MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Duquesne kicker Matt Clark drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Dukes to a 20-17 win over Robert Morris on Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium to close the 2025 season. Duquesne finishes 7-5 overall and 5-2 in NEC play, while Robert Morris ends the year 3-9 and 2-5 in league action.

The Dukes erased a pair of deficits after an early 7-0 lead in a game that featured four lead changes and two ties. Clark hit two fourth-quarter field goals, a 34-yarder to tie it with 8:18 remaining and a 33-yarder as time expired.

Running back Ness Davis rushed for a career-high 179 yards, while wide receiver Joey Isabella posted 108 receiving yards and a 71-yard first-quarter touchdown. Isabella became just the fifth Duke to reach 30 career receiving scores and moved into third in program history in career receptions. Quarterback Tyler Riddell threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns, surpassing 10,000 career passing yards, and tight end Garrett Harrold added his first career touchdown.

Duquesne outgained Robert Morris 421-259, including a 207-81 edge on the ground, and held the ball for 35:22.

HOW IT HAPPENED
A.J. Ackerman blocked a 29-yard field goal to end Robert Morris' opening drive, and on Duquesne's fourth offensive play Tyler Riddell hit Joey Isabella for a 71-yard touchdown — the Dukes' longest pass of the season.

Jack Dunkley forced a fumble recovered by TJ Jones on the next RMU possession, but Duquesne could not convert and carried a 7–0 lead into the second quarter. The Colonials answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass and closed the half with a 23-yard field goal to take a 10–7 advantage into the break.

After both teams went three-and-out to open the second half, Isabella hauled in a 19-yard reception and Ness Davis followed with five consecutive runs to reach the 4-yard line. Garrett Harrold finished the drive with his first career touchdown catch, putting Duquesne ahead 14–10 with 7:49 left in the third. The Dukes maintained the lead into the fourth until RMU broke free for a 63-yard punt return touchdown to go back in front, 17–14.

Duquesne responded with a 10-play, 77-yard drive capped by a 34-yard Matt Clark field goal to tie the game with just over eight minutes remaining, keyed by a 31-yard third-down grab from Alex Gochis.

The Dukes defense did not allow a first down on back-to-back drives to preserve the tie and set up a final possession with 2:16 left. Duquesne executed the two-minute drill, highlighted by a 38-yard Riddell-to-Petras completion into the red zone, before Clark buried a 33-yard field goal as time expired for the win.

NOTES

• Duquesne finishes 5–2 in NEC play, the fifth time in the last six seasons with two or fewer league losses. The Dukes have posted winning overall records in 30 of 33 FCS seasons and winning NEC marks in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
• The Dukes improve to 15–8 all-time vs. Robert Morris, winning eight of the last nine, including back-to-back seasons.
• Duquesne has now won 16 straight games when leading after the first quarter, including 5–0 this season. The Dukes led 7-0 after the opening frame today.
• Matt Clark went 2 for 2 on FGs (34-yard game-tying kick with 8:18 left; 33-yard game-winner) and 2 for 2 on PATs for 8 points. Added a touchback, finishing with 19 on the season, the most by a Duke since Austin Crimmin's 21 in 2015.
• Clark's kick was the first DU game-winning field goal as time expired since Charlie Leventry's 31-yard winner on Nov. 14, 2009 at Sacred Heart.
• RB Ness Davis carried 25 times for a career-high 179 yards (7.2 per carry), his fifth 100-yard game of the season.
• QB Tyler Riddell posted his fifth 200-yard game and seventh multi-TD game at Duquesne. Ended with 10,069 career passing yards, becoming just the second active FCS QB to surpass 10,000, and 77 career touchdown passes.
  • Finished season with 2,053 yards and 26 TDs, the seventh-most TDs in a season in DU history.
  • Riddell and Darius Perrantes are the first DU duo to record 25+ passing TD seasons in back-to-back years by different QBs (Perrantes tied single-season record with 29 last year).
  • Despite not being in the career records for Duquesne as a graduate transfer ... For reference, only two Dukes have ever reached 10,000+ yards and 75+ TDs: Dillon Buechel (10,320/75) and Niel Loebig (10,254/103).
• WR Joey Isabella becomes just the fifth Duke with 30 career receiving TDs and finishes third all-time in career receptions (163) — passing Joe Rosato (159, 1994-97) and Bruce Hocker (162, 2004-07). Only behind Chris King (175, 2012-15) and Nehari Crawford (190, 2015-18).
  • Had 5 catches for 108 yards and a 71-yard touchdown on DU's first drive, his sixth career 100-yard game and third this season.
  • Ends season with career highs in yards (839), receptions (63) and TDs (13).
  • Closed career with multiple receptions in 21 straight games.
• WR Alex Gochis recorded a career-long 31-yard catch in the fourth quarter.
• Freshman WR Ryan Petras tied his season high with 3 catches for 51 yards, including a 38-yard reception to set up the Dukes in the redzone for the game-winning kick.
• The 71-yard Riddell-to-Isabella TD was Duquesne's longest pass of the season.
• TE Garrett Harrold scored his first career touchdown, giving DU a 14-10 third-quarter lead.
• DB Antonio Epps and LB Avery Morris shared the team lead with seven tackles each, with Morris adding 1.5 tackles for loss. Both have led the defense in tackles three times this season. Epps also broke up a pass on third down during the final defensive stand to set up the game-winning drive.
• Duquesne totaled 4.0 TFLs — Morris (1.5), Nico Pate (1.0), Adrian Ramirez (1.0) and Alex Reese III (0.5). Reese has posted a TFL in three straight games.
• DL Jack Dunkley matched a career-high with five tackles, forced a first-quarter fumble, which TJ Jones recovered, extending Duquesne's streak to nine straight games with a takeaway and 11 of 12 on the season.
• A.J. Ackerman's blocked field goal on RMU's opening drive was Duquesne's first since 2022.
• P Michael Berarducci set a new career long with a 69-yard punt in the third quarter, the fourth-longest in program history.