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You are correct! The weed pictured is dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) — a perennial with a basal rosette and deeply lobed leaves. A common weed in maintained turf, dandelion can tolerate a wide variety of site and soil conditions. This weed grows from a taproot, forms a simple rosette of leaves and produces bright yellow flowers on leafless stalks in the spring. One flower head is actually made of many tiny flowers surrounded by leafy bracts. Dandelion produces a puffball seedhead shortly after mowing. Its seeds are easily dispersed by wind and lawn equipment.
Dandelions are at their weakest right after they bloom, and food reserves in the roots are at their lowest. They bloom in spring and fall when days are less than 12 hours long. Defendor™ specialty herbicide can be applied early in the season when temperatures are still cool, giving lawn care operators more flexibility when scheduling the first applications of the season. Defendor provides early season elimination of unsightly dandelion blooms and clover, and can be tank-mixed with Dimension® 2EW specialty herbicide for added preemergence crabgrass control.