2018 Dayton Flyers football team
The 2018 Dayton Flyers football team represented the University of Dayton in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 11th-year head coach Rick Chamberlin and played their home games at Welcome Stadium. They were a member of the Pioneer Football League. They finished the season 6–5, 5–3 in PFL play to finish in a tie for fourth place.
| 2018 Dayton Flyers football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Pioneer Football League |
| 2018 record | 6–5 (5–3 PFL) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Austin King |
| Defensive coordinator | Landon Fox (9th season) |
| Home stadium | Welcome Stadium (Capacity: 11,000) |
| 2018 Pioneer Football League standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 San Diego $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stetson | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drake | 6 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marist | 5 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dayton | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davidson | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Butler | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Morehead State | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Valparaiso | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Flyers finished the 2017 season 5–6, 4–4 in PFL play to finish in a tie for sixth place.
Preseason
Award watch lists
Lott Trophy – Sr. S David Leisring[1]
Preseason All-PFL team
The PFL released their preseason all-PFL team on July 30, 2018, with the Flyers having seven players selected.[2]
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Offense Adam Trautman – TE Tucker Yinger – RB Ben Gauthier – OL |
Defense Nick Surges – DL David Leisring – DB |
Special teams Sean Smith – P Matt Tunnacliffe – LS |
Preseason coaches poll
The PFL released their preseason coaches poll on July 31, 2018, with the Flyers predicted to finish in second place.[3]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego | 81 (9) |
| 2 | Dayton | 72 (1) |
| 3 | Drake | 58 |
| T–4 | Butler | 48 |
| T–4 | Valparaiso | 48 |
| 6 | Jacksonville | 47 |
| 7 | Marist | 44 |
| 8 | Morehead State | 22 |
| 9 | Stetson | 19 |
| 10 | Davidson | 11 |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 1:00 p.m. | Robert Morris* | Facebook Live | W 49–28 | 3,012 | |
| September 8 | 1:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State* | ESPN+ | L 21–40 | 4,273 | |
| September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | at Duquesne* | NECFR | L 26–31 | 1,534 | |
| September 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Davidson |
| Facebook Live | W 42–21 | 4,700 |
| September 29 | 1:00 p.m. | at Marist | L 17–28 | 2,830 | ||
| October 6 | 1:00 p.m. | Valparaiso |
| Facebook Live | W 53–20 | 2,592 |
| October 13 | 5:00 p.m. | at San Diego | L 36–34 | 2,997 | ||
| October 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Drake |
| Facebook Live | L 17–28 | 2,168 |
| October 27 | 12:00 p.m. | at Butler | Facebook Live | W 38–28 | 1,992 | |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | Morehead State |
| Facebook Live | W 63–20 | 2,325 |
| November 17 | 1:00 p.m. | at Jacksonville | W 34–7 | 1,492 | ||
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- Source: Schedule
Game summaries
Robert Morris
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colonials | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Flyers | 21 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 49 |
at Southeast Missouri State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Redhawks | 3 | 10 | 7 | 20 | 40 |
at Duquesne
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
| Dukes | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
Davidson
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcats | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Flyers | 0 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 42 |
at Marist
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
| Red Foxes | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
Valparaiso
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crusaders | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Flyers | 14 | 23 | 16 | 0 | 53 |
at San Diego
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 34 |
| Toreros | 6 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 36 |
Drake
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Flyers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Butler
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
Morehead State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagles | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Flyers | 21 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 63 |
at Jacksonville
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flyers | 3 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
| Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |