Sept. 21, 2016 Duquesne welcomes Kennesaw State to Rooney Field for a Homecoming matchup on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1:05 p.m. This is the first meeting between Duquesne and second-year FCS program Kennesaw State. KSU, which competes in the Big South Conference, is off to a 1-1 start with a 20-17 home loss to East Tennessee State and a 49-3 win over NAIA Point University. This is the first road game for the Owls. The game will be streamed live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app with Todd McCall and Tim Benz calling the action. The game will also be available through NEC Front Row. This is the third of six ESPN3 games for the Dukes.
ABOUT DUQUESNE
The Dukes won their third Northeast Conference title in five years, finishing the 2015 season 8-4 (5-1 NEC) and playing in their first ever FCS Playoff. Picked to defend as 2016 NEC champions by the league's coaches, the Red and Blue return seven starters on offense and six on defense, including six players who were named to the 2016 NEC Preseason Team. Duquesne is coming off a 34-20 win over Dayton on Rooney Field last Saturday. The win was the second in a row for the Dukes, who defeated Bucknell , 30-19, on Sept. 10. This is the third of three consecutive home games for the Dukes.
LAST GAME
In a match up of 2015 NCAA FCS Playoff teams, Duquesne stormed back from a 20-9 second quarter deficit to defeat Dayton, 34-20 on Rooney Field. The Dukes scored the game's final 25 points in notching their second consecutive win and eighth-straight win at home. The Dukes outscored the Flyers 19-0 and outgained them 231-50 in the second half - with 53 of Dayton's second-half yards coming on one play. All-America linebacker Christian Kuntz led the defensive charge with a team-high 9 tackles, including 6 for loss. Kuntz, who earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his effort, was credited with 3 sacks, 1 fumble forced and 1 pass broken up. Freshman running back A.J. Hines sparked the offense with 110 of his career-high 189 yards rushing coming on 12 second-half carries. Hines scored on a 10-yard run to make it 20-15 with 37 seconds left in the first half. His 37-yard TD run with 7:33 left closed out the scoring. Receiver Wayne Capers added a career-high 8 catches for 143 yards - including a 20-yard TD - for the Dukes. DU, which finished with 28 first downs, outgained UD 478-201.
HOME SWEET HOME
Duquesne is 96-26-0 all time at Rooney Field including winning streaks of 16, 14 and 10 games (twice). Duquesne owns non-conference home wins over Dayton (five times), Bucknell (four times), Lafayette (twice), Albany, VMI, Monmouth, Butler, Morehead State and Fordham among others over the past 16 seasons. DU is 40-11 all-time in non-conference home games (23-2 under Jerry Schmitt) on Rooney Field, including a current string of 17 straight wins. The Dukes are currently riding an eight-game overall home win streak. DU's last home loss came to Bryant on Nov. 8, 2014 (20-17). The last non-conference team to defeat Duquesne on Rooney Field was Bucknell in the 2007 season opener (28-19 on Sept. 1, 2007).
A GEORGIA RARITY
This will be Duquesne's second-ever game against a team from the state of Georgia, the first being a 40-0 loss at the University of Georgia on Nov. 19, 1949. The defeat at UGA came in the third year of the reformation of the football program following WWII. DU, which was among the nation's top teams prior to disbanding following the 1942 season to help with the war effort, would never fully return to the same level of play following the conflict. Duquesne dropped the program following the 1950 season and was reinstated as a club team in 1969.
QUICK HITS
• Duquesne, which is coming off an 8-4 (5-1/1st in NEC) season, was the unanimous choice to repeat as Northeast Conference Champion in a vote of league coaches.
• The Dukes are in their 12th season under head coach Jerry Schmitt. Schmitt, who has led DU to six conference titles in 11 years, received a five-year contract extension on August 31, securing him on the Bluff through the 2020-21 school year. The Pittsburgh native led the Dukes to three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League titles before the program moved to the NEC and began granting scholarships in 2008. The two-time MAAC Coach of the Year, has led DU to three NEC titles in the past five years, including the school's first outright championship and NCAA appearance last year.
• DU is 21-13 in NEC play over the past five seasons. The Dukes went 4-11 in their first two seasons in the conference while making the transition to a scholarship model.
• Six Dukes were named 2016 Preseason All-NEC: senior QB Dillon Buechel, senior WR Wayne Capers and junior OL Ben Huss were all named on offense and senior LB Christian Kuntz, senior DL Jake Radziukinas and junior LB Nathan Stone were tabbed on defense. DU's six selections were the most of any NEC team (Saint Francis U and Sacred Heart had four each on the 27-man team).
• A.J. Hines' 189 yards rushing vs. Dayton on Sept. 17 (29-189-2) was the second-highest total by a DU running back since the program moved to the FCS level in 1993. The freshman record of 195 yards was set by all-time leading rusher Larry McCoy at Nicholls on Sept. 12, 2009.
• Senior consensus All-America linebacker Christian Kuntz enters Saturdays's game with 22.5 career sacks. The sack total, which ranks fourth on DU's all-time list, also ranks fifth among all active FCS players. Kuntz, who has led the nation in tackles for loss twice (2013 & 2015), had six TFLs, including three sacks, in the Sept. 17 win over Dayton. He was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for his effort.
• Senior quarterback Dillon Buechel is also climbing in the Duquesne record book. Buechel currently ranks second in passing yards (8,212), second in completion percentage (.576) and fourth in TD passes (55). He also ranks second in both passes attempted and completed. Buechel is 333 yards shy of passing his offensive coordinator - Anthony Doria - for second place on the Northeast Conference all-time passing yardage list. Doria threw for 8,544 yards at Saint Francis U from 2003-06. The NEC all-time record in 8,803 yards set by Sacred Heart's Dale Fink from 2007-10.
• Senior Austin Crimmins is putting together the top kicking career in Duquesne FCS annals. The Ebensburg, Pa. native already has 10 more field goals (49) than any player in school history. In addition, his 38.2 career punting average is on pace to break the current mark of 37.6 set by Orlando Bellisario from 1997-99. Crimmins' 248 points are the most by a DU kicker.
• Senior right tackle Larson Graham leads the Dukes with 38 consecutive starts. No other player on the offensive side of the football has started more than 16 (tight end Kevin Enright). Defensively, inside linebacker Nate Stone has the most consecutive starts at 27.
