Duquesne Dukes Fan Forum / Football collapse?

**Posted by levon1975** 11/19/2019 2:17 pm

What happened to this team? A big loss in a critical game vs RMU, then with a title still within it’s grasp; they lose to a bad Bryant team!
Is there anybody out there?

**Posted by luckymcd** 11/19/2019 4:59 pm

I haven't seen either loss, so I'm just going off assumptions from looking at the box scores. I think losing Parr hurts us alot more than anyone initially thought. He may not have been lighting up scoresheets, but without him there's been a big dropoff in the QB play.

Parr's TD / INT ratio was 11 / 7. Brumbaugh's is 2 / 6 as a starter. Interceptions hurt enough, but it hurts the run game too. Defenses can now stack the box to stop Hines and Allen. Hines averaged 4.5 a carry before the injury to Parr. He's down to 3.1 since. Allen was at 5.1 before the injury, down to 4.6 since.

On the other hand, in hindsight maybe we weren't that good to begin with. I know we all had high hopes after the strong finish last year. Looking at our early results indicates maybe we haven't reached those expectations all year long. We got blown out by Youngstown State and UNH, who are at or below 500. We eeked out a wins over winless LIU and 1-10 Wagner. Perhaps we weren't that good even with Parr.

**Posted by MikeR** 11/19/2019 6:17 pm

Yeah, I think that LIU game was a real tell of what was coming.

**Posted by Judge Jack McVay Jr** 11/19/2019 11:07 pm

Levon1975 and everyone else I didn't get to see the Bryant game and therefore I didn't post anything and can't add any insight. RMU game was 7 turnovers and an onside kick being too much to overcome.Much like the Pirates and Steelers injuries hurt the team this year.Also while I didn't see Youngstown State and New Hampshire as blowouts,I would agree that the Dukes were disappointing in those games and were impressive at Dayton and Sacred Heart too. Good luck Saturday and hopefully a great group of seniors who gave us the first FCS playoff win can go out with a big win against conference undefeated Central!

Last edited by Judge Jack McVay Jr (11/19/2019 11:08 pm)

**Posted by JakeTheSnake** 11/20/2019 1:17 pm

This team was underachieving a bit before losing Parr but were still pulling out close games.

The turnoverfest at RMU was pretty bad, and the team fell too far behind against a pretty shaky Bryant team and just couldn't quite get enough to comeback all the way.

I just don't know they have enough playmakers this year. Nehari Crawford was a huge part of their success last year. I just haven't seen any other WR's step up in the same way and that's probably why so many games are a lot closer. Defense is solid but could also show some improvement.

Might just be a bit of a down year as the team reloads. I still think there's a lot of great talent on this team to build around. Just need to figure out who the QB is for next year.

**Posted by A83** 11/20/2019 6:05 pm

I agree that the LIU game foretold the season.

But the Bryant game was puzzling at best. First and goal at the one in the first half and settled for a fg from the one.

Down 20-13 in the fourth quarter had three plays from within the 5. PI on third down and 3 plays from the one and again went for the fg to make it 20-16 with 5 minutes left. He doesn’t try and tie game on 4th and 1 and that was very frustrating. 7 total plays and 4 from the one and they settle for 3 points rather than trying to try the game.

Reminded me of the CCSU game two years ago when he didn’t try to score at the end to kick the chip shot FG that was missed.

Last edited by A83 (11/20/2019 7:13 pm)

**Posted by levon1975** 11/23/2019 7:32 pm

Thanks for the rundown on the disappointing season. Going for FGs from the 1-Yd line does make you wonder about coaching decisions. Sounds like they need to find some playmakers.

**Posted by coffee** 11/30/2019 9:16 am

Losing Parr was a disaster. The O Line was a question mark from the beginning. Plus, better competition is catching up. RMU and CCS have great years. We always sucked vs Bryant there.