OPENING KICKOFF

• Duquesne continues NEC play with a road contest at intrastate foe Saint Francis U on Saturday in Loretto.
• The Dukes snapped a two-game skid with a 48-24 triumph over crosstown rival Robert Morris last Saturday under the lights at Rooney Field.
• A.J. Hines was named the NEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after tallying 182 rushing yards with three touchdowns in the win over the Colonials. Hines is fourth in the FCS with nine rushing touchdowns on the year. 
• Nehari Crawford ranks eighth in the FCS with 710receiving yards on the season. The senior also sits third in school history with 161 career receptions and fifth in touchdown catches with 28.
• Duquesne is 36-8 all-time against SFU including a 15-6 mark in Loretto.
• The Dukes have dropped two straight against the Red Flash in Loretto, including a 14-10 in the teams' last meeting at DeGol Field in 2016, a game which ended up deciding the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.

QUICK HITS

• The Dukes have enjoyed a great deal of success in NEC play, claiming four conference titles since 2011. Duquesne won a share of the league crown in 2011, 2013 and 2016 while capturing the outright title in 2015, earning the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
• The Dukes are 15-5 in NEC action since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, including a 9-2 mark at Rooney Field. Duquesne is now 9-2 in NEC openers following the loss to Bryant.
• DU has recorded 54 wins since 2011, at least eight more victories than any other NEC team. In addition, the Dukes' 31 conference wins in that time span are the most in the league.
• Nehari Crawford paces the NEC and ranks eighth in the FCS with 710 receiving yards on the season. He s also seventh in the country with seven receiving touchdowns. Crawford's 22 receiving touchdowns since the start of last season are the most at the FCS level.
• NEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week A.J. Hines leads the NEC and sits fourth in the FCS with nine rushing touchdowns on the season.
• With the Dukes looking for some depth at the running back position last week against Robert Morris, defensive back Daquan Worley made his debut in the DU backfield, recording seven carries for 96 yards with two touchdowns, including a 52-yard rushing score.
• Duquesne is not slated to leave the state of Pennsylvania again until a Nov. 3 matchup at Wagner in Staten Island, N.Y. After taking on Bryant and Robert Morris at home to open NEC action, the Dukes make the short trip to Loretto, Pa. to battle Saint Francis U this week. DU will then have a bye in the last week of October.
• The Dukes have six games at Rooney Field in 2018 (three non-conference matchups, three NEC contests) in addition to the game at Saint Francis U. This comes a year after DU played seven road games in seven different states in 2017.
• Duquesne returns 11 starters from last year's team which posted a 7-4 overall mark and a 4-2 ledger in Northeast Conference play.
• Duquesne has registered at least seven total victories in three straight seasons and five of the last seven years.
• In a total of 20 night games (6 p.m. kick off or later) at Arthur J. Rooney Field, Duquesne now owns a 16-4 record, including a 3-1 mark against RMU.
• In the Dukes' game against Bryant, Duquesne sported new helmet decals, wearing red jersey numbers on the left side with a transparent "D" logo with blue outline on the right side. The back of the helmet featured a blue Pittsburgh city skyline silhouette.
• Duquesne will return to that helmet design this week after wearing Pittsburgh Steeler logo decals in last week's win over Robert Morris, as the Steelers offered their prayers and support to the family, friends and teammates of Marquis "Jaylen" Brown. The helmet paid tribute to "JB."

THE SERIES

• Duquesne and the Red Flash have a long and storied rivalry, as the Dukes have faced Saint Francis more than any other school in program history.
• Duquesne owns a 36-8 advantage in the series which dates back over 100 years to the 1913 campaign.
• The Dukes are 21-2 all-time against Saint Francis in Pittsburgh and 8-0 at Rooney Field, while holding a 15-6 edge over the Red Flash in Loretto.
• However, Duquesne has dropped three of its last four meetings and two straight matchups against Saint Francis at DeGol Field.
• This includes a 14-10 defeat to the Red Flash in the Dukes' last visit to Loretto in 2016, a loss which ended up costing Duquesne its second straight bid to the FCS postseason. The Dukes clinched the NEC title and the league's FCS Playoff bid with a 30-20 win over Saint Francis in 2015 at Rooney Field.
• This year's contest will feature the two top wide receivers in the NEC in Duquesne's Nehari Crawford and Kamron Lewis of Saint Francis.
• The two rank atop the league in most receiving statistical categories, with Crawford pacing the league in receiving yards and touchdowns while Lewis, the 2016 NEC Offensive Player of the Year, leads the conference in receptions per game.
• 2018 marks the 14th consecutive season in which the Dukes and Red Flash will square off, with Duquesne seeking its 11th win over Saint Francis in that span.
• Duquesne 14th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt is 10-3 all-time against the Red Flash while SFU head coach Chris Villarrial is 2-5 vs. the Dukes.

GAME COVERAGE

► WATCH: NEC FRONT ROW

Pat Farabaugh (PxP) / Jay Roberts (Analyst)

► RADIO: WJAS AM 1320 / iHeartRadio

Alex Panormios (PxP) / Tad Maurey (Analyst)

► LIVE STATS: SFUathletics.com

SCOUTING SAINT FRANCIS U

• The Red Flash features the top defense in the NEC, pacing the league in scoring defense (21.8 ppg), total defense (293.2 ypg) and rushing defense (105.0 ypg).
• Saint Francis fell in the closing seconds at Wagner last week 23-22 on a wide receiver reverse pass play after Kamron Lewis caught the go-ahead touchdown with just two minutes remaining.
• Lewis, a STATS FCS Preseason All-American, leads the conference with 6.2 receptions per game.
• Nick Rinella is a dangerous weapon in the return game for the Red Flash, ranking second in the country in punt return average (19.9 ypr) and in kick return yards (604).
• Linebacker Ben Bruni sits third in the conference averaging 8.3 tackles per game.

LAST TIME OUT

Duquesne 48, Robert Morris 24

• A.J. Hines and Daquan Worley combined for 278 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Duquesne forced three turnovers in a 48-24 NEC victory over visiting local foe Robert Morris.
• The Dukes, who snapped a two-game skid with the win, finished with 321 rushing yards in the contest, their first 300-yard performance since tallying 373 yards in a 47-7 triumph over Kentucky Christian on Sept. 15, 2015.
• Hines matched a career-high with three rushing scores, registering 27 carries for a season-best 182 yards on the ground.
• Worley, a defensive back, logged his first career touches on the offensive side of the ball, finding the end zone twice. He totaled seven carries for 96 yards on the night for Duquesne.
• Saturday marked Duquesne's first game with five rushing touchdowns since a 45-42 win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 14, 2009.
• The Dukes improve to 13-7 all-time against the Colonials including a 9-2 mark on the Bluff. ► Duquesne has won nine straight over RMU at Rooney Field.
• Duquesne recorded 513 total yards of offense, its first 500-yard output since registering 542 yards in a win at Valparaiso last season.
• Daniel Parr completed 17-of-23 pass attempts (73.9 pct) for 192 yards and a touchdown to go with nine carries for 43 rushing yards.
• Jonathant Istache posted four tackles (two solo) with an interception and three pass breakups.
• Spencer DeMedal tallied a career-high 11 tackles (10 solo) with a fumble recovery to lead Duquesne followed by Brandon Stanback with eight tackles (seven solo) with a forced fumble.
• Mitch MacZura connected on a pair of field goals for Duquesne (30,31). He is now 5-for-5 on the year.

LAST MEETING

Duquesne 24, Saint Francis U 7 (Oct. 21, 2017)

• Duquesne overcame an early deficit, scoring 24 unanswered points and forcing two first-half turnovers en route to a 24-7 victory over visiting SFU.
• The Dukes held St. Francis to a season-low 153 total yards, including just 30 yards on the ground. The Red Flash came into the game averaging 353.0 yards on the year. Meanwhile, Duquesne finished with 377 total yards in the triumph.
• Duquesne limited the Red Flash offense to just 48 yards in the second half.
• Tommy Stuart completed 15-of-22 pass attempts for 142 yards and a touchdown to go with 11 rushes for 46 yards and a rushing score
• A.J. Hines ran for a game-high 123 yards on 28 carries.
• Chavas Rawlins paced the Dukes' receiving corps with five receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.
• Jonathant Istache led the Duquesne defense with seven tackles (six solo) with a pair of pass breakups and a forced fumble. The Dukes had five sacks by five different players on the afternoon.
• St. Francis wide receiver Kamron Lewis, who had 15 receptions the previous week at Bryant, was held to just three receptions.

LOOKING AHEAD

Duquesne at Wagner

• Following a bye next week, the Dukes will travel to Grymes Hill to take on Wagner on ESPN3.
• Duquesne defeated the Seahawks 38-0 last season in the homecoming game at Rooney Field, the Dukes' first shutout win since 2014.
• Nehari Crawford had two touchdown receptions and 156 receiving yards in the win for DU.
• Wagner is 2-5 on the season but has played the 14th-toughest schedule at the FCS level.