DUQUESNE DUKES (6-3, 4-1 NEC) at BRYANT BULLDOGS (2-8, 1-4 NEC)
Saturday, Nov. 16 / 1 p.m. / Smithfield, R.I. / Beirne Stadium

OPENING KICKOFF
► The Dukes make the trek to Smithfield, R.I. for the final NEC road contest of the season against Bryant on Saturday.

► Duquesne islooking to bounce back from its first NEC loss at Robert Morris last week. The Colonials snapped the Dukes' nine-game NEC winning streak, the longest by an NEC team since RMU won 12 conference contests in a row in 2009-10.

►Bryant hasl ost three in a row overthree ofthe top fourteams in the NEC standings (CCSU, RMU, SHU).

► The DU defense ranks second in the FCS in first downs defense (135), sixth in total defense (296.4 ypg), 10th in pass defense (173.4 ypg) and 19th in scoring defense (21.9 ppg).

► All-American running back A.J. Hines paces all active FCS players in career rushing yards and touchdowns. He is just 37 yards away from passing Larry McCoy as the program's all-time leading rusher.

► The Dukes - picked to repeat as NEC champions in the conference preseason poll - are 23-6 in NEC action since the start of 2015. DU has been selected to finish first or second in the poll for nine straight years.


GAME COVERAGE
Watch: NEC Front Row
Play-by-Play: Tristan Hobbes
Analyst: Tim Lynch

Listen: WJAS 1320 AM / iHeart Radio
Play-by-Play: Alex Panormios
Analyst: Tad Maurey

Live Stats: BryantBulldogs.com


THE SERIES
- Saturday is the 12th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Dukes.

- Bryant has won two in a row over Duquesne and is the only NEC team with a winning record in the all-time series against the Dukes.

- The Bulldogs are 4-2 all-time in Smithfield and 6-4 in the NEC era facing off with Duquesne.

- The Dukes last picked up in a win in Smithfield in 2012, when Larry McCoy had 122 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns and Charlie Leventry connected on a 20-yard field goal with 32 seconds to lift Duquesne to a 24-21 win over Bryant.


SCOUTING BRYANT
- Bryant won two in a row over Merrimack in LIU to snap an 0-5 skid to start the season. Since then, the Bulldogs fell to undefeated CCSU and Robert Morris as well as Sacred Heart.

- Bryant is led by first-year head coach Chris Merritt, who comes to Smithfield after spending the last 18 years as the head coach at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Fla. Former head coach Chris Perry accepted the head coaching position at Brown following the 2018 campaign.

- The Bulldogs boast the second-ranked pass defense in the NEC behind the Dukes, limiting opponents to 179.3 yards per game through the air. However, Bryant is ninth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 29.9 points per game.

- Linebacker Robert Brown is second in the NEC in tackles per game, averaging 8.7 stops per contest. Defensive lineman Tomas Wright is second in the league with 9.0 sacks and third in the conference with 16.5 tackles for loss. Wright has forced five fumbles, the most in the NEC.

- Punter Gavin Rowley leads the NEC in punting average (42.5 ypp) while kicker Luke Samperi is second in the conference connecting on 9-of-10 field goals.


LAST TIME OUT
Robert Morris 41, Duquesne 21
- In a showdown of teams unbeaten in NEC play, Robert Morris picked up a 41-21 victory over visiting Duquesne on Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium.

- The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Dukes (6-3, 4-1), who had also won six straight over the Colonials (6-4, 5-0) coming into Saturday's matchup. The defeat also ended a nine-game NEC winning streak for Duquesne dating back to last season.

- Seven turnovers plagued the Dukes in the loss, as Robert Morris turned those takeaways into 21 points including a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns.

- Making his first career start, Brett Brumbaugh completed 24-of-50 pass attempts for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Dukes.

- Kellon Taylor tallied a career-high 113 yards on six receptions and a touchdown for his second-consecutive 100-yard receiving game.

- Kareem Coles Jr. finished with career highs of 10 catches for 100 yards for the Dukes. It marked the first time Duquesne had two 100-yard receivers in the same contest since Chris King (9-111-TD) and Wayne Capers (6-144) on Nov. 7, 2015 at Sacred Heart.

- Spencer DeMedal recorded a team-high 10 tackles (four solo) while Daivon Ellison and Brendan Thompson added nine tackles apiece for the Dukes.

- The Dukes outgained the Colonials 374-280 in the contest, including 310-72 in the second half.


LAST MEETING (10.6.18)
Bryant 21, Duquesne 20
- Duquesne dropped a 21-20 decision to visiting Bryant in the Dukes' NEC opener at Rooney Field.

- Duquesne went on to win five straight contests and captured its fifth NEC title and secured its second FCS Playoff berth in program history.

- The Bulldogs forced four Dukes first-half turnovers - three of which coming inside the Bryant 15-yard line.

- The game featured five lead changes as well as an hour and 20-minute weather delay.

- Daniel Parr completed 19-of-33 attempts on the day with two touchdowns and an interception.

- A.J. Hines tallied 75 rushing yards on 19 carries and a score to pace Duquesne on the ground.

- Nehari Crawford hauled in six catches for a game-high 113 yards.

- Leandro DeBrito led the Duquesne defense with seven tackles (six solo) to go with a pair of pass breakups.


QUICK HITS
- The Dukes are 23-6 in NEC action since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, including a 13-2 mark at Rooney Field. Duquesne has won three out of the last four NEC titles in that span with a pair of NCAA Playoff appearances.

- DU has recorded 65 wins since 2011, at least 11 more victories than any other NEC team. In addition, the Dukes' 39 conference wins in that time span are the most in the league. Sacred Heart has the second-most wins with 55 while Bryant is second in NEC wins with 30.

- Duquesne was just seven points away from making four straight FCS Playoff appearances after a 14-10 loss at eventual NEC champion Saint Francis U in 2016 and dropping a 28-27 decision to CCSU at Rooney Field in 2017.

- Duquesne ranks second in the FCS in first downs defense (135), sixth in total defense (296.4 ypg), 10th in pass defense (173.4 ypg) and 19th in scoring defense (21.9 pgg).

- The Dukes have forced 11 turnovers in their five NEC contests in 2019.

- Duquesne is the top third-down conversion team in the NEC, converting on 44.7 pct of attempts (59-of-132).

- With a one-yard touchdown rush as time expired in the first half of the Dukes' 28-24 win over Wagner, A.J. Hines set a new Duquesne career record for rushing touchdowns with his 42nd rushing score. He added another touchdown last week at Robert Morris.

- Hines finished with 113 rushing yards in the victory over Wagner, tying Larry McCoy's school record of 24 career 100-yard rushing performances. Hines trails McCoy by just 80 yards as the program's alltime leading rusher.

- Hines eclipsed the 5,000 career all-purpose yardage mark in Saturday's game against Saint Francis U (4,513 rush, 562 receiving, 19 kick return).

- Hines and Mark Allen have been a dynamic duo in the backfield for the Dukes this season, as the pair has combined to rush for 1,234 yards and nine touchdowns on the year. Hines is averaging 94.5 yards per game and Allen 63.3 yards. The two backs have tallied five 100-yard indivudal rushing performances on the season.

- Brendan Thompson leads the Duquesne defense with 63 tackles, including 8.0 TFL and three forced fumbles.

- Spencer DeMedal is second on the team with 50 tackles with 32 solo stops, four tackles for loss and an interception while Harvey Clayton Jr. has 37 tackles, an interception and a team-high four pass breakups.

- Chris Favoroso has recorded team highs of nine tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks in addition to seven quarterback hurries on the season. He is part of a Duquesne defensive line along with First Team All-NEC selection Kam Carter and Mike O'Malley which has played a big role in applying pressure and allowing the Dukes to force turnovers all season.

- The Dukes have had six different players lead them in tackles through the first nine games of the year.

- Both Kellon Taylor and Kareem Coles Jr. hauled in touchdown receptions in the win at Dayton, representing each of their first touchdown grabs of the season.

- In fact, it was Coles Jr.'s first touchdown catch since Sept. 30, 2017 when he tallied a pair of touchdown receptions from quarterback Tommy Stuart. Coles Jr. was tied for the team lead for receiving touchdowns with Nehari Crawford following that game, but missed the rest of the season due to injury. Crawford went on to lead the FCS in touchdown receptions.

- Taylor notched his first career 100-yard receiving game in the win over Saint Francis, hauling in eight receptions to match a career high as well. The 6-5 senior followed that up with another career day at Robert Morris with six receptions for 113 yards. He paces the Dukes with 44 catches for 461 receiving yards with a team-high four touchdown receptions on the year.

- Coles Jr. has 38 catches for 393 yards on the season with three touchdowns. He notched career bests of 10 catches for 100 yards at Robert Morris last Saturday.

- The game at Robert Morris marked the first time Duquesne had two 100-yard receivers in the same contest since Chris King (9-111-TD) and Wayne Capers (6-144) on Nov. 7, 2015 at Sacred Heart.

- Davie Henderson has a pair of touchdown receptions for Duquesne and averages a team-best 18.3 yards per reception while Dominic Thieman has hauled in 17 catches for 258 yards and a pair of scores.

- Head coach Jerry Schmitt returns for his 15th season at the helm of the DU program and 20th overall as a head coach. He has tallied 98 wins at Duquesne, passing Greg Gattuso as the school's all-time winningest coach.

- Schmitt served as offensive coordinator under Gattuso for seven seasons, helping the Dukes post a record of 53-21 before accepting the head coaching position at his alma mater Westminster in March of 2000.

- Duquesne saw its nine-game NEC winning streak end on Saturday at Robert Morris. This represented the longest such streak since for the Dukes since they joined the NEC prior to the 2008 season. Before that, Duquesne won 38 straight conference contests between 1999 and 2006.