2018 Duquesne Dukes football team
The 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 14th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They played as a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Sacred Heart. Due to their head-to-head win over Sacred Heart, they received the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Towson in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State.
2018 Duquesne Dukes football | |
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NEC co-champion | |
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 6–51 vs. South Dakota State | |
Conference | Northeast Conference |
Ranking | |
STATS | No. 21 |
FCS Coaches | No. 24 |
Record | 9–4 (5–1 NEC) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Anthony Doria |
Defensive coordinator | Dave Opfar |
Home stadium | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (Capacity: 2,200) |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 21 Duquesne +^ | 5 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sacred Heart + | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central Connecticut | 4 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wagner | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saint Francis (PA) | 2 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bryant | 2 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert Morris | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
Award watch lists
Award | Player | Position | Year |
---|---|---|---|
Walter Payton Award[1] | A.J. Hines | RB | JR |
NEC coaches poll
The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Dukes predicted to finish in second place.[2]
Predicted finish | Team |
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1 | Central Connecticut |
2 | Duquesne |
3 | Bryant |
4 | Saint Francis |
5 | Wagner |
6 | Sacred Heart |
7 | Robert Morris |
Preseason All-NEC team
The Dukes placed five players on the preseason all-NEC team.[3]
Offense AJ Hines – RB Nehari Crawford – WR Alex Conley – OL Matt Fitzpatrick – OL |
Defense Jonathant Istache – DB |
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 25 | 5:30 p.m. | at UMass* | ELVN | L 15–63 | 8,684 | |
September 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Lock Haven* | NECFR | W 45–0 | 1,830 | |
September 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Valparaiso* |
| NECFR | W 23–21 | 943 |
September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Dayton* |
| NECFR | W 31–26 | 1,534 |
September 23 | 12:00 a.m. | at Hawaii* | SPEC HI | L 21–42 | 26,175 | |
October 6 | 1:00 p.m. | Bryant |
| NECFR | L 20–21 | 2,145 |
October 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Robert Morris |
| ESPN3 | W 48–24 | 2,046 |
October 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at Saint Francis (PA) | NECFR | W 27–20 | 1,532 | |
November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wagner | ESPN3 | W 47–30 | 1,942 | |
November 10 | 12:00 p.m. | Sacred Heart |
| NECFR | W 28–24 | 1,304 |
November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at Central Connecticut | NECFR | W 38–31 | 3,617 | |
November 24 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Towson* | ESPN3 | W 31–10 | 2,158 | |
December 1 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 5 South Dakota State* | ESPN3 | L 6–51 | 3,042 | |
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- Source: Schedule
Game summaries
At UMass
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 15 |
Minutemen | 21 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 63 |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lock Haven
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bald Eagles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dukes | 14 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 45 |
Valparaiso
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Crusaders | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Dukes | 7 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 23 |
Dayton
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Flyers | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
Dukes | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
At Hawaii
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Rainbow Warriors | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
Bryant
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Dukes | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
Robert Morris
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colonials | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
Dukes | 7 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 48 |
At Saint Francis (PA)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 27 |
Red Flash | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
At Wagner
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 7 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 47 |
Seahawks | 6 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 30 |
Sacred Heart
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
Dukes | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
At Central Connecticut
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
Blue Devils | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
FCS Playoffs
At Towson–First Round
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 31 |
No. 16 Tigers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
At South Dakota State–Second Round
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dukes | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
No. 5 Jackrabbits | 7 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 51 |
Ranking movements
Week | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
STATS FCS | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 21 |
Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 24 |