2018 College Football Team Previews: Duquesne Dukes
Duquesne Dukes
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Coach: Jerry Schmitt (83-58)
Stadium: Rooney Field (Capacity: 2,200)
CSJ Projections:
2nd: NEC
6th: Pennsylvania
59st: FCS
185th: Division I
2017 In A Sentence: The Dukes seemed to be cruising towards another NEC title, but promptly lost their last three games – two to conference opponents – to finish 7-4.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: Boise State transfer QB Bobby Stuart came into Pittsburgh and met lofty expectations, passing for 27 TDs, 2,405 yards and achieving NEC Offensive Player of the Year. That’s not exactly an easy guy to replace.
Key Player: Can Duquesne’s heir to Bobby Stuart form the same sort of quarterback-to-wideout bond that Stuart shared with WR Nehari Crawford last year? As Stuart’s go-to guy, Crawford was a 1,000 yard receiver with 15 TDs, and whomever ends up being Jerry Schmitt’s QB he’ll have to have a gameplan to get Nehari the ball early and often. Crawford might need to be the guy that the offense leans on a bit extra, too.
Fearless Prediction: Duquesne has one of the most interesting schedules in the NEC this year, with games against two FBS teams (UMass and Hawai’i) that are not unwinnable, along with a strong Division II opponent (Lock Haven). After that stretch, the Dukes will hit conference play with a critical game against Bryant. That game could be the one that catapults Duquense to another NEC title, or sees them fall back to the pack.
Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.
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