GAME TWO
at DAYTON
9.10.16 | 1:00 P.M.
DAYTON, OHIO | WELCOME STADIUM (11,000)

TV: TWC Sports Channel
RADIO: ESPN 970 AM / WBGG 106.3 FM
> Chris Shovlin, Play by Play, & Brian Cleary, Analyst



Capsule
Robert Morris takes to the road for the first time and will attempt to ground the Dayton Flyers in a 1:00 p.m. game at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, on Sept. 10, 2016. The Colonials opened the season with a 14-7 setback to Alderson Broaddus. Dayton, picked to finish second in the Pioneer Football League, defeated Central State, 31-19, last week.
 
vs. Dayton
> Dayton leads the all-time series, 16-2
> RMU is 1-8 in games at Welcome Stadium
> The Colonials last win in the series was in 2000, 17-13, on the road
> It was the second of back-to-back victories
> The Flyers scored 10 points in the final 6:15 of last season's game to beat RMU, 27-24
> Eight of the games have been decided by one score or less
 
About the Flyers
> Dayton opened the season with a 31-19 win over Central State
> The Flyers forced six turnovers in the game
> They produced 408 yards of offense, 152 on the ground and 256 by air
> QB Alex Jeske went 18-27 with 256 yards
> The Flyers were picked second in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Coaches' Poll
> Dayton returns 18 starters (9 O, 7 D, 2 S) from a team that went 10-2 last season
> UD has the fourth-best win pct. (.758) in FCS since 2000
 
Musket Shots
> Dante Satcher opened the season with a school-record 99 yard kickoff return
> Satcher also had his first career start at RB and finished with 161 all-purpose yards
> The RMU defense produced four sacks last week, the third time in four games with at least that many
> Senior DL Steve Fiadewornu and freshman LB Gee Stanley tied with a game-high nine tackles
> RMU blocked a FG attempt, the second consecutive game with a blocked kick
> On offense last week, nine players, including six freshman, made their first career start
> Sixteen starters (7 O, 7 D, 2 S) and 35 letterwinners return from last season's 4-7 team
> RMU was picked sixth in the 2016 NEC Football Coaches Preseason Poll
> Sophomore WR Kyle Buss was a Preseason All-NEC First Team selection
> Seniors Marcelis Branch (DB) and Andy Smigiera (DB) were Preseason All-NEC picks on defense while sophomore Kyle Buss (WR) was the lone RMU player on the offensive Preseason All-NEC team
> Buss was a finalist for FCS Freshman of the Year and was the NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year
> The defense ranked in FCS top 25 in 3rd down defense, 4th down defense, passing yards allowed, passing efficiency defense, sacks, tackles for loss and total defense
> Six players who earned NEC weekly honors in 2015 return this season
> Special teams accounted for three touchdowns in 2015 (kick return, punt return, blocked punt return)
> Head coach John Banaszak boasts a 43-27 carrer record in six seasons, 5-18 in his third season at RMU
 


Weekly Winners
> The Colonials had eight different players earn NEC weekly awards in 2015, a school record for distinct players
> Six of those eight players return to the roster this season
> RMU had a player earn a special teams award in a league-record four straight weeks
> Mathew Barr won Rookie of the Week in two of the final three weeks of 2015
 
Comeback Kids
> The Colonials won three games last season that they trailed in the second half
> RMU trailed Notre Dame (Ohio), 24-21, and won 35-24
> Trailed Wagner, 6-3, and won 9-6
> Trailed East Tennessee State, 9-7, and won 21-9
> Colonials trailed Bryant, 7-0, in first quarter before winning, 21-20
 
NFL Experience for Miller
> Offensive coordinator Mike Miller has spent 12 seasons in the National Football League
> Most recently, he was the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2011 and 2012
> He spent six seasons with the Cardinals
> Miller was also an assistant with the Buffalo Bills (2004-05) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1999-2003)
> He has also spent time in the press box as a public relations assistant with the Steelers, Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League
> During his tenure as receivers coach with Arizona, he mentored Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston
 
Academic Accolades
> Senior Andy Smigiera and 2016 graduate Nick Faraci were both named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academica All-District II honorees in 2015
> Faraci was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team
> It was the sixth time in the last six seasons a Colonial earned Academic All-America honors
 
Brother Act
> Tyler Lamica joins brother Nic Lamica on the RMU roster in 2016
> The elder Lamica, Nic, is a redshirt-junior who started seven games at tight end last season
> The younger Lamica, Tyler, is a freshman linebacker currently seated in the two deep at outside linebacker
> Nic was orginally a LB at RMU before moving to the other side of the ball
> They attended different high schools - Nic went to Forest Hills Central and Tyler went to Grand Rapids Christian
 
Not Halfway Home
> In 2015, the team trailing at the half posted an impressive 5-4 (.556) record
> In the first 21 seasons of RMU football, the team trailing at the half won only 13.5% of the time
 
Score 30 or More
> Since the inception of RMU football in 1994, RMU is 72-5 (.935) when scoring 30 or more points
> The Colonials are 29-0 when tallying 40 or more points
 
The Founding Father
> RMU had only one coach in its first 20 seasons of existence, Joe Walton
> Walton was a former NFL tight end and head coach (see sidebar, right)
> He was a four-time NEC Coach of the Year
> Under his guidance, RMU won two NCAA I-AA mid-major national titles
> Walton was inducted into the RMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013
 
DEFENSIVE NOTES
 
Get it Back
> Robert Morris forced four turnovers last week
> Three came from interceptions by Marcelis Branch, Travon Stott and Roger Richardson
> Steve Fiadewornu forced a fumble that was recovered by Adam Wollet
 
Gee Whiz
> Freshman LB Gee Stanley had a game-high nine tackles in his RMU debut vs. Alderson Broaddus
> He added two sacks for 13 yards
> His two sacks rank second nationally
> Four of the stops were solo
 
Swiss Steve
> Making his first career start, redshirt senior DL Steve Fiadewornu had nine tackles
> He had five career tackles coming into the game
> Added 0.5 tackle for loss and forced a fumble
> Had four solo and five assisted stops
> Hometown is Zurich, Switzerland
 
Branching Out
> Marcelis Branch, the team's leading returning tackler, had eight stops in week one
> He also had an interception, returning it 15 yards
> He had 35 solo and 28 assisted stops
> A Preseaosn All-NEC pick, he had one interception, three PBU's and four passes defensed last season
 
Pride of Poland ... Ohio
> Sophomore LB Adam Wollet made eight tackles in his first career start
> He also had three of the team's seven pass break ups
> His three PBUs rank second nationally
> Wollet recovered a fumble and had one TFL
 
Boom Sack-a-Lacka
> Colonials collected four sacks against Alderson Broaddus
> Freshman LB Gee Stanley accounted for two and senior DE Ryan Lewis and freshman DL Derian Smith had one each
> RMU has had four or more sacks in three of the last four games
> RMU tied the team record with 34 sacks last season (34, 2006)
> Players who contributed for 24.5 of those sacks return to the roster this season
> Lewis had 4.5 sacks in 2015
 
25-7
> The defense ranked in the FCS top-25 in seven different statistical categories - and the top 15 in five categories in 2015
  > 7th - Sacks by (3.09/G)
  > 11th - Third down conversion pct. (.309)
  > 14th - Fourth down conversion pct. (.333)
  > 14th - Pass yards allowed (172.0/G)
  > 14th - Tackles for loss (7.7/G)
  > 18th - Passing efficiency defense (108.13/G)
  > 21st - Total defense (321.4/G)
> RMU has ranked in top 25 in total in defense in four of last five seasons
> 2015 tied the team record with 34 sacks
 
Seasoned Secondary
> The entire starting second from 2015 returns intact in 2016
> Redshirt senior Marcelis Branch, a two-time All-NEC player, was named to the preseason all-conference team
> Senior Nic Lamica was also named to the Preseason All-NEC squad
> Junior Drew Allen started every game at corner back as a sophomore
> Ryan Richards, Jr., played all 11 games at strong safety
 
Sensational Secondary
> Colonials led the NEC in fewest yards allowed per attempt at 5.8 in 2015
> RMU had fewest passing yards allowed in league games last season (138.5)
> RMU had the second most pass break-ups in team history last season with 46
 
Safety Smigiera
> Andy Smigiera is also a Preseason All-NEC selection
> Smigiera had a total of 19 passes defensed last season (8 PBU)
> He tied with Ryan Richards, Jr., for the team lead with three interceptions
> He finished with 62 tackles, 30 solo
 
OFFENSIVE NOTES
 
Romanchak Under Center
> R-Freshman Andrew Romanchak made his quarterbacking debut last week
> He finished 13-32 for 121 yards and one interception
> Romanchak entered the game in the second quarter
 
Lucky Seven
> Seven different players caught a pass for the team in week one
> Dante Satcher led the team with four receptions
> Kyle Buss caught two balls for a team-best 41 yards
> DeLano Madison had three catches
> Buss, Warren Robinson, Reggie Green, Tim Vecchio and Blake Skuratowicz each had two catches
 
Un-Dante-d
> Sophomore RB Dante Satcher had 62 yards of total offense in his first start
> Satcher ran 15 times for 42 yards
> He also had a team-high four receptions for 20 yards
> Satcher finished with 161 all-purpose yards, returning a kickoff 99 yards for a TD
 
Barr Set
> Sophomore QB Mathew Barr earned two of the last three NEC Rookie of the Week accolades in 2015
> He went 20-31 for 225 yards and two scores in week nine against East Tennessee State
> In season finale vs. Bryant, Barr completed 13 of 16 for 122 yards
> Barr started nine games last season, going 90-188 for 989 yards
 
Cole Shortage
> The team's top returning rusher, junior Cole Blake, will miss all of the 2016 season due to injury
> Blake rushed for 722 yards on 170 carries last season
> He averaged 4.2 yards per carry and had two TDs
 
Other Side of the Woods
> Redshirt-Junior Sam Woods has moved to running back after spending two seasons as a defensive back
> Woods had 35 career tackles, 34 of which came in his redshirt freshman campaign of 2014
 
Get on the Buss
> Redshirt sophomore WR Kyle Buss was the NEC Offensive Rookie of the Week last season
> He was also a finalist for STATS National Freshman Player of the Year
> He is the fifth RMU player to earn the NEC accolade, the most of any league school
> Among FCS rookies, he was second in receiving yards (742) and third in receptions per game (4.5)
> Buss set six RMU freshman records:
  > Season receptions (50)
  > Season receiving yards (742)
  > Season receptions per game (4.5)
  > Game receptions (9, twice UND, ETSU)
  > Game receiving yards (160, CCSU)
  > Longest reception (84, ETSU)
 
Freshmen Front Five
> Four of the five starting offensive linemen on the two-deep are true freshmen
> Redshirt junior LG Blake Chambliss is the lone upperclasssman on the two-deep
> Of the 10 offensive linemen listed, seven are freshmen or redshirt freshmen
 
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
 
Super Satcher
> Sophomore Dante Satcher returned the opening kickoff 99 yards last week, eclipsing his own school record
> He had a 96-yard return for a score against Sacred Heart (10/10/15) last season
> His career kick return average of 26.7 yards is second in team history (35.6, Archie Wannamaker 96-98)
> Alderson Broaddus chose to kick short away from Satcher on their remaining kickoffs
 
Specialty Scoring
> Special teams accounted for the team's only score last week - a 99-yard kickoff return by Dante Satcher
> The RMU special teams accounted for three touchdowns in 2015
> A blocked punt return, punt return and kickoff return accounted for the three specials teams scores
> Three players accounted for returns - Cole Blake (blocked punt), Warren Robinson (punt) and Dante Satcher (kickoff)
 
Shennan-igans
> Kicker Connor Shennan is 0-3 on FG this season
> Two kicks from 33 yards were blocked
> He missed a 42-yard attempt
> Shennan went 5-9 on FGs last season, connecting from 30, 46, 30, 36 and 19 yds.
> His 13 career FGs are fifth in RMU history
> 17 of his 36 kickoffs resuted in touchbacks
> He also punted 28 times with 40.7 average
> Six of 28 punts pinned opponents inside the 20
 
Check Marks
> Adam Check punted seven times in week one, averaging 36.4 yards
> He planted two inside the 20
> His long is 53 yards
> Adam Check had 55 punts in 2015 averaging 36.7 yards
> His career avg. of 36.69 is fifth at RMU
 
Kick Return Commendations
> In 2015, Warren Robinson set the single-season school record for punt return average (18.2 yds.)
> Robinson ranked second nationally in punt returns average
> He had two of the three longest punt returns in team history - 66 yards vs. Notre Dame and 58 yards vs. Bryant.
> The kick coverage unit was second nationally in kickoff return defense - 14.2 yards - in 2015
> In 2015, RMU led the NEC in touchback percentage - 47.2% of Colonials kickoffs
> No other NEC team was above 30%