2018 Duquesne Dukes football team

The 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 14th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They played as a member of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–1 in NEC play to be NEC co-champions with Sacred Heart. Due to their head-to-head win over Sacred Heart, they received the NEC's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Towson in the first round before losing in the second round to South Dakota State.

2018 Duquesne Dukes football
NEC co-champion
FCS Playoffs Second Round, L 6–51 vs. South Dakota State
Conference	Northeast Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 21
FCS Coaches	No. 24
2018 record	9–4 (5–1 NEC)
Head coach	Jerry Schmitt (14th season)
Offensive coordinator	Anthony Doria
Defensive coordinator	Dave Opfar
Home stadium	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (Capacity: 2,200)

2018 Northeast Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 21 Duquesne +^		5	–	1					8	–	3
Sacred Heart +		5	–	1					7	–	4
Central Connecticut		4	–	2					6	–	5
Wagner		3	–	3					4	–	7
Saint Francis (PA)		2	–	4					4	–	7
Bryant		2	–	4					6	–	5
Robert Morris		0	–	6					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Previous season

The Dukes finished the 2017 season 7–4, 4–2 in NEC play to finish in a tie for second place.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Award	Player	Position	Year
Walter Payton Award[1]	A.J. Hines	RB	JR

NEC coaches poll

The NEC released their preseason coaches poll on July 24, 2018, with the Dukes predicted to finish in second place.[2]

Predicted finish	Team
1	Central Connecticut
2	Duquesne
3	Bryant
4	Saint Francis
5	Wagner
6	Sacred Heart
7	Robert Morris

Preseason All-NEC team

The Dukes placed five players on the preseason all-NEC team.[3]

Offense AJ Hines – RB Nehari Crawford – WR Alex Conley – OL Matt Fitzpatrick – OL

Defense Jonathant Istache – DB

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	5:30 p.m.	at UMass*	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	ELVN	L 15–63	8,684
September 1	2:00 p.m.	Lock Haven*	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	NECFR	W 45–0	1,830
September 8	12:00 p.m.	Valparaiso*	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	NECFR	W 23–21	943
September 15	12:00 p.m.	Dayton*	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	NECFR	W 31–26	1,534
September 23	12:00 a.m.	at Hawaii*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI	SPEC HI	L 21–42	26,175
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Bryant	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	NECFR	L 20–21	2,145
October 13	7:00 p.m.	Robert Morris	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN3	W 48–24	2,046
October 20	12:00 p.m.	at Saint Francis (PA)	DeGol Field Loretto, PA	NECFR	W 27–20	1,532
November 3	12:00 p.m.	at Wagner	Wagner College Stadium Staten Island, NY	ESPN3	W 47–30	1,942
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field Pittsburgh, PA	NECFR	W 28–24	1,304
November 17	12:00 p.m.	at Central Connecticut	Arute Field New Britain, CT	NECFR	W 38–31	3,617
November 24	2:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Towson*	Johnny Unitas Stadium Towson, MD (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN3	W 31–10	2,158
December 1	3:00 p.m.	at No. 5 South Dakota State*	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN3	L 6–51	3,042
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at UMass

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	3	6	0	6	15
Minutemen	21	14	21	7	63

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DUQ UMass 1 13:57 1 32 0:08 UMass Brennon Dingle 32-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Ford, Mike Caggiano kick good 0 7 1 11:35 2 77 0:45 UMass Andy Isabella 60-yard touchdown reception from Ross Comis, Cooper Garcia kick good 0 14 1 6:20 8 87 3:01 UMass Bilal Ally 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Caggiano kick good 0 21 1 0:50 6 28 2:58 DUQ 32-yard field goal by Mitch MacZura 3 21 2 14:30 5 75 1:20 UMass Andy Isabella 14-yard touchdown run, Cooper Garcia kick good 3 28 2 3:12 12 62 4:19 UMass Marquis Young 2-yard touchdown run, Mike Caggiano kick good 3 35 2 0:05 9 66 3:07 DUQ Nehari Crawford 5-yard touchdown reception from Daniel Parr, 2-point pass failed 9 35 3 12:22 6 54 2:38 UMass Andy Isabella 44-yard touchdown reception from Andrew Ford, Cooper Garcia kick good 9 42 3 10:09 UMass Interception returned 60 yards for touchdown by Brice McAlister, Mike Caggiano kick good 9 49 3 3:33 8 81 3:40 UMass Ross Comis 1-yard touchdown run, Cooper Garcia kick good 9 56 4 10:27 17 71 2:55 DUQ Daniel Parr 2-yard touchdown run, Mitch MacZura kick failed 15 56 4 7:42 7 87 2:43 UMass Zak Simon 14-yard touchdown reception from Ross Comis, Mike Caggiano kick good 15 63 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 15 63

Lock Haven

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bald Eagles	0	0	0	0	0
Dukes	14	21	7	3	45

Valparaiso

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crusaders	0	14	0	7	21
Dukes	7	0	10	6	23

Dayton

	1	2	3	4	Total
Flyers	6	7	6	7	26
Dukes	14	10	7	0	31

at Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	14	0	0	7	21
Rainbow Warriors	7	14	7	14	42

Bryant

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	7	7	0	21
Dukes	7	6	7	0	20

Robert Morris

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonials	7	7	3	7	24
Dukes	7	24	10	7	48

at Saint Francis (PA)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	6	7	14	27
Red Flash	10	3	7	0	20

at Wagner

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	7	14	6	20	47
Seahawks	6	17	0	7	30

Sacred Heart

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pioneers	0	7	14	3	24
Dukes	14	7	7	0	28

at Central Connecticut

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	7	14	7	10	38
Blue Devils	14	3	7	7	31

FCS Playoffs

at Towson–First Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	3	14	14	31
No. 16 Tigers	7	3	0	0	10

at South Dakota State–Second Round

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	0	6	0	6
No. 5 Jackrabbits	7	17	20	7	51

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	21
Coaches	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	24

References

1. "FCS football: 2018 Walter Payton Award watch list". August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
2. http://www.northeastconference.org/news/2018/7/24/football-defending-champ-ccsu-tops-preseason-coaches-poll-places-league-high-seven-on-all-nec-team.aspx
3. http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/northeastconference.org/documents/2018/7/24/FB_18_All_NEC_preseason_list.pdf?id=18285