For one half at least, things looked good for the Duquesne Dukes in their season opener against Old Dominion. Duquesne took a 20-10 halftime lead into the locker room against No. 6 Old Dominion- the highest ranked FCS team that the Dukes have ever faced.
Then Monarchs quarterback Taylor Heinicke went nuts, setting school records for yards (492) and passing attempts (63) as Old Dominion ended up cruising to a 57-23 season opening victory.
Duquesne allowed 723 total yards and Heinicke accounted for 530 of them, which is something head coach Jerry Schmitt must be concerned with as the Dukes prepare for their home opener Saturday against the Pioneer Football League’s Dayton Flyers (0-1).
Schmitt would have every right to be concerned about the Dukes defense. They return only four starters- senior linebackers Derrick Lakins, Chidozie Oparanozie and Horvin Latimer and senior AP All-America safety Serge Kona- from a team that ranked fourth nationally in total defense (281.6 ypg.) a year ago. That Duquesne team surrendered only two touchdowns during the final 12 quarters in 2011.
This team opened up by allowing seven touchdowns.
A lot of that will be fixed simply by young players gaining experience. Six true freshman saw playing time on the defensive side of the ball during the Old Dominion game and Schmitt must hope that they get better with more game reps.
That brings us to Saturday afternoon and Dayton.
Duquesne is 17-15 in non-conference games under Schmitt (11-2 at home); including a 22-13 win at Dayton last season and has won four of the last five overall against the Fliers, who had some problems of their own in their opener with a 56-14 loss at No. 19 Illinois State.
However all of that won’t mean much if the Duquesne defense doesn’t find a way to come together quickly. Their job should be a bit easier as Flyers’ quarterback Will Bardo completed only 7-of-21 passes for 96 yards in their opener, but you can bet Dayton head coach Rick Chamberlin will try and test the Duquesne secondary to see if they are up to the challenge.
It’s a tough thing for a coach to ask a bunch of young kids to grow up quickly, but that’s exactly what will have to happen for the Duquesne defense.
Photo Credit: Duquesne
