Oct. 12, 2006
#7 DUQUESNE (4-2) at SAINT PETER'S (0-5)
Saturday, Oct. 14 at 12:00 p.m.
Cochrane Stadium (4,000) -- Jersey City, N.J.Ranking listed is from The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10DUKES FOOTBALL WILL BE INTERNET-ONLY THIS SEASON
Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Bob Healy (color)
*Bob Healy & Brad Salvatore will call the Saint Peter's game*
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DUKES PUT 37-GAME WIN STREAK BACK ON THE LINE
Duquesne (4-2), coming off a 20-17 win at Fordham on Saturday, opens Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League play at Saint Peter's (0-5, 0-0) on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1:00 p.m. (internet-only at www.redzonemedia.com). This is the MAAC opener for both schools.
Duquesne, currently ranked No. 7 in The Sports Network Mid-Major Top 10, went 4-2 in non-conference play with wins over Northeast Conference foes at Robert Morris, Saint Francis and Sacred Heart. The fourth win was at Fordham (Patriot League). DU's two losses have come by a total of five points (31-28 in overtime at Bucknell and 21-19 to West Liberty State).
The Dukes enter conference play with a 37-game MAAC Football League win streak. DU has claimed nine league championships in the past 11 seasons (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005). The last team to defeat the Dukes in MAAC play was Iona, which took a 62-50 decision at New Rochelle, N.Y. on Oct. 23, 1999. Duquesne's 37-game streak is the longest in I-AA history and the third-longest among Division I-A and I-AA schools. (Oklhaoma won 44 Big Eight games in a row between 1952-59 and Nebraska won 39 straight Big Eight/Big 12 games from 1992-98.) Saint Peter's is 0-5 this season including an 0-1 mark at home.
THE SERIES
Duquesne leads the overall series 12-0 - including a 6-0 mark at Jersey City ... the Dukes have outscored the Peacocks by an average of 30.8 points per game (37.2-6.4) in the series that dates back to 1994 ... in the last four games, the Dukes have limited the Peacocks to a total of 18 points (14-3 in 2002, 39-7 in 2003, 34-8 in 2004 and 24-0 last year).
DUQUESNE LATELY
- Duquesne leads the nation in passing offense at 303.8 ypg
- Sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp, who has been named MAAC Offensive Player of the Week four times in six weeks, has completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,813 yards and 16 TDs (10 to junior receiver Bruce Hocker) ... Knapp's touchdown total is already better than the 10 he threw for in seven games last season ... Knapp ranks fourth nationally in total offense (297.8 ypg.) and eighth in passing efficiency (158.75) ... Knapp has thrown for 744 yards in his last two games
- Senior receiver Dan Spriggs has 14 receptions in DU's last two games
- Fellow wideout, junior Bruce Hocker has 17 catches for 302 in the Dukes' last two outings ... Hocker's 10 TD receptions rank tied for sixth on DU's single-season list ... the school record of 16 was set by Reggie Harris in 2000
Last Meeting - October 15, 2006
Duquesne held Saint Peter's to 150 yards of total offense in extending its conference win streak to a (then) nation's-best 34 games with a convincing 24-0 win over the Peacocks at Rooney Field. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Dukes, who evened their overall record at 3-3 (1-0 in the MAAC). The loss dropped Saint Peter's to 1-5 (0-2 in the MAAC). Antoine Bullock led the way for Duquesne with a career-high 12 tackles, including 3.0 sacks to move him into a tie for second on the Dukes' all-time sacks list with 23.5. IBullock ended his DU career with 27.5 sacks, top on the list)
NOTES FROM FORDHAM
- The start of the game was delayed an hour because Duquesne's team buses took an incorrect route to the game
- The win was Duquesne's eighth over a Patriot League school ... no other mid-major school has more than five victories over Patriot League members ... all eight DU wins have come in the past six seasons ... it was also Duquesne's last non-conference game of the season
- The Dukes put their 37-game Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League win streak on the line beginning this weekend at Saint Peter's
- Sophomore quarterback Scott Knapp (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Perry Traditional Academy) finished the game 35-of-48 for 363 yards and three touchdowns ... the 35 pass completions were six more than the previous school record of 29 held by Niel Loebig (accomplished three times between 2002-04) ... Knapp's attempts were also a new career high ... Knapp competed passes to 10 different receivers ... his scoring passes covered 11, 7 and 16 yards ... Knapp has thrown for 16 scores in six games
- Junior receiver Bruce Hocker (Upper Marlboro, Md. / Eleanor Roosevelt) posted a career-high 10 catches for 125 yards and a score ... he became just the seventh DU player to catch 10 or more passes in a game ... it was his third 100-yard game of the season ... Hocker has caught at least one TD pass in five of Duquesne's six games
- Senior Dan Spriggs (Baltimore, Md. / Calvert Hill College) caught seven passes for the second consecutive weekend ... Spriggs finished with 75 yards
- Freshman Sean Bunevich's (North Ridgeville, Ohio / North Ridgeville) first career reception was a seven-yard score from Knapp that gave the Dukes a 13-10 lead
- Sophomore fullback-turned-linebacker Greg Hough (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) picked off his first career pass and added a sack for the Dukes ... Hough, who moved to the other side of the ball prior to the season, picked off a John Skelton pass at the DU 20 late in the fourth quarter to halt a Fordham scoring drive ... Duquesne scored on the ensuing possession to take a 20-10 lead
- Freshman Mykol Gardiner (Cleveland, Ohio / Benedictine) led Duquesne with nine tackles (four solo) including 2.5 sacks for -14 yards