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Davidson Wildcats (1-5, 0-2 PFL) vs. Drake Bulldogs (2-3, 1-1 PFL)

Date: Oct. 11 - 1:00 p.m. CST/2:00 p.m. EST

Site: Drake Stadium (14,557 capacity) - Des Moines, Iowa

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4 Downs
1st - The 1 p.m. Central, 2 p.m. Eastern Saturday afternoon game at Drake Stadium marks Davidson's first trip to Des Moines since 2010. It is the third PFL contest of the season for both teams, but Davidson's first on the road.

2nd - WR William Morris ranks in the top five nationally in receptions (1st), reception yards (2nd) and reception touchdowns (4th).

3rd - The Wildcats enter at 0-2 in PFL play, but had the opportunity to force OT against Morehead State and went five overtimes against Dayton.

4th - LB Dan Casey was named to the 2014 AFCA Allstate Goodworks team. Vote for him at espn.com/Allstate.

A Davidson win would . . .
• Snap a five-game overall losing streak
• Snap an eight-game road losing streak
• Snap an 11-game PFL losing streak
• Be it's first-ever at Drake
• Snap Drake's 17-game home PFL winning streak

The Series
• Drake holds a 6-1 series lead, with the one loss (24-21) coming in Richardson Stadium in 2007. The Bulldogs have won the last four meetings and all three meetings in Drake Stadium.
• A pair of second-half rushing touchdowns by Gary Scott and a strong defensive effort secured a 27-6 victory for Drake over Davidson last year.
• Davidson had a chance early in the second half to take the lead, receiving the kickoff and driving 68 yards to the Drake 2, but John Bloss broke up Jonathan Carkhuff's 4th-and-goal pass in the end zone. The Bulldogs then took over on downs and drove 98 yards on 20 plays, eating up the remainder of the third quarter, before Scott rushed for a touchdown from 5 yards out.
• Carkhuff became the first Davidson quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards in a career. William Morris caught six passes for 84 yards and a TD.

Scouting Drake
• Drake enters with a 2-3 overall record and a 1-1 PFL mark. The Bulldogs defeated defending PFL champion Marist at home, but lost at Jacksonville last week, 14-29.
• Drake has won 22 out of its last 24 PFL games at home, including the last 17.
• The Bulldogs were tabbed to finish fifth in the PFL, while Davidson was picked 10th.
• For total offense, Drake ranks eighth while Davidson ranks third. Drake ranks fourth in total defense though while Davidson ranks ninth.
• Defensively, John Hugunin is averaging 10.0 tackles per game, tied for the most in the PFL and has 3.0 tackles for a loss.
• A league high six players – Matt Acree (DL), Eric Saubert (TE), Troy Whitmer (OL), John Hugunin (LB), Brad Duwe (DB) and Cam Bohnert (P) – earned preseason All-PFL honors.

Signs of Improvement
• Davidson's 32 points against Morehead State were its most in a PFL game since 2009, and its 48 against Dayton were its most since 2007.
• The 'Cats are averaging 176.0 yards per game rushing so far this season after averaging just 88.2 last season. The rate is fourth in the PFL and ranks 58th in the nation. If Davidson were to maintain that average, it would be its highest since 1999 (188.6). In fact, the Wildcats have not averaged over 100 yards per game throughout an entire season since 2009.
• Davidson finished dead last in the PFL in scoring last season, only averaging 14.0 points per game, but the 'Cats are currently tops in the league and 41st in the country averaging 30.7 points per game.
• Through two PFL games, Davidson has had opportunities to force overtime on its last regulation possession both times. It was unsuccessful against Morehead State, losing by eight, but went to quintuple overtime against Dayton before losing by six. The 'Cats' lost to both of those teams by margins greater than 30 points last year. In fact, the closest PFL game was a 13-point defeat at Stetson.

Rankings Leaders
• Davidson has been strong offensively to lead the PFL in scoring (30.7) and rank third in yardage (419.7) per game. The Wildcats have also totaled a league-best 151 first downs, which ranks fourth in the FCS.
• WR William Morris leads the nation in receptions with 49, ranks second with 671 receiving yards and ranks fourth with six receiving touchdowns.
• Morris is the only FCS player with two 12+ reception games this season (16 at VMI, 15 vs. Dayton).
• QB J.P. Douglas ranks 13th in the nation with a 65.8 completion percentage and 10th with 1,417 passing yards. Both totals lead the PFL.
• RB David Rogers is second in the PFL and 23rd in the FCS with 6.22 yards per carry. He also ranks second in the league and ranks 36th nationally with five rushing touchdowns.
• LB Matt Casey ranks fifth in the PFL with 8.7 tackles per game.

William Morris Milestone Watch
• In addition to being one of the nation's top receivers this season, William Morris is on pace to rewrite the Davidson record books.
• He caught his 100th career reception at VMI (9/13) as part of a 16-catch performance.
• Morris broke onto the Top 10 list for receptions at Princeton with six receptions.
• Morris broke onto the Top 10 list for receiving yards in a career and moved up to ninth in receptions with a 15-catch, 158-yard performance against Dayton (10/4/14), passing Davidson Hall of Famer Mike Mikolayunas '71.
• With 11 career TD receptions, Morris needs two more to move into the Top 10.
• Receiving Yards in a Career (11 to next)
1.   2770   Lanny Funsten (229-2770)   2009-12
2.   2220   Ryan Hubbard (153-2220)      2004-07
3.   2215   Brett Dioguardi (154-2215)   2003-06
4.   2157   Barrett Johnson (147-2157)   2000-03
5.   2154   Mike Kelly (162-2154)        1967-69
6.   2125   Gifford Piercy (109-2125)   1977-80
7.   1948   George Hannen (158-1948)   1967-69
8.   1940   Walt Walker (130-1940)       1971-73
9.   1884   Corey Crawford (119-1884)   1997-00
10. 1873 William Morris (126-1873)    2012-pres.
• Receptions in a Career (4 to next)
1.   229   Lanny Funsten (229-2770)   2009-12
2.   179   Mike Mikolayunas (179-1830) 1968-70
3.   162   Mike Kelly (162-2154) 1967-69
4.   158   George Hannen (158-1948)   1967-69
5.   154   Brett Dioguardi (154-2215)   2003-06
6.   153   Ryan Hubbard (153-2220)      2004-07
7.   147   Barrett Johnson (147-2157)   2000-03
8.   130   Walt Walker (130-1940)       1971-73
9.    126   William Morris (126-1873)   2012-pres.
10.   119   Corey Crawford (119-1884)   1997-00

Ooooovertime
• Davidson played a team and PFL record quintuple overtime game against Dayton, Oct. 4, 2014. Dayton prevailed 54-48.
• The Wildcats are now 4-6 when playing beyond 60 minutes.
• With its 26-20 loss to Campbell Oct. 29, 2011, Davidson had lost its last four OT games, but an OT win at Valpo in 2012 snapped the steak. Still, Davidson has come up short in five of the last six times in extended contests.

College Football Performance Awards
• Wildcats have received three CFPA honorable mentions so far this season.
• WR William Morris (Oct. 7 & Sept. 16) and TE Trey Huelskamp (Sept. 30).

Schedule Notes
• Davidson is playing 12 games this season for the first time in its history.
• The schedule was front-loaded with home games, as three of Davidson's first four were at home. Starting with Drake, four of the final six will be on the road.

Tremendous Trey
• Huelskamp already has 23 catches for 218 yards through six games this season after totaling 17 catches for 182 yards in 11 games last season. He caught 28 passes for 228 yards as a freshman.
• Huelskamp was one of four FCS Tight End Performer of the Week honorable mentions recognized by the College Football Performance Awards for games played through Sept. 27.
• In a loss at Princeton, Huelskamp led the Wildcats in receiving, setting career highs with nine catches for 82 yards.

Utility Man
• John Cook is not your average backup QB.
• On offense, Cook is a goaline threat with his running ability. He also provided Davidson with a spark late in the game against Morehead State, breaking off a 39-yard touchdown run.
• He also took over the punting duties early against MSU. Cook punted frequently as a freshman when Davidson lacked a specialist for the position last season.

Young 'Cats
• The team is very young, with 36 freshmen and just 25 upper-classmen (9 seniors, 16 juniors.) It's the largest freshman class since the 'Cats also had 36 in 2009.
• Of the 22 slots on the offensive two-deep, 11 are occupied by underclassmen (5 sophomores, 6 freshmen), while 16 (9 sophomores and 7 freshmen) are listed on the defensive side. Six of 12 specialists slots are filled by freshmen.

2014
• The Wildcats return 35 letterwinners and 14 starters (6 offense, 8 defense).
• The top returner on offense is junior WR William Morris. He had 1,090 yards receiving in 2013 – the third most in Davidson history - and 67 receptions - tied for the fourth most in a single season in school history. His 6.1 catches per game ranked second in the PFL, while his 99.1 yards per game led the league. He is on pace to break Davidson's all-time receiving records and was an All-PFL honorable mention last season.
• On defense, LB Matt Casey is the top returner. He finished 2013 with 106 tackles, which ranks as the fourth-most in a single season at Davidson. He was named to the All-PFL second team.

Honorary Captain
• Randy Parker '72 is serving as this week's honorary captain. He was a two-year letterwinner as an "offensive end," and a member of Davidson's 1969 SoCon Championship and Tangerine Bowl team.
• Parker is a former executive at Sprint.

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Players Mentioned

Jonathan Carkhuff

Dan Casey

Matt Casey

John Cook

J.P. Douglas

Trey Huelskamp

William Morris

David Rogers