TOLEDO, Ohio – The Duquesne University football team dropped a mutual season opener on Thursday night at Toledo, 49-10, inside the Glass Bowl.
Toledo, members of the Mid-American Conference in the FBS, was the 10th FBS opponent in program history for Duquesne and it was the fifth time DU opened the season against an FBS team.
Duquesne scored on consecutive drives making it 14-7 and 21-10 but could not keep up with the explosive Toledo offense that racked up 446 yards of total offense.
Senior transfer tight end Noah Canty hauled in a four-yard touchdown pass from Darius Perrantes at the 1:20 mark in the first quarter for DU's first score of the year, then Brian Bruzdewicz connected on a 22-yard field goal after a 13-play, 82-yard drive near the midway point in the second quarter.
The Rockets scored touchdowns on seven of their 12 drives, including three of the first four in the second half to quickly extend their halftime lead of 28-10 to 42-10.
John Erby, a graduate transfer recently named team captain, made his Dukes debut with a career-high seven receptions to lead all players in the game. Erby collected a team-high 69 yards through the air, including a long catch of 24 yards on fourth down to extend the DU drive that ended with a field goal into the red zone. Ian Sheehan added a 35-yard catch to get Duquesne into Toledo territory on the same possession.
Eight different players for Duquesne recorded receptions. Quarterback Darius Perrantes finished 15-for-26 for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Jordan Heisey saw time in the second half and was 2-for-3 for 18 yards.
Antonio Epps and Derron Moore paced the defense with eight tackles apeice. Epps led the way with four solos, while Moore's eight were a career-high. Ty Howard charted a career-best seven tackles, while Jason Patterson and Jack Dunkley posted the lone sacks of the day for the Dukes defense.
Duquesne was 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions and scored on both red zone attempts.
The Dukes are now 1-9 all-time versus FBS foes. This was the first meeting between the Dukes and Rockets. DU falls to 1-2 against MAC programs.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Jerry Schmitt
John Erby
UP NEXT
Duquesne will continue its FBS road trip to start the season with a matchup at Boston College on Saturday. Kick off from Chestnut Hill is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ACCNX and ESPN+. It is the second time in program history the Dukes are opening against back-to-back FBS opponents, 2021 was the only other time against TCU and Ohio.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow Duquesne football all season online at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqFB).
