Monday, October 22, 2012

AHEAD IN WEEK 9
Saturday, Oct. 27
Butler at Davidson, Noon
    Location: Davidson, N.C. (Richardson Stadium)
    Series: DAV leads, 5-3    Streak: BUT, three wins
    Last Season: Butler def. Davidson, 17-7

Campbell at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
    Location: Morehead, Ky. (Jayne Stadium)
    Series: Series tied, 2-2    Streak: CAM, one win
    Last Season: Campbell def. Morehead State, 41-31

Marist at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
    Location: Valparaiso, Ind. (Brown Field)
    Series: MAR leads, 3-0    Streak: MAR, three wins
    Last Season: Marist def. Valparaiso, 30-7

Dayton at San Diego, 9 p.m.
    Location: San Diego, Calif. (Torero Stadium)
    Series: SAY leads, 14-5    Streak: SAN, one win
    Last Season: San Diego def. Dayton, 31-28

Off Week: Drake, Jacksonville
 
All times Eastern.
FCS rankings in brackets prior to school’s name:
[Sports Network Poll/FCS Coaches Poll]

WEEK 9 PREVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS: Butler will be the lone PFL unbeaten in action during Week 9 and will travel to Davidson. Campbell travels to Morehead State with both teams seeking their first PFL victory. San Diego returns to the West Coast and will host Dayton while trying to remain at one loss • BUTLER will look to set the pace in the PFL race when it travels to DAVIDSON this week. The Bulldogs moved to 5-0 for only the second time in program history, equalling the mark set by the 2009 PFL championship squad, with a come-from-behind victory in Week 8. Butler quarterback Matt Lancaster passed for 296 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another 101 yards and a touchdown last week. Meanwhile, the Wildcats held on to a 28-point lead for their season’s first victory in Week 8 and return home for the fourth time in five weeks. Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff threw three touchdown passes for the second consecutive week and finished with 340 passing yards last week • CAMPBELL makes a trek across the Appalachian Mountains to meet MOREHEAD STATE in a meeting of teams seeking their first PFL win. The Fighting Camels scored 21 fourth-quarter points but could not overcome an early deficit in a Week 8 loss. Campbell quarterback Dakota Wolf ran for 154 yards and a touchdown and finished with 234 offensive yards in the loss. The Eagles saw a fourth-quarter lead evaporate for the second time in PFL play, falling to league-leading Butler in Week 8. Morehead State quarterback Zach Lewis threw for 254 yards at Butler and became the program’s all-time passing yards leader (9,122) • MARIST returns to the middle of the country for the second consecutive week when it travels to VALPARAISO. The Red Foxes will look to bounce back after watching a 27-3 lead vanish in a Week 8 loss to league-leading Drake. Marist running back Max Jacques rushed for a pair of touchdowns in an 18-carry, 80-yard performance. The Crusaders suffered their second shutout this season at Dayton in Week 8 as the offense was held to a season-low 164 yards. Valparaiso return specialist Sterling Summerville recorded 122 yards on six kickoff returns (20.3 yards per return) in the loss • DAYTON’s surging offense will meet the suddenly stingy SAN DIEGO defense in a late start on the Pacific coast. The Flyers have averaged 523.6 yards of offense in their last three games, including 343.7 rushing yards per game. Those averages include a PFL-record 473-yard rushing performance against Valparaiso in Week 8 which was led by running back Dan Jacob, who recorded 155 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. The Toreros defense has allowed seven total points in its last two games with 13 of its 28 tackles for loss this season coming in those two contests. San Diego quarterback Mason Mills threw for three touchdowns at Jacksonville last week after recording only nine touchdown passes in his previous seven games.

NEWS & NOTES
BUTLER, DRAKE SURVIVE WEEK 8 SCARES | Both Butler and Drake needed massive fourth quarter comebacks to secure wins and remain unbeaten in the PFL after Week 8 action. Butler scored 22 second half points as quarterback Matt Lancaster threw three touchdowns and converted three two-point attempts to secure a 39-35 win against Morehead State. Drake scored the final 24 points in regulation to force overtime against Marist and scored the only touchdown in overtime to pick up the win.
JACKSONVILLE SEES UNBEATEN RUN END | Jacksonville saw quarterback Kade Bell in the first quarter due to injury and could not recover in a 24-7 loss to San Diego, Saturday. The loss dropped the Dolphins from the ranks of the PFL’s unbeaten and also ended a 16-game home winning streak that was the best in the FCS at the time.
DOWN, BUT NOT OUT | While Jacksonville and San Diego both have one loss, the PFL regular-season race is far from over. Jacksonville, Butler and Drake will play each other in a mini round robin tournament that will begin Nov. 3 when Jacksonville visits Butler. San Diego will face four teams with a combined 5-12 record, but will make two more trips to the Eastern Time Zone in that span.
PFL = PASSING FOOTBALL LEAGUE? | The PFL’s passers have enjoyed near record-breaking seasons through four weeks. The league’s teams are averaging an 239.9 yards per team game, fourth among FCS conferences. Drake’s Mike Piatkowski (298.4 ypg) and Davidson’s Jonathan Carkhuff (288.6 ypg) are ranked eighth and ninth among the FCS’ quarterbacks in passing yards per game. They are two of five PFL signal callers ranked among the top 26 nationally.
HOME SWEET HOME, WEST COAST | San Diego extended its home win streak to 10 games (fifth best in the FCS) with a Week 7 win against Campbell. The Toreros will put that streak on the line when they host Dayton, Nov. 27.
streaky once again | Butler and Drake’s five-game win streaks have helped both to 5-0 PFL starts. Both streaks also rank fourth among all FCS teams entering Week 9. Cal Poly and Lehigh both own eight-game win streaks as they both remain the only unbeaten teams in the FCS this season, each sporting 8-0 overall marks.  
WEEK 7 NATIONAL HONORS | Drake’s Mike Ratelle was tabbed the College Football Performance Awards National Kick Returner of the Week after returning three kickoffs for 113 yards, including a game-opening 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Valparaiso, Saturday. In addition, two PFL players received honorable mention recognition from the CFPA.
DAVDISON’S FUNSTEN CAPTURES PFL RECORD | Davidson’s Lanny Funsten caught a PFL record 17 passes against Jacksonville, Oct. 13, topping the record of 14 catches that stood for several years and was tied last season by Butler’s Zach Watkins. Funsten also recorded 240 receiving yards, moving into second on the all-time receiving yards list behind Valparaiso’s Rob Giancola who recorded 275 receiving yards in 2003. It was the second 200-plus performance by a receiver this season, just passing Marist’s Mike Rios who notched 244 receiving yards against Davidson earlier this season.
LEWIS KNOCKS OFF PFL CAREER MARK | Morehead State’s Zach Lewis completed 21 passes against Jacksonville, Oct. 6, and became the PFL’s career passing completions record holder. The mark stood for less than one year after Jacksonville’s Josh McGregor finished his career with 784 pass completions – eclipsing the mark set by Davidson’s Ryan Alexander in 2008 (775 completions). Lewis (1,310 career pass attempts) also is nearing the PFL pass attempts record, which is still held by Alexander (1,354).
FOUR PFL STUDENT-ATHLETES AMONG CAMPBELL TROPHY HONOREES | Butler senior linebacker Jordan Ridley, Campbell senior kicker Sam Eberwein, Dayton senior offensive lineman Bill Petraiuolo and Drake senior linebacker Tyler Moorehead were among 147 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. The award, presented by The Nationall Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame will be presented at the 2012 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments.
WEEK 5 NATIONAL HONORS | For the second consecutive week, Jacksonville’s Colby Walden picked up a  national honor following his game-winning 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Marist, Sept. 29. He was tabbed the College Football Performance Awards National Kick Returner of the Week. In addition, three PFL players received honorable mention recognition from the CFPA.