Sept. 23, 2010
Complete Game Notes
Game #4 - Dukes open Northeast Conference play at home vs. Albany
ALBANY (1-1) at DUQUESNE (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 25 at 12:00 p.m.
Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (2,200/Sportexe Synthetic Turf) • Pittsburgh, Pa.
RADIO: WMNY-AM 1360 with Alex Panormios (play-by-play) & Tad Maurey (color)
STREAMING AUDIO: RedZoneMedia.com or GoDuquesne.com
LIVE VIDEO & GAMETRACKER: GoDuquesne.com
DUKES HOST ALBANY IN NEC OPENER: Duquesne (2-1), coming off a 30-6 loss at No. 11/12 Delaware, returns home to open Northeast Conference play against Albany on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 12:00 p.m. (WMNY-AM 1360). Albany, picked to finish third in a preseason poll of league coaches is 1-1 on the young season. The Great Danes opened with a 3-0 win at Maine followed by a 59-14 loss at No. 10/12 Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 11. Albany was idle last week. Duquesne, which was seventh in the NEC preseason poll, opened with home wins over Bucknell (17-13) and Dayton (35-31).
DUKES AND GREAT DANES: This is the fourth meeting between Duquesne and four-time Northeast Conference champion Albany ... in the first meeting between the two, UA handed then 11-0 Duquesne a 24-0 defeat in the 2002 ECAC Classic played at Albany's University Field ... it is one of only three times a Duquesne team has been shut out since moving to the FCS level in 1993 ... two years ago, Albany turned two Duquesne fourth-quarter turnovers into 13 points to pull away for a 33-23 win over the Dukes at Rooney Field ... tailback David McCarty was the offensive star for Albany with 230 yards on 37 carries ... Duquesne's Connor Dixon was 21-of-46 for 338 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times ... Duquesne, despite being limited to 114 yards in the second half, outgained Albany 392-312 ... both teams lost a pair of fumbles ... last year, Albany used a quartet of big plays to jump out to a 41-7 halftime lead and cruise to a 55-10 win over Duquesne at University Field ... Albany scored on a 78-yard punt return, 56-yard fumble return, 81-yard touchdown pass and 32-yard touchdown pass all in the game's opening 30 minutes.
ALBANY NOTES: Albany saw its 18-game NEC win streak snapped in a two-point loss at Central Connecticut State last season ... the Great Danes lost eight all-NEC players from last year's team to graduation including the third leading rusher in NEC history - David McCarty ... UA returns nine starters and head coach Bob Ford, who is first in victories amongst active Division I FCS coaches ... the Great Danes have finished within the top half of the NEC standings every season since joining the league in 1999 ... Albany has already faced 2009 NCAA quarterfinalist Stephen F. Austin (L, 14-59) and CAA power Maine (W, 3-0) ... the Great Danes will also take on Ivy League member Yale on Oct. 2.
ON THE DUKES: Duquesne is 1-1 in Northeast Conference openers and 2-6 in NEC home games ... DU ranks 13th nationally in pass defense (136 ypg.) and 40th in passing offense (223.7 ypg.) ... quarterback Sean Patterson ranks 23rd in total offense (261.7 ypg.) ... DU is averaging 333.3 yards per game ... the Dukes managed 326 yards of total offense in last week's 30-6 loss at Delaware ... Delaware entered the game giving up an average of 182.5 yards per game ... DU, which did not give up a sack in 40 pass attempts, was inside the UD 15 three times, but came away with just a field goal (stopped three times inside the three to turn it over on downs after driving 79 yards in 13 plays on its second possession and intercepted at the two-yard-line on the final play of the first half) ... running back Larry McCoy has been the model of consistency with 81, 84 and 88 yards rushing in DU's first three games ... he ranks 44th nationally at 84.3 ypg.
DELAWARE LEFTOVERS: The game was Duquesne's first against a nationally ranked FCS team ... Delaware entered the game ranked No. 11 by the Sports Network and No. 12 by the AFCA ... the crowd of 18,922 was the largest a DU team has played before since the resumption of the program in 1969 ... senior receiver Connor Dixon (South Park, Pa./South Park), set new career highs for catches (8) and yards (117) in notching the first 100-yard game of his career ... Dixon has 15 receptions in his past two games ... sophomore kicker Eric Duale (Hinckley, Ohio/Highland) kicked a pair of field goals (41, 26) ... the 41-yarder was a career long ... the Dukes were without starting receiver Akeem Moore (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood) who missed the game with an ankle injury ... Moore, who injured the ankle in the win over Dayton, has nine catches for 112 yards on the season ... senior linebacker Nathan Totino (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) finished with a team-high eight tackles ... DU's team-leader in total tackles in each of the past two seasons, Totino has led the Dukes in stops in each of the first three games of 2010 (he had 13 vs. Bucknell and eight vs. Dayton).
