Nov. 1, 2004

GAME TEN: The USD Toreros (2-1 PFL; 5-4) host the Dayton Flyers (2-1 PFL; 7-2) this Saturday with second place on the line in the final PFL standings. USD puts its 3-game winning streak on the line against the Flyers in the Nov. 6th contest that will kickoff at 7:00 pm at Torero Stadium. The Drake Bulldogs (4-0 PFL; 7-2), with their 13-6 win over Dayton last Saturday, wrapped up the PFL North title and will take on Morehead State on Nov. 20th for the PFL Championship.

SERIES UPDATE: This is the 12th meeting between USD and Dayton with the Flyers owning a 10-1 advantage ... Dayton won the first ten meetings in this series before the Toreros won their first game last year by the score of 41-30 ... QB Eric Rasmussen tossed 6 touchdowns and threw for 355 yards ... Evan Harney rushed for 115 yards and Adam Hannula caught 9 balls for 178 yards.

WEBCAST INFO: Jack Murray (play-by-play) and Rick Hill (color analyst) return to call the action for all of USD's home games. The games will be webcast via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com. The pre-game show begins 15 minutes prior to kickoff.

HEAD COACH Jim Harbaugh: Harbaugh is in his first season with the Toreros and enters Saturday's game with a 5-4 mark. Prior to being named USD's 11th head coach, he spent the past two football seasons in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders. He spent 15 years in the NFL with five different teams - Chicago (1987-1993), Indianapolis (1994-97), Baltimore (1998), San Diego (1999-00) and Carolina (2001). A 1987 first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Jim played in 117 NFL games with 140 starts. For his career he completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 yards with 129 touchdowns. In 1995 he led Indianpolis to the AFC Championship game; was voted to the Pro Bowl; was named the 1995 Comeback Player of the Year and the AFC Player of the Year; and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting. A 1986 graduate of the University of Michigan, Jim was a 3-year starter for legendary coach Bo Schembechler. In his senior year in '86, Jim guided Michigan to a No. 2 national ranking while earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors and finishing 3rd in the Heisman race. Jim and his wife, Miah, have three kids - Jay, James, and Grace.

PFL NORTH STANDINGS/SCHEDULE: Drake (4-0; 7-2), Dayton (2-1; 7-2), San Diego (2-1; 5-4), Valparaiso (0-3; 3-6), Butler (0-3; 1-8). PFL North Schedule for Nov. 6th: Butler at Valparaiso, Dayton at San Diego, Upper Iowa at Drake.

NATIONAL POLLS (11-2-04): In The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10 Poll, Monmouth takes over at #1. Monmouth (8-1), Drake (7-2), Dayton (7-2), Duquesne (5-2), Central Connecticut State (6-2), SAN DIEGO (5-4), Robert Morris (5-4), Albany (4-5), Morehead State (5-4), Sacred Heart (5-3). In other I-AA polls, the Toreros are 5th in Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette and 5th in the DOPKE.com poll.

TOREROS BEAT BUTLER 41-12: The Toreros handed the Butler Bulldogs a 41-12 defeat in a PFL North Division game at the Butler Bowl on Saturday afternoon. Running back Evan Harney rushed 34 times for 181 yards and two scores, setting new USD career marks in rushing yardage (2,632 yards), scoring (212 points) and rushing attempts (535). He also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the year, becoming the first Torero player to post two 1,000-yard seasons. Butler took an early 6-0 lead as Ian Nelson connected with Kevin Housand for a one-yard touchdown pass. The Bulldogs extended their lead to nine in the 2nd quarter on a 34-yard field goal. After being shutout for a quarter and a half, the Torero offense came alive, scoring 17 points in the final seven minutes of the 2nd quarter to take a 17-9 halftime lead. Todd Mortensen connected with Michael Gasperson on a 13 yard TD pass for the first score. Evan Harney added a one-yard score just over three minutes later, breaking USD's career scoring record. Hutch Parker ended the half with a 25 yard FG with just nine seconds on the clock. Mortensen and TE Dustin Owen hooked up in the 3rd quarter for a two-yard TD, giving San Diego a 24-12 lead. Harney added his second score of the day with 2:36 left in the 3rd quarter, extending the Torero lead to 19. In the final period, Parker added another field goal, putting a 29-yard kick through the uprights with 12:24 on the clock. Kevin Herron finished the scoring by breaking away for a 60-yard TD run. Herron finished the game with 81 yards on just four carries. Mortensen finished the contest 22-for-34 with 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His favorite target was Gasperson who collected seven receptions for 85 yards and a score. On defense, the Toreros were led by Jeff Langdon with 10 tackles and an interception. Philip Bretsch and Daniel Howard also collected interceptions for USD, while Eric Bakhtiari and Eric Stern each chipped in with a sack.

HARNEY EARNS PFL HONOR AGAIN: Evan Harney (Fallbrook, CA) earned his 3rd PFL Offensive Player of the Week honor as he rushed 34 times for 181 yards and a pair of touchdowns in USD's 41-12 win over Butler ... his 1st TD, a 1-yard burst, came in the 2nd quarter that gave USD its first lead of the game at 14-9; he added a 3-yard TD in the 3rd quarter ... he became the first USD Torero to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons ... he also set three new USD career marks in rushing yards (2,632), rushing attempts (535) and total points scored (212).

TORERO TIDBITS & STREAKS: This Saturday the Toreros will be looking for their fourth straight win, and also their fourth straight home victory ... over the last five games USD is 4-1 and has outscored its opponents by a combined mark of 235-77 (47.0 ppg to 15.4 ppg) ... during this span the Toreros have averaged 484.4 yards of offense (235.0 rush; 249.4 pass); opponents have been held to 279.2 ypg (119.6 rush; 279.2 pass) ... individually over the last five games Todd Mortensen has thrown 15 TDs and just 1 interception; Evan Harney has rushed for 780 yards and 10 TDs ... for the season USD is averaging 420 yards of offense (250.6 passing; 169.4 rushing), while limiting opponents to 338.2 yards (179.1 pass; 159.1 rush); the Toreros are averaging 36.0 ppg and limiting opponents to 24.1 ppg ... 9-game individual leaders include RB Evan Harney (1,157 yards; 15 TDs), QB Todd Mortensen (171-293 for 2,100 yards and 18 TDs), WR Adam Hannula (43 for 549 yards and 4 TDs), WR Michael Gasperson (41 for 638 yards and 6 TDs), LB Jeff Langdon (82 tackles, 5 interceptions), LB and Kyson Hawkins (73 tackles, 3 QB sacks) ... among all I-AA players, RB Evan Harney currently ranks 5th in rushing yards per game (128.56) and 8th in scoring (10.0); QB Todd Mortensen ranks 23rd in passing efficiency (136.1) and 30th in total offense (230.8); Jeff Langdon ranks 20th in interceptions (.56); Nick Garton ranks 28th in kickoff returns (24.63) ... ... among I-AA team categories, USD ranks 5th in passes had intercepted (just 4); 11th in scoring (36.0) and interceptions (14); 13th in total offense (420.0); 14th in turnover margin (+0.89); 20th in passing offense (250.6).

SCOUTING DAYTON: The Dayton Flyers come to town tied with USD in the PFL North Division Standings at 2-1 and 7-2 overall ... they saw their 5-game win streak snapped this past weekend by Drake (13-6) ... UD's scoring was limited to two field goals (28, 29) by Jason Resch ... Drake scored the game's lone TD with :32 seconds left in the 1st quarter, then matched the Flyers with two field goals of their own ... 9-game statistical leaders for UD include RB Steve Verhoff (559 yards, 3 TDs), QB Brandon Staley (902 yards, 5 TDs), WR Ryan Wrobleski (40 for 721 yards, 5 TDs), and safety Doug Jones (69 tackles, 2 picks) ... among all I-AA programs, Dayton ranks 2nd in total defense (234.56) and 7th in rushing offense (250.78) ... head coach Mike Kelly, with a career record of 222-45-1 in this his 24th year, owns 8 PFL championship titles.

MEDIA NOTE: To interview a USD coach or player, please contact the Media Relations office at least one day in advance by calling (619) 260-4745.

UP NEXT: The Toreros close out their regular-season schedule with a 1:30 p.m. home contest against Wagner College on Nov. 13th.

FOLLOW USD ON THE INTERNET: The Toreros have joined forces with CollegeSports.com to provide USD fans and alumni with all the latest news and statistics. Follow all sixteen USD teams via the internet at www.USDToreros.com.