Three UD players to watch:
The quarterback: Will Bardo, a fifth-year senior, is second in career total offense for the Flyers with 6,730 yards. A four-year starter, Bardo threw 13 touchdown passes last season and ran for nine scores.
The kicker: William Will, an unrecruited walk-on, is a preseason All-PFL pick and on the national kicker of the year watch list for FCS teams. He made 10 of 12 field goals last season.
The running back: Connor Kacsor led the PFL in rushing last season with 966 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing two games due to injuries.
What: Dayton football preview show
When: 11 a.m. today, Digital Ch. 7.2 (Ch. 23 or 372 on Time Warner cable)
The Dayton Flyers will take the school’s new logo onto the football field Saturday along with something that’s been around a few years.
That would be the chip on their shoulders, coming off another season that could have been better than it was.
Rick Chamberlin’s team finished 7-4 in 2013, but two losses were league games at home, which still leaves a bad taste.
“We gave up a lot of points in the second half and that’s going to be a big focus this year,” said Flyers fifth-year senior Pat Dowd. “We’re tired of not winning championships. That’s the expectation in this program and we know that every year we don’t we’re letting down everyone who’s been a part of the program.”
With 13 starters returning, the Flyers were picked to finish second in the Pioneer Football League in the preseason coaches poll. Just a little more incentive for a program that hasn’t won a PFL title since 2010.
“We feel good about being picked second but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t go out and prove it,” quarterback Will Bardo said. “Nobody wants to finish second. Second is just as good as last.”
Chamberlin said his team came through summer camp healthy and he likes the attitude heading into the season opener: “We’ve been coming along well the last two weeks, really showing some good things.”
The first opponent is better known for its exploits on the basketball court. The Georgetown Hoyas are coming off a 2-9 season but one of their coaches doesn’t need a scouting report.
Offensive coordinator Mike Neuberger was a defensive back for the Flyers from 2001-2004. He also got his start coaching as a student assistant at Dayton.
The Hoyas got their season off to a slow start Saturday, losing at home to Wagner 21-3. This is a home-and-home series, but Dayton won’t return the game next season. The Flyers don’t play the Hoyas in Washington D.C., until the 2020 season.
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