Monday, November 11, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

PFL WEEK 12 HIGHLIGHTS

#DECISIONSATURDAY | The PFL regular-season title and the league’s automatic bid to the Division I Football Championship likely will be decided in Week 12. Three games will have an impact on the title race: Butler at Morehead State; Mercer at Marist and finally Drake at San Diego. San Diego controls its own destiny, earning at least a share of the title and the automatic bid with a win. Butler is seeking a share of its second straight PFL title while Mercer and Marist are each looking for their first title. Elsewhere, Stetson and Jacksonville will initiate the first PFL Battle of Florida when they meet for the first time. Dayton and Valparaiso will conclude their 2013 seasons against one another while Campbell will step out of the league and travel to Old Dominion.

AHEAD IN WEEK 12
Saturday, Nov. 16
Butler at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Location: Morehead, Ky. (Jayne Stadium)
Series: BUT leads, 12-4    Streak: BUT, one win
Last Season: Butler defeated Morehead State, 39-35 (@Indianapolis, Ind.)
Notably: Butler will look to clinch at least a share of the PFL title for the second consecutive year when it travels to Morehead State. The Bulldogs own the league’s top mark in takeaways, ranking second nationally with 1.1 turnovers gained per game (29 in 11 games). The Eagles finish out a two-game season-ending homestand, seeking a better result after a three-interception outing derailed it in a Week 11 loss to San Diego. 

Mercer at Marist, 1 p.m.
Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Tenney Stadium)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: Marist and Mercer will square off with each seeking their first PFL crown. With a win, Marist claims at least a share of the PFL title in its fifth season in the league. Meanwhile, Mercer keeps its hopes for a PFL title alive with a win… a matchup against Stetson awaits in Week 13. It is a contest that very well could be decided in the red zone where Mercer has converted on 18-of-18 possessions in PFL play this season. Marist brings the league’s No. 2 red zone defense into the affair, allowing only a 66.7 percent (14-of-21) conversion rate in PFL action.

  Stetson at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Milne Field)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: The first-ever PFL Battle of Florida will see Stetson make the 112 mile trip up Interstate 95 to face Jacksonville. Stetson makes the trip after clinching its first-ever PFL victory in Week 12. Jacksonville returns home after surrendering a lead late in a loss at Mercer. Saturday’s contest will be a battle of strength vs. strength: Stetson owns the PFL’s best pass defense statistically, limiting opponents to 187.1 yards per game, while Jacksonville owns the PFL’s best passing offense, averaging 332.2 yards per game.

Campbell at Old Dominion, 1 p.m.
Location: Norfolk, Va. (Ballard Stadium)
Series: ODU leads, 4-0    Streak: ODU, four wins
Notably: Campbell steps out of conference play to meet Old Dominion in a non-conference tilt. Last season’s matchup between the teams was decidedly lopsided with the then FCS nationally-ranked and now FBS-bound Lions posting a 70-14 victory. The Camels will put the PFL’s No. 2 run attack, averaging 241.9 yards per game, up against the Lions.

 Dayton at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Location: Valparaiso, Ind. (Brown Field)
Series: DAY leads, 20-2    Streak: DAY, nine wins
Last Season: Dayton defeated Valparaiso, 45-0 (@Dayton, Ohio)
Notably: Dayton and Valparaiso meet up after each suffered road losses in Week 11. The Flyers offense was held to a season-low tying 10 points in the loss at Drake and surrendered more than 30 points for only the third time this season. The Crusaders defense will look to shake off an outing at Butler that saw it surrender 72 points and 717 yards.

Drake at San Diego, 3 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Torero Stadium)
Series: DRA leads, 11-9    Streak: DRA, one win
Last Season: Drake defeated San Diego, 38-10 (@Des Moines, Iowa)
Notably: San Diego is the lone team among the frontrunners that controls its own destiny, a win against Drake and it will become the first PFL team to win automatic qualification. Drake was the lone PFL team San Diego could not solve in 2012 and will look to play spoiler in the season finale for both teams. It will be a matchup of the league’s top offense (San Diego) against the league’s top defense (Drake). San Diego, which is seeking a share of its third straight PFL title, has averaged a league-best 47.6 points and 538.6 yards per PFL game with the ball in its hands. Drake has held PFL opponents to 16.0 points and 297.9 yards per game (both league bests).

Off Week: Davidson

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.

MILLS NEARS PFL PASSING MARK | With at least one game remaining in his collegiate career, San Diego quarterback Mason Mills is within sight of the PFL’s career passing mark. He enters the regular-season finale against Drake with 10,817 career passing yards and is second on the PFL career passing yardage chart. He needs just 414 passing yards to break the record set by Jacksonville’s Josh McGregor (11,230 yards).

DAYTON’S DOWD TIES FCS MARK | Dayton defensive end Pat Dowd tied a nine-year old FCS record with six quarterback sacks in Dayton’s 36-10 loss at Drake, in Week 11. His effort equaled the FCS mark set by Southeastern Louisiana’s Damien Huren in 2004. He was named the PFL’s Defensive Player of the Week and was selected the National Defensive Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards.

MERCER’S RUSS EARNS NATIONAL FRESHMAN HONOR | Mercer quarterback John Russ was named the National Freshman of the Week by The Sports Network, Nov. 11, after his five touchdown performance against Jacksonville in Week 11. Russ led the Bears back from a 14-point deficit and kept his team undefeated at home this season. The Bears, at 5-1 in PFL play, remain just one win behind the league’s co-leaders with two games remaining.

CRUSADERS CHANGE COACHES | Valparaiso athletic director Mark LaBarbera announced that Dale Carlson has been relieved of his duties as head coach, Sunday, after four seasons. Assistant coach Mike Gravier will serve as head coach for the Crusaders season finale this week.

MERCER QUARTERBACK ADDED TO RICE WATCH LIST | Mercer quarterback John Russ was one of two players added to The Sports Network’s Jerry Rice Award Watch List, Nov. 7.  He joins Stetson safety Donald Payne and Mercer running back Payton Usher, who were each on the original watch list, to be named to the watch list at some point during the 2013 season.

SAN DIEGO AIR CONTROL | San Diego and senior quarterback Mason Mills have been a model of passing efficiency this season. With Mills leading the passing attack, the Toreros rank sixth nationally in completion percentage (a PFL best 66.9 percent) and eighth in passing offense (327.6 yards per game). Those numbers help San Diego post a team pass efficiency rating of 173.76 that ranks second nationally. Individually, Mills ranks among the nation’s top 10 in passing touchdowns (32, 3rd), passing efficiency (172.8, 4th), passing yards per game (317.6, 7th) and completion percentage (66.6, 9th).

BUTLER TAKEAWAYS | Butler’s defense has been one of the nation’s best at generating takeaways this season, ranking second nationally with 29 takeaways this season. The Bulldogs rank behind only Sacred Heart (35) in the category and have six more than any other PFL team. Butler also ranks seventh nationally with a plus-1.1 turnover margin that ranks second fractionally in the PFL behind Mercer.

RED FOXES ON THE HUNT | Marist’s defense has been on the hunt for sacks during the 2013 campaign, finding the opposition’s quarterback 32 times. The Red Foxes 3.20 sacks per game average leads the PFL and ranks eighth nationally. They are led by senior defensive end Terrence Fede who ranks second nationally and leads the PFL with 1.2 sacks per game.

BEARS CONTROL THE GROUND | Mercer is one of the nation’s best teams when it comes to controlling the ground. The Bears defense ranks 15th nationally, holding opponents to 114.7 yards per game. On the other side of the ball, the Mercer offense is rolling up 290.0 yards per game, a rate that is second best in the country – behind only Cal Poly’s 308.6 yard per game rate.

MERCER UNBLEMISHED AT HOME | Mercer improved to 7-0 at University Stadium with its Week 11 PFL victory against Campbell. The Bears are one of 23 FCS teams with an unbeaten mark in their home facility this season. However, they are one of only two teams (Sam Houston State the other) with a 7-0 mark at home. Mercer has one more home game remaining:  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 this season. San Diego’s Ryan Belden leads the group and the league with a 43.9 yard per punt average that would rank eighth among FCS punters, but he is one punt shy of the NCAA minimum. Three 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 418 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.