PITTSBURGH -- The Duquesne University football team travels to Boston College this week for a second straight FBS matchup on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
GAMEDAY INFO
September 7, 2024 | 3:30 PM | Alumni Stadium (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
Duquesne Dukes (0-1, 0-0 NEC)
(RV) Boston College Eagles (1-0, 1-0 ACC)
LINKS
OPENING KICKOFF
- Duquesne dropped its season opener at Toledo, FBS members in the Mid-American Conference, 49-10 last Thursday ... The Dukes 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.
- Duquesne won its sixth NEC title and made the program's third appearance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 2023.
- Reigning NEC Coach of the Year, Jerry Schmitt returns to the sideline for his 20th season at the helm of the Dukes and 31st on the DU staff ... Schmitt's 120 wins at the FCS level rank sixth among active coaches, and his 148 career wins rank seventh among active FCS coaches ... With this season, Schmitt will pass Dan McCann for the longest tenured coach in program history ... McCann coached 19 seasons (1970-'83 and 1988-'92)
- Duquesne returns a total of 11 starters and two of its 10 all-conference players from 2023 ... Darius Perrantes (1st team) and Gianni Rizzo (2nd team) are the returners ... Perrantes was also named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List for National Offensive Player of the Year in the FCS, an award he was a finalist for in 2023.
- Boston College, who is coming off a statement win over No. 10 Florida State to begin the Bill O'Brien era on Monday, is the 11th FBS opponent in program history ... The Dukes are playing two FBS teams for the fifth time since 2018 ... It is the second time that DU is opening the season against consecutive FBS teams, the only other was 2021 (at TCU and Ohio).
THE SERIES
- This is the first meeting between Duquesne and Boston College in program history ... The Dukes have played one ACC opponent prior, a matchup at Florida State to begin the 2022 season ... Duquesne scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 22-yard pass as the lone score in a 47-7 loss at FSU.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- Led by first-year head coach Bill O'Brien, Boston College is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the FBS ... O'Brien, who has 13 years of coaching experience in the NFL, has assembled a staff with 70 total years of NFL coaching experience.
- The Eagles ranked second in the ACC and 13th nationally a year ago in rushing yards per game and showcased the strong run game in their opener on Monday night with 263 rushing yards in the 28-13 win at No. 10 Florida State.
- BC never trailed in the opener and led by as many as 15 points (21-6) early in the third quarter ... The Eagles maintained possession for 39-plus minutes ... Junior quarterback Thomas Castellanos led the offense in the win with three total touchdowns (two passing and one rushing) as he racked up 77 yards on the ground and went 10-for-16 through the air for 106 yards.
- Last year, Boston College posted a 7-6 record and 3-5 mark in ACC action ... The Eagles return 15 total starters with seven on offense and eight on defense, while adding 10 players through the transfer portal ... The portal class was ranked 54th in the country.
DUQUESNE GAME 1 REWIND
- Postgame opening statement from Coach Schmitt; "Obviously it's not the result we wanted, I told the guys, we did a lot of good things that first half, made a couple mistakes that separated a little bit, and then you're fighting a battle coming back, and, once again, made a couple mistakes that really separated the game, take us out of having a chance at competing."
- Darius Perrantes threw for 143 yards and a touchdown going 15-for-26 in the season opener ... The senior quarterback tossed his 45th career TD pass to Noah Canty, a senior transfer tight end from Stonehill, for DU's lone endzone trip at Toledo ... Perrantes is two touchdowns away from tying Dave Loya (1994-97) for fifth all-time in career touchdown passes at Duquesne.
- Brian Bruzdewicz drained a 22-yard field goal and made his 99th career PAT ... Bruzdewicz is now tied for fourth at Duquesne in career PATs, the next PAT will make Bruzdewicz one of four kickers in program history to record 100 or more PATs ... He is also third all-time at DU in career points by a kicker (195) and field goals (31).
- John Erby, a graduate transfer from Rhode Island, rekindled a connection with former teammate Darius Perrantes and hauled in a career-high seven catches including multiple acrobatic grabs ... Erby spoke on the connection with Perrantes postgame "I was just looking for opportunity here, my quarterback, old quarterback, gave me one ... It's surreal ... a full circle moment. He was my recruit, actually, because I got there a year before. One of my best friends, he was really good even as a freshman ... Then, he came here and is showing out ... Playing with Darius before, there's just a certain connection that we have."
- Antonio Epps and redshirt freshman Derron Moore led the defense with eight tackles each ... Epps wrapped up four solos, while Moore's eight total were a career-best ... Sophomores Jason Patterson and Jack Dunkley each recorded a sack.
- Duquesne led the time of possession 31:02 to 28:58, had two sacks to Toledo's one and was 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
WINNING TRADITION
- Duquesne has won a conference title 17 times (11 MAAC and 6 NEC) since 1995 (29 seasons) and has posted a .500 or better record in 28 of the 31 seasons played at the FCS level.
- Duquesne's six NEC titles, all since 2011, are the most in the last 13 seasons and are tied with Albany, Central Connecticut State, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart for the most in conference history ... Duquesne, CCSU and Robert Morris are the only active teams in the conference.
- DU leads the NEC with 87 overall and 57 conference wins since 2011, at least 13 more overall victories and 14 more NEC wins than any other team in the league.
- Entering the 2024 season, Duquesne ranked 28th among FCS programs with a 405-309-18 (.566) record in 76 seasons at the major college and NCAA levels.
SCHEDULE QUICK FACTS
- Three away games is the longest away stretch to start the season since 2017.
- DU is 87-50-1 all-time against 2024 opponents.
TEAM CAPTAINS
- Duquesne announced its captains after a team vote ahead of the 2024 season opener.
- Graduate defensive linemen No. 16 A.J. Ackerman, No. 97 Kevin Kurzinger, defensive back No. 2 Tim Lowery, wide receiver No. 4 John Erby, senior quarterback No. 7 Darius Perrantes, No. 57 Cameron McLaurin and redshirt junior defensive back No. 5 Antonio Epps.
- Ackerman, Kurzinger, Lowery and Perrantes have all been voted captains for the second straight year.
MORE ON THE DUKES
- A full preview of Duquesne is available in the game notes packet, here.
THIS WEEK ON THE JERRY SCHMITT COACH'S SHOW
- The newest episode of the Jerry Schmitt Coach's Show airs on SportsNet Pittsburgh on Friday at 4:00 p.m. ... Senior captain and center Cameron McLaurin is this week's player guest ... Visit sportsnetpittsburgh.com for viewing information.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
- Follow Duquesne football online all season at GoDuquesne.com, as well as on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook (@DuqFB).
