OPENING KICKOFF

• Duquesne caps a three-game home stand hosting Dayton in a non-conference matchup Saturday at Rooney Field.
• The Dukes topped Valparaiso 23-21 at home last week while the Flyers fell by a score of 40-21 on the road at Southeast Missouri.
• Running back A.J. Hines finished with a career-high 31 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Valpo.
• Duquesne owns a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series with Dayton which dates back to the 1920 season. The Dukes have also captured five straight victories over the Flyers at Rooney Field.
• In a 28-23 road win over the Flyers last season, Nehari Crawford recorded six catches for 125 yards and a touchdown while Kellon Taylor added two receptions for 47 yards and a score.
• Duquesne is 25-3 in home non-conference games under 14th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt. Schmitt is 7-3 all-time against Dayton.

QUICK HITS

• The Dukes play their final home non-conference game of the season on Saturday hosting Dayton.
• Duquesne travels to Hawaii next week followed by a bye week before beginning Northeast Conference play against Bryant on Oct. 6 at Rooney Field.
• Saturday's matchup with the Flyers features two of the top running backs at the FCS level in Duquesne's A.J. Hines and Dayton's Tucker Yinger. Yinger is third among active FCS leaders in career rushing yards with 2,671 followed by Hines in fourth with 2,600 yards.
• 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.
• The Dukes put together a seven-game winning streak in 2017, their most victories in a row since posting 11 straight wins to open the 2002 season.
• DU has recorded 52 wins since 2011, at least eight more victories than any other NEC team. In addition, the Dukes' 30 conference wins in that time span are the most in the league. Duquesne has registered at least seven total victories in three straight seasons and five of the last seven years.
• For the first time in program history, the Dukes will face two FBS opponents in the same season in 2018. Duquesne traveled to Massachusetts to open the season on Aug. 25 and will make the trip to Hawaii for a Sept. 22 matchup. These are both first-time opponents for DU and represent the second and third games, respectively, against FBS teams for the Dukes. Duquesne took on Buffalo to open the 2014 season.

THE SERIES

• The Dukes are 9-6 all-time against the Flyers in the series that dates back to 1920.
• Duquesne has won five straight over Dayton at Rooney Field.
• The Dukes have won three of their last four meetings with the Flyers including a 28-23 victory at Welcome Stadium in Dayton last season and a 34-20 triumph at Rooney Field in 2016.
• Jerry Schmitt vs. Dayton: 7-3
• Rick Chamberlin vs. Duquesne: 3-7

GAME COVERAGE

► TV: NEC Front Row
Tim Benz (PxP) / Ellis Cannon (Analyst)

► RADIO: WJAS AM 1320 / iHeartRadio
Alex Panormios (PxP) / Tad Maurey (Analyst)

► LIVE STATS: www.DUQSTATS.com
 

LAST MEETING

Duquesne 28, Dayton 23
Sept. 16, 2017

• Tommy Stuart accounted for all four Dukes touchdowns as Duquesne held off Dayton by a score of 28-23 at Welcome Stadium.
• After the Flyers took a 7-0 lead, Duquesne answered with two straight touchdowns on a 58-yard scoring strike from Stuart to Nehari Crawford followed by a one-yard touchdown run by Stuart.
• Dayton evened it up at 14-14 with a punt return for a touchdown before Stuart and the Dukes marched 68 yards on nine plays capped by a 15-yard touchdown connection from Stuart to Kellon Taylor, putting DU up 21-14 at halftime.
• In the third quarter, with the Dukes clinging to a 21-17 lead after a Dayton field goal, the Flyers were threatening deep into Duquesne territory when Stephan Osong forced a fumble which was recovered by Brett Zanotto. That set up a nine-play, 81-yard scoring drive which was capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Stuart to push the Dukes' advantage to 28-17.
• A Tucker Yinger five-yard touchdown run cut the DU lead to 28-23 with just over four minutes to play.
• Stuart completed 19-of-31 passes for 253 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and an interception. He added 14 carries for 56 yards and two
• touchdowns on the ground.
• Even with A.J. Hines out of the lineup, the Dukes still tallied 184 rushing yards highlighted by P.J. Fulmore's 83 yards on 21 carries. Ricky Mellick added 49 yards on 11 rushes.
• With the triumph, Duquesne picked up its first win at Welcome Stadium since 2011.

SCOUTING DAYTON

• The Flyers are coming off a 5-6 finish in 2017 with a 4-4 mark in Pioneer League action.
• Dayton was picked to finish second in the Pioneer League in 2018 behind defending champion San Diego.
• Offensive tackle Ben Gauthier, safety David Leisring, punter Sean Smith, defensive end Nick Surges, tight end Adam Trautman, wide receiver/long snapper Matt Tunnacliffe and running back Tucker Yinger were each named to the Preseason All-PFL team.
• The Flyers opened the season with a 49-28 win over Robert Morris at home before falling by a score of 40-21 on the road at Southeast Missouri last week.
• Running back Tucker Yinger has recorded 254 rushing yards with a pair of touchdowns in the first two games of the season. He had 139 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown vs. RMU and 22 touches for 115 yards and a score at SEMO.

LAST TIME OUT

Duquesne 23, Valpo 21
Sept. 8, 2018

• A.J. Hines rushed for 137 yards and matched a career-high with three touchdowns to help Duquesne secure a 23-21 come-from-behind win over visiting Valparaiso on Saturday at Rooney Field.
• Chris Duncan's 58-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Norberg down the left sideline on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Crusaders ahead 21-17.
• Later in the period following a Valpo punt, Hines would rush six times for 44 yards on the Dukes' drive, capped by his third touchdown run of the afternoon from one yard out to give Duquesne a 23-21 advantage.
• On the ensuing Valpo drive, back-to-back sacks by Daquan Worley and Mike O'Malley followed by a pair of incomplete passes sealed the win for the Dukes.
• Daniel Parr completed 17-of-25 pass attempts for 235 yards. Nehari Crawford recorded six catches for 85 yards while junior wide out Kellon Taylor added three receptions for a career-best 70 yards.
• Spencer DeMedal registered eight tackles (five solo) to lead the DU defense.

LOOKING AHEAD

Duquesne at Hawaii
Sept. 22, 2018

• The Dukes will make the trip to Hawaii next week to wrap up the non-conference slate.
• The furthest Duquesne has traveled since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 1992, was to Thibodaux, Louisiana to face Nicholls State in 2009.
• Hawaii is 3-0 on the season heading into this week's game at Army. The Rainbow Warriors will face the Black Knights at noon ET on Saturday which is 6 a.m. HT.
• Hawaii has scored 43 points twice and 59 points once in its first three games of the season.
• The Rainbow Warriors were picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the Mountain West preseason poll.

FOLLOW THE DUKES IN HAWAII

There are three ways to follow the Dukes when they take on Hawaii next week. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. HT which is midnight ET.

1. Free Live Stream via the Stadium App

2. Listen on the Radio via WJAS 1320

3. Follow live stats on GoDuquesne.com
 

► Free Live Stream via Stadium App

On your iPhone or iPad:

• Open the App Store
• Search for: Stadium
• Download the app
• Tap on "Go Directly to Stadium"
• Tap on "Live Events" in the bottom navigation
• Navigate to Duquesne at Hawaii
   

► For complete instructions on how to listen to the Dukes on WJAS 1320 / iHeart radio, or to follow live statistics of the game, visit GoDuquesne.com.

HINES CLIMBS RECORD BOOKS; AMONG FCS CAREER LEADERS

• Running back A.J. Hines (Wilson, N.C./Fike) returns for his junior campaign at Duquesne having compiled 2,600 career rushing yards with 27 touchdowns.
• Hines ranks fifth in school history in career rushing touchdowns and sixth in career rushing yards.
• As a sophomore, the former Jerry Rice Award winner finished with 1,038 yards with 10 rushing touchdowns in 10 games played.
• The Wilson, N.C. has tallied 14 100-yard rushing games in his career, good for a tie for third in school history.
• Hines is second among active FCS leaders in career rushing yards per game, averaging 113.0 yards per contest in his career. In addition, he is fifth among active FCS leaders in total rushing yards, including first among underclassmen.

VETERAN DUO LEADS DUQUESNE O-LINE

• Left tackle Alex Conley and left guard Matt Fitzpatrick are each in their third year starting for the Dukes on the offensive line.
• The pair helped the Dukes pace the NEC in rushing in each of the last two seasons.
• Conley and Fitzpatrick has blocked for 14 100-yard rushing performances for running back A.J. Hines, including a three touchdown, 137-yard performance in the victory over Valpo.
• Through the first three games of the season, Duquesne has only allowed two sacks.

CRAWFORD CONTINUES TO PACE RECEIVING CORPS

• Senior wide receiver Nehari Crawford (Fort Pierce, Fla./Fort Pierce Central) enjoyed a breakout year in 2017 in which he led the FCS in receiving touchdowns at the end of the regular season with 15. The Florida native is looking to replicate that production in his final season on the Bluff.
• Crawford had recorded 16 catches for 84 yards and three touchdowns through the first three contests of 2018.
• Crawford recorded 65 catches for 1,026 yards, averaging a league-high 93.3 receiving yards per contest last season. He registered five 100-yard receiving games and six games with multiple touchdowns. Crawford had career highs of 10 receptions and 167 yards with a pair of scores against CCSU, one of his five games with at least six catches for 100 yards and two scores.
• He is currently tied for sixth in school history in career touchdown receptions.

PARR TAKES OVER UNDER CENTER

• For the second straight season, the Dukes entered the year looking to replace their signal-caller from the previous campaign. Head coach Jerry Schmitt and offensive coordinator Anthony Doria will look to Florida Atlantic junior transfer Daniel Parr to fill the void.
• Parr was 58-of-111 with four touchdowns in two seasons at FAU. He started the first three games of the 2017 season against Navy, Wisconsin and Bethune-Cookman while appearing in eight games total. Through three games with the Dukes, Parr is 43-of-69 for 555 yards with three touchdowns.
• In 2017, graduate transfer quarterback Tommy Stuart became the first Duquesne player to garner NEC Offensive Player of the Year accolades after a standout lone season with the Dukes. The Boise State transfer replaced four-year starter Dillon Buechel, who finished his career as the NEC's all-time passing leader.

DEMEDAL, ZANOTTO ANCHOR DUKES DEFENSE

• Safety Spencer DeMedal and middle linebacker Brett Zanotto have paced the Duquesne defense so far this season, as DeMedal has recorded a team-high 20 tackles (10 solo) with Zanotto registering 18 tackles (team-high 11 solo) through the first three games of the season.
• Zanotto is in his second second with the Dukes after transferring from Maryland. He ranked second on the team in 2017 with 59 stops (41 solo).
• DeMedal is in his first season starting in the secondary for Duquesne after primarily playing special teams as a freshman last year.
• Zanotto, a Franklin Regional graduate and DU captain was tied for fifth in the NEC in 2017 with 11 tackles for loss. He moved from outside linebacker to the mike position for the 2018 season.

• Duquesne University Athletics coaches shows will make the move from radio to television in 2018-19, through an agreement with AT&T SportsNet announced earlier this week.
• Football shows are scheduled to air on August 23 & 30; September  6, 13 & 27; October 4, 11 & 18 and November 8 & 15, all of which fall on Thursdays.
• The shows, which will be hosted by Pittsburgh Tribune Review columnist and Steelers Radio Network host Tim Benz, will be presented by UMPC and Red Ring Bar & Grille.