Sept. 17, 2003

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Radio: (Fox Sports Pittsburgh - WBGG-AM 970)
Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Chris Kucharski (color)
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DUKES FACE DEFENDING IVY LEAGUE CHAMPS

Duquesne, which evened its record at 1-1 with a 49-0 home win over Butler on Saturday, heads to Philadelphia to take on defending Ivy League champion Penn at historic Franklin Field on Saturday, Sept. 20. The game, set for a 6:00 p.m. kick, is the season-opener for the Quakers. The game will air locally on WBGG-AM 970, and will be streamed over the internet atwww.RedZoneMedia.com.

Penn returns 15 starters, including 12 All-Ivy players from last year's 9-1 (7-0 in the Ivy) squad. The Quakers, who finished last season ranked No. 16 and No. 17 respectively by the Sports Network and ESPN/ USA Today bring a No. 23 ranking in the Sports Network poll into Saturday's game (Penn is ranked #26 by ESPN/USA Today). Duquesne, currently ranked No. 2 among I-AA Mid-Major schools by the Sports Network, opened the season with a 28-21 loss at Bucknell on Aug. 30. DU is 38-15 on the road under 11th year head coach Greg Gattuso.

DUQUESNE LATELY

The Dukes enter the Penn game ranked No. 1 nationally in passing offense ... DU, which threw for 353 yards at Bucknell and 338 vs. Butler, is averaging 345.5 yards per game through the air ... junior QB Niel Loebig is ranked fourth nationally in total offense with 312 yards per game ... Loebig has thrown for 635 yards and six TDs in DU's first two outings ... he has completed 54.3 percent of his passes and has a 137.21 pass efficiency rating ... junior WR Michel Warfield, who has topped the 100-yard receiving mark in each of DU's first two games, ranks fourth nationally in receiving yards at 129 per game ... Warfield entered this season with 13 catches for 259 yards and 3 TDs in 12 career games ... through two games this season, the Oxon Hill, Md. native has 12 catches for 258 yards (21.5 ypc.) and four scores ... fellow receiver Randy Vulakovich ranks 12th nationally in catches per game at 6.5/g. ... he has 13 grabs for 155 yards this season ... Yardon Brantley enters the Penn game with 1,927 career receiving yards ... the Reading, Pa. native has caught at least one pass in 34 consecutive games (35 including the 2001 ECAC Classic) ... Brantley caught a pair of TD passes vs. Butler (36, 20), giving him 19 for his career (6th on DU's all-time list).

JUNIOR TDS

DU's Niel Loebig has thrown for more career touchdowns than any other junior quarterback at either the NCAA Division I or I-AA levels. The leaders through 9/13: Niel Loebig (57), Duquesne, Bruce Eugene (55), Grambling, Timmy Chang (52), Hawaii, Ben Roethlisberger (50), Miami, Ohio.

MORE ON PENN

The Quakers, who enter the season with a 14-game home win streak, received 12 of a possible 16 first-place votes (123 total points) in the 2003 Ivy League Football Preseason Media Poll ... Penn is attempting to become the first team since the 1993 & 1994 Quakers to repeat as Ivy League champions ... Penn has won 21 of its last 23 games with the losses coming at Villanova (17-3 on Oct. 10 last year) and at Harvard (Nov. 10, 2001) ... the Quakers averaged 36.3 ppg. last season ... this is the 127th season for Penn football.

THE SERIES

This is Duquesne's first meeting against a school from the Ivy League. DU, which fielded its first team in 1891 (verified results not available until 1902), competed at the NCAA Division I level for 31 seasons intermittently between the years 1902 and 1958.

PLAYING "UP"

Duquesne is once again taking on one of the most challenging non-conference schedules among the I-AA Mid-Majors. In addition to the Penn game, DU has already played at Bucknell (21-28 L on Aug. 30) of the Patriot League, and hosted Pioneer League North foe Butler (49-0 W on Sept. 13). The Dukes will also head to Morehead, Ky. to play Pioneer Football League defending South Division champion Morehead State on Nov. 1. DU's remaining home non-conference opponent is intra-city rival Robert Morris of the NEC (regular-season finale on Nov. 15). Over the last four years, the Dukes have notched some impressive non-conference wins: (1999) 28-17 at Lafayette; (2000) 57-31 at VMI, 44-20 vs. Georgetown and 23-14 vs. Lafayette; (2001) 41-18 vs. VMI and 33-23 at Butler and (2002) 35-14 vs. Bucknell, 35-28 at Dayton and 23-22 vs. Lafayette.

HELP ON WAY FOR O-LINE

The offensive line, which looked to be an area of strength entering this season, played the first two games of the season without two prominent players: senior center Robert Bowser and junior guard Hakim Carroll. Both Bowser, a second team All-MAAC pick last year, and Carroll, who started every game for the Dukes two years ago, have been cleared to practice. Bowser, who has 23 career starts under his belt, saw his first snaps of the season in the Butler game. The Central Bucks West product was the only I-AA Mid-Major player given a preseason invite to the inaugural I-AA College Football All-Star Classic set for Dec. 30 at Baton Rouge, La. Carroll will begin practice this week. In two games, the retooled offensive front - which features one returnee with meaningful playing time last season in senior left tackle Ken Chambon - has given up just three sacks in 85 pass attempts.