Monday, October 28, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

PFL WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS

BUTLER-DAYTON HIGHLIGHTS WEEK 10 ACTION | Butler travels to Dayton in the lone meeting between 4-1 teams in the PFL during Week 10. While that game will certainly reduce the number of teams in the lead group, the other two 4-1 squads will have to avoid their own pitfalls. Marist continues its homestand when it hosts a 3-2 Jacksonville squad while San Diego makes the first of two eastward trips when it travels to Valparaiso. A 3-1 Mercer outfit will travel to Davidson looking to keep in contact with the lead group. Elsewhere, Campbell travels to Stetson while Morehead State treks to Drake. 

AHEAD IN WEEK 10
Saturday, Nov. 2
  Butler at Dayton, 1 p.m.
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Welcome Stadium)
Series: DAY leads, 26-11-1    Streak: BUT, two wins
Last Season: Butler def. Dayton, 21-11 (@Indianapolis, Ind.)
Notably: The lone matchup of first-place teams in Week 10 sees Butler trek eastward on Interstate 70 to meet Dayton. The Bulldogs will seek to bounce back from their first PFL loss of 2013 which saw its offense held to a season-low tying 14 points at San Diego. The Flyers bring a four-game win streak into the contest, with the offense continuing to flex its muscle, averaging 44 points per game during the streak.

  Campbell at Stetson, 1 p.m.
Location: DeLand, Fla. (Martin Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: A surging Campbell squad will return to the road for a first-time meeting with Stetson. The Camels averaged 38 points during its recently completed two-game homestand, losing both contests by a touchdown. The Hatters return to Martin Stadium after suffering its season’s second shutout in conference play, both coming at the hands of a current first-place squad.

  Jacksonville at Marist, 1 p.m.
Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Tenney Stadium)
Series: JAC leads, 3-1    Streak: JAC, three wins
Last Season: Jacksonville def. Marist, 26-14 (@Jacksonville, Fla.)
Notably: Jacksonville becomes the second Florida squad to travel northward to face first-place Marist. The Dolphins, who sit just a game out of first place, have scored 50 points in their last two outings and have scored more than 50 points four times this season. The Red Foxes shutout Florida-based Stetson in Week 9, their second home shutout this season and they have allowed just 37 points in three home games this year. 

  Mercer at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Location: Davidson, N.C. (Richardson Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: Mercer will look to keep pace with the pack ahead of it when it travels to Davidson. The Bears picked up their first road win in Week 9 at Campbell and return to the Tar Heel state for a second consecutive week. Davidson continues its search for a win in 2013, but its offense has been held to just 55 points in five PFL contests. 

  Morehead State at Drake, 2 p.m.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)
Series: DRA leads, 6-2    Streak: DRA, three wins
Last Season: Drake def. Morehead State, 28-25 (@Morehead, Ky.)
Notably: A battle of 3-2 PFL squads will unfold when Morehead State travels to Drake. The Eagles were held to 14 points, their lowest point total since a Week 2 loss to nationally-ranked Youngstown State. Drake bounced back from its season’s first loss with a Week 9 win and moved into the logjam atop the league standings. 

  San Diego at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Location: Valparaiso, Ind. (Brown Stadium)
Series: SAN leads 15-5    Streak: SAN, nine wins
Last Season: San Diego def. Valparaiso, 51-14 (@San Diego, Calif.)
Notably: San Diego makes the first of two consecutive trips eastward when it travels to Valparaiso. The Toreros, who will travel to Morehead State next week, have scored 219 points in league play (two off league-leading Jacksonville’s 221 points), and have scored 35 points in all five PFL outings. The Crusaders led Drake in the fourth quarter before succumbing in a 23-10 defeat, it was only the third time this season they held a fourth-quarter lead.

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.

SAN DIEGO’S MILLS JOINS 10,000 YARD GROUP | The PFL’s 10,000-yard club grew again in Week 9 when San Diego’s Mason Mills reached the milestone against Butler. Mills, who ranks second among the NCAA’s active leaders in passing efficiency (152.92), became the fifth member of the club, which was inaugurated in 2011.

DAVIDSON’S CARKHUFF JOINS PFL’S NEWEST, ELITE CLUB | When he passed the 10,000-yard mark against Drake, in Week 8, 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.

BUTLER TAKEAWAYS | Butler’s defense has been one of the nation’s best at generating takeaways this season, ranking third nationally with 24 takeaways this season. The Bulldogs rank behind Sacred Heart (28) and Charlotte (25) in the category and have seven more than any other PFL team. Butler also ranks 16th nationally with a plus-0.9 turnover margin that is second in the PFL.

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 93.8 yards per game – behind only defending national champion North Dakota State (78.5 ypg). On the other side of the ball, the Mercer offense is rolling up 279.0 yards per game, a rate that also is second best in the country – behind only Cal Poly’s 281 yard per game rate.

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 43.7 yard per punt average that ranks eighth 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 416 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.