FORT WORTH - Playing its fourth game against an FBS opponent since moving to the FCS ranks in 1993, Duquesne dropped a 45-3 decision at TCU in the 2021 season opener on Saturday night at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
TCU jumped out to a 7-0 lead as Max Duggan kept it himself for an eight-yard touchdown run on the Horned Frogs' opening 90-yard scoring drive.
Emari Demercado and Zach Evans each found the end zone on a pair of two-yard rushing scores for TCU in the opening quarter, giving the Horned Frogs a 21-0 advantage after the first.
TCU pushed its lead to 35-0 in the second quarter with a five-yard scoring run by Kendre Miller followed by a 16-yard touchdown connection between Duggan and JD Spielman.
With the Horned Frogs driving into Duquesne territory in the second period,
Leandro DeBrito recorded his third career interception for the Dukes.
On Duquesne's first drive of the second half,
Darius Perrantes hit
Cyrus Holder down the sideline for a 37-yard gain, setting up a
Brian Bruzdewicz 26-yard field goal to put the Dukes on the board.
Garrett Owens added 13 rushing yards on Duquesne's eight-play, 57-yard scoring drive.
Garrett Kell's 18-yard field goal made it 38-3 TCU late in the third quarter, before Chandler Morris' 20-yard touchdown pass to Blake Nowell put the Horned Frogs ahead 45-3 in the fourth stanza.
Owens paced the Dukes with 35 yards on 14 carries while
Billy Lucas added 23 yards on seven rushes. Holder hauled in a pair of receptions for 64 yards.
Spencer DeMedal matched his career high with 11 tackles on the night. He also tallied 11 stops in the Dukes' 48-24 win over Robert Morris on Oct. 13, 2018.
DeBrito finished with eight tackles (six solo) and the interception while
Connor Barrett added five stops for Duquesne.
NEXT UP
Duquesne is set to take on Ohio on the road next Saturday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN3 from Peden Stadium.
Game Notes
- Leandro DeBrito registered his third career interception in the contest in the second quarter off TCU quarterback Max Duggan.
- Brian Bruzdewicz connected on a 26-yard field goal and has now hit 5-of-7 field goals for his career.
- Freshman Michael Berarducci's first collegiate punt went for 59 yards, the longest punt by a Duquesne player since Austin Crimmins booted a 60-yarder vs. Dayton on Sept. 17, 2016.
- This was the Dukes' third game all-time in the in the state of Texas. Duquesne also faced Texas Tech in Lubbock in 1937 and battled Rice in 1935 in Houston.
- The Dukes are now 7-8-1 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), 1-1 against Kansas State (1935, 1942) and 0-1 against TCU (2021).
