Ben Deihl | staff writer

What looked like a promising start for Duquesne ended up in disaster as it conceded the most points in program history to FCS No. 10 Youngstown State, losing 70-13 Saturday afternoon.

“We played the 10th ranked team in the country, and they played like it,” Duquesne Head Coach Jerry Schmitt said. “We let things roll on us and weren’t able to turn it around in the second quarter. Good teams will do what they did to us.”

Duquesne’s first drive was one of its best, driving 68 yards and cashing in a 25-yard Matt Clark field goal to earn a quick 3-0 lead against the nationally-ranked Penguins. Running back Ness Davis gave the Dukes’ offense a spark with a 36-yard rush kicked off by hurdling a Penguins defender, getting Duquesne into field goal range.

“I feel like throughout the game, we were moving the ball pretty well,” wide receiver Ryan Petras said. “We were hurting ourselves with some penalties. Our running backs were doing a great job, which opened up our passing.”

After two YSU touchdowns and their own three-and-out, the Dukes started the second quarter with their best offensive showing of the season to date. Petras headlined the drive in what was the only time Duquesne’s passing attack was effective. He hauled in 3 catches for 52 yards on the drive, including a 22-yard touchdown strike.

“It’s great having the first touchdown of the season,” Petras said. “Obviously, we want to score more points, but we’re working toward being better every week.”

But unfortunately for Duquesne, it was all downhill from there.

Youngstown State scored a touchdown on their first eight possessions of the game and on 10 of 12 total drives, fielding a relentless offense headlined by the 2025 FCS Offensive Player of the Year, Beau Brungard.

Brungard has loaded the history books during his four years in Youngstown, including breaking YSU’s record for touchdown passes in a game. Kurt Hess previously held the record with five passing touchdowns against Missouri State in 2011, but Brungard broke it with his sixth TD pass on the Penguins’ final drive of the first half to give them a 49-10 lead at the break.

Brungard also holds the Youngstown State record for most total offensive yards in a game (528), a statline where he holds three of the top five performances in Penguins history.

He was just six yards shy of getting his performance against Duquesne in the top five, accounting for 401 yards of total offense against the Dukes. With his two extra rushing touchdowns, Brungard also broke the Youngstown State record for most total touchdowns in a game with eight.

“I’ve seen a whole bunch of film on him, but to watch him live for the first time in two years, you have to sit there in admiration and enjoy watching the way he plays the game,” Schmitt said of Brungard. “His athletic ability to run the ball and throw it — it’s quite impressive to see.”

The Penguins had exceptional offensive efficiency early against the Dukes, largely because of their prolific special teams unit. YSU had two returns of 44 yards, one kickoff return by Donald Barksdale and a punt return by Lynn Wyche-El. Both set Youngstown State up in positive territory, giving the Penguins short, simple drives to continue to stretch their lead.

The Penguins dominated Duquesne in yardage throughout the game, gaining 367 yards in the first half compared to Duquesne’s 192. Carson Camp, Duquesne’s starting quarterback, was 5/18 passing with 63 yards at the midgame break.

In a game with no turnovers, Duquesne’s third-down efficiency and penalties killed their chances. The Dukes went 3-14 on third down and racked up 113 negative yards from penalties. The Dukes simply couldn’t get out of their own way.

The Dukes have yet to reach 100 total passing yards in a game this season after throwing for just 53 yards against Air Force.

With yet another Duquesne punt and YSU touchdown, the Dukes got the ball back and had one last efficient drive. Clark took advantage of the opportunity to sink the third-longest field goal in Duquesne history, a 49-yarder to give the Dukes 13 points and some positive film to watch.

“Just get another step better,” Schmitt said on the takeaways from the loss. “Improve on the mistakes we made and get another step better. We play these tough games in the beginning of the season. It’s truly focusing on ourselves and how we play to prepare.”

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu