The Duquesne Dukes (0-3) finally return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saturday when they host the Rio Grande RedStorm (0-3) at Rooney Field in their final tune-up before Northeast Conference play.
After opening with three straight road games against Air Force, Youngstown State and Washington State, the Dukes will be happy simply to see home turf. It is also Senior Day, with Duquesne honoring 42 players and managers before kickoff.
A brutal opening stretch
The record doesn’t tell much of the story for Duquesne. The Dukes were handed an unusually difficult opening schedule featuring two FBS opponents and a top-10 FCS team. Last week, they were within 14-7 of Washington State at halftime before the Cougars pulled away for a 48-7 win.
Watch live. Rio Grande RedStorm @ Duquesne Dukes, Sept. 26, 18:00 CET (6 pm, 12 noon ET)
Running back Dazhaun Hopkins broke loose for 54 yards to set up Duquesne’s touchdown, while Ryan Petras caught four passes for 56 yards. Through three games, Ness Davis leads the Dukes with 147 rushing yards, while Petras has 120 receiving yards and a touchdown.
RedStorm rebuilding from the ground up
Rio Grande presents a very different story. The NAIA program is playing just its second season since football returned after a 75-year absence. The RedStorm are also 0-3, but showed improvement last week in a 38-17 loss to Cumberlands after falling 61-12 to Lindsey Wilson the week before.
History strongly favors the hosts. Duquesne has won 18 straight home openers and is 28-2 in non-conference games at Rooney Field since 2008. The Dukes have also won 14 consecutive games against non-Division I opponents.
For Duquesne, though, this is less about history than finding its footing. Establish the run, control field position and avoid giving an ambitious Rio Grande team reason to believe early, and the Dukes can finally put September’s brutal opening stretch behind them.