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
ConferenceNortheast Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 21
FCS CoachesNo. 24
2018 record9–4 (5–1 NEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAnthony Doria
Defensive coordinatorDave Opfar
Home stadiumArthur 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
1Central Connecticut
2Duquesne
3Bryant
4Saint Francis
5Wagner
6Sacred Heart
7Robert Morris

Preseason All-NEC team

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

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 255:30 p.m.at UMass*ELVNL 15–638,684
September 12:00 p.m.Lock Haven*NECFRW 45–01,830
September 812:00 p.m.Valparaiso*
  • Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
NECFRW 23–21943
September 1512:00 p.m.Dayton*
  • Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
NECFRW 31–261,534
September 2312:00 a.m.at Hawaii*SPEC HIL 21–4226,175
October 61:00 p.m.Bryant
  • Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
NECFRL 20–212,145
October 137:00 p.m.Robert Morris
  • Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
ESPN3W 48–242,046
October 2012:00 p.m.at Saint Francis (PA)NECFRW 27–201,532
November 312:00 p.m.at WagnerESPN3W 47–301,942
November 1012:00 p.m.Sacred Heart
  • Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
NECFRW 28–241,304
November 1712:00 p.m.at Central ConnecticutNECFRW 38–313,617
November 242:00 p.m.at No. 16 Towson*ESPN3W 31–102,158
December 13:00 p.m.at No. 5 South Dakota State*ESPN3L 6–513,042
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

at UMass

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

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