2019 Duquesne Dukes football team

2019 Northeast Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; ^ – FCS playoff participant; * – Merrimack ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I, and also ineligible for NEC title due to not playing a full conference schedule ; Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Duquesne Dukes football
2019 Duquesne Dukes football
Conference	Northeast Conference
2019 record	6–5 (4–3 NEC)
Head coach	Jerry Schmitt (15th season);
Offensive coordinator	Anthony Doria (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Dave Opfar (10th season)
Home stadium	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (capacity: 2,200)
	Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

The 2019 Duquesne Dukes football team represented Duquesne University as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and played their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. Duquesne compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the NEC.

Previous season[]

The Dukes finished the 2018 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.

Preseason[]

Preseason coaches' poll[]

The NEC released their preseason coaches' poll on July 24, 2019. The Dukes were picked to finish in first place.^[1]

Predicted finish	Team (1st place votes)
1	Duquesne (7)
2	Sacred Heart (1)
3	Central Connecticut
4	Wagner
5	Bryant
6	Saint Francis
7	Robert Morris
8	LIU

Preseason All-NEC team[]

The Dukes had nine players at eight positions selected to the preseason all-NEC team.^[1]

Offense

Daniel Parr – QB

AJ Hines – RB

Kellon Taylor – WR

Gabe Spurlock – OL

Matt Womack – OL

Defense

Kam Carter – DL

Brett Zanotto – LB

Reid Harrison-Ducros – DB

Specialists

Mitch Maczura – K

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	3:00 p.m.	Walsh*	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	NEC Front Row	W 44–3	2,257
September 14	2:00 p.m.	at Youngstown State*	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	L 14–34	15,991
September 21	1:00 p.m.	at Dayton*	Welcome Stadium Dayton, OH	Facebook Live	W 35–31	4,917
September 28	1:00 p.m.	at New Hampshire*	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	FloFootball	L 6–23	7,920
October 5	12:00 p.m.	LIU	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	NEC Front Row	W 21–14	1,956
October 19	12:00 p.m.	at Sacred Heart	Campus Field Fairfield, CT	ESPN3	W 20–6	5,151
October 26	1:00 p.m.	Wagner	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	NEC Front Row	W 28–24	2,452
November 2	12:00 p.m.	Saint Francis (PA)	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN3	W 30–21	1,297
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Robert Morris	Joe Walton Stadium Moon Township, PA	NEC Front Row	L 21–41	2,321
November 16	1:00 p.m.	at Bryant	Beirne Stadium Smithfield, RI	NEC Front Row	L 16–20	1,372
November 23	12:00 p.m.	No. 18 Central Connecticut	Rooney Field Pittsburgh, PA	NEC Front Row	L 10–43	1,324
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]^[3]

Game summaries[]

Walsh[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	0	3	0	3
Dukes	7	13	14	10	44

at Youngstown State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	7	0	7	14
Penguins	7	14	6	7	34

at Dayton[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	14	7	7	7	35
Flyers	7	14	7	3	31

at New Hampshire[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	0	0	6	6
Wildcats	10	3	3	7	23

LIU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Sharks	0	0	7	7	14
Dukes	7	6	0	8	21

at Sacred Heart[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	3	14	0	3	20
Pioneers	0	0	6	0	6

Wagner[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	0	14	0	10	24
Dukes	0	14	7	7	28

Saint Francis[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Flash	7	7	7	0	21
Dukes	7	13	10	0	30

at Robert Morris[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	0	0	7	14	21
Colonials	7	13	7	14	41

at Bryant[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Dukes	3	0	3	10	16
Bulldogs	3	9	8	0	20

Central Connecticut[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Blue Devils	12	7	17	7	43
Dukes	0	10	0	0	10

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
Coaches	RV

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Duquesne Deemed 'Team to Beat' at #NECFB Social Media Day; Preseason All-NEC Team also Unveiled". July 24, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
^ "2019 Duquesne Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
^ "2019 Football Schedule". Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved August 3, 2019.

[2019_NEC_Coaches_Poll_and_Team-1] "Duquesne Deemed 'Team to Beat' at #NECFB Social Media Day; Preseason All-NEC Team also Unveiled". July 24, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.

[2] "2019 Duquesne Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 3, 2019.

[3] "2019 Football Schedule". Duquesne University Athletics. Retrieved August 3, 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Duquesne Dukes football
Venues	Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field (1993–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1937 Orange Bowl
Culture & lore	""
People	NFL draftees
Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904–1912 1913 1914 1915–1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951–1968 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
National championship seasons in bold

2019 Northeast Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
No. 23 Central Connecticut $^		7	–	0		11	–	1
Robert Morris		6	–	1		7	–	5
Duquesne		4	–	3		6	–	5
Sacred Heart		4	–	3		7	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)		3	–	4		6	–	6
Bryant		3	–	4		4	–	8
Wagner		1	–	6		1	–	11
LIU		0	–	7		0	–	10
Merrimack *		0	–	0		6	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Merrimack ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I, and also ineligible for NEC title due to not playing a full conference schedule Rankings from STATS Poll