2019 Duquesne Dukes football team

2019 Duquesne Dukes football
Conference	Northeast Conference
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)

2019 Northeast Conference football standings

	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

The 2019 Duquesne Dukes football team represents Duquesne University in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They are led by 15th-year head coach Jerry Schmitt and play their home games at Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field. They play as a member of the Northeast Conference.

Previous season

Main article: 2018 Duquesne Dukes football team

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.

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.

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	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

Game summaries

Walsh

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

See also: Walsh Cavaliers football

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Youngstown State

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

See also: 2019 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–3	2016	L, 10–45

at Dayton

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

See also: 2019 Dayton Flyers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–5	2018	W, 31–26

at New Hampshire

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

See also: 2019 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

LIU

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

See also: 2019 LIU Sharks football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

at Sacred Heart

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

See also: 2019 Sacred Heart Pioneers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–4	2018	W, 28–24

Wagner

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

See also: 2019 Wagner Seahawks football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–5	2018	W, 47–30

Saint Francis

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

See also: 2019 Saint Francis Red Flash football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
37–8	2018	W, 27–20

at Robert Morris

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

See also: 2019 Robert Morris Colonials football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
13–7	2018	W, 48–24

at Bryant

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

See also: 2019 Bryant Bulldogs football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–6	2018	L, 20–21

Central Connecticut

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

See also: 2019 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
6–6	2018	W, 38–31

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes

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