Friday, November 26, 2010
Looking Back/Looking Ahead
Having a couple of days off over the holiday gave me a bit of time to reflect. Running the forum and the blog is really a labor of love. Learning about Duquesne's traditions and passing them on is something I enjoy doing (One of my degrees is an MA in history from Duquesne).
I enjoy going back through the old newspaper archieves to see just how history repeats itself. I read an old PG article about Duke's from the 1930's that observed how absurd it seemed in the 20's to think that Pitt and Duquesne would ever play each other. Not only did the Dukes play Pitt, they beat them twice in the 30's; once when Pitt was ranked #1 in the Nation before Pitt ended the series. I always wonder where the program would be today had not WW II forced the university to gut the entire athletic department when it was the best in the nation (See Massey Rankings- The Dukes were #1, below).
The same thing occurred even earlier than that at the beginning of the 20th Century when the the team from the Pittsburgh College of the Holy Ghost (Duquesne) beat the 1903 team from the Western University of Pennsylvania (Pitt) after losing their first game in 1901. That team was also cut during the First World War. I even found a PG 12/27/1891 mentioning a game between the two schools coming up on New Year's Day but I haven't tracked down who won.
Now that Duquesne can officially compete for the FCS Championship, I had to look back at past "post seasons". Most know that Duquesne won the Orange Bowl twice (once when it was called the Festival of Palms Bowl). Most don't know that Duquesne actually turned down other major and minor bowl bids including the Cotton Bowl, Sun Bowl and even one from a bowl that apparently never got off the ground called the Olympic Bowl in LA.
I get a real sense of accomplishment to research to keep records up to date. I'm not sure how many really knows or cares if Duquesne now has over 400 recorded wins all time. I used to wonder if anybody cared that the media guide still lists the West Virginia 1897 as the first collegiate game when W & J and other sources list their 1893 game a full 4 years earlier. The pre-1903 record is now largely documented and should be recorded in the university's media guide.
The Forum and Blog put me in touch with others who think the current program and its history are important. The blog and forum now are measured in the thousands of hits every month rather than the handful it started out with.
Duquesne's program, over time has been re-born many times. Each time starting out as a small time affair and at one time was even ranked by some sources as the best in the nation. Remember when even scheduling Bucknell was an accomplishment?
I wonder where we will be in another decade or so?
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Dukes Finish Winning 4 of Last 5
Duquesne ended those strings by beating the Bulldogs 37-29 in a game that will go a long way to establish a positive feeling through the off season. It was an odd game where Bryant managed to run 25 more plays from scrimmage than did the Dukes but still managed to gain only 24 more yards.
Larry McCoy again the combination of strength, vision and speed to gain 160 yards to end the season with 1,291, good for 6th highest in recorded team history. The receivers dropped a number of passes on a cold New England day, but came through when it counted.
Many Duquesne seniors closed out their careers with performances that showed how much they will be missed. Dave Williams finished the day with his 5th hundred yard game of the year. Conner Dixon brought in one for the season highlight reel with a fully extended one handed catch. Nathan Totino added 7 stops to his career total of 369, good for 4th all time. Sean Bunevich pulled in a couple passes including a beautiful 27 yard TD. Fortunately, the Dukes are deep at the linebacker and receiving corps and will have their entire offensive and defensive lines back.
Also back next year is sophomore Eric Duale who broke the single season recorded field goal record by converting all three attempts to end at 14 for the season. This was perhaps the season’s biggest pleasant surprise. Eric converted 14 of 18 field goal attempts and all but one of his 32 extra point attempts. Sean Patterson finished his day with 258 yard in total offense. Everybody knew he could pass (197 yards and 2 TD yesterday), most knew he could run (66 yards and 1 TD yesterday) but who knew he could catch? (26 yards and another TD from Bill Bair).
Duquesne pressured Bryant QB Mike Croce as the Bulldogs tried to climb back into the game with three sacks from Alex Inda, Zach Richert and Ashton Burno. Garret Heron and Devin Duggan had 9 tackles each, Inda finished with 8 and Totino, 7. Diante Wade and Chris Oliver forced two key fumbles to take the early momentum.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Bryant Pre-Game and Prediction
The Dukes will try to be the first Pennsylvania NEC team to beat the Bulldogs since they started playing a conference schedule on 2008. Altogether Byant is 8-0 against Robert Morris (3-0), St. Francis (3-0) and the Dukes (2-0).
Bryant RB Jordan Brown is the NEC's leading rusher with 1311 yards including 138 in the Bulldogs win over Robert Morris. The Dukes have been good against the pass, not so good against a strong ground game.
Whatever the Dukes do today, the team is ensured of a winning season, something that they just had to have or changes may have been made. This game will really make the difference between an acceptable season and a good season by what our standards should realistically be. The winner today will finish alone in 3rd place in the NEC.
Jerry Schmitt did a number of things to bring in more experienced coaches to better develop his talent. It showed. He's been given and promised more support in the form of having more scholarships. His two biggest needs for next year- Stronger legs from his kickers and more strenght/weight on both OL and DL. Mike Passodelis is a great example of a kid who did all he could to develop himself into an FCS level player in his style of play and his off season conditioning program.
Most people don't realize that the Dukes still don't approach the NEC competition's scholarship limits allowed and probably never fully will.
Title 9 probably was what forced Duquesne to cut baseball, golf, wrestling and mens swimming to bring the football scholarships up and fund the basketball improvements. The administration really couldn't blame Title 9 without speaking out against women's sports. Philosophically, Title 9 supports women's athletics by forcing universities to fold men's programming. This is not equity, its a tragic and unfair sacrifice of the second tier men's programs. It takes away men's scholarships more than it adds to womens as Duquesne's experience shows.
A fairer way to address equity is to look at dollars and efforts spent trying to offer women's sports and not limiting scholarship slots. Swimming did a heroic job trying to raise money to keep their program going, but was still sacrificed due to scholarship limits.
Rooney's tiny seating area and its impression on recruits, fans and the press is the other major handicap that, unlike Title 9, can be fixed. I still have a dream (or is it a crazed vision) of Rooney being one of the most attractive small college stadiums in the nation with its view of the campus, Pittsburgh and the river valley and South Side. 5,500 seats can be done.
Prediction: The Dukes will pull out another game winning closing drive after giving Bryant a lead on the strength of their running game. Yes, I going with my heart again in a close game.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Dukes Torch St. Francis
It took a couple of quarters to get their offense in gear, but once they did the Duquesne’s Seniors closed their careers at Rooney Field by rolling up well over 500 yards on the St. Francis Red Flash to avenge last year’s 31-14 loss at Loretto. Seniors Conner Dixon and Dave Williams each had 5 catches for over 100 receiving yards and 2 touch downs each proved that they are probably the best pair of receivers the Dukes have had in a long time.
Sean Patterson threw for 278 yards and a career high 5 touchdowns and Larry McCoy added to his collection of 100 yard games before letting Ryan Ho mop up by adding another 46 yards to close out the game. Nathan Totino, as usual led the defense with 10 tackles and added an interception and return for 17 yards.
St. Francis started the game well by holding the Dukes to a three and out and then driving from their own 22 to have a first and goal at the Duquesne 8 yard line. Mike Passodelis dropped St. Francis running back Kyle Harbridge for a three yard loss and the defense held the Red Flash to a 28 yard field goal to put the visitors up 3-0. Harbridge proved to be St. Francis’ best weapon on the day by gaining 131 yards on only 16 attempts.
Duquesne quickly took the lead 7-3 on a 79 yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Dave Williams.
Just as quickly, Duquesne gave the lead back when Jared Williams couldn’t get out of the way of a 3 and out punt on St. Francis’ next possession. St. Francis took a 10-7 lead on a one play 2 yard "drive".
Conner Dixon took in a 44 yard touch down pass to put the Dukes back on top 14-10 before Kyle Harbridge ran 55 yards on a short field to push the Red Flash back up again 17-14.
That would be St. Francis last score as Duquesne ran the table for the next 27 points. The scores included a 2 yard run by Sean Patterson before he threw another touchdown passé to both Dave Williams and Conner Dixon and then a final touchdown pass to Akeem Moore.
Commentary:
Offense- Duquesne has a very talented offense. Duquesne was one of only two teams this season to run up over 300 yards on a brilliant Blue Hen defense. The offense is also inconsistent. They have a pattern of either sputtering as they did in the first half or flooring it as they did to finish it. Sean Patterson is a very talented quarterback. Sean Patterson is also a very inconsistent quarterback. He has shown to have the fire it takes to launch late game come-back drives but also seems to go into early and mid-game funks.
His receivers are also very talented and suffer from the same inconsistencies. The best illustration of this during the current season was a quick turnaround from goat to superman by Conner Dixon during the Delaware game. Conner short armed a pass that led to a tipped drive killing interception before he devastated the best team in the nation for the rest of the game. Delaware commentators asserted that Dixon had a pro career ahead. I hope that he does. He is a great talent and a great kid. He and the Duquesne offense has shown great potential and have helped lead assure the Dukes of a winning season this year. Next year Patterson and the Dukes that return need to work on being consistent.
The Duquesne running game has been the most pleasant surprise of the season. Larry McCoy is the best back the Dukes have fielded in quite some time and is now well over 1,000 yards. Bill Bair has run well and gives another receiving threat out of the backfield. Ryan Ho hits the hole quick and makes cuts that leave defenders looking pretty bad. He's been a real plus on kickoff returns. Unfortunately, the punt return game is a different story (see below).
Defense- I like Dave Opfar but I really don't know how to describe the Duke's defense. I've seen some flashes of brilliance and some real talent. How can you complain about Totino, Kona, Passodalis, Lattimer, Carter, etc.
Yet the stats show that we can do better particularly against the run. We give up 177 yards a game on the ground, 156 in the air for a total of 333.5 a game. We've been giving up too many points per game too- Dayton 31, Delaware 30, Monmouth 44, CCS 31 and RoMoCo 34.
Yes, Monmouth was a disaster all around and the defense did well in the opening game against the very inexperienced Bucknell team and against the Great Danes. They were ok against Wagner- 20. They had a good game vs. the Red Flash particularly since one of their drives had to go only 2 yards (I will not directly criticize a player here). They did give up over 150 to Harbridge and 220 total on the ground with only 48 passing.
Their biggest need is to bulk up on the line to stop the run or to put more guys in the box when the passing game is checked. Coaches can also help with defensive play calls with things such as run blitzes. Agreed- dumb mistakes do hurt, but that can be addressed by the coaching staff too.
Special Teams- I rarely target a college player for criticism so I’ll single out the special teams coaching staff for not teaching better and timely decision making on fielding punt returns. Duquesne set up a 2 yard, one play touchdown drive that gave St. Francis back the lead. Given past miscues, the special team’s coaching staff should have either trained the returner better or selected a returner with a better idea of when to try to field a punt and when to get away from it. Eric Duel has become a much more consistent kicker and can be excused for his only missed extra point of the season but kick offs and punting have been giving the opposition a short field all season.
Next Week: The Dukes close out the season on the road against Bryant in a battle for third place in the NEC. This may be a tough game for the Dukes since Bryant is now 6-0 at home having beat Robert Morris 27-21. The game begins at Noon on WMNY 1360 AM and on Redzone Media.
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Dukes and St. Francis
Last year's win by St. Francis (31-14) was their first since both teams moved to 1-AA/FCS.
It is important that the Dukes don't under-estimate this year's 1-8 St. Francis team either. Aside from beating the Dukes last year, their one win was a convincing one over Sacred Heart 41-0. Last week St, Francis played well on the road in California against nationally ranked Cal Poly before losing 41-33.
Duquesne Defensive Coordinator Dave Opfar should know the Red Flash well. He was their coach that led them to victory over the Dukes last year.
Larry McCoy provided a bright spot vs Robert Morris by going over 1,000 yards. His 1,030 is the most of any Duquesne back since since 2003.
Prediction: Duquesne puts it all together on Senior Day to win 31-13. Seniors Conner Dixon and Dave Williams go out in style.
Headline From the Duquesne Football Archives:
Looking Back 120 Years and Looking Ahead
What was the first collegiate team on record to play Duquesne? (Duquesne was known back then as Pittsburgh College of the Holy Ghost)
“For all the Marbles” in the Steel City
The Pittsburgh Coaching Legends Trophy will not be the first award offered to recognize the winner of local college football contests. In December of 1936, The Pittsburgh City Council authorized Mayor Cornelius D. Scully to award a Championship Cup not to exceed $2000 in cost to Duquesne as the top collegiate football program in the city that year. That year, the Dukes went on to win the Orange Bowl in Miami as well. The cup was presented each year until one of the three universities could win it three consecutive years, claiming permanent ownership of the cup. It would be interesting to know if either trophy still exists in a dusty trophy case somewhere on the campuses of Pitt, Duquesne, or CMU.
Pitt and Carnegie Tech had a still earlier similar cup awarded by the city until Pitt was able to win three years in a row, claiming ownership. Technically, Pitt and Carnegie Mellon could still play for the Layden Cup but it is unlikely in the near future given the differences in their assigned collegiate NCAA Divisions. At present, Duquesne and Robert Morris are the only two teams likely to play for the Cup although Pitt does usually play an FCS opponent each year.
I would like to offer the cup to the Heinz History Center’s Sports Museum to house and perhaps set up a small display recording all of the times the local teams went head to head against each other.
The Layden Cup
The games began with the first in 1901 between Duquesne (then the Pittsburg College of the Holy Ghost)and Pitt (then known as the Western University of Pennsylvania). Between Pitt (29 wins), CMU [originally Carnegie Tech] (18 wins), Duquesne (15 wins) and RMU (5 wins), I need 29 gold marbles, 18 red marbles, 15 or more blue marbles and 5 or more white marbles along with 2 clear marbles to represent the two ties. Overall there have been 69 games played in head to head Steel City College Football. This year's game allows either Duquesne or RMU to add the 70th marble.
One problem- I need help to find these marbles and my wife will shoot me if I spend any more on the trophy. Is anybody able to help? There will soon be a picture of the cup here on this blog when the face plate is added. There already are some articles from the past below as the idea of a Steel City Challenge Cup developed.
Alternate colors to represent the teams could be Pitt (gold), Duquesne (red), CMU (white) and RMU (blue).
The Elmer Layden Cup Steel City Collegiate Football Challenge Cup
Elmer Layden was the first Duquesne coach to play both Pitt and Carnegie Tech (Later Carnegie-Mellon). Layden had been one of Grantland' Rice's famed Four Horsemen of Notre Dame and later went on to become the NFL's first commissioner. The Dukes would win their first New Years Day game under Layden, the 1934 Festival of Palms Bowl. The bowl was re-named the Orange Bowl the following year. Duquesne would win the Orange Bowl again later that decade.
Past winners of head to head Pittsburgh Rivalry games are listed below.
1901- Pitt over Duquesne 18-0
1903- Duquesne over Pitt 10-6
1910- Pitt over Carnegie Tech 35-0
1923- Carnegie Tech over Pitt 7-2
1924- Carnegie Tech over Pitt 6-0
1925- Pitt over Carnegie Tech 12-0
1931- Duquesne tied Carnegie Tech 0-0
1932- Pitt over Carnegie Tech 6-0
Pitt over Duquesne 33-0
1933- Pitt over Duquesne 7-0
1934- Carnegie Tech over Duquesne 3-0
1935- Duquesne over Carnegie Tech, 7-0
1936- Duquesne over Pitt 7-0
Duquesne over Carnegie Tech 13-0
1937- Pitt over Carnegie Tech 25-14
Pitt over Duquesne 6-0
Carnegie Tech over Duquesne 6-0
1938- Carnegie Tech over Duquesne 21-0
Pitt over Duquesne 27-0
1939- Duquesne over Pitt 21-13 (Last Pitt-Duquesne)
Duquesne over Carnegie Tech 22-7
1940- Duquesne over Carnegie Tech 14-7
Pitt over Carnegie Tech, 6-0
1941- Pitt over Carnegie Tech, 27-0 (Last Pitt-Carnegie Tech)
1980- CMU over Duquesne 39-7
1981- Duquesne over CMU 27-10
1982- CMU over Duquesne 19-0
1983- CMU over Duquesne 14-11
1984- CMU over Duquesne 20-14
1985- CMU over Duquesne 31-10
1986- CMU over Duquesne 33-22
1987- CMU over Duquesne 17-13
1988- CMU over Duquesne 24-14
1989- Duquesne over CMU 11-10
1990- CMU over Duquesne 31-8
1991- CMU over Duquesne 28-14
1994- Robert Morris over Duquesne 28-6
1995- Robert Morris over Duquesne 38-20
1996- Robert Morris over Duquesne 28-26 (ECAC Bowl)
1998- Duquesne over Robert Morris 24-22
2003- Duquesne over Robert Morris 33-28
2004- Robert Morris over Duquesne 34-14
2005- Duquesne over Robert Morris 23-12
2006- Duquesne over Robert Morris 27-7
2007- Duquesne over Robert Morris 17-14
2008- Robert Morris over Duquesne 34-27
2009- Duquesne over Robert Morris 34-20
2010- Robert Morris over Duquesne 34-11
2011- Duquesne over Robert Morris 45-10
2012- Robert Morris over Duquesne 18-13
2013- Duquesne over Robert Morris 21-10
2014- Duquesne over Robert Morris 22-0
2015- Duquesne over Robert Morris 16-7
2016- Duquesne over Robert Morris 31-24
2017- Duquesne over Robert Morris 51-14
STEEL CITY FOOTBALL RIVALRIES
It was in 1901 that that Pitt, then known as Western University of PA, would win the first recorded contest between Steel City teams with a 18-0 win over Duquesne. Duquesne was known at the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost until 1911. Duquesne or PCC/HG returned the favor in 1903, beating Pitt 10-6. In 1906 Pitt beat up on Carnegie Tech 35-0. Tech got revenge in the next game, but had to wait 17 years in 1923 by a score of 7-2. Duquesne’s teams reached prominence under coach and former Notre Dame Four Horseman, Elmer Layden. One of their standout early players was Steeler founder and namesake of Rooney Field, Art Rooney Sr.. Art Sr. was their quarterback and place kicker in the 1920’s. It took Duquesne’s 41st year after starting a program to play in an inter-city game with Carnegie Tech, drawing 0-0 in a charity game in 1931.
The Pittsburgh college football rivalries took off BIG TIME after that. All three teams, Pitt, Duquesne and Carnegie Tech, were ranked often in the first national college football rankings put out by the Associated Press.
As the teams became better, the rivalries became bitter. All three teams played nationally known opponents including Notre Dame and the then powerful service academies. But they often faced more determined battles in their own back yards. Pitt, Duquesne and Carnegie-Tech all played in New Year’s Day Bowls, but National Championships were up for grabs when they met during their regular season. Back then only the very top teams played in the Rose, Orange (First known as the Festival of Palms Bowl) and Cotton Bowls. There were no Outback Bowls or the dozens of other modern bowls that cheapen the achievement today.
The college game and its rivalries actually dominated local sports to a point where the same Art Rooney had to take the Steelers on the road to places like Johnstown, Louisville, and New Orleans to sell tickets.
Unfortunately the rivalry between Pitt and Duquesne ended in 1939 with a Pitt loss to the Dukes. Pitt was ranked #1 in the nation by the AP going into the game. The Dukes went on to an undefeated season that year and finished in the AP Top Ten and #1 in the Massey Ratings (See article below). The last game of the great city rivalry came in 1943 when Pitt also ended their series with Carnegie Tech, beating the Tartans handily 45-6. By then, Duquesne had folded its team for World War II and only briefly tried again after the war. Pitt’s rivalries then turned to Penn State and today’s Backyard Brawl with West Virginia.
The Pittsburgh collegiate rivalry lay dormant for decades until Duquesne’s club football team stepped up to Division III and re-ignited their rivalry with the Tartans of Carnegie Mellon. CMU and Duquesne played spirited games from 1980 to 1991 at times even at Three Rivers Stadium. When Duquesne stepped up again to 1-AA, the Steel City Rivalries ended again.
It didn’t end for long. A new collegiate team would be founded a century after Pitt and Duquesne began theirs in Pittsburgh. Robert Morris started from scratch under the direction of former NFL head coach Joe Walton. Duquesne’s series with the Colonials began in 1994 with the Dukes holding a slight edge 5-4. Both teams were consistently ranked at or near the top of non-scholarship 1-AA football. Now, both teams are stepping up in talent when the NEC member Robert Morris began offering scholarships three years ago. Duquesne offered its first scholarship since 1950 when it joined the Northeast Conference this year.
And so, with both teams now in the same conference and stepping up in competition, the Steel City Football Rivalry is on again.
MAJOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL 1941: THE DUKES WERE # 1 !
http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/years.txt
More About Duquesne and Major College Football Rankings
Many recognized collegiate football ranking systems begin declaring national champions dating back to 1869 when Princeton was declared national champion by most systems. Controversy exists even in that year’s selection of the nation’s best by some systems rating Rutgers at the top. Back then there were no polls taken by sports writers such as the AP Top 25 or the USA Today Poll or the now defunct UPI Coaches Poll.
The most familiar and accepted current system, The Associated Press only released their first collegiate football ranking in 1934. No AP Poll was released in 1935 but they have been releasing continuous rankings since 1936. The only inconsistency with the AP Poll since 1936 relates to the years when they would not issue a final yearly ranking after the college bowl games.
College football teams from 1869 to the present are ranked very accurately and without regional prejudices by statistically based systems such as the Sagarin, Massey, Sorrenson, RPI, Dunkle and other computer models. Most of these commonly accepted and statistically sound models are fairly consistent since they all basically look at a teams record against their strength of schedule. Their formulas as to how to factor in data from when in the year a team lost or home field advantage do rate teams differently.
Thus, even when bias from a sports writer, coach, or fan is not considered, there is seldom a year when all agree as to who is the nation’s best college football team. Even then, who is to say the fans, coaches and writers shouldn’t have a say over cold computer calculations.
The current BCS System makes an effort to achieve some consensus by relying on both polling data and computer ranking systems. Obviously, even the BCS Series Rankings has never made all of the people happy all of the time.
This debate and controversy over whose team is the best is really part of what being a college football fan is all about.
Duquesne’s National Major Football Championship
All this being said, there was a time and respected system that has declared the Duquesne Dukes the National Champion. That honor belongs to the undefeated and untied 1941 edition of the Duquesne Dukes. This rating is no fluke. The ’41 Dukes gave up only 21 points all season and were led the nation in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. No major college team since has given up fewer points.
Only Duquesne, Minnesota and Duke finished the 1941 season undefeated and untied among major programs. Admittedly, Minnesota has been recognized by most ranking systems, including the AP as being the # 1 team in the nation that year. However the Massey Rating System has looked at the data and declares Duquesne to be the #1 team in the nation that year. Duquesne was considered to play in the Cotton Bowl that year. Had they been selected and gone on to beat Texas A & M they would have had a good claim over Minnesota.
The Massey System.
The first questions that most would ask are what is the Massey system and is it legitimate? It is legitimate to the point that the current BCS Series currently uses it to determine which teams are selected to play in the BCS Bowls and for the National Championship. The Massey Ratings may be the most scientific and full-featured system available.
Kenneth Massey has been doing these ratings since 1995 and offers previous ratings back to 1930 based upon available data. Massey’s system takes no short cuts. For example, most ratings give a standard home field advantage factor of about 4 points to all home teams. Massey makes the home field advantage factor more precise by analyzing each team’s performance at home vs. away and neutral site games to determine a more accurate facet in rating teams. In other words, winning at home doesn’t and shouldn’t have the same degree of advantage for all teams rated.
The Massey Ratings are also thought to be considerably accurate when considering strength of schedule. This is no easy task when considering the college football world of 1941 when the best in the country often still played considerably lesser-developed programs.
National Major College Football Classifications and Ratings
Duquesne’s first team was fielded in 1891. As most other college teams of the era, the original Dukes’ opponents were not necessarily from other colleges. They included athletic clubs and even high school teams. Nor were there restrictions that all team members had to be current or former students. This began to change as the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS), was established on March 31, 1906 to set rules for college athletics. The IAAUS became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910.
Prior to 1937, ranking colleges was difficult since programs varied widely as to the class of opponents each school would play. Going undefeated against a schedule that included Notre Dame, Penn State and Michigan was obviously more impressive than one that included lesser opponents. With the advent of Bowl selections, the college football had to start separating the apples from the oranges.
In 1937 the NCAA began issuing a system that divided its collegiate football programs into Divisions and placed restrictions on how often teams from each division could play each other. In 1937, the top division was the “University” or “Major College” Division. In 1973, The NCAA restructured its classifications to rename the major programs “Division I”. Division I was subdivided into “I-A” and “1-AA” in 1978. Currently, Duquesne plays in Division I-AA or as the NCAA now officially calls it the “Championship” Subdivision of Division I vs. the “Bowl” Subdivision. Other current NCAA Divisions are II and III. The NAIA and the NCCAA govern smaller college athletic programs.
Massey considered all 119 NCAA Major College football programs when he ranked Duquesne # 1 in 1941. (See link at- http://www.masseyratings.com/cf/years.txt )
Duquesne’s Past Collegiate Classifications
Until the NCAA began to define the caliber of competition, Duquesne was considered an “Independent” collegiate football team along with all other college teams. When the University or Major Division was established in 1937, Duquesne was among this group of just over 100 other colleges and universities. Massey’s 1941 rating considered 119 Major Division teams when it selected Duquesne # 1 in the nation.
Unfortunately, just as Duquesne Football was reaching its highest potential nationally, the team was cut by the University due to the Second World War. Both the AP and Massey had ranked Duquesne teams throughout the 30’s and 40’s prior to the war. Massey ranks the 1933 Dukes at #8 and the 1936 Dukes # 2 in the nation. The AP ranks them at # 14 and # 8 respectively.
Duquesne briefly tried to re-establish the team after the war as a Major Division program, but gave up after the 1950 season. Students and volunteers would start Duquesne’s next team as a club.
Duquesne’s Other National Collegiate Football Championships
When Duquesne re-started its football program in 1969 as a club team, it was sanctioned by the now defunct NCFA. Duquesne was recognized as the National Club Champions in 1973 when they went 10 – 0 under coach Dan McCann and defeated Mattatuck 13-7 in the National Championship game played Three Rivers Stadium.
In 1979, the University again took over sponsorship of the program as an NCAA Division III program. Interestingly, Division III would be the only classification where Duquesne Football could not claim a national championship rating or ranking.
The program would be “upgraded” again in 1993 when it would move to the NCAA Division I-AA. However, the move to I-AA did not necessarily mean that the Dukes would be able to compete on even terms with most other I-AA programs since they would join an odd group of schools who were considered I-AA, but would not be allowed to award scholarships and would have severe limitations on the amount of money they could spend on travel or coaching staffs. This “cost containment” approach to keeping the university at the NCAA Division I for the rest of the school’s athletic programs would evolve into a strange subdivision within the I-AA subdivision known at the “Mid-Majors”.
The Sports Network (TSN) and Don Hansen’s Weekly Football Gazette both developed a bit of love for this odd group of so-called major programs who would not or could not commit the resources to compete with the other major programs of Division I-A and I-AA. Generally, there were about 30 college programs that would either play as independents or populate the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Northeast Conference and the Pioneer Conference. All three were officially recognized by the NCAA as belonging to the I-AA Division, but were not given automatic berths to the I-AA Playoffs.
Duquesne would come as close as any of the Mid-Majors to competing with their better-funded I-AA brothers. Greg Gatuso’s squad often played scholarship programs and often won. Not only were these Duquesne team often ranked # 1 by the TSN and Hansen Polls, but were often ranked in the regular I-AA polls. Their highest ranking in the National I-AA Coaches Poll was # 14 before losing their only game of the 2002 season to Albany in the ECAC Classic. Both the TSN and Hansen rankings would select the Dukes the following years as the # 1 Mid-Major National Champions in 2003 when they beat Monmouth to win that year’s ECAC Classic.
Now the “Mid-Majors” are no more. Duquesne and most of the other Mid-Majors have either begun to offer scholarships or have folded.
The Dukes have laid at least partial claim to National Football Championships from the Club level to the I-AA Mid-Majors to, according to the Massey Ratings, the Major College level. What does the future hold for the Dukes at the regular I-AA level now that they have begun to award scholarships? The NEC, the Duke’s new conference will be eligible for a bid to the Division I-AA National Championship beginning in 2010.
The 1941 Massey Ratings
1941 Teams Rated: 119
Team W L T PF PA Off Def Sched Rating Dom
1 Duquesne 8 0 0 17.88 2.62 4 2 44 33.84 0.736
2 Minnesota 8 0 0 23.25 4.75 5 4 41 29.26 0.609
3 Mississippi St 8 1 1 19.10 5.50 28 1 4 26.63 0.530
4 Notre Dame 8 0 1 21.00 7.11 6 11 49 26.20 0.517
5 Alabama 9 2 0 23.91 7.73 8 8 5 26.09 0.514
6 Georgia 9 1 1 29.00 7.73 3 26 28 23.63 0.440
7 Texas 8 1 1 33.80 5.50 1 36 38 23.50 0.436
8 Oregon St 8 2 0 14.30 4.90 23 3 30 23.21 0.427
9 Michigan 6 1 1 18.38 5.12 17 6 22 22.32 0.401
10 Navy 7 1 1 21.33 3.78 16 7 34 21.97 0.390
Filling In Duquesne's Football Tradition: The Real Record
For example, how many times did Duquesne play Pitt on the football field and what was their record? Duquesne's media guide lists the record at 2-4 with the recognized games being in the 1930's when Duquesne and Pitt were both nationally ranked powers.
Pitt's football records are a bit more complete and show that the first Pitt-Duquesne game turned out to be an 18-0 Pitt victory over the Dukes in 1901. However, the Panthers don't recognize a loss to Duquesne in 1903 by a score of 10-6.
Part of the reason for the confusion could be that Pitt, at the time of both earlier games was known as the Western University of Pennsylvania and Duquesne was officially known as the Pittsburgh College of the Holy Ghost.
Instead of Duquesne's Media Guide record of 2-4 and Pitt's version of 2-5, the actual record is 3-5. This record is now verified by the College Football Data Warehouse.
By cross checking available records from Pitt, West Virginia, Washington and Jefferson, I.U.P., Thiel, Westminster, St. Francis, Geneva, University of Buffalo, Bethany, California University of PA and others, Duquesne's documantable all time record should stand at 395 wins, 287 losses and 25 ties.
Duquesne's Media guide does not include a proud 1891-1901, first decade record of 33-17-5 in its all time record. It does, however, now list Duquesne's first documented collegiate game, a 1893 loss to Washington and Jefferson by a score of 22-19.
It would be a great recognition of a proud football tradition to claim our 400th win if it occurs this year!
1937 Duquesne Orange Bowl Win
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY TRIVIA
Duquesne Broadcast Crew on WMNY 1360 AM
1929 Dukes at White House with President Hoover
TEN REASONS TO ADD MORE SEATS TO ROONEY
2. Scheduling- It will be very hard to attract quality out-of-conference opponents to Rooney Field. Even the soccer teams that come in think the field looks “quaint” to be polite.
3. Attendance- I’ve brought along friends to see a game at Rooney and it really doesn’t feel like a real college game atmosphere. They enjoyed the game, but would be more likely to come back if there was more atmosphere.
4. Crowd Noise/Emotion- Emotion feeds emotion. It is extremely difficult to get a crowd into the game with so few rows behind you.
5. Home Field Advantage- This crowd noise obviously help the home team.
6. Financial Benefit- It would be easier to charge admission to build a revenue base. Football needs to be a moneymaker for the rest of the department (or at least support itself) as it does for many other colleges. Too many fans, particularly from the opponent’s side of the field are just walking up without paying. A better field will also attract more paying customers and also could be a chance for student groups to set up booths as they do at other universities.
7. Press Coverage- If given a choice between covering a game at other college with a lower or same classification, but a better field facility, we are not competitive. TV highlights from games at Rooney look small time.
8. Hosting Games- Central Catholic actually decided to hold its games elsewhere due to the lack of seating capacity. This is a good school to keep associated with.
9. Academic Excellence- Who knows how many students come on campus to consider Duquesne when Central Catholic plays here or when they take a campus tour or if they come to see a Dukes game and get the feel of a real college game? The students we want to attend Duquesne are those with school spirit who want to picture themselves as being part of something fun and exciting. Rooney’s size does not paint this picture.
10. School Pride- This field just looks small time in comparison to other local fields such as Walton Stadium.
DUQUESNE-RMU TROPHY
|
Duquesne University Fight Song-Rev. Thomas Quigley 1926
We'll sing hooray for the Red and Blue,
A big hooray for the Red and Blue;
For the flag we love on to victory,
And when the foe is down,
we will raise a mighty shout
And sing hooray for the Red and Blue;
We're all your sons and daughters true.
Now with all your might, give them
fight,fight, fight
for the grand old Red and Blue.
DUQUESNE DUKES ALL-TIME FOOTBALL RECORD (1891-2011)*
Winning %- .574
~DUQUESNE GLORY/GORY YEARS~
Unbeaten 1929 Dukes at the White House with the President
Popular Posts
-
Subject: Back from Dayton Author: Shaler Tom Date Posted: Saturday, September 26, 11:47:05pm I wonder if three straight tough road games fi...
-
PITTSBURGH- Junior safety Serge Kona (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg), the 2011 Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has been ...
-
Can there be a “bright side” to a 55-10 blowout? After waiting a few hours and looking over the game stats, the answer actually may be “yes...
-
Last year the Dukes won a close 17-13 game at home vs their traditional opening foe Bucknell. The Bison should be a bigger and more experi...
-
The 4-2 Duquesne Dukes hope to rebound after last week’s loss to Albany when they host the NEC’s pre-season number one pick to be conferenc...
-
My laptop died this morning, but thanks to "Curious" from the Football Forum, we have a pretty good wrap-up. The Dukes got two to...
-
I have been a sports fan from my earliest memories. My strongest memories are of sports I played or watched. I will never forget the pun...
-
Duquesne has played St. Francis more often than any other opponent. Of the 36 games since the first in 1913, the Dukes have won 30. Last...
-
If you were not at the game between Duquesne and Bryant to determine which would get the early lead in the NEC Conference race, you may hav...
-
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 bea...