Andrews talked about his scheduling philosophy Wednesday.
“I want to play a tough game against a fully-funded scholarship program in one of those first couple of games,” Andrews said, “because I think it’s a great measuring tool for us. You don’t want to always play a lesser opponent. You might win and look good, but it doesn’t expose anything. When you play against a quality opponent, then you get a chance to maybe get clued into some things that you can fix before you get into conference play.
“I like to schedule one of those, and I like to schedule a home and home and then I like to schedule a definite home game. You might have six home games. You might have five. We could play a fourth (non-conference game). I usually choose not to because everything that matters for us is winning the Pioneer Football League. I want to be as healthy as possible, so I’ll take an extra bye as opposed to running the guys out there.”
Dayton starts PFL play next week at noon Sept. 27 against Stetson (1-2) at Welcome Stadium.
Robert Morris opened the season with a 45-3 loss at West Virginia and then lost 56-17 at Youngstown State. It beat West Liberty University, a Division II program, 28-14 last Saturday.
Dayton leads the series against Robert Morris 20-3 and won 22-20 in the last matchup in 2022.
“They ran into a juggernaut the first couple of weeks,” Andrews said, “but they were able to bounce back and get a nice win last weekend.”
Dayton did not play last week. It will have one more bye week (Nov. 8) during the eight-game PFL schedule.
Dayton used the open date to get healthier.
“There are a couple guys who are still working back,” Andrews said, “but a couple guys will be back in there Saturday and we’re excited to get them on the field. You’re three weeks in, and everybody’s going through it one way or the other. It’s rare that you’re going to have the same 22 starters throughout the season. We’re fortunate enough to have some good depth right now, and guys are ready to go.”
Andrews mentioned safeties Mac Grant III and Bennett Lawrence as to players who stepped into the starting lineup against Thomas More because of injuries to other players.
“It’s inspiring for our younger players to actually see that,” Andrews said. “We talk about preparing for your opportunity — not waiting for your opportunity — so that you can excel when you get in there.”
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