Duquesne finds itself in an unfamiliar role against a team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference -- the underdog.

But that's what the eighth-ranked Dukes (3-3, 1-0) are when they play at No. 4 Marist at 1 p.m. today. This will be the first time the Dukes will be ranked lower than a MAAC opponent since the inception of The Sports Network mid-major poll in 2001.

The Dukes have won six consecutive MAAC championships and 34 consecutive games against conference teams, which is the longest current streak of its kind in NCAA Division I-A and I-AA. They've won only two of the 34 games by fewer than 10 points, including a 7-3 victory against Marist last season.

Duquesne's most recent conference loss was at Iona, 62-50, in 1999.

Duquesne's defense, led by senior end Antoine Bullock, is ranked third nationally in yards per game (228.3) and 11th in rushing (88.8 ypg). Bullock has had five sacks in the past two games and his career total of 23¹/₂ is one half behind John Wojciechowski's school record set in 1992-95.

In a 24-0 victory against Saint Peter's last week, Duquesne limited running back Sean Mayers to 48 yards. He entered the game ranked ninth nationally with a 121.2-yard average. The Dukes will face a similar challenge in Marist's Obozua Ehikioya, the 10th-leading rusher in the nation with 116.2 yards per game.

Other games:

Slippery Rock (3-4, 2-1) at Edinboro (5-2, 3-1), 1 p.m. -- The Fighting Scots, who moved up two spots to seventh in the Northeast Region ranking with a 20-10 victory against IUP last week, must win to keep alive their hope of reaching the NCAA Division II playoffs. The top six teams in the region get bids. ... Edinboro is seventh in the country in rushing defense (52.3 ypg) and 12th in scoring defense (11 ppg). ... Senior cornerback Chris Avery has six interceptions this season and is tied for the school record with 19 in his career. ... Slippery Rock's Josh Kniess, who rushed for a career-high 210 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-15 victory against Millersville last week, was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West offensive player of the week.

Thiel (6-0, 4-0) at Westminster (3-3, 1-2), 1:30 p.m. -- Thiel hasn't been 7-0 since 1950, when the Tomcats finished 7-0. ... Brandon Chambers (Farrell) had 11 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-28 double-overtime victory against Waynesburg last week. ... The Tomcats moved up three notches to No. 20 for the school's highest ranking in the American Football Coaches Association Division III poll.

Bethany (1-6, 0-5) at Washington & Jefferson (6-1, 2-1), 7 p.m. -- W&J, which moved up two spots to No. 17 in the AFCA Division III poll, has defeated the Bison 22 consecutive times. ... Chris Edwards completed a school-record 36 passes in 44 attempts for 335 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-14 victory against Grove City last week. Edwards completed 20 consecutive passes during the second and third quarters, one shy of his Division III record set earlier this season.

Robert Morris (2-4, 1-2) at Monmouth (4-2, 2-1), 1 p.m. -- Monmouth is in a five-way tie for first place in the Northeast Conference. ... Robert Morris is coming off a 21-14 defeat at Central Connecticut State last week for its fifth consecutive loss on the road. Erik Cwalinski, subbing for the injured Drew Geyer, passed for 258 yards against Central Connecticut for the most yards by a Robert Morris freshman quarterback in his first start. ... Geyer, who still is limited by a sore shoulder, is listed as the second-team quarterback on the depth chart. ... Monmouth is coming off a 26-20 defeat last week against Wagner in which quarterback Brian Boland threw five interceptions.

IUP (3-4, 2-1) at Lock Haven (2-6, 0-3), 1 p.m. -- IUP has won 23 consecutive games against Lock Haven for the longest streak among PSAC Western Division teams.

Cheyney (2-6) at California (3-1), 5 p.m. -- California's Antoine Bagwell is eighth in Division II in rushing (148.9 ypg) and second in scoring (14.9 ppg).