Monday, September 23, 2013
PFL WEEK 5 HIGHLIGHTS
FULL SLATE OF PFL ACTION ON TAP IN WEEK 5 | The PFL’s 21st campaign begins in earnest in Week 5 with all 12 league members involved in PFL action. The spotlight will shine on Jacksonville, Fla. where 2012 PFL co-champion Butler will face a Jacksonville squad that opened the PFL slate with a dominating win against Morehead State in Week 3. League newcomers Mercer and Stetson will begin their first PFL campaigns at home, but each will face a 2012 co-champion, Mercer hosting Drake while Stetson hosts San Diego. Elsewhere Davidson visits Morehead State, Campbell treks to Valparaiso and Marist goes to Dayton.
AHEAD IN WEEK 5
Saturday, Sept. 28
Butler at Jacksonville, Noon
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Milne Field)
Series: JAC leads, 7-1 Streak: BUT, one win
Last Season: Butler def. Jacksonville, 19-16
Notably: 2012 PFL co-champion Butler begins the 2013 campaign with a trip to Jacksonville. The Bulldogs won at the Butler Bowl last season, their first win in the series. The Dolphins have not lost to Butler at Milne Field, owning a 4-0 record.
Drake at Mercer, 1 p.m.
Location: Macon, Ga. (University Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: League newcomer Mercer opens its first PFL campaign against Drake, one of the three 2012 PFL co-champions. The Bears will be playing their fourth-straight home game – they have averaged 48 points per game at home this season. The Bulldogs picked up their season’s first win in Week 4 and will look to improve on a 4-1 mark in PFL openers under head coach Chris Creighton.
Davidson at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Location: Morehead, Ky. (Jayne Stadium)
Series: MOR leads, 8-6 Streak: MOR, one win
Notably: Davidson and Morehead State will each seek to end four-game losing streaks when they meet, Saturday. It is the PFL opener for the Wildcats and first-year head coach Paul Nichols, who was the quarterback in Davidson’s first two PFL seasons (2001-02). The Eagles are two weeks removed from their PFL opening loss at Jacksonville and will seek to build on last season’s victory, their first against Davidson since 2008.
Marist at Dayton, 1 p.m.
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Welcome Stadium)
Series: DAY leads, 4-0 Streak: DAY, four wins
Notably: Marist and Dayton return to play after each team took Week 4 off. The Red Foxes will close out a stretch of three-straight road trips which includes a win at Georgetown in their last outing and was their first-ever road win against a Patriot League member. The Flyers entered their break with consecutive wins against Northeast Conference foes, including a win at Robert Morris in their last action.
Saturday, Sept. 28
San Diego at Stetson, 1 p.m.
Location: DeLand, Fla. (Spec Martin Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: League newcomer Stetson opens its first PFL campaign against San Diego, one of the three 2012 PFL co-champions. The Toreros make their farthest trip east this season but tasted success in their last trip to the Eastern Time Zone – a 2012 season-ending victory at Marist. The Hatters will seek to bounce back from their first home loss in 2013 and end a two-game losing streak.
Campbell at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Location: Valparaiso, Ind. (Brown Field)
Series: VAL leads, 3-2 Streak: VAL, two wins
Last Season: Valparaiso def. Campbell, 41-21
Notably: Valparaiso has won the last two meetings with Campbell, including last season’s meeting in Buies Creek. The Camels are 0-5 in PFL openers, but first-year head coach Mike Minter will seek to change that mark. The Crusaders lone PFL wins in both 2011 and 2012 have come courtesy the Camels.
All times Eastern.
FCS rankings in brackets following school’s name: [Sports Network Poll/FCS Coaches Poll]
NEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE PFL
PFL COACHES PARTICIPATE IN COACH TO CURE MD | Six PFL head coaches will be wearing patches this weekend as part of the 6th annual Coach to Cure MD – a partnership between the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Valparaiso’s Dale Carlson, Stetson’s Roger Hughes, Mercer’s Bobby Lamb, Butler’s Jeff Voris, Davidson’s Paul Nichols, Marist’s Jim Parady and their fellow head coaches across the country will join other AFCA members in wearing a Coach To Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines. By wearing this patch, coaches will show their support for Coach To Cure MD and the fight against muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle disorder that causes loss of muscle function and independence. Duchenne affects approximately 1 in 3,500 boys worldwide.
DAVIDSON’S CARKHUFF NEARING 10,000-YARD MARK | Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff has moved within site of his 10,000th passing yard following his school-record 464-yard performance in Week 4 at Johnson C. Smith. He enters Week 5 with 9,531 career passing yards and is ranked third among FCS’ career passing yards leaders behind Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garoppolo (9,837) and Montana State’s Denarius McGhee (9,574). The PFL career passing yard record is 11,230 yards set by Jacksonville’s Josh McGregor (2008-11).
TWO PFL ATHLETES EARN WEEK 4 NATIONAL HONORS | Drake placekicker Ben Tesson and Stetson linebacker Donald Payne were named the FCS’ top players at their positions by the College Football Performance Awards in Week 4. Tesson converted three field goal attempts as part of an 11-point outing in Drake’s victory against Indianapolis. Payne had a fumble recovery for a touchdown, interception and two fumbles forced as part of an impressive week that also saw him earn the PFL’s weekly defensive honor.
BEHOLD THE OFFENSE’S OUTBURST IN WEEK 3 | While Jacksonville’s 719-yard outburst – the FCS’ third highest single-game output in 2013 – stood out, it was a very offense-minded week around the PFL in Week 3. The nine PFL teams in action combined for 4,005 yards of offense, an average of 445 yards per team, including four teams that posted at least 500 offensive yards. That after the league averaged just 332.5 yards per game in the season’s first two weeks.
PFL POSTS WINNING WEEK 3 | After a league-wide slow start in Weeks 1 & 2, the PFL rebounded with a 4-3 mark in Week 3 non-conference action. The league saw Dayton pick up a road win against Northeast Conference member Robert Morris while Marist won its first road game against a Patriot League member when it defeated Georgetown.
JACKSONVILLE’S RILEY FIELDS NATIONAL HONOR | Jacksonville wide receiver Adrian Riley was named the National Punt Returner of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards, Sept. 16, after posting an 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in Jacksonville’s victory against Morehead State. Riley also had a 15-yard return in the fourth quarter and averaged 23.8 yards on four returns.
VALPARAISO’S HOFFMAN GETS PASS HAPPY | Valparaiso quarterback Eric Hoffman truly went pass happy as he attempted to help the Crusaders overcome an early deficit to William Jewell in Week 3. He finished the game with 495 passing yards – a single-game FCS high in 2013 and just 17 yards shy of the PFL record set last season by San Diego’s Mason Mills (511 yards vs. Dayton). His 36 completions were the second most in the FCS this season.
DAYTON’S WILL LANDS WEEKLY ALL-STAR AWARD | Dayton freshman kicker William Will picked up College Sports News National All-Star honors, Sept. 9, after his provided all nine of Dayton’s second-half points in a 23-20 come-from-behind win against Duquesne, Sept. 7. His three field goals were the only points scored by either team in the second half and erased a 20-14 halftime deficit.