By Bane Rossi
GAME NOTES
https://daytonflyers.com/documents/2023/11/16/Davidson_Web.pdf
DAYTON — The University of Dayton football team will finish the 2023 season on the road on Saturday, playing at Davidson.
Even though it is the final road game of the year, it will be UD’s first and only night game in 2023.
The Flyers are coming off a 35-6 win over Marist last week on Senior Day. In his first start as Dayton’s lead back, Luke Hansen ran 17 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Drew Van Vleet was 21 of 30 for 228 yards with two TD and one interception. Jake Coleman had seven catches for 84 yards and a score. Nathan Arthur had a career-high 14 tackles with seven solo hits and 2.0 TFL.
At halftime of the Marist game, senior wide receiver Derek Willits was named the 2023 recipient of the Lt. Andy Zulli Memorial Trophy, a character-based award.
UD is 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the Pioneer Football League.
GOOD NEWS WORTH REPEATING
The Flyers entered the season with the fourth-best winning percentage (.7273, 176-66) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (36) in Division I in the same time frame. The top five in winning percentage were North Dakota State (.807), Harvard (.749), Montana (.748), Dayton (.7273) and San Diego (.7269).
700 CLUB
The Flyers are one of nine FCS teams to win 700 games. The previous eight members of the FCS 700 Win Club are Yale, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, North Dakota State, Dartmouth, Delaware and Lehigh.
PFL POWER
• The Pioneer Football League is in its 31st 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.
• The Flyers’ 136-53 record is the best in PFL history.
• UD’s 12 league championships are the most in PFL history. San Diego also has 12.
CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
• The Flyer co-captains for the 2023 season are redshirt senior linebacker Nathan Arthur, graduate safety Matt Lenti, graduate offensive guard David Tkatch and redshirt senior wideout Derek Willits.
• Michael Franks was voted the special teams captain at the start of the season.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
• Davidson is 7-3 on the year, and 6-1 in the Pioneer Football League.
• The Wildcats enter this week’s game needing some help from Butler to claim a share of the 2023 PFL championship. A Butler win over Drake would give Davidson a chance to climb into a tie for first. St. Thomas could also grab a share with a win at home over Valparaiso. But in any two-way or three-way tie scenario, Davidson would represent the PFL in the 2023 NCAA FCS Playoffs.
• Saturday’s game will be Davidson’s last football game at Richardson Stadium, as the Wildcats are slated to move into a new facility next season.
• Davidson has won its last 14 PFL games played at home.
• The ‘Cats lead FCS football in rushing offense (313.9), are second in scoring offense (42.6), third in total offense (475.1), third in fewest fumbles lost (2), fourth in third-down defense (.296) and fifth in passing percentage (.697).
• Individually, QB Coulter Cleland is second nationally in passing efficiency (172.9) and RB Mari Adams is second in rushing TDs (15).
COURTESY DAYTON MEDIA RELATIONS
