Bulldogs are Pittsburgh bound to face defending NEC champ Duquesne Saturday

FULL GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University football team heads back to western Pennsylvania this weekend as it takes on defending Northeast Conference champion and preseason favorite Duquesne Saturday in Pittsburgh. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

The Particulars

Series History

Bryant and Duquesne will be meeting for the ninth time on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs hold a 5-3 lead in the all-time series and have won each of the last three meetings. Bryant handed the Dukes their only league loss last season, a 38-17 victory on Homecoming. Dalton Easton (Miami, Fla.) threw for a then-career high 330 yards and four touchdowns and Bryant held the Dukes to just 284 yards of total offense. The Black and Gold have held the Dukes to 17 points or less in all five of their wins in the series but have surrendered an average of 34.3 points per game in three losses.

Notes and Notables for Week 9

Junior return man Matt Sewall (Portsmouth, R.I.) was named the NEC Special Teams Player of the Week and an honorable mention STATS FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after posting 180 return yards and a return touchdown last weekend against Wagner.

Sewall enters this weekend's game against Duquesne ranked second nationally with 34.3 yards per return this season.

Easton entered the year with two of the top Bryant passing records in his sight. Last week, he broke the program record for career touchdown passes with his 57th. Now, he needs just 581 passing yards to tie Charlie Granatell's program record of 6,984.

Senior Marquise Watson (Hillside, N.J.) enters Saturday's game with 237 career tackles, 12 shy of tying the Bryant program record that has been held by Jason Riffe since 2010.

Redshirt-sophomore Dillon Guthro (Newburyport, Mass.) has been one of the best pass rushers in the NEC this year and enters the weekend ranked fourth in the league in sacks (4.5) and sixth in the league in tackles for a loss (9.0).

A bit about the Dukes

Duquesne was the unanimous favorite to defend its league title this season but is 1-1 in NEC play after a 14-10 loss to Saint Francis last Friday night. The Dukes, who lead the league in total offense, feature the NEC's top passer and top rusher in Dillon Buechel and A.J. Hines. A fourth-year starter at QB, Buechel has thrown for 1,854 yards this season and became the all-time passing leader in NEC history two weeks ago with 9,309 career passing yards. Hines, a six-time NEC Rookie of the Week, is averaging 116 yards per game. On defense, All-American Christian Kuntz has made 15 tackles for a loss and is four sacks away from breaking former Bryant great Jeff Covitz's NEC record of 29.5.