Robert Morris Ties the Steel City Series 6-6

The Colonials proved that they are for real at Joe Walton Stadium, dropping their cross-town rivals the Duquesne Dukes 34-11. The Duquesne offense never really got on track as the Colonials outgained the Dukes 355-191. After taking a lead on an Eric Dule 34 yard field goal, the Colonials ran off the next 27 points beginning with a 9 yard run by QB Jeff Sinclair aided by a 19 yard Duquesne punt.

Plain and simple, Robert Morris won this game in the trenches and by negating the talent position players from Duquesne. Larry McCoy was outgained by Miles Russ 154 to 81; the first in a while he was held under 100. McCoy still had a healthy per carry average of 4.5, but the Dukes just couldn’t keep drives long enough to get him enough carries. This led to Robert Morris possessing the ball over ten minutes more than the Dukes.

The Colonials plainly demonstrated that they deserve their RPI and Sagarin Ratings and could surprise the traditional conferences should they make it to the FCS Playoffs.

Commentary:
I’m far from able to cast the first stone and I know that we live in a culture that increasingly follows the maxim that “If you aren’t cheating you aren’t really trying”. This may also come off as sour grapes but honestly, the Colonials are good enough to have won yesterday without the help of a poorly hidden "scouting party".

However, this is a game where sportsmanship matters and where coaches need to teach more than just football. Unfortunately, I can’t really claim that no one with Duquesne connections would ever get caught doing something unethical.

Next week Robert Morris takes on Central Connecticut State who is also undefeated in the NEC to determine who will be the first conference team ever to make the FCS Playoffs. I wish RMU all the fortune in the world since they are a team from Pittsburgh and the Dukes are now out of the running. Their victory over the Dukes was unquestioned but the methods of some may be.

Predicting the Dukes/Colonials: Throw Away the Stat Sheet

When my family went to the racetrack, I’d pore over the race form to find some hidden advantage buried deep in a horse’s past to try and beat the odds and pick a winner. I’d try to see how the favorite did in similar track conditions vs. the field to discover the key to placing the right bet while my wife would bet on the horse with the neatest sounding name. I usually chuckled to myself as she placed her bets while I studied the racing form one last time to see what I may have missed.

Well, here are the results of my studies this week...

Key #1: Against common opponents, Duquesne beat the only team to defeat the Colonials. This may not be the best key to the game since this was the first game of the year for Robert Morris and the second for the Dukes. Also, Robert Morris pulled out a 1 point victory over Monmouth, a team that beat the Dukes. Edge Even

Key #2: Since last year’s 34-20 loss to Duquesne, Robert Morris has won 11 of their last 12 games. Edge Colonials

Key #3: Home Field Advantage goes to Robert Morris with a 3-1 edge over the Dukes at Moon Township. However, the Dukes have split the two games at Joe Walton Stadium. Duquesne finally won its first road game last week over Wagner. Duquesne has won the past 5 at Rooney and 6 of the past 8 meetings overall. Home Field Edge Colonials, but History Edge goes slightly to the Dukes

Key #4: Both teams possess one of the best running backs in the FCS with Duquesne’s Larry McCoy and Ro Mo’s Myles Russ. Russ has gained 1,000 in each of the past two seasons and has another 806 so far this year. Larry McCoy rank 9th nationally with over 900 yards this year and a 118.6 per game average. Edge- Slight to the Dukes

Key #5: Like the other “Old Joe” (Paterno), Joe Walton seems to have rediscovered his touch after a couple of down years. After dominating the NEC in the early years, Joewa has his team on top again with a perfect conference record. He blasted their NEC heir and backyard bully, Albany scoring 38 and shutting out the formerly great Danes. Jerry Schmitt though, is 4-1 against the Colonials. Edge- Even

Key #5: The Dukes have a stable of talent at the skill positions with Dixon, Williams, McCoy, Patterson, Moore, Bunovich and the gang. The Colonials have talent at the skill positions too led by Russ. The Dukes have been able to focus on stopping him at 85 yards last year. Edge- Dukes

Key #6: Special Teams have hurt the Dukes, particularly on kickoffs and punts. The Dukes are making progress on scoring with Eric Dule becoming a very accurate kicker and Duquesne’s punting game handed over to a new freshman who has brought up the average up a bit. Edge- Colonials

Key #7- This game will come down to the Duke's defense being able to stop the Colonials late in the game. Their D has shown flashes of brilliance but has given up too many points until last week's game against Wagner. They held the Dukes in the game time after time when the Dukes could have rolled over until the offense rediscovered how to connect. They have finally put it together. Edge Dukes

Funny thing, but no matter how hard I tried, my wife sometime cleaned up better at the track when she bet with her heart.

I think that this game could go either way. When my mind can’t convince my heart to pick against the Dukes, I go with the Dukes in a great game, 28-24.

Small schools foster big rivalries with plenty of drama

By Scott Gleeson and Craig Bennett, USA TODAY
Perhaps nothing in college football can top the game against the archrival. At the major college level, the battle more often is for an upper hand in recruiting and statewide bragging rights. At levels below that, although the spotlight might not be as bright, the players and fans can bring intensity just as spirited.
Whether it's a longtime rivalry or a brand new rivalry, the travel between schools can sometimes be within walking distance. This weekend's schedule brings a mix of matchups ranging from Championship Subdivision to Division III sure to fan the flames. A sampling:

Championship Subdivision

Duquesne (5-3) at Robert Morris (6-1)

Saturday, noon ET

Series: Duquesne leads 6-5

Pittsburgh proper vs. the suburbs (RMU is in Moon Township). Adding spice is that the schools are both in the Northeast Conference for football. For the first time this year, the league title brings with it an automatic spot in the NCAA playoffs. Robert Morris leads the NEC with a 5-0 mark; Duquesne is 3-2.

This year's game is at Joe Walton Stadium, named in 2005 in honor of the only football coach Robert Morris has had. Walton had coaching stints at the NFL level — with the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers before starting up the grass-roots Robert Morris program.

"The rivalry has always been great for both schools," Walton said of his team's matchup with Duquesne. "It generates a lot of interest and the kids have more enthusiasm for the game. I remember when we first started playing (Duquesne), it was standing room only and we were neophytes. It's been a friendly rivalry ever since."

Walton linked Saturday's game to the Pittsburgh and West Virginia rivalry he experienced as a college player with the Panthers.

"It brings me back to the Backyard Brawl," he said. "Even with smaller programs, the atmosphere doesn't change and one thing I've learned about rivalries is that the home team doesn't always have the upper hand."

Dukes Rally to Top Wagner: 21-20

The Duquesne offense sputtered at times but came through when it needed most to pull out a 21-20 victory to spoil Wagner’s Homecoming. The offense started the game well to take the first lead of the game on a Sean Patterson to Conner Dixon 13 yard TD pass to cap a 12 play 88 yard game opening drive. Larry McCoy continued to impress by picking up 45 of his game total 131 yards on that drive. The Dukes waited until the fourth quarter to score again on 15 and 16 yard passes to Dave Williams.

Their closing pressure packed, game winning drive was their most impressive, starting from their on 2 yard line and repeatedly converting on long third downs. The drive brought back memories of what Patterson did earlier this year when he capped a game winning drive against Dayton with his toss to Sean Bunovich. Patterson seems to be at his best when put into pressure situations. Almost half of his passing yards came on the 98 yard game winning drive when he completed 4 of 9 passes for 91 of the 98 yard drive.

The Duquesne Defense may have played its best and most consistent game of the year to keep the Dukes in the game, holding the Seahawks to field goals after two fumbled punt returns and another by fumble by Sean Patterson in their own territory.

Starring for the Defense were Nathan Totino who had his usual game high 12 tackles, Alex Inda who contributed 10 stops and a sack and Serge Kona who stopped Wagner for losses on three occasions. Altogether, the defense held the NEC’s leader in total offense, QB Nick Doscher to just 150 yards on only 8 completions on 26 attempts. They fittingly closed out the game with a Wade Powell interception of as Wagner drove near mid-field. Not only did the Dukes spoil Wagner’s Homecoming, but they kept Seahawk coach Walt Hamline from his 200th career victory.

Notes: Next week the Dukes travel to take on NEC leader and cross town rival Robert Morris at Noon.

Wagner Preview and Prediction

Waner may be the most underrated NEC team. Their defense ranks 8th nationally giving up an average of 277 yards per game. Don't be fooled by the "soph" status of their QB Nick Doscher. The man is a 23 year old former minor league catcher for the KC Royals organization. He leads the NEC in total offense with 243 yards per game.

Head Coach Walt Hameline knows how to put it all together and is 199-112-2 overall.

Duquesne's kickoff and punting game is not giving the defense an easy time by constantly giving away field position.

Prediction: My head says Wagner 31- Dukes 28. My heart says Duquesne 27- Wagner 24. I'll go with my heart- GO DUQUESNE!!!

DUKES BACK ON TRACK OVER SACRED HEART: 37-17

The Duquesne Dukes played take away against the Sacred Heart to pull out of a two game mid-season downturn. The Dukes led from an impressive opening drive which forced the Pioneers to take more risks trying to get caught up, turning the ball over 4 times and again on attempts to convert on fouth down fourth quarter drives. Larry McCoy made the visitors pay by grinding out 122 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. McCoy is now the 9th leading FCS running back in the nation behind an improving offensive line and under-rated blocking of fullback, Marek Lapinski. Lapinski got some glory for himself by pulling in a short 4 yard pass for a touchdown of his own.

Sean Patterson looked like he has recovered from his ankle injury by spreading the ball around to 8 different receivers for 181 yards. Patterson’s other touchdown pass was a 49 yarder to Dave Williams. Williams and Conner Dixon each pulled in 4 passes while TE Sean Bunevich pulled in 2 before leaving with a leg injury late in the game.

Alex Inda returned a fumbled punt attempt 38 yards for a score and Eric Dule seems to have found a degree of consistency by converting on all three of his field goal attempts and all four of his extra point attempts. His 13 points are the most from a Duquesne kicker in recent memory.
The special teams took a second fumble away from the Pioneers when Aaron Fitzpatrick forced a fumble that led to Patterson’s long strike to Williams.

The score could have been even more lopsided had the Dukes not to settle for three points on two other turnovers inside the Pioneer’s 20 yard-line.

Next Week Duquesne travels to Wagner.

Giving Credit When it is Due...

I've been guilty of complaining about many things on this board. It is time I give the Athletic Department credit for a few things.

First, the expanded Picnic AND restoring the tailgate area. The Straub beer and picnic menu is a nice touch and they did listen to the suggestion to pipe in the radio play by play. It is a bit expensive, but it is nicely done. Moving the picnic area to the Academic Walk side to let some real tailgating take place on the other side is a good idea. There have been more and more party tents popping up there from visiting fans. There is room for a few more local fans to get into the swing. If we could bring back the atmosphere when the Lehigh Valley folks had, it would add much to the atmosphere. This could spread out further along Bluff Street.

While still not a college marching band the pep band is starting to play loud enough to be heard for the National Anthem. Greg- I know that X didn't have football, but a real halftime show means a marching band.

The Department chose the right conference. At first I had hoped to get into the Pioneer with Dayton, but adding this level of scholarships at this time allowed the program to grow at a reasonable pace. Dayton has a huge football "endowment" that lets them do scholarships, but not officially through the university. The NEC is on the rise dramatically if you look at the Gridiron Index, RPI and Sagarin.

Scheduling Delaware was GREAT. It showed that we can hold our own against what may be the best program in the nation this year. Rhode Island would be a good add of another A-10 school, particularly if they are heading into the NEC. They gave Delaware a good game last week too. Youngstown State or even a BCS team like Akron would be a good thing to consider. We are actually ranked ahead of the Zips in most indexes.

They are now charging for admission on the visitor's side now. This really grated many fans to see the visitors bring in a few hundred fans for free while the fans were being asked to contribute to the program.

Thanks Dr. D. and Mr. A.

Duquesne-Sacred Heart Keys and Prediction

Kicking Game:
Very simply, the Field Goal department has improved but the field position has has been hurting Duquesne all year.

Defense:
Dave Opfar's men need to make a statement that Duquesne doesn't need to put over 30 points on the board to win a game. Other than the game against the inexperienced Bucknell offense, the defense has yet to show just how good they are. They have played well in spurts and seem to have potential.

Home Cooking:
The Dukes need to re-energize the fan base at home. The Bucknell game and the excitement leading into the Delaware game needs to be re-captured in order to get a good Duke's contingent vs. Robert Morris in a few weeks.

Finishing Drives:
Duquesne has proven that they can move the ball against anyone in the country, including Delaware. They have to be able to finish drives since the battle of statistics doesn't win football games.

Keep a Balanced Attack:
With the running of Larry McCoy and the stable of targets Sean Patterson has the Dukes need to keep opponents guessing. Play calling is a huge key.

Confidence without Overconfidence:
Yes, Sacred Heart is 1-5. However, the Pioneers lost 3 games by 4 or less points including last week's to Bryant. The Duke's psyche may be damaged by last week's close loss to Central Connecticut and the unexplainable melt down the week before. They can't afford to take the Pioneers lightly, nor can they get down on themselves. This team has to remember that they came withing a heel on the back of the end-zone of an overtime game on the road against the team that may be the best in its conference. This team has guts. Last week they weren't reward by a few inches. Mental preparation will be vital in this game to get the Dukes back on track.


Prediction: Duquesne 27 - Sacred Heart 21

Dukes Come Back Rulled Out: 31-29 (By Curious)

My laptop died this morning, but thanks to "Curious" from the Football Forum, we have a pretty good wrap-up. The Dukes got two touchdowns late to pull within a 2 point conversion of tying the game up. An apparent successful conversion was ruled incomplete when the officials determined that Akeem Moore stepped out of the end zone before he came back to catch the ball from Sean Patterson. I'd give anything for a replay.

Good Things:

The Dukes' Two-Minute Offense

The Dukes' Never-Say-Die attitude

Larry McCoy

The Dukes' steadily improving Offensive Line

Eric Duale's FG consistency

The defense's growing ability to adjust and adapt

The Dukes' Kickoff Return team (and Freshman Ryan Ho)

Sean Patterson's confidence

Freshman Aaron Fleck and the improving Punt team

Coach Schmitt's patience with our QB

The Dukes' receiving corps

The Dukes' defense gang-tackling


Not-So-Good Things:

The Dukes' Red-Zone offense

Sean Patterson's unpredicability / accuracy issues

Eric Duale's kickoffs

Rushing defense still a work-in-progress

While improving, the Dukes' Punting game still needs work

Stupid penalties

Mental lapses in the defensive backfield


All that said...

Trying to put "homerism" aside, I TRULY feel that the Dukes can win each and every one of their upcoming games and finish the season at 8-3. Not only "can" win.... but WILL win. The Robert Morris game will be the toughest test, but I know the boys will be more than ready for whatever Bobby Mo throws at them.

No game in the NEC is a "gimme" this year, but I believe that the Dukes will go out and take them!

GO DUKES!

BAD DAY FOR DUKES

The sun was bright and the weather crisp on a perfect fall day at Duquesne. The crowd was large and excited about the good start to the young season. All seemed eight as the Dukes got ready to take on the previously winless Monmouth Hawks. Then the game started. Before the alumni had a chance to finish their pre-game perogis and find a good seat, the Hawks had a shocking 31-0 lead.

There is little to be gained by giving long a game recap here. Simply said, the Dukes were picked of 6 times.

• Sean Patterson, shaking off an ankle injury was pulled quickly and was clearly not on his game. He is still the same quarterback who hit Sean Bunovich in the closing seconds to beat Dayton. Patterson even injured, did lead one 51 yard drive to set up a 30 yard missed field goal.

• Marty Mitchell is a freshman who showed talent but was not used to the college game where the defensive backs all have more closing speed than the best he has faced in high school. Marty Mitchell proved his potential in the series when he hit TE Sean Bunovich on a sweat pitch and catch to set up a toss into the corner of the end zone to Connor Dixon.

• Ryan Ho is an electrifying kick returner who could have put the Dukes back in the game in the second half with an amazing return within inches of the goal line.

• Concerning the opening 1 yard drive of the second half: All three tries from the 1 yard line may have been inches over or inches short depending upon a spot from the referee who had no benefit of replay or a clear view on the goal line through the tangle of bodies.

• The coaching staff needed to set the tone that all chances to get back into the game should be taken rather than playing to lose by a more respectable margin. When you are down by so much every point counts. I would have taken another down to get the touchdown. By going for the field goal, you are telling your team that you don’t think they can do it.

• Duquesne also showed the same fear on their next possession. With 7:21 left in the game and down by 20, Duquesne punted on a fourth and 3. Needing three touchdowns, the Dukes refused to gamble to keep the ball. Even though they held the Hawks to a three and out, they lost 2 minutes of the 7 they had left.

• Both of Monmouth’s field goals seemed to slide over the cross bar.

Opinion time:

This team must learn about what they have inside. I think that they have character. On days when nothing goes right, you can either come back and correct mistakes and hit it harder next week or you can decide that all is lost.

Duquesne wasn't as bad as it played and Monmouth wasn't that good. If the same two teams play again, Duquesne would be able to beat this team.

THIS SEASON IS FAR FROM OVER. Attitude and confidence are everything. If you think that this season is over, then you must be a loser or a fan from another team trying to poison the Duke's attitude.

DUQUESNE-MONMOUTH PREDICTION

After three games, I think that we know what type of team Duquesne is. They are VERY capable through the air with a talented stable of wide receivers (Dixon, Williams, Moore and company), a tight end (Bunovich) who may be waiting for a break-out game, a back who now expects 100 yards per game (McCoy) and a back who can come out of the backfield (Bair) to have to cover. Patterson is coming into his own and if healthy, seems able to make good decisions to employ all of these weapons and can be a threat to run himself.

They have a close win at home over a lower level Patriot Team in Bucknell, a very good Dayton Team, were not shamed by an FCS Team that could be the best in the nation (Delaware) and beat an Albany Team that is always in the running to win the NEC.

After three losses (Monmouth was off last week to re-group), I don't think even Monmouth knows what they have as a team. Their first loss was away to an upper level Patriot Team (Colgate), were leading and gained respect against a CAA Team (Maine) and lost to an Old Dominion Team that for some reason is ranked ahead of many BCS Teams by the RPI Index. Monmouth and the NEC still don't know the pecking order of this season.

Monmouth can move the ball on the ground and through the air averaging 106 and 260 yards respectively and 18 First Downs per game against some good teams. Defensively, they seemed average, but again against good opponents.

If Patterson starts, expect Duquesne to win in a shoot-out. If he is not able to go, we have an unknown and untested laser-armed freshman to back up and Duquesne will be more conservative.

PREDICTION: If Patterson plays, Duquesne 31, Monmouth 27.
If he doesn't, ??????

Prediction record to date- 4-0, 100%