# 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.

## Preseason
### Award watch lists

| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Walter Payton Award | 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.
| 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.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 25 | 5:30 p.m. | at UMass* | Warren McGuirk Alumni StadiumHadley, MA | ELVN | L 15–63 | 8,684 |
| September 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Lock Haven* | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NECFR | W 45–0 | 1,830 |
| September 8 | 12:00 p.m. | Valparaiso* | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NECFR | W 23–21 | 943 |
| September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | Dayton* | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NECFR | W 31–26 | 1,534 |
| September 23 | 12:00 a.m. | at Hawaii* | Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI | SPEC HI | L 21–42 | 26,175 |
| October 6 | 1:00 p.m. | Bryant | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NECFR | L 20–21 | 2,145 |
| October 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Robert Morris | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | ESPN3 | W 48–24 | 2,046 |
| October 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at Saint Francis (PA) | DeGol FieldLoretto, PA | NECFR | W 27–20 | 1,532 |
| November 3 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wagner | Wagner College StadiumStaten Island, NY | ESPN3 | W 47–30 | 1,942 |
| November 10 | 12:00 p.m. | Sacred Heart | Arthur J. Rooney Athletic FieldPittsburgh, PA | NECFR | W 28–24 | 1,304 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at Central Connecticut | Arute FieldNew Britain, CT | NECFR | W 38–31 | 3,617 |
| November 24 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Towson* | Johnny Unitas StadiumTowson, 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 StadiumBrookings, SD (FCS Playoffs Second Round) | ESPN3 | L 6–51 | 3,042 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "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 — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 21 |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 24 |