THE BASICS 
October 7, 2023 | 3:00 PM | Delaware Stadium (Newark, Del.)

Duquesne Dukes (2-2, 1-0 NEC) 

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#9/10 Delaware Blue Hens (3-1, 2-0 CAA) 

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BY THE NUMBERS


OPENING KICKOFF
- Duquesne is coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over LIU, 31-28, in its conference opener on the road Saturday ... Brian Bruzdewicz nailed a game-winning, 34-yard field goal with three seconds left to complete the 14-point comeback.

- Delaware sat idle last week and moved up in the national rankings to 9 in the media poll and 10 in the coaches poll ... The Blue Hens had a comeback win of their own last time out, downing No. 11/12 New Hampshire, 29-25, after trailing by as many as 18 in the second quarter ... Delaware's only loss this season came at FBS ranked Penn State ... Two of their three wins have come by more than 20 points.

- Duquesne will be playing their final game of a four-game road trip, its longest away stretch as an FCS member and since 1990, when DU finished the season with five straight games on the road. Duquesne has had four (or more) straight road games in just five of its 96 seasons (4 in 1986, '50, '49, and '47, then 5 in 1990 and '14).

- Delaware will be the first and only non-conference FCS matchup of the 2023 regular season for the Dukes ... DU dominated Division II member Edinboro in its season opener (49-7), then suffered defeats at FBS members West Virginia and Coastal Carolina in weeks two and three ... It was just the second time DU played an FBS opponent in back-to-back weeks (2021).

- The Dukes are 1-6 against nationally ranked FCS opponents ... The win came at #16/19 Towson in the first round of the 2018 FCS playoffs (31-10), one of two wins ever by an NEC team in the playoffs ... DU last played a ranked team on Nov. 23, 2019 vs. #18 Central Conn. State, the only home game of the seven FCS ranked matchups.

THE SERIES
- This will be the second meeting ever against Delaware for the Dukes.

- DU traveled to Newark once before, in week three of the 2010 season, and dropped a 30-6 decision to the then #11/12 ranked Blue Hens ... The 2010 matchup was the first ranked opponent DU played against since joining the FCS in 1993.

- Delaware defeated NEC Champion Saint Francis, 56-17, in the first round of last year's FCS playoffs ... In a rematch this September, the Blue Hens won 42-14.

THE COACHES
Duquesne: Jerry Schmitt (19th season / 115-80 at Duquesne)
- Head coach Jerry Schmitt is in his 19th 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 head coach. Schmitt passed Greg Gattuso (1993-2004) for the most wins in program history. Schmitt is one of 10 active coaches with 100 FCS wins at their current school.

- Schmitt is the longest tenured coach in the NEC. He is also the longest tenured coach amongst any of the collegiate or professional football teams in Pittsburgh.

Delaware: Ryan Carty (2nd season / 11-6 at Delaware)
- A Delaware alum and member ofthe 2003 national championship team, Ryan Carty is in his second season leading the Blue Hens. Prior to being named the head coach at his alma mater, Carty spent four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State. Carty played an instrumental part in Sam Houston winning the 2020 FCS National Championship as well as advancing to the 2021 FCS quarterfinals. He was named the FCS Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop.com and to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's "Top 40 Coaches Under 40" list in 2021. Carty led the Blue Hens to a second round appearance in the FCS Playoffs in his first season in 2022.

SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS
- A staple in the FCS playoffs, Delaware is coming off its 18th appearance in the postseason and has six national championships, the last being in 2003 ... The Blue Hens are shaping up for another run at the FCS playoffs up to their highest rankings of the season so far at No. 9/10.

- Delaware came back from 18 down to defeat No. 11/12 New Hampshire at home in its last time out on Sept. 23 ... The Blue Hens scored three straight touchdowns between second and third quarters to take a 22-18 lead, then bounced back from a 100 yard kick return touchdown by UNH with a touchdown drive to seal the win ... Delaware had 501 yards of total offense in the win, 336 of which through the air.

- The Blue Hens average over 120 more yards through the air (257) than on the ground (134) per game ... Three receivers have caught double-digit passes led by Jourdan Townsend with 13 for 202 yards ... Five different players have caught the seven touchdown passes from junior quarterback Ryan O'Connor, who is in his first year starting ... Kym Wimberly and Marcus Yarns each have two touchdown catches to lead the team ... Yarns is the go-to running back with a team-high 45 carries for 437 yards and has five rushing touchdowns as well, ranking sixth in the FCS in scoring ... Yarns is also second in the nation in yards per carry at 9.71.

- Jackson Taylor leads the defense with 31 tackles ... Four Blue Hens have 20 or tackles through four games ... Khalil Dawsey was named the CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week after Delaware's last game against UNH ... All six interceptions by the Delaware defense have been by different players ... The defense has recovered two fumbles as well ... Delaware is +1 in turnover margin on the season, gaining eight and surrendering seven (four INTs and three fumbles).

- The Blue Hens are 2-0 at Delaware Stadium this season, this is their third of four straight home games.

PUTTING UP POINTS
- Duquesne has the highest scoring offense in the NEC after week five averaging 26.0 points per game ... The 17-points at WVU were the most ever for DU in three games against a Power-Five opponent ... DU's 49 points in the home-opening win was the second-most in the past 12 home openers (56 in win over Virginia Lynchburg in 2021).

- The 49 points and seven touchdowns scored against Edinboro in the season opener are the most in a game this season by any NEC team.

TOUCHDOWNS THROUGH THE AIR
- Nine of the 13 offensive touchdowns this season have come through the air (Perrantes - 7 and Robinson - 2) ... The three passing TDs vs. Edinboro and at LIU are tied for the most in a game this season by an NEC program.

- Four players are tied atop the NEC leader board in receiving touchdowns ... Three of them are Duquesne Dukes; graduate transfer DJ Powell, redshirt sophomore Keshawn Brown, and junior transfer Tedy Afful.

- Afful (at LIU) and Powell (vs. Edinboro) are the only two receivers in the NEC to record multiple touchdown catches in a game this season.

- Junior quarterback Darius Perrantes is tied for the NEC lead with seven touchdown passes. Cole Doyle of SFU, who he's tied with has played one more game (5) ... Perrantes threw for two scores in the first two games of 2023 and tied for the most passing TDs in a game this season in the NEC with three in last week's conference-opening win at LIU ... He now has 10 career games with multiple passing touchdowns.

LONGBALL IS WORKING
- The Dukes have connected on 19 passes for 15-plus yards this season (4 vs. Boro, 6 at WVU, 3 at CCU, and 6 at LIU) ... Seven of the 19 have gone for touchdowns ... The Perrantes to Powell connection for 38-yards to open the scoring at WVU was the longest TD grab of the season for DU so far ... A 47-yard catch and run from Perrantes to Brown last week at LIU was the longest catch of the season.

- DU ranks 9th in the FCS and paces the NEC in passing yards per completion (14.56) ... The Dukes average the most passing yards per game in the NEC (200.2) ... The 254 passing yards at LIU last week were tied for the third-most by an NEC team this season.

- Darius Perrantes is fifth in the FCS and leads the NEC in passing yards per completion at 15.30.

- Duquesne has three of the top-7 receivers on the NEC's yards per reception leaderboard ... DJ Powell (19.83) is 21st in the FCS and first in the NEC, Keshawn Brown (18.56) is second in the conference, and Tedy Afful (14.0) is seventh.

- Duquesne is one of two NEC teams (CCSU) to have multiple 200+ yard passing games this fall.

BRING OUT THE TURNOVER CHAIN
- Duquesne's defense dominated in the season opener with five takeaways (3 INTs and 2 fumbles), four of which in the first quarter ... The Dukes added two more takeaways in Week 2 at WVU with a special teams fumble recovery on a punt early in the first quarter, which resulted in DU's first TD the ensuing drive, then by knocking the ball out of the WVU running back's hands and through the endzone for a touchback in the third quarter ... The Dukes special teams recovered a muffed punt in the third quarter at CCU, their second straight week jumping on a loose ball after a punt.

- DU forced two turnovers in the NEC opener at LIU, both inside the red-zone (a first quarter fumble recovery and a fourth quarter interception).

- The DU offense has scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive after each of the Dukes' two special teams fumble recoveries this season.

- The season opener was the first time in recorded program history that the Dukes defense charted five takeaways in a single game. - Duquesne is tied for 12th in the FCS and is second in the conference with 10 turnovers gained ... A +2-turnover margin is the second-best margin in the NEC behind Merrimack at +5.

- DU's six fumble recoveries are the most in the conference and tied for third-most in the FCS ... Six is tied with Southern for the most of any FCS team that has played less than five games.

- Duquesne has had 10 different players involved on forcing/recovering its 10 turnovers.

- Ayden Garnes, Tim Lowery, Ezekiel M. Daure, and Dayvia Gbor have the interceptions ... Ty Howard and Ryan Lopez recovered the Edinboro fumbles, Nick Leopold jumped on the special teams fumble at WVU, Gbor recovered the muffed punt at CCU, and Garnes corralled the fumble at LIU ... Gianni Rizzo and Kevin Kurzinger forced the fumbles versus Edinboro, Jaelen Carson stripped the quarterback at LIU, and the WVU and CCU cough-ups were unforced.

THIRD AND NO WHERE TO GO
- Duquesne held Edinboro to 1-of-13 on third downs in the season opener and LIU was just 2-for-10 last week ... DU is holding opponents to a league-best 38.5% conversion rate on third downs ... In non-FBS games, opponents are 3-for-23 on third down.

SACK PARTY
- Duquesne has had 12 different players account for its 11 sacks this season.

- In the season opener, Nick Curci, Kevin Kurzinger, Jack Dunkley, Gianni Rizzo, Ty Howard, and Dayvia Gbor all recorded sacks ... A.J. Ackerman was the seventh player to get on the sack sheet with the lone for the DU defense at WVU ... Ryan Lopez, Noah Palmer, Jaelen Carson, CJ Barnes (0.5), and Jayden Johnson (0.5) all were in on the action in the backfield at LIU.

- 11 sacks for an average of 2.75 per game ranks second in the NEC and 19th in the FCS.

- The 2022 Dukes totaled 29 sacks, tied for the sixth-most in a season in program history.

PICK SIX ON PLAY #2
- Ayden Garnes' 27-yard pick-six on the second play of the season was the quickest touchdown to start a season in recorded history and the fastest score for the Dukes to begin a season since Aaron Reed recorded a 13-yard safety on the first play from scrimmage in the 2013 season opener versus Albany at Rooney Field.

- Garnes' pick-six is one of three in the NEC this season (Junior Wily - Wagner on 9/16 & Tre Jordan III - Merrimack on 9/30).

DOMINATING HOME & SEASON OPENER
- Duquesne dominated every aspect of the home and season opener claiming a 49-7 win over Division II Edinboro.

- The Dukes scored the first 42 points of the game, including a 35-0 halftime lead and 21-0 advantage after one quarter ... DU outgained Boro 390-180 in total offense including 238-63 on the ground ... The defense had five takeways, four in the first quarter.

- DU's season opener versus Edinboro was the first time it opened the season at home since the abbreviated, conference-only spring 2020-21 season (a 30-27 win over Sacred Heart). The last full season to start at Rooney Field was 2019 (a 44-3 win over Walsh). Duquesne has opened the season with a home game just three times in the past 11 full seasons (2019 vs. Walsh, 2015 vs. Kentucky Christian (W, 47-7), and 2013 vs. Albany (W, 35-24).

DOWN, BUT NEVER OUT
- Duquesne came back from as many as 14 points down in last week's conference opener and secured a 31-28 win ... It was the second time in Perrantes' career that he was the starting quarterback of a 14-point comeback, conference victory (31-27 on Nov. 13, 2021 versus Central Conn. State).

DUKES IN THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
 - The Dukes, led by 19th-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, 2013, 2016 and 2018 while capturing the outright title in 2015. Duquesne earned the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs in both 2015 and 2018.

- Duquesne is the winningest program in the conference over the past 12 seasons with a league-leading 82 wins and 52 conference wins since 2011.

- Duquesne is 61-40 all-time in NEC contests including a 35-17 mark at home. The Dukes are 20-6 in NEC action at Rooney Field over the last eight seasons.

- Duquesne is one of two schools that has won five NEC titles since 2011 (Sacred Heart).

NEC WEEKLY HONORS THIS SEASON
PLAYER OF THE WEEKS - Week 5: Special Teams POW - Brian Bruzdewicz / Rookie of the Week - Edward Robinson

PRIME PERFORMERS - Week 1: DB - Ayden Garnes ... Week 2: QB - Darius Perrantes ... Week 5: QB - Darius Perrantes, WR - Tedy Afful, K - Brian Bruzdewicz.

NEXT WEEK
- Duquesne returns home for its first time since September 2 hosting Central Connecticut State in Northeast Conference action.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
- Follow Duquesne football online all season at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqFB).

- Live coverage links for every Duquesne game can be viewed on the schedule page.

- DU will be live on ESPN+ for the week two and three games at WVU and Coastal Carolina, as well as the October 28 game at Sacred Heart ... The October 7 game at Delaware will stream on FloFootball and also be live on NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus ... The remaining seven games can be viewed on NEC Front Row.

- Dukes Football can be heard live again this season on 104.7 HD2, on the iHeart Radio App, or on ESPNpgh.com by searching Duquesne.