski, Adam Trautman, Jay Vallie, Tyler Vincent, Colt Whitman and Drake Yinger -- will be recognized before the game. At halftime, will be named the winner of the Lt. Andy Zulli Trophy, a character-driven award that is the most prestigious at UD.

UD has the 2nd highest-scoring offense in FCS football (North Dakota State), averaging 41.7 points a game.  Quarterback Jack Cook leads FCS in points responsible for per game (24.2), running back/kick returner Jake Chisholm leads in all-purpose yardage per game (203.6) and safety Brandon Easterling continues to lead FCS football in tackles (12.4 per game). 

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 486 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 124-42 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 92-41.
• 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 385 of UD's 686 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 92 as a head coach.  He has also been a part of 503 of UD's 1,037 games. 

THE MAN AT THE TOP IN THE PFL
• Rick Chamberlin is the winningest coach in Pioneer Football League history, with 69 wins. 
• No other PFL coaches have 60 league wins. 

TRAUT FISHING IN AMERICA
• Adam Trautman is the first Dayton player since Gary Kosins in 1972 to receive and invitation to play in the Senior Bowl postseason college all-star game. 
• Trautman will be the sixth Flyer to play in in the Senior Bowl.  The other five are tight end Fred Dugan (1958), linebacker Email Karas (1959), center Bob DeMarco (1961), center Leo Dillon (1971) and running back Gary Kosins (1972).
• The Flyer co-captain broke two Flyer records in the Jacksonville win and added a third the next week at Valparaiso.
• His first reception vs. JU 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, Jacksonville was UD's annual Alumni Game and Franks was in attendance.  Trautman currently has 160.
• 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 Jacksonville game, 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.
• At Valparaiso, his three TD catches lifted him to 26 receiving scores, breaking the Dayton record. He now has 30.
• His 13 touchdown catches are also a Flyer single-season record.
• For the season, Trautman has 65 receptions for 859 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and 13 touchdowns.  He leads the PFL in receiving TDs (13), and is second in receptions per game (6.5) and yards per game (85.9).  He is third in scoring (7.8).  
• In FCS football, he is the top-ranked tight end in all four categories.  Overall, he is tied for third, tied for 13th, 24th and tied for 22nd in the four categories, respectively.
• His 65 catches on the season sets a UD record for catches by a TE in one season (59, Matt Champa, 2007).  

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 65 catches this year are 25 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.

1-2 PUNCH 
• Both Adam Trautman and Ryan Skibinski are 1-2 in career receptions at Dayton.
• Bill Franks entered the year with sole possession of the record of 133 catches from 1988-91.  
• Trautman now has it, with 173.
• Skibinski has 142. No wideout has caught more passes in UD football history than Skibinski.
• (Full disclosure, the title of this note is not accurate.  While Adam Trautman is the tallest player on the team, Ryan Skibinski is nowhere close to being the shortest player.)

NO BUTZ
• Kyle Butz is UD's Special Teams captain this season, after leading the PFL in punt returns (11.9) last year.
• He currently leads the PFL (16.2), and would be seventh in FCS, but is one play shy of qualifying.
• Butz had two returns for 84 yards vs. Marist.
• Butz's value is not just the yardage he gains on returns, but what he prevents by getting to bouncing punts before they roll past.
• He was third for the Flyers in receiving with 27 catches for a 12.6 average in 2018.
• Butz had three receptions for 25 yards in the win over 14th-ranked Indiana State.
• He caught three for 65 yards and a touchdown against Duquesne.
• Butz had four for 60 yards against San Diego.
• He is third on the team with 17 catches, and averages 15.2 yards per catch this season.
• He missed the Stetson game with an injury.

TO SERVE AND PROTECT
• The Dayton offensive line is fourth in FCS for TFLs allowed (3.8 per game).  
• The Flyer O-line has allowed only 11 sacks in 2019 (1.1 per game). 
• Offensive guard Michael Niese was UD's Offensive Player of the Week at RMU and USD.
• Offensive tackle Justin Karem was Offensive Player of the Week at Valparaiso.

CHISHOLM TRAIL
• In his second career start, Jake Chisholm had 35 carries for 268 yards and two touchdowns in the win at Morehead State.
• That was the second-most in a single game in UD history, behind Connor Kacsor's 301 yards vs. the Georgetown Hoyas in 2014.
• It's also the most this season in the PFL, and third-most in FCS football this year.
• He had his first career 100-yard rushing game against Jacksonville with 101 yards on just 10 carries (79 in the second half).
• In his first career start against San Diego, he had 117 yards on 17 carries, with four receptions for 65 yards.
• For the season, he has 670 yards on 91 attempts (PFL-high 7.4 yards per carry).  He leads the team and third the PFL in rushing.  
• He had 151 yards vs. Marist (9.4 avg.).
• He leads FCS in all-purpose yardage (202.4). 
• He averages 25.4 yards per kick return.  That is third in the PFL.
• He returned four kickoffs with 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.
• Chisholm rushed for 144 yards on 25 carries against Drake, scoring three touchdowns. Chisholm also added three catches for 29 yards in the win.
 
EASTER BONNET
•Brandon Easterling leads FCS football in tackles per game (12.4), and is second in solo tackles (7.2) and tied for second in fumbles recovered (3). Easterling is also tied for fifth in FCS football with five interceptions.
• He had 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.
• After 19 vs. Duquesne, he had 16 vs. Jacksonville.
• Easterling "only" had 10 at Valparaiso.  It was the first time he did not lead the Flyers in tackles, but he did have an interception.
• At Stetson, he had 13 hits (11 solo) with a pass interception and fumble recovery.
• In the Morehead win, he had 14 hits (seven solo) and two PBU.
• Easterling intercepted three passes in the win against Drake and was named FCS Defensive Player of the Week and PFL Player of the Week thanks to his performance. The three interceptions tied a UD record set 11 times prior.

ZACH ATTACK
• Redshirt freshman Flyer Zach Rumpke was an unexpected hero in UD's win at Indiana State.
•Playing in his first college game and subbing in for injured senior captain Andrew Lutgens, Rumpke had eight tackles and the game-clinching interception with 18 seconds left.
• He is second on the team in tackles (61) and sacks (2.0).  He leads UD in TFL (5.0) and is one of four players with at least two interceptions, and one of four with three PBU.

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 5-for-6 on field goals, 52-for-54 on PATs, and 23 of his 33 kickoffs have been touchbacks. 

UP NEXT 
• This is the 2019 season finale for Dayton. The Flyers will kickoff next season in September 2020.