WATCH/LISTEN Football vs. Jacksonville

Davidson Wildcats (1-8, 0-5 PFL) vs. Jacksonville Dolphins (7-2, 5-1 PFL)

Date: Nov. 8 - 1:00 p.m.

Site: Stephen B. Smith Field at Richardson Stadium (4,500 capacity) - Davidson, N.C.

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4 Downs
1st - The 1 p.m., Saturday afternoon game at Richardson Stadium is the final of six home games this season. The Class of 2015 will be honored before the game.

2nd - Davidson is coming off a bye week and will conclude the season with two road games in the next two weeks.

3rd - Although Davidson is 0-5 in PFL play, four of those losses have been by an average of 5.5 points.

4th - WR William Morris ranks first in the nation in receptions (67), fourth in receiving yards (955) and 19th in receiving touchdowns (6).

XP - LB Dan Casey was named to the 2014 AFCA Allstate Good Works team. Vote for him at espn.com/Allstate.

A Davidson win would . . .
• Snap an eight-game overall losing streak
• Snap a 14-game PFL losing streak
• Snap a five-game losing streak against Jacksonville.

The Series
• Jacksonville leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1998, 10-6 after winning the last five contests.
• The 'Cats and Dolphins have played each season since the inception of Jacksonville's program in 1998.
• Last season, after Davidson scored first, Jacksonville scored touchdowns on its next seven offensive possessions and added one on defense for a 56-13 victory.
• Turnovers plagued Davidson, as the 'Cats fumbled a total of eight times and lost four of them. Three of the lost fumbles were in the second quarter, allowing Jacksonville to take a 35-6 lead into halftime.
• Jacksonville's Pioneer Football League-best offense totaled 558 yards and was led by quarterback Kade Bell, who threw four touchdown passes for the second consecutive week and totaled 323 yards, going 23-for-29 passing.
• The Dolphins' last visit to Richardson Stadium was much closer though, as Lanny Funsten '13 caught a Pioneer Football League record 17 passes for the 'Cats, totaling 246 yards.

Scouting Jacksonville
• Jacksonville suffered its first PFL loss last week at Marist, suffering a 16-17 defeat.
• JU is concluding a five-game road swing.
• Led by Dallas Jackson, the Dolphins lead all of FCS with 18 interceptions.
• Jacksonville's offense leads the PFL and ranks 14th in FCS, averaging 474 yards per game. Its defense is fourth in the PFL (345 yards).

Freshman In Charge
• Taylor Mitchell is slated to be the first freshman quarterback at Davidson to start consecutive games since 2010 when Jonathan Carkhuff moved into the starting lineup for good in the third game of the season.
• Carkhuff's second career start also came against Jacksonville.

Keil Breaks Out
• Making his third career start, Keil rushed 33 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns against Stetson (10/25).
• In his first eight games, he had 53 carries, 262 yards and four touchdowns.
• It was just the sixth 200-plus yard rushing game ever for a single Davidson running back.
• He earned his first College Football Performance Awards honorable mention for the performance.

Signs of Improvement
• The Wildcats have shown progress this season despite some heartbreaking setbacks.
• In its first two PFL games, Davidson 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.
• Against Campbell, Davidson led from its opening drive until the final minute.
• For the second consecutive week, Davidson outgained the opposition in its matchup with Stetson, but turnovers proved costly in a six-point defeat.
• 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 158.4 yards per game rushing so far this season after averaging just 88.2 last season. The rate is fifth in the PFL.
• 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 last in the PFL in scoring last season, only averaging 14.0 points per game, but the 'Cats are currently fourth in the league and 52nd in the country averaging 28.8 points per game.

Rankings Leaders
• Davidson has been strong offensively to rank fourth in the PFL in scoring (28.8) and rank third in yardage (398.0 per game).
• Nationally, WR William Morris ranks first in FCS in receptions with 67, fourth with 955 receiving yards and 19th with six receiving touchdowns. He leads the PFL in each of those categories.
• Morris is one of two FCS players with two 12+ reception games this season (16 at VMI, 15 vs. Dayton).
• LB Matt Casey ranks fourth in the PFL with 8.7tackles per game.
• KR Austin Wells ranks fourth in the PFL and 68th nationally with 20.6 yards per return.

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.
• 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.
• He moved into a tie for fourth place with Barrett Johnson (2000-03) with a four-catch, 85-yard performance against Stetson.
• With 12 career TD receptions, Morris needs one more to move into the Top 10.
• Receiving Yards in a Career (58 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
   2157 William Morris (144-2157) 2012-pres.
5.   2154   Mike Kelly (162-2154)        1967-69

• Receptions in a Career (3 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.    144 William Morris (144-2157) 2012-pres.
8.    147 Barrett Johnson (147-2157) 2000-03

Kicking It
• After missing three out of his first four field goal attempts, freshman K Trevor Smith has converted eight out of his last nine tries, including a 44-yarder that forced overtime against Dayton.
• He is perfect on 26 consecutive PATs so far. The Davidson record is 38 by Brian Langley (1997-98).

Tremendous Trey
• Huelskamp already has a career-high 38 catches for 374 yards through nine 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.
• He was without a touchdown in his first 38 games, but has one in each of the last two games.
• In a loss at Princeton, Huelskamp led the Wildcats in receiving, setting career highs with nine catches for 82 yards.
• 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.

Fourth-Down Fortunes
• Davidson has converted 14-of-21 fourth downs (66.7%) to rank first in the PFL and ninth in the nation.
• The 'Cats converted nine straight, going 3-for-3 at Drake (10/11), 5-for-5 against Dayton (10/4) and converting its first against Stetson (10/25) before failing to convert late.

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, 12 are occupied by underclassmen (5 sophomores, 7 freshmen), while 16 (9 sophomores and 7 freshmen) are listed on the defensive side. Seven of 12 specialists slots are filled by freshmen.

Honorary Captain
• Ben Prater '14 is this week's honorary captain.
• With Prater's selection, Coach Nichols is seeking to start a new tradition where the previous year's Bill Gammon Wildcat Award winner returns as an honorary captain on Senior Day.
• Prater was a two-year starter at linebacker for the Wildcats and was named to the PFL Academic Honor Roll.

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Jonathan Carkhuff

Dan Casey

Matt Casey

Taylor Mitchell

William Morris

Ben Prater

Trevor Smith

Austin Wells

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