DELAND, Fla. – Stetson Football team takes to the road for its second away game of the year, traveling to Davidson, North Carolina for a Saturday afternoon contest with the Wildcats at Richardson Stadium. The game will be livestreamed on Davidson's All-Access portion of the official Davidson Athletics website, link on the schedule page and the link section of this article.
 
DC (6-2. 4-1 PFL) has been dominant in the Pioneer Football League with the only loss in conference play for Saturday's opponent coming against league-leader St. Thomas. To further trouble the visiting Hatters, the Wildcats are coming off a bye week. In Richardson Stadium, Davidson has been held under 30 points once [28 against Morehead State] with all four games resulting in victory for DC by an average margin over 25 points.
 
Stetson's (3-4, 1-3 PFL) is in a slump but has been on the precipice of victory all season. All three PFL losses this season, the Hatters have had a lead in the fourth quarter but have fell to a mix of other teams making a play, making a crucial error or bad luck. Against Drake, it was an inability to get off the field on third down combined with the offense not successfully converting third downs.
 
The pair have two common opponents already played this year, Drake and Morehead State. The Wildcats defeated both teams but struggled with Morehead State [28-26]. The Hatters fell to Drake, but defeated Morehead State by two scores, 38-26. In the series history, the teams are almost even with Davidson taking a one-game lead, 7-6, from victories in the last three meetings. The last Hatter victory, a 100-point affair, 56-53, was played at Davidson on October 27, 2018.
 
The Wildcats offense is a ground-based attack with over 3,000 yard [3,162] on the season from rushing. The one-two punch of Dylan Sparks and Coy Williams are each averaging over 67 rush yards per game. Quarterback Jayden Waddell is behind the duo with more than 58 yards per game [58.63] with a similar amount of yards gained to the backs, but sacks pulling his average down. DC's offense averages 102.88 yards per game through the air with Waddell and Luke Durkin both playing in all eight contests.
 
Looking to stop the Hatters will be the defense anchored by Jonathan Hammond. The junior D-lineman has 3.5 sacks, an interception, a pass break up and four quarterback hurries. Daniel Carter leads the club in tackles with 45, three for loss. As a unit, the Wildcats allow 122.1 rush yards per game with 166.13 through the air [288.3].
 
In the lone close game for the Wildcats, Davidson was beat through the air for 304 yards when Morehead State came within a made field goal of beating DC with two misses on the day. While a huge portion of that game was four fumbles lost by Saturday's opponent, it comes down to taking advantage of opportunities. Stetson quarterback has led the PFL in passing yards from beginning of the season through this week is 356 passing yards above the next closest quarterback. The Hatters hopes may hinge on his ability to take care of the ball, but the young quarterback has shown growth in experience this season. Jalen Leary, Kaderris Roberts and Devon Brewer will need to have big games in three aspects, rushing, pass blocking and the release for the short pass game in order to keep Davidson's front seven honest.
 
The Hatter defense will need to stay disciplined with good penetration and staying in tackling lanes to stop the ground-based attack. All three levels will be required to have a great game and create turnovers for SU to make a chance for win. Ethan Hull, Ja'Veon Ensley and Fermon Reid will need to stuff the run but maintain discipline to stop the triple option.
 
If the Hatters can win third down on both sides of the ball, create a couple extra possessions through turnovers while taking care of the ball and ultimately find a way to cash in on the opportunities, the Hatters can go to Davidson and pull off an upset.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.