Dayton Flyers 2026 Season Preview

Andrews Building Steady

Trevor Andrews took a program ranked just 75th nationally in raw power and still walked away with a 7-4 record and a 5-3 mark in league play, the kind of conference finish that papers over a middling talent grade. The 2026 story is whether Dayton can repeat that trick, wringing winning football out of a roster that the numbers say should not be doing this well. That gap between rating and record is the whole case for this staff heading into next season.

Zero Interceptions, Zero Doubt

Bryce Schondelmyer threw 16 touchdowns against zero interceptions in 2025, and that clean, explosive style is exactly why Dayton's offense ranked 1st nationally in explosiveness per successful play despite a middling 80th-ranked success rate. That combination, boom-or-bust but never careless, is the whole story for 2026: Schondelmyer doesn't need to grind out drives when he can hit the big one, and a defense that allowed just 17.4 points per game gives him a wide margin for error. With the turnover margin sitting at plus-13 last season, this program wins by avoiding self-inflicted mistakes, and Schondelmyer's zero-pick season says that habit carries forward.

Bryce Schondelmyer's 16 touchdowns against zero interceptions last season is the kind of efficiency that should have made him the unquestioned starter already, and now he is exactly that, taking every rep away from the departed Drew VanVleet's 5 TD, 3 INT split-time role. Dayton's offense ranked 1st nationally in explosiveness per successful play in 2025, and with Schondelmyer entrenched behind center instead of sharing snaps, that big-play juice should show up more consistently on the scoreboard rather than in flashes. Liam Poronsky and Luke Pennington return as experienced depth, but this is Schondelmyer's offense now, and the ceiling rises with him running it wire to wire.

Luke Hansen carried this backfield last season, piling up 650 yards and 9 touchdowns behind an offense that led the country in explosiveness per successful play. Mason Hackett offers a real complement after his 338-yard season, and with Levi Moell, Tyler Brown, Mikey Hess and Will Cohen all back, Trevor Andrews returns nearly his entire rotation. The one subtraction, Dillon Fitzparick, left no statistical footprint, so Dayton's ground game keeps its identity intact even as it tries to push that 140 rushing yards per game figure higher.

Gavin Lochow's 61 catches for 731 yards and 8 touchdowns anchor a room that already produced the most explosive offense in the country by that metric, and he does not lose his top complement. Michael Mussari's 7 touchdowns on just 34 catches show Dayton hit chunk plays at will in 2025, and with Donovan Weatherly (5 TD on 17 catches) and Ethan Thulin also back, Trevor Andrews returns nearly every big-play threat from a passing attack that ranked 57th in yards per game despite an offense that finished 80th in success rate. The formula is clear: this group does not need to be efficient snap to snap, it needs Lochow and Mussari to keep turning limited touches into scores.

Carson Labensky's 5 catches for 43 yards paced Dayton's tight ends last season, modest production for a passing game that still finished 57th nationally through the air. Bryce Cowgill adds a complementary body underneath, while Andrew Yanoshak's departure leaves no statistical hole to fill. The real intrigue is Austin Cline and Harrison Forestal, both without prior stats on file, stepping into a Trevor Andrews offense built around explosive plays (1st nationally in explosiveness) that could use a bigger tight end role to balance a rushing attack ranked 73rd in yards per game.

Trevor Andrews watched this line produce explosive plays like almost no one else in the country, that 1.53 explosiveness mark ranking first nationally even while the ground game lagged at just 140 yards per game (73rd). Losing Ryan Iiams and Jack Plattner up front puts that big-play identity at risk, since replicating splash without a proven push game was already a tightrope act at 38.5% success rate (80th). The margin for error is thin, an offense that hit explosive plays but stalled on efficiency needs its front five to find a more consistent, down-to-down push in 2026, not just home runs.

Dayton's defense held opponents to 17.4 points a game and just 5.09 yards per play last season, numbers that ranked 4th and 14th nationally, and the entire line built around that finish returns intact. Joel Allen, Elliott Braun, Gus Dammann and Mirko Jaksic anchor the tackle rotation while Collin Ansel and Josh Grambo come back off the edge, giving Trevor Andrews a front that only has to replace departed end Brandon Martin rather than rebuild from scratch. The one soft spot to watch is the run defense, which ranked just 42nd in yards allowed per game, a number that should improve simply from continuity up front.

Trevor Andrews built a defense that finished 4th nationally in points allowed per game and kept opponents off schedule at a top-10 clip, and the linebacker corps returns fully intact to defend it. Brayden Allen, David Curl III, Joe Kingsbury, Sam Mitchell, Sawyer Muchmore and Ryan Schapker all come back, none with a statistical track record on file, but continuity in the front seven is exactly why Dayton limited rushers to 138 yards a game and passers to 5.09 yards per play. The names are unproven on paper, yet the scheme that made this defense elite in 2025 loses no experience at the position that runs it.

Dayton's secondary held up its end in 2025, allowing just 182 passing yards per game and helping the defense finish 4th in points allowed at 17.4 per contest. Cam Cope returns at corner, and the safety group brings back Javawn Brooks, Dan Calicari, Bryson Carter, Parker Chaney and Mac Grant III intact, even with Vincent Firenze and Josh Williams gone from that mix. With that much of the unit back together, Trevor Andrews can keep leaning on a defense that kept opponents off schedule better than all but nine teams nationally, rather than rebuild coverage rules from scratch.

Robby Smart was the closest thing to a sure thing Dayton had on placekicks last season, going 2 of 3 with a long of 37, and he heads a crowded field that also includes Trevor Henkle (1 of 3, 34 long) and unproven names David Maurer and Cameron Stoltz, each 0 of 1. That logjam makes Smart the de facto choice for 2026 unless Henkle's leg range changes the math. Logan Forcum returns after a workhorse 42-punt season at a 40-yard clip, giving Trevor Andrews at least one settled specialist while the placekicking job sorts itself out.

Bryce Schondelmyer

Dayton already settled this position before the offseason even started. Schondelmyer threw for 1,398 yards, 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions last year, and with Gavin Lochow and Michael Mussari both back outside, he inherits a full arsenal rather than a rebuild. With zero portal additions coming in, Dayton's ceiling in 2026 is simply how far Schondelmyer can push an offense that already knows exactly who he is.

Even Money on Andrews

Dayton settled at a coin flip against the number last year, 5-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play, which tracks with a program that went 7-4 without ever tipping its hand either direction. The lone standout thread was the response to adversity, covering 2-1 the week after a loss, suggesting Trevor Andrews had this group squared away by kickoff even after a bad Saturday. The one upset, a 1-0 cover against a ranked opponent, is too thin a sample to bank on for 2026, but it hints at a team capable of a moment bigger than its typical line.