G9 | DUQUESNE vs CENTRAL CONNECTICUT*
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 13
TIME: 12:00 pm ET
LOCATION: Pittsburgh, Pa. • Arthur J. Rooney Field
TELEVISION: ESPN3 with Paul Dottino (pxp), Rasheed Marshall (analyst) and John Schmeelk (sideline)
RADIO: BIG 104.7 FM HD2 / ESPN 970 AM / iHeart Radio with Alex Panormios (pxp) and Tad Maurey (analyst)

OPENING KICKOFF
- Duquesne caps the home portion of the 2021 season on Saturday hosting Central Connecticut at Arthur J. Rooney Field. The Dukes snapped a two-game skid with a 34-28 road win at LIU last Saturday while the Blue Devils have won two-straight games after defeating Bryant by a score of 30-15 at home last week. Both teams sit at 3-2 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play heading into Saturday's matchup in Pittsburgh. 

- CCSU owns a 7-6 edge in the all-time series which dates back to the 1993 season. Duquesne and the Blue Devils have not met since the 2019 campaign after CCSU opted not to compete during the 2020-21 spring season. These two teams have regularly battled for the conference championship over the last six seasons: the Dukes have captured three NEC crowns with a pair of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff appearances while the Blue Devils have won two conference titles and earned the league's bid to the postseason in both of those years. 

- Duquesne leads the NEC in scoring averaging 27.5 points per game. The Dukes have scored at least 28 points in all five of their wins this season. Duquesne paces in the conference in rushing defense, holding opponents to 129.5 yards per game on the ground. 

- Running back Billy Lucas was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 137 yards with a touchdown in the Dukes' win at LIU last week. 

- The Dukes, led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, have enjoyed a great deal of success in NEC play, claiming five conference titles since 2011. Duquesne won a share of the league crown in 2011, '13, '16 and '18 while capturing the outright title in 2015. Duquesne earned the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in both 2015 and '18.

DUQUESNE NOTABLES
- Over the past 10 seasons, the Dukes have won 46 conference games and 74 overall games, both figures representing league highs.

- DU is first in the FCS in red zone offense, scoring on all 28 trips (14 TD, 14 FG) inside opponents' 20-yard line. The Dukes sit tied for the national lead with Southeast Missouri and Youngstown State. 

- Duquesne also paces the conference in red zone defense, limiting opponents to score on 72.7 pct. of red zone attempts. 

- Duquesne is first in the league and eighth in the country with just eight turnovers on the year, as the Dukes have thrown six interceptions to go with just two fumbles surrendered, the ladder figure ranking sixth in the nation. 

- Duquesne has limited four opponents to one-or-fewer passing touchdown while the Dukes have not allowed more than two passing touchdowns in a game all season. 

- The Dukes have held opponents to one sack-or-fewer in six of eight games this season, leading the conference in sacks allowed. 

- DU running backs Garrett Owens and Billy Lucas have combined for 1,036 yards on the ground with seven rushing touchdowns on the year. Lucas, the reigning NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year, leads Duquesne with 103 carries for 534 yards and six touchdowns while Owens has tallied 112 rushes for 502 yards and five total scores. 

- Quarterback Darius Perrantes has completed 99-of-161 pass attempts for 1,050 yards with 11 touchdowns compared to five interceptions for the Dukes. Perrantes, a Rhode Island transfer, entered the TCU game when First Team All-NEC quarterback Joe Mischler left the contest in the first quarter with an injury. Perrantes earned a pair of NEC Player of the Week honors in his first four starts for Duquesne, including after helping the Dukes to a victory over FBS Ohio. 

- Evan Nelson made his first start for Duquesne against Saint Francis as Perrantes was sidelined with an injury. Nelson had a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cyrus Holder in the first quarter of action for the Dukes. 

- Twelve different receivers have caught a pass for Duquesne in the first eight games of the year. Holder has registered 20 receptions for a team-high 314 yards and three touchdowns while Owens has hauled in 26 receptions for 390 yards and five receiving scores. 

- Holder eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the sixth time in his career and third occasion in his DU career with a seven-catch, 103-yard performance in the Dukes' win over Bryant. The Long Island native registered a Duquesne NEC-record 211 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns against LIU last season before snagging two touchdown catches in the Dukes win on Long Island last week. 

- Wykeen Gill hauled in a career-high seven receptions in the victory over the Bulldogs and finished with 179 all-purpose yards. 

- On the offensive line, AFCA Second Team All-American Jake Dixon highlights a group of four all-conference returners including Michael Dorundo, Vincent Lumia and Roman Macek in addition to All-NEC tight end Bill O'Malley. Duquesne added Lehigh transfer Matt Fest to the offensive front this past offseason, as well. 

- The DU o-line has paved the way for eight 100-yard individual rushing performances to go with three 300-yard passing games since the start of last season. They limited opponents to one-or-fewer sacks in 9 of 13 games in that span. 

- Defensive back Leandro DeBrito has been Duquesne's leading tackler with 50 stops (30 solo) on the year to go with two interceptions. 

- Fellow defensive back Jeremiah Josephs has also posted two picks on the season for Duquesne with 31 tackles and a pair of pass breakups.

- Defensive lineman Kevin Kurzinger has recorded a team-high three sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss while All-NEC defensive lineman Maxi Hradecny hs registered 5.5 tackles for loss and a trio of sacks for the Dukes. 

- The Dukes returned a pair of All-NEC linebackers in Jahan Worth and Todd Hill. Worth is second on the team with 38 tackles with 4.5 TFL while Hill has posted 28 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss. 

- Brian Bruzdewicz is a perfect 9-of-9 on field goals on the season while connecting on 10-of-12 PATs. Michael Berarducci is averaging 42.3 yards per punt, currently the top mark in the NEC. 

THE COACH
Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt (17th season / 107-71)  
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 17th season at the helm of the Duquesne program. He became the Dukes' all-time winningest coach in 2019 with a 30-21 victory over Saint Francis U for his 98th win as Duquesne's head coach. Schmitt passed Greg Gattuso (1993-2004) for the most wins in program history.

- Schmitt posted his 100th win at Duquesne with the Dukes' victory at Wagner last season. He became one of nine active coaches with 100 FCS wins at their current schools.

- Schmitt currently sits 15th among active FCS head coaches with 134 career wins, recently passing Gattuso who has posted 131 career victories between Duquesne and Albany. 

LAST TIME OUT
Duquesne 34, LIU 28 - 11/06/21
- Billy Lucas rushed for a career-high 137 yards with a touchdown and Cyrus Holder recorded a pair of touchdown receptions to help Duquesne secure a 34-26 road victory at LIU.

- With Duquesne trailing 14-3 early in the second quarter, Holder - a Long Island native - went up and snagged a two-yard touchdown grab from Darius Perrantes over a Shark defender to minimize the LIU lead to 14-10. 

- Later in the quarter, Perrantes found Davie Henderson across the middle for a 42-yard touchdown connection to put the Dukes ahead 17-14. 

- Duquesne would take that three-point edge into the locker room as a Paul Inzerillo field goal from 42 yards was wide left as time expired in the first half. 

- The Dukes extended their lead in the third stanza when Perrantes hit Holder over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown strike, putting the Dukes on top 24-14.

- After LIU responded with a six-yard touchdown rush by Jonathan DeBique, Lucas broke off a 67-yard run to pay dirt, giving Duquesne a 31-21 advantage with 2:11 showing on the third quarter clock. 

- The Sharks drove into Duquesne territory early in the fourth quarter, but Maxi Hradecny and Kevin Kurzinger each recorded sacks on third and fourth down, respectively, resulting in an LIU turnover on downs. 

- This led to a 24-yard field goal by Joey Corado to widen the lead to 34-21 with just under six minutes remaining.

- The Sharks answered with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Camden Orth to Tosin Oyekanmi, shrinking the deficit to 34-28 with 4:35 to play. 

- The Sharks regained possession with 59 ticks remaining and moved the ball to the Duquesne 30-yard line, but the Dukes forced a pair of incomplete passes to seal the conference road triumph. 

- Lucas toted the ball 20 times for 137 yards and a touchdown for Duquesne. It marks his third career 100-yard rushing performance.

- Perrantes, who returned to the Dukes' lineup after missing last week's game against Saint Francis U due to injury, completed 19-of-32 pass attempts for 215 yards with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. 

- Holder paced the Dukes' receiving corps with six receptions for 76 yards and a pair of scores, marking his fourth career multiple touchdown game.

- Henderson tallied two catches for 46 yards with a touchdown while Dominic Thieman registered a season-high four receptions for 41 yards. 

- Andrew Smith's 45-yard field goal was the longest by a Duquesne kicker since Jacob Gill nailed a 45-yarder in a win over LIU on Oct. 5, 2019. He was also 4-of-4 on PATs in the win. 

- CJ Barnes paced the Dukes with a career-high 11 tackles (nine solo) while Jahan Worth finished with eight stops (six solo) with 2.5 tackles for loss and a half sack. 

- Leandro DeBrito had seven tackles (six solo) with a pass breakup for Duquesne. Kurzinger recorded six tackles on the day including a sack for a loss of 12 yards.

- Tim Lowery registered his first career interception for the Dukes, as well. 

- The Sharks posted a 460-376 advantage in total yards, but Duquesne outgained LIU 161-112 on the ground. 

- The Dukes held a 31:35-28:25 edge in time of possession and finished 9-of-15 on third downs while the Sharks converted 7-of-14 third-down attempts. 

- Duquesne committed just one penalty for five yards while Sharks had eight penalties for a total of 71 yards.

LAST MEETING 
No. 18 Central Connecticut 43, Duquesne 10 - 11/23/19
- NEC champion Central Connecticut scored 24 unanswered second-half points to pull away for a 43-10 victory over Duquesne at Rooney Field.

- CCSU jumped out to a 12-0 lead before the Dukes got on the board early in the second quarter with a 31-yard field goal from Mitch MacZura.

- The Blue Devils responded with a 31-yard touchdown run by Enyce Walker to take a 19-3 advantage with 10:44 to play in the opening half.

- Late in the second stanza, Reid Harrison-Ducros' leaping interception gave the Dukes possession at the 50-yard line. 

- This set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brett Brumbaugh to Kellon Taylor to shrink the CCSU edge to 19-10 heading into the locker room.

- The Blue Devils would score three touchdowns in addition to a field goal in the second half to pull away from Duquesne and secure their seventh NEC victory of the year.

- Ky'ren Cunningham rushed for a career-high 96 yards to pace Duquesne on the ground. It was Cunningham's second career start and first since Sept. 22, 2018 at FBS member Hawaii.

- Brendan Thompson and Kam Carter each tallied seven tackles to lead the Duquesne defense.

THE SERIES 
- Saturday's game marks the 14th matchup between Duquesne and Central Connecticut in the series which dates back to the 1993 season. 

- This will be the teams' first meeting since 2019 as the Blue Devils opted out of the 2020-21 spring campaign. 

- Duquesne has won five of the last seven matchups against CCSU. 

- Duquesne secured its fifth NEC title and second FCS Playoff berth with a thrilling 38-31 triumph over the Blue Devils in 2018 on a Nehari Crawford touchdown reception from Daniel Parr in the final minute of action. This came a year after CCSU won its first conference title and earned its first FCS Playoff berth with a 28-27 win over the Dukes in 2017. 

DUKES IN THE NEC
- Duquesne has won a league-high five NEC titles since 2011, earning the conference's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs twice: in 2015 and again in 2018. 

- The Dukes have tallied more overall wins (74) and conference victories (46) than any other team during that span.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
- CCSU has won two consecutive games coming into Saturday's game with victories over Bryant and Merrimack. This followed a five-game losing streak, including losses to FCS power Southeastern Louisiana and FBS Miami (Fla.). 

- The Blue Devils lead the FCS in time of possession, averaging just over 35 minutes per game. 

- CCSU also paces the conference and sits 16th in the country with 18 turnovers gained on the year. 

- Wide receiver is first in the NEC in average yards per catch (17.5) and has tallied 22 receptions for 384 yards with two touchdowns. 

- Defensive lineman Kelvin Apari ranks second in the NEC and 12th in the country with 11.0 tackles for loss on the season. 

DUQUESNE TO HONOR SENIORS SATURDAY
- Duquesne is set to recognize 15 players and a pair of managers prior to Saturday's matchup with CCSU: 

• Temitope Agoro (DB / Riverdale, Md.)
• Leandro DeBrito (DB / Pawtucket, R.I.)
• Brock Dieter (QB / North Huntingdon, Pa.)
• Jake Dixon (OL / Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• AJ Garson (DL / Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
• Wykeen Gill (WR / Atchison, Kan.)
• Cyrus Holder (WR / Uniondale, N.Y.)
• Kellan Hunter (WR / Hermitage, Pa.)
• Eric Neill (OL / Pine Township, Pa.)
• Bill O'Malley (TE / Pittsburgh, Pa.)
• Garrett Owens (RB / North East, Pa.)
• Zach Sterr (PK / Galloway, N.J.)
• Tymar Sutton (LB / McKeesport, Pa.)
• Dominic Thieman (WR / Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Phillip Thomas (LS / Louisville, Ohio)
• Joe Berretone (Equipment / King of Prussia, Pa.)
• Tim Paglione (Equipment / Buffalo, N.Y.)

LUCAS NAMED NEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Duquesne running back Billy Lucas was named the NEC Offensive Player of the Week following his career day in the Dukes' 34-28 road victory at LIU.

- Lucas finished with a career-high 137 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown in addition to a reception for nine yards to help Duquesne secure the NEC win.

- Saturday marked Lucas' third career 100-yard rushing showing as the reigning NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year topped his previous career high of 110 yards set against Bryant on March 28, 2021 and again in the NEC  Championship game vs. Sacred Heart on April 11, 2021. 

- With the Dukes holding a 24-21 lead over the Sharks in the third quarter, Lucas broke free for a career-long 67-yard sprint to the end zone on third-and-one play, putting Duquesne ahead 31-21. 

- The Erie, Pa. native has racked up 236 rushing yards in the last two games. His 137 yards in the victory over the Sharks were the most by a Duquesne running back since A.J. Hines tallied 142 rushing yards in a 20-6 win over Sacred Heart on Oct. 19, 2019. 

- Lucas is the first Dukes running back to earn NEC Player of the Week accolades since Mark Allen on Sept. 23, 2019.

HOME SWEET HOME 
- Duquesne is 115-32 all-time at Rooney Field including winning streaks of 16, 14 and 10 games (twice). 

- Duquesne has won 13 straight home openers. The Dukes opened the home portion of the 2021 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 25 against Virginia University of Lynchburg. DU has picked up a victory in its first home game in 26 of 29 games since joining the FCS ranks in 1993. 

- The Dukes own nonconference home wins over Dayton (six times), Bucknell (four times), Lafayette (twice), Albany, VMI, Monmouth, Butler, Morehead State and Fordham among others over the past 17 seasons.   

- DU is 45-12 in nonconference home games (28-3 under Jerry Schmitt) on Rooney Field. The Dukes are 21-1 in non-conference play at Rooney Field since the beginning of the 2008 season. 

- Duquesne is 15-4 in NEC action at home over the last six years. 

NEXT UP
Duquesne travels to Staten Island, N.Y. next Saturday, Nov. 20 to take on Wagner in the regular season finale at noon.