G1 | DUQUESNE at TCU
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 4  
TIME: 8:00 pm ET
LOCATION: Fort Worth, Texas • Amon G. Carter Stadium
TELEVISION: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Chuckie Kempf & Ryan Leaf 
RADIO: Horned Frogs Sports Network/Sirius XM Channel 83 Fox Sports with Brian Estridge, John Denton & Landry Burdine

OPENING KICKOFF
- Following a shortened offseason after playing an unprecedented five-game spring schedule, the five-time Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Duquesne Dukes are ready to return to action this fall. Duquesne posted a perfect 4-0 record during the 2020-21 spring regular season, hosting the first-ever NEC Championship game at Rooney Field. 

- Sacred Heart escaped with a 34-27 overtime victory to claim the conference title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. Just under five months later, the Dukes are set to open a 10-game slate at TCU on Sept. 4. 

- This marks the first meeting between Duquesne and the Horned Frogs, who are coming off a 6-4 season in 2020, earning a bid to the Mercari Texas Bowl. 

- The Dukes will take on two FBS opponents in the same season for the second time in the last four years at TCU in week one followed by a matchup with Ohio in week two. Duquesne battled UMass and Hawaii to start the 2018 season. The Dukes were slated to travel to Air Force and Coastal Carolina in 2020, but the fall season was postponed to this past spring with a conference-only slate. Duquesne is scheduled to travel to Florida State to open the 2022 campaign with a return trip to Hawaii also scheduled for next season. 

- Duquesne, led by 17th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, returns all 22 starters from the spring season including 17 All-NEC selections. 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.


THE SERIES
- This will be the first matchup between the Dukes and TCU. 


THE COACHES
Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt (17th season / 102-68)  
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 17th season at thehelm 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 16th among active FCS head coaches with 130 career wins. 

TCU: Gary Patterson (22nd season / 178-74) 
- Winner of 22 national coach of the year honors, Gary Patterson is the Horned Frogs' all-time winningest coach with 178 victories, the most by an active head coach nationally at his current school. 

- Patterson has compiled a .706 winning percentage, ranking fourth among active FBS coaches with a minimum 10 years of coaching experience. 

- He led TCU to a 2014 Big 12 championship in just its third season in the conference. TCU has won six conference championships, in three different leagues, under Patterson. He has also been the coach of the year in each of those conferences (Big 12, Mountain West, Conference USA).


SCOUTING THE DUKES
- First Team All-NEC quarterback Joe Mischler returns for his second season as the Dukes' signal caller. The Ohio University transfer paced the NEC and ranked 18th in the country at 239.0 passing yards per game. He closed the season ranked fifth in the FCS in passing efficiency at 159.3. Mischler is Duquesne's third consecutive starting quarterback to transfer from the FBS level following Tommy Stuart (2017, Boise State) and Daniel Parr (2018-19, FAU). 

- In the backfield, the Dukes return their top two rushers from the spring in Second Team All-NEC selection Garrett Owens and NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year Billy Lucas. Owens averaged 102.8 yards from scrimmage last season with six total touchdowns, finishing with three 100-yard rushing performances during the five-game season. Lucas closed the year with consecutive 110-yard rushing showings for Duquesne, finding the end zone in both of those contests. 

- Duquesne welcomes back its top five receivers from the spring led by First Team All-NEC selection Cyrus Holder, who paced the conference with 23 receptions for 491 yards and five touchdowns last season. Second Team All-NEC honoree Davie Henderson registered 22 catches for 282 yards while Joey Isabella recorded 17 receptions for 194 yards and a pair of scores. Freshman Abdul Janneh posted eight catches for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Dukes while veteran Dominic Thieman also returns for the Duquesne wideouts after his spring season was cut short due to injury. 

- 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. The DU o-line paved the way for five 100-yard individual rushing performances in the five-game season in addition to a pair of 300-yard passing games. They limited opponents to one-or-fewer sacks in three contests on the year while helping Duquesne scored at least 17 points in each game during spring season, including a pair of 30-point performances. Eric Neill also returns for the Dukes while Duquesne added Lehigh transfer Matt Fest to the offensive front, as well. 

- On the defensive side, the Dukes return five All-NEC selections, keyed in the defensive backfield by a pair of veterans in Spencer DeMedal and Leandro DeBrito. The two safeties both garnered First Team All-NEC accolades in the spring, as DeBrito tallied a team-high 37 tackles with an interception and a pair of pass breakups while DeMedal recorded 32 tackles with 3.5 TFL, two interceptions and two pass breakups for the Dukes. Temitope Agoro (21 tackles), Ezekiel Daure (16 tackles) and Ryan Webb (four pass breakups, interception) also return at defensive back for Duquesne. 

- The Dukes also have a pair of All-NEC honorees returning at linebacker in Jahan Worth and Todd Hill. Worth finished third on the team with 27 tackles with two TFL while Hill posted 25 tackles with two TFL including a sack. Anthony Dellovade returns for Duquesne after his spring season was shortened due to injury. 

- Up front, First Team All-NEC defensive lineman Maxi Hradecny returns for Duquesne after registering 15 tackles and two TFL during the spring season. The Dukes also welcome back AJ Garson (17 tackles, 5.5 TFL) and Nathan Proctor Jr. (11 tackles) to the defensive line. 

- All-NEC kicker Brian Bruzdewicz (placekicker) is back for Duquesne, as well. Bruzdewicz led all kickers in the conference in scoring with 27 points on the season.


SCOUTING THE HORNED FROGS
- TCU opens the 2021 campaign following a 6-4 finish in 2020 with a 5-4 mark in Big 12 action. The Horned Frogs were picked to finish fifth in the 2021 Big 12 Football Preseason Poll. 

- Quarterback Max Duggan returns under center for the Horned Frogs after throwing for 1,795 yards and 10 touchdowns while also pacing TCU in rushing with 526 yards on the ground. Duggan has been named to watch lists for the Davey O'Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award,  Maxwell Award and the Manning Award. 

- Quentin Johnson racked up a team-high 487 receiving yards on 22 catches while Taye Barber hauled in a team-high 31 receptions for 318 yards. 

- Defensive back Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson earned Second Team All-America honors by the Associated Press a season ago, posting 13 pass breakups which ranked second nationally. The Waco native was rated by Pro Football Focus as the nation's highest-graded cornerback in coverage. 

- Defensive lineman Ochaun Mathis garnered All-Big 12 accolades in 2020 after leading the conference and ranking 12th nationally in sacks per game at 0.9. 


DUKES IN THE LONE STAR STATE
- The Dukes will play in the state of Texas for the third time in program history and the first time since 1937 when Duquesne faced Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Dukes also battled Rice in 1935 in Houston. 

- This will be the first time the Dukes visit the Metroplex, however Duquesne was invited to play in the Cotton Bowl in 1939. Duquesne rejected a proposition to appear in the bowl against Boston College after bowl administrators failed to meet a DU imposed deadline. According to the Dec. 8, 1939 Pittsburgh Press: "The Dukes tendered their proposition and when definite acceptance had not been received from J. Curtis Stanford, Cotton Bowl promoter, at the "deadline" time, the game was rejected by DU authorities. Duquesne was ready and willing to play an opponent in the Cotton Bowl, provided certain financial matters were straightened out to the school's satisfaction."


DUKES VS. THE BIG 12
- Duquesne is 7-7-1 all-time against current members of the Big 12. The Dukes are 3-4-1 against West Virginia (1914, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935), 2-0 against Oklahoma State (1934, 1935), 1-2 against Texas Tech (1937, 1938, 1939) and 1-1 against Kansas State (1935, 1942). 


KUNTZ NAMED TO STEELERS' REGULAR SEASON ROSTER
- Former Duquesne standout Christian Kuntz (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Chartiers Valley) was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 53-man roster as a long snapper, the organization announced on Tuesday afternoon.

- Kuntz is the first player from Duquesne to be named to an active NFL roster since nine-year veteran Leigh Bodden took the field with the New England Patriots in 2011. Kuntz can join Bodden as just the second former Duquesne player to appear in an NFL game in 68 seasons. 

- A two-time Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the Dukes, he is in his third stint with the six-time Super Bowl champions. He was signed to Pittsburgh's practice squad in Nov. 2020 after spending the 2019 and '20 preseasons with the team.

- Forty-four Dukes have played in the NFL, with a total of 35 suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers between 1937 and 1951. The last Duke to play for the Steelers was Chick Mehelich in 1951. Mehelich suited up for the black & gold for six seasons. 


NEC PRESEASON COACHES POLL / ALL-NEC TEAMS
- Duquesne was picked to finish second in a tie with Central Connecticut in the 2021 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll while seven Dukes garnered Preseason All-NEC honors as announced during the NEC's Virtual 
Media Day event in early August. 

- This marks the 11th-straight year in which Duquesne was selected first or second in the conference preseason coaches poll. Sacred Heart was selected as the conference's preseason favorite. 

- Dukes quarterback Joe Mischler, wide receiver Cyrus Holder, tight end Bill O'Malley, offensive linemen Jake Dixon and Vincent Lumia, defensive back Leandro DeBrito as well as kicker Brian Bruzdewicz garnered preseason all-league honors for the Dukes.


THIS DAY IN DUQUESNE FOOTBALL HISTORY
9.4.2004 - Dukes 31, Holy Cross 7
9.4.2010 - Dukes 17, Bucknell 13

Dukes 31, Holy Cross 7: Niel Loebig completed 20-of-41 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening 31-7 win at Holy Cross. Cornerback Armar Watson intercepted a pair of passes and recovered two fumbles in the opening half to lead the defense while Michel Warfield paced DU with eight catches for 157 yards and a touchdown. 


NEXT UP
Duquesne travels to Ohio University next Saturday, Sept. 11 for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The Bobcats open the 2021 slate hosting Syracuse this weekend.