G4 | DUQUESNE at BRYANT
Sunday, March 28, 2021 • 12:00 pm ET • Smithfield, R.I. • Beirne Stadium

TELEVISION: ESPN3 with Paul Dottino, Jeff Feagles & John Schmeelk
RADIO: WJAS-AM 1320 / iHeartRadio with Alex Panormios & Tad Maurey

OPENING KICKOFF
- Duquense travels to Smithfield, R.I. to take on Bryant in the final game of the 2021 spring regular season. 
- The Dukes are 3-0 on the spring season following a 35-17 victory over LIU last Sunday at Rooney Field. With the win, Duquesne clinched a spot in the upcoming NEC Championship game in April. 
- The Bulldogs own a 2-1 record on the year, winning their last two contests against Merrimack and Wagner. Bryant fell to LIU on the road in week one. 
- Wide receiver Cyrus Holder was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week while defensive back Leandro DeBrito earned Defense Player of the Week honors.  
- Joe Mischler is now 3-0 as the Dukes' starting quarterback and threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns in the Dukes' win over LIU. 
- Running back Garrett Owens has averaged 99.3 rushing yards per game and has scored four rushing touchdowns in his first three games.
- The DUQ defense has limited its three opponents to an average of 119.0 passing yards, ranking ninth in the country in that statistical category. 
- The Dukes 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
- The Dukes are 26-8 in NEC action since the beginning of the 2015 campaign, including a 14-3 mark at Rooney Field.
- DU has recorded 68 wins since 2011, at least 10 more victories than any other NEC team. In addition, the Dukes' 42 conference wins in that time span are the most in the league. The closest teams to either of those figures are Sacred Heart with 58 overall wins and Bryant with 34 conference victories. 
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 16th 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. He became one of nine active coaches with 100 FCS wins at their current schools.
- Schmitt currently sits 16th among active FCS head coaches with 129 career wins. 
- With the 35-17 win over LIU, Duquesne has recorded its first 3-0 start since the 2002 season. That year, the Dukes started 11-0 and won their fourth consecutive MAAC championship. 
- Duquesne seeks its third 4-0 start in NEC play since joining the conference in 2008 and third 4-0 start in the last four seasons. The Dukes started 4-0 in both 2017 and '19. 
- Duquesne has won 13 home openers in a row following the March 7 victory over Sacred Heart. 
- The Dukes were playing their first game in 470 days when they opened up the spring season against Sacred Heart. 
- The 17-0 victory over Wagner marked the Dukes' first shutout win since a 45-0 triumph over Lock Haven on Sept. 1, 2018 and Duquesne's first shutout in an NEC contest since a 38-0 win over Wagner on Oct. 7, 2017.
- Duquesne is coming off a 2019 season in which the Dukes posted a 6-5 overall record with a 4-3 mark in NEC play. 

RECORD PERFORMANCES
- Both Duquesne wide receiver Cyrus Holder and quarterback Joe Mischler posted record-setting performances last Sunday against LIU at Rooney Field. 
- Mischler's 385 yards were the seventh-most in a single game in program history and the most ever by a Duquesne quarterback in an NEC contest. The 385 yards were the most for the Dukes since Dillon Buechel threw for 394 yards in a win at Jacksonville on Oct. 1, 2016. 
- Holder's 211 receiving yards are the eighth-most in a single game in program history and the most ever by a Duquesne receiver in an NEC game. 
- His 211 receiving yards were the most by a Duquesne player since Nehari Crawford registered 223 receiving yards against Dayton on Sept. 15, 2018. 
- Holder eclipsed his career high of 132 receiving yards set while at Saint Francis U against Albany in 2018. He matched a career best with seven receptions and two touchdown catches, set against Duquesne in 2018. Sunday marked his fourth career 100-yard receiving game. 
- Holder's 75-yard touchdown reception was Duquesne's longest scoring play since Nehari's Crawford's 80-yard touchdown reception from Daniel Parr vs. Dayton on Sept. 15, 2018. It was also the Dukes' longest scoring play in NEC action since Connor Dixon caught an 87-yard pass from Sean Patterson in a 41-14 win over Saint Francis U on Sept. 24, 2011.

DUKES CLINCH SPOT IN NEC TITLE GAME
- After defeating LIU last Sunday at Rooney Field, Duquesne clinched a spot in the first-ever NEC Championship game to be held in April. 
- Duquesne can earn the top seed and host the NEC Championship in Pittsburgh with a win over Bryant on Sunday -OR- a Sacred Heart win over Wagner. The winner of the NEC Championship game earns the league's 
automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs
- All scenarios for tiebreakers and seeding to determine the Dukes' opponent in that contest as well as seeding can be found HERE. 

THE SERIES
- Bryant has had the most success of any team in the NEC against Duquesne, holding an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series. 
- The Bulldogs have won three straight over the Dukes, including a 20-16 victory at Beirne Stadium in 2019. Bryant has also picked up six wins in the last seven meetings with Duquesne. 
- The Bulldogs have recorded a 5-2 series advantage in games played in Smithfield. 
- The Dukes are a combined 25-9 against their other three 2021 spring opponents. 

LAST TIME OUT
Duquesne 35, LIU 17 - March 21, 2021
- 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 on Sunday at Arthur J. Rooney Field.
- Mischler finished an efficient 21-of-27 for 385 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
- Holder caught touchdown passes of 75 and 60 yards in the win for the Dukes. 
- 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 his first career touchdown while Joey Isabella posted a pair of receptions for 39 yards for Duquesne.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Dukes finished with 509 total yards, marking Duquesne's first 500-yard performance since tallying 513 yards in a 48-24 win over Robert Morris on Oct. 13, 2018.

LAST MEETING
Bryant 20, Duquesne 16 - Nov. 16, 2019
- Duquesne rallied back from a 20-3 deficit in the second half of an NEC matchup at Bryant, but the Dukes' come-from-behind effort fell just short as the Bulldogs claimed a 20-16 victory at Beirne Stadium.
- With 106 yards on the ground, Duquesne running back A.J. Hines became the program's all-time leading rusher in the contest, surpassing current Dukes running backs coach Larry McCoy, who tallied 4,549 yards from 2009-12.
- Hines and Mark Allen (119 rush yards) became the first Duquesne players to each rush for 100 yards in the same game since P.J. Fulmore (128 yards) and Klartel Claridy (105 yards) on Sept. 5, 2015.
- Spencer DeMedal led Duquesne with eight tackles (six solo) with a forced fumble.
- The Dukes, who came into the game ranked sixth in the FCS in total defense, posted another stifling defensive performance, limiting Bryant to 216 total yards in the contest. 
- Kicker Mitch MacZura connected on three field goals in the game for Duquesne. 

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- Bryant is statistically the top defense in the NEC, limiting its three opponents to 204 yards and 12.7 points per game. Those figures ranks sixth and eighth in the FCS, respectively. 
- Bulldog freshman quarterback Ryan Clark was named the NEC Rookie of the Week for his performance in Bryant's win over Wagner. He completed 18-of-26 passes for 183 yards and also rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown. 
- Linebacker Joe Andreessen paces the Bulldog defense with 25 tackles, including 7.5 TFL and a sack. 
- Chris Merritt is in his second season at the helm of the Bryant program.    

HOLDER, DEBRITO EARN NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
- Duquesne wide receiver Cyrus Holder garnered NEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week recognition while defensive back Leandro DeBrito was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week for their performances in the Dukes' 35-17 victory over LIU.
- Holder finished with seven receptions for a career-high 211 yards and two touchdowns in the victory for Duquesne. With the Dukes trailing 7-0, Holder hauled in a 75-yard touchdown reception from Joe Mischler to tie the game at seven-all. Then in the second quarter, Holder caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Mischler to give Duquesne the lead for good. The senior wide receiver added a pair of long receptions in the fourth quarter of 30 and 31 yards, the ladder setting up a one-yard touchdown rush by Garrett Owens. 
- DeBrito finished with a career-high 10 tackles (eight solo) to go with his second career interception to help the Dukes to the win over LIU. With the Sharks driving into Dukes territory in the fourth quarter, DeBrito recorded his first interception of the season, giving Duquesne possession at its own 14-yard line.The Dukes then used a 10-play, 86-yard drive capped by Owens' second rushing touchdown of the day to seal the 35-17 conference victory. 
- The Dukes have been represented on the conference's player of the week awards all three weeks this season, with Duquesne kicker Brian Bruzdewicz earning Special Teams Player of the Week laurels after week one vs. Sacred Heart followed by wide receiver Joey Isabella garnering Rookie of the Week accolades for his showing at Wagner. 

NEXT UP 
Duquesne has claimed one of two spot in the upcoming NEC Championship game. The date and location for that game is still to be determined.