Monday, October 21, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

PFL WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS

SECOND-HALF GETS UNDERWAY WITH A BANG | Two Week 9 contests will have a bearing on the race for the PFL title. First up is the Dayton-Morehead State contest which features a pair of teams sitting at 3-1 in the league at the halfway point. The Butler-San Diego contest will serve as the nightcap matching a 4-0 Butler team on the road at a 3-1 San Diego squad. Marist, the PFL’s other 3-1 squad, returns home and will host Stetson. Mercer (2-1) will seek to stay in contact with the leaders when it travels to Campbell. Elsewhere, Drake hosts Valparaiso and Jacksonville hosts Davidson.

AHEAD IN WEEK 9
Saturday, Oct. 26
 Dayton at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Location: Morehead, Ky. (Jayne Stadium)
Series: DAY leads, 13-5    Streak: DAY, four wins
Last Season: Dayton def. Morehead State, 41-27
Notably: Dayton makes the short trip to Morehead State for a battle of 3-1 PFL squads. The Flyers offense has been at full throttle the past three weeks, scoring more than 40 points in each outing (44.7 ppg). The Eagles offense also has found its form in its last three outings, also scoring more than 40 points per outing (44.0 ppg). It also is a matchup of the PFL’s Week 8 Co-Offensive Players of the Week as senior quarterback Will Bardo will lead Dayton in a matchup against Morehead State freshman signal-caller Austin Gahafer.

 Davidson at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Milne Field)
Series: JAC leads, 9-6    Streak: JAC, four wins
Last Season: Jacksonville def. Davidson, 34-24
Notably: Davidson returns to the road with a trip to Jacksonville. The Wildcats were winless in a two-game homestand but senior wideout Jeff McDaniels stood out during the stay, including two touchdown receipts against Marist last weekend. The Dolphins returned to action after an off week and picked up a win at Campbell as junior quarterback Kade Bell returned from a three-week layoff to throw four touchdown passes.

 Stetson at Marist, 1 p.m.
Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Tenney Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: After a week off, Stetson will travel north to face a Marist squad tied for second in the PFL race. The Hatters entered the break with its offense showing steady improvement, including a 20-point outburst against Dayton, Oct. 12. The Red Foxes bounced back from a loss at San Diego to post a win at Davidson as senior running back Atiq Lucas ran for 131 yards and a touchdown in the outing.
Saturday, Oct. 26

 Valparaiso at Drake, 2 p.m.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)
Series: DRA leads, 17-3    Streak: DRA, nine wins
Last Season: Drake def. Valparaiso, 35-21
Notably: Valparaiso will seek its first road win when it travels to Drake which will begin a three-game homestand. The Crusaders held a halftime lead against Morehead State last weekend, but could not hold on in suffering its first PFL home loss this season. The Bulldogs own a 13-game home win streak in PFL play, including a Oct. 5 win against Jacksonville.

 Mercer at Campbell, 4 p.m.
Location: Buies Creek, N.C. (Barker-Lane Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: Mercer returns to conference play with a visit to Campbell. The Bears improved to 6-0 at home with a non-conference win in Week 8 but still seek their first road win in 2013. The Camels dropped a home outing to Jacksonville in Week 8 despite a 45-point outing – they dropped to 1-2 when scoring more than 40 points this season. 

 Butler [RV/–] at San Diego, 4 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Torero Stadium)
Series: SAN leads 13-5    Streak: SAN, one win
Last Meeting (2010): San Diego def. Butler, 24-0
Notably: Week 9 concludes with a key matchup on the West Coast when 4-0 Butler visits 3-1 San Diego. The Bulldogs defense has held its first four PFL opponents to 17.5 points per game and has forced a PFL best 16 turnovers this season. The Toreros own the PFL’s most potent offense with league bests in scoring (44.2 ppg) and pass efficiency (173.8 rating). Butler picked up a Week 9 win with backup quarterback Wade Markley getting the start and throwing for 253 yards and a touchdown. San Diego will counter with senior quarterback Mason Mills who ranks eighth among FCS quarterbacks with a 162.5 pass efficiency rating.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE PFL

THE ROAD TO FRISCO | For the first time, the PFL regular-season champion will receive an automatic bid into the Division I Football Championship. The championship will expand to 24 teams this season with 11 automatic bids and 13 at-large berths. The football selection committee will select eight national seeds, which will receive a first-round bye. The remaining 16 teams will be placed into the bracket’s first round spots with an emphasis on geographical proximity.

BUTLER TAKEAWAYS | Butler’s defense has been one of the nation’s best at generating takeaways this season, ranking second nationally with 23 takeaways this season. The Bulldogs rank only behind Sacred Heart (28) in the category and have seven more than any other PFL team. Butler also ranks ninth nationally with a plus-1.0 turnover margin that leads the FCS.

BEARS CONTROL THE GROUND | Mercer is one of the nation’s best teams when it comes to controlling the ground. The Bears defense ranks second nationally, holding opponents to 80.1 yards per game – behind only defending national champion North Dakota State (75.7 ypg). On the other side of the ball, the Mercer offense is rolling up 273.4 yards per game, a rate that is fifth best in the country.

MERCER UNBLEMISHED AT HOME | Mercer improved to 6-0 at University Stadium with its Week 8 non-conference victory against Carnegie Mellon The Bears are one of 35 FCS teams with an unbeaten mark in their home facility this season. However, they are the only team with a 6-0 mark at home. Mercer has two more home games this season: Nov. 9 against Jacksonville and Nov. 23 against Stetson.

ROOKIES DOMINATE PFL’S PUNTING FRATERNITY | Freshmen hold down the punting duties at half of the PFL’s programs this season and are representing themselves well through seven weeks. San Diego’s Ryan Belden leads the group and the league with a 43.3 yard per punt average that ranks 13th among FCS punters. Four other PFL freshman punters rank among the league’s top 10 in punting average.

NO SHUTTING OUT DAYTON | Dayton continues one of the more remarkable streaks in college football, entering this weekend with a NCAA record streak of 415 games without suffering a shutout. The last team to blank Dayton was Marshall by a 9-0 score on Oct. 16, 1976. San Diego owns the PFL’s second longest such streak at 147 games.

DAVIDSON’S CARKHUFF JOINS PFL’S NEWEST, ELITE CLUB | When he passed the 10,000-yard mark against Drake, Oct. 12, Davidson’s Jonathan Carkhuff became the fourth PFL signal caller to reach the 10,000-yard milestone. All four members have reached the mark since the 2011 season. Jacksonville’s Josh McGregor (2008-11) inaugurated the club with what is still a PFL-record 11,230 yards. Last season, Drake’s Mike Piatkowski (10,200 yards) and Morehead State’s Zach Lewis (10,251 yards) joined the club. 

TWO PFL FRESHMEN NAMED TO RICE AWARD WATCH LIST | Stetson safety Donald Payne and Mercer running back Payton Usher were two of 20 freshman named to the initial watch list for the 2013 Rice Award, presented by The Sports Network. Named for the legendary wide receiver, who played in the FCS (then Division I-AA) at Mississippi Valley State, the Rice Award will be voted on by a national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season.