G8 | DUQUESNE at LIU*
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 6
TIME: 12:00 pm ET
LOCATION: Brookeville, N.Y. • Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium
TELEVISION: NEC Front Row with Pat Boyle  (pxp) and Gregg Caserta (analyst) 
RADIO: BIG 104.7 FM HD2 / ESPN 970 AM / iHeart Radio with Alex Panormios (pxp) and Tad Maurey (analyst)

OPENING KICKOFF
- The Dukes hit the road looking to snap a two-game skid at LIU on Saturday in a Northeast Conference (NEC) tilt at 
Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. Duquesne is coming off a 17-10 loss to visiting Saint Francis U on Oct. 30 at Rooney Field. LIU has posted two-straight wins with a 28-14 victory over Wagner last week following a 30-13 road triumph at Central Connecticut on Oct. 23. 

- Duquesne is 2-0 all-time against LIU. The Sharks are in their third season competing at the Division I level in football in the NEC. This will be the Dukes' first trip to Long Island as both of the previous matchups were played in Pittsburgh. The Dukes defeated LIU by a score of 35-17 at Rooney Field in the teams' last meeting during the 2020-21 season. 

- Duquesne paces the NEC in scoring averaging 26.6 points per game. The Dukes have scored at least 28 points in four contests on the year. The Dukes are second in the NEC in total defense at 332.1 yards per game and second in the conference in rushing defense, holding opponents to 132.0 yards per game on the ground. 

- Running back Garrett Owens is second in the NEC in both all-purpose yards (96.0 ypg) as well as rushing yards per game (68.4 ypg). He has eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark five times at Duquesne and is also tied for the team lead with 20 receptions on the 2021 campaign for 193 yards with a pair of touchdown catches. 

- 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. Over the past 10 seasons, the Dukes have won 45 conference games and 73 overall games, both figures representing league highs.

DUQUESNE NOTABLES
- DU paces the NEC and ranks fourth in the FCS in red zone offense, scoring on 96.3 pct. of trips (13 TD, 13 FG) inside opponents' 20-yard line. 

- The Dukes also lead the conference in red zone defense, limiting opponents to score on 71.9 pct. of red zone attempts. 

- Duquesne is first in the league and third in the country with just six turnovers lost in seven games, as the Dukes have thrown four interceptions to go with just two fumbles surrendered. 

- 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 five of seven games this season.  

- DU running backs Garrett Owens and Billy Lucas have combined for 875 yards on the ground with six rushing touchdowns on the year. Owens paces Duquesne with 101 carries for 478 yards and five total touchdowns while Lucas, the reigning NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year, has tallied 83 rushes for 397 yards and three scores. 

- Quarterback Darius Perrantes has completed 80-of-129 pass attempts for 835 yards with eight touchdowns compared to three 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 last week 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 seven games of the year. Holder has registered 20 receptions for a team-high 314 yards and three touchdowns while Owens has hauled in 20 receptions for 193 yards and two 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. 

- 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 seven 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 8 of 12 games in that span. 

- Defensive back Leandro DeBrito has been Duquesne's leading tackler with 43 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 4.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks for the Dukes. 

- The Dukes returned a pair of All-NEC linebackers in Jahan Worth and Todd Hill. Worth is third on the team with 30 tackles with two TFL while Hill has posted 25 tackles with four 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. 

- Freshman defensive back CJ Barnes paces the team with nine special teams tackles on the season, followed by Jeremiah Josephs second with four while Ezekiel Daure, Luke Harris and Nick Leopold have each tallied three tackles on special teams this year. 

THE COACH
Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt (17th season / 106-71)  
- 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
Saint Francis U 17, Duquesne 10 - 10/30/21
- Saint Francis U scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to post a 17-10 victory over Duquesne at Arthur J. Rooney Field. 

- The Dukes got on the board first when Evan Nelson hit Cyrus Holder in the end zone on a 26-yard scoring strike with 4:37 to play in the opening quarter. 

- Holder, a Saint Francis U transfer, hauled in the touchdown catch against his former team from Nelson, who was making his first start for the Dukes. Running back Billy Lucas rushed for 34 yards on the Duquesne scoring drive. 

- The Dukes held that 7-0 advantage into the second half before the Red Flash answered with a Marques DeShields one-yard touchdown run on Saint Francis' first march of the third quarter. 

- After forcing a punt on the Red Flash's next drive, Andrew Smith regained the lead for Duquesne with a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth stanza. 

- Saint Francis countered with a five-yard touchdown pass from Justin Sliwoski to Kahtero Summers to give the Red Flash a 14-10 edge. 

- The Dukes' defense forced consecutive three-and-outs on Saint Francis' next two possessions, but on a miscue on a punt return on the second drive gave the Red Flash the ball in Duquesne territory with the four-point lead and 3:46 showing on the clock. 

- After an Alex Schmoke field goal put Saint Francis ahead 17-10, the Red Flash forced a Duquesne turnover on downs to seal the NEC road win. 

- Lucas finished with 22 carries for 99 yards for the Dukes while Garrett Owens had a team-high five receptions for 21 yards to go with 15 rushes for 43 yards on the day. 

- Nelson completed 8-of-21 pass attempts for 85 yards and a touchdown in his first start for Duquesne. 

- Holder had two catches for 58 yards including the 26-yard touchdown catch. 

- Leandro DeBrito registered a team-high 11 tackles (six solo) with a forced fumble to pace the Dukes defense. Shane Stump had two sacks on the day for Duquesne, tallying four total tackles (three solo). 

- Temitope Agoro and Kevin Kurzinger each added five tackles while Tim Lowery had four tackles including a tackle for loss. 

- AJ Garson recorded four tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hurries. 

LAST MEETING 
Duquesne 35, LIU 17 - 03/21/21
- Joe Mischler threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, Cyrus Holder recorded 211 receiving yards with a pair of touchdowns and Garrett Owens added 104 rushing yards and two scores to lead Duquesne to a 35-17 victory over LIU. 

- Mischler finished an efficient 21-of-27 for 385 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. 

- Holder's 211 receiving yards represented a career high while his seven receptions matched a career best. Davie Henderson finished with seven receptions for the second consecutive week for a career-high 90 yards. Abdul Janneh had three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.

- Owens ran 23 times for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns for his second 100-yard rushing performance in his first three games on The Bluff. The graduate transfer added a reception for 13 yards as well as a kick return for 21 yards, totaling 139 all-purpose yards on the day. 

- Leandro DeBrito paced the Dukes' defense in tackling for the third-straight game this season with 10 tackles (eight solo) to go with his second career interception. Spencer DeMedal racked up eight stops (five solo) for Duquesne.

- Duquesne finished with 509 total yards, marking the Dukes' first 500-yard performance since tallying 513 yards in a 48-24 win over Robert Morris on Oct. 13, 2018. The Sharks recorded 402 yards on the day. 

- The Dukes were 7-of-10 on third down while LIU converted just 3-of-10 third down tries. 

- Jonathan DeBique returned to the Sharks' lineup after missing last week's game against Sacred Heart, rushing for 123 yards on 20 carries. 

- Conor Regan finished 11-of-19 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Sharks. 

- Ricco Aaron, Jr. led the LIU defense with 10 tackles on the day including a tackle for loss.

THE SERIES
- Saturday marks the third meeting between the Dukes and the Sharks and the first matchup on Long Island. 

- LIU is in its third season competing at the Division I level in football in the NEC following the consolidation of Long Island University's Brooklyn and Post athletic departments prior to the 2019-20 academic year.

- Duquesne has captured victories in each of the first two meetings between the teams. 

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 (73) and conference victories (45) than any other team during that span.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
- LIU comes into Saturday's NEC tilt riding a two-game winning streak. The Sharks defeated Wagner at home last weekend after recording their first NCAA Division I road victory the previous week at Central Connecticut with a 30-13 triumph over the Blue Devils. 

- LIU is the least penalized team in the NEC, committing just 36 penalties in seven games for an average of 46.14 yards per game. 

- The Sharks are second in the conference in red zone defense behind the Dukes at 75.0 pct. on the season. 

- Wide receiver Derick Eugene paces the NEC with 34 receptions on the year for 314 yards and four receiving touchdowns. 

- Returner Shemar Paul leads the conference and ranks 27th in the country with 344 kick return yards on the season. 

- Three of LIU's five losses came to FBS opponents in Florida International, West Virginia and Miami (Ohio).