PITTSBURGH – Duquesne football travels to Akron for its second FBS matchup of the season and 13th in program history on Saturday evening.
THE MATCHUP
September 20, 2025 • 6:00 PM • InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field (Akron, Ohio)
Duquesne Dukes (1-2, 0-0 NEC)
Akron Zips (0-3, 0-0 MAC)
ADDITIONAL INFO / GAMEDAY LINKS
- FOLLOW LIVE
- GAME NOTES
- COACH'S SHOW
OPENING KICKOFF
FBS Matchup #13: The Dukes (1-2) travel to Akron (0-3) for their second FBS opponent of the 2025 season and 13th all-time FBS matchup. Duquesne is 1-11 all-time against FBS programs. The first matchup was at Buffalo in 2014, and the Dukes have now played 12 more since 2018, marking the fifth straight year with two FBS opponents and six total since 2018. Duquesne is 1-3 all-time vs. Mid-American Conference (MAC) teams, including losses at Buffalo (38-28 in 2014) and Toledo (49-10 in last year's opener), as well as its lone FBS win in 2021 vs. Ohio (28-26). This season, the Dukes opened with a 61-9 loss to Pitt, renewing a historic intracity matchup for the first time since 1939.
NEC Prime Performers: Following standout performances in Week 3, graduate WR
Joey Isabella and junior LB
Jabari Odoemenem were named Northeast Conference (NEC) Prime Performers. Isabella posted a career-high 153 receiving yards, tied his career mark with eight catches, and scored on a 66-yard touchdown — his second 100-plus-yard game of the season and fifth of his career. Odoemenem led the defense with a career-high 12 tackles, the most by any NEC player last week and the first Duke to reach double-digit stops this season, against No. 10 Lehigh.
Last Time Out: Duquesne fell 35-21 to No. 10/12 Lehigh at Rooney Field in a hard-fought non-conference matchup. The Dukes pulled within one score at 28-21 with 12:37 remaining, but the Mountain Hawks (3-0) responded with a third consecutive second-half touchdown and later forced a fumble inside the red zone. Duquesne trailed 14-7 at halftime, and the teams combined for five straight touchdown drives in the second half. Isabella recorded a career-high 153 receiving yards, tied his career mark with eight catches, and scored on a 66-yard pass from QB
Tyler Riddell. Riddell finished 17-of-28 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, including a connection to TE
Daniel Tarabrella, who scored his second touchdown in as many games. Sophomore QB
Logan Kushner also scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
Akron Scout: Akron narrowly fell 31-28 at UAB last week after being shut out in each of their first two games (10-0 vs. Wyoming, 68-0 at Nebraska). The Zips posted season highs with 441 total yards last week (282 passing, 159 rushing) and three touchdowns. Markus Boswell leads the defense with two interceptions, ranking sixth nationally in the FBS, and the Zips have forced three turnovers while committing just two. Akron also ranks among the fewest penalties per game in the FBS.
NICE TO MEET YOU
Akron is the third of four straight first-time opponents for the Dukes to close non-conference action (Lincoln, Lehigh, Akron & New Haven).
RIDDELL ROCKET
Graduate transfer QB
Tyler Riddell leads the NEC and ranks sixth in the FCS with 8 touchdown passes through three weeks.
He also ranks eighth nationally in passing efficiency (170.6), 14th in points responsible for (48 / 16.0 per game), and 19th in yards per completion (13.13), highlighted by a 66-yard touchdown pass last week and a season total of nine completions over 20 yards.
JOEY MAGIC
Graduate WR
Joey Isabella leads the Northeast Conference in nearly every receiving category, including 3 touchdowns (9th in FCS), 22 receptions, 319 yards (7th in FCS), 7.3 receptions per game (8th in FCS), and 106.3 receiving yards per game (7th in FCS). He has caught touchdowns in back-to-back games and has recorded two 8-catch, 100-plus-yard outings this season.
TEAM TIDBITS
Lighting It Up: The Dukes' 55 points and 8 touchdowns vs. Lincoln set an NEC early-season high. Duquesne is second in the league averaging 28.3 points per game and is tied for a league-high 12 touchdowns.
Offensive Edge: Duquesne ranks second in the NEC with 336.7 yards of total offense per game and currently has the league's most efficient offense (164.6 efficiency rating), 10th-best nationally in the FCS.
Fourth-Down Force: After leading the FCS in fourth-down conversions last year (18-20, 90%), the Dukes are 4-for-4 this season, including two conversions in each of the last two games. They are one of just 11 FCS teams at 100% on fourth downs this season.
Run Stoppers: Duquesne allows an NEC-low 115.7 rushing yards per game (20th in FCS) and held Lincoln to just 23 rushing yards in Week 2.
Pressure Point: Five different Dukes have combined for 5 sacks, while 16 players have accounted for 22.0 tackles for loss (18th in FCS), paced by
Jack Dunkley (3.5),
Jabari Odoemenem (2.5), and
Kevin Kurzinger (2.5).
ACTIVE FCS LEADERS
Junior DL
Jack Dunkley ranks in the top-four among active players in the FCS in career tackles for loss per game (4th - 0.95), sacks per game (3rd - 0.66), and forced fumbles per game (2nd - 0.21).
Grad transfer QB
Tyler Riddell owns the second-most career passing yards (8,620) among active FCS quarterbacks.
TRENDS TO NOTE
Dating to 2023, Duquesne is 13-0 when scoring more than 30 points and 12-0 when leading after the first quarter. This season, the Dukes are 1-0 in both categories, highlighted by a 55-14 win over Lincoln (Pa.) and a 14-0 first-quarter lead in Week 2.
STREAK SPOTLIGHT
The Dukes' streak of 12 straight games with a forced turnover, dating back to last season's Week 2 at Boston College, came to an end last week.
WR
Joey Isabella – Has recorded multiple catches in 12 straight games, extended with a tie of his career-high eight receptions vs. Lehigh. Has a touchdown catch in back-to-back games.
DL
Jack Dunkley – Has recorded a tackle for loss in nine straight games, extended with 1.0 TFL vs. Lehigh.
QB
Tyler Riddell – Has thrown a touchdown pass in each of his first three games as a Duke, including multiple in back-to-back (5 vs. Lincoln, 2 vs. Lehigh).
TE
Daniel Tarabrella – Touchdown reception in back-to-back games.
LB
Jabari Odoemenem – Has a tackle for loss in back-to-back games (1.0 vs. Lehigh) and five or more tackles in consecutive games, including a career-high 12 vs. Lehigh.
DB
Dallas Harper – Five or more tackles in back-to-back games.
DL
Kevin Kurzinger – Tackle for loss in back-to-back games (1.0 vs. Lehigh).
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up non-conference action next Saturday hosting New Haven. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Rooney Field.
Purchase tickets here.
MORE ON THE DUKES
View full game notes, interviews, local features and more from the entire season in the
Media Center.
THIS WEEK ON THE JERRY SCHMITT COACH'S SHOW
The latest episode of the
Jerry Schmitt Coach's Show premiers on SportsNet Pittsburgh on Thursday at 9:30 PM. Junior linebacker
Jabari Odoemenem is the player guest. Visit
sportsnetpittsburgh.com for viewing information.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
Follow Duquesne football online all season at
GoDuquesne.com, as well as on
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Facebook (@DuqFB).
