Duquesne will begin a new year of football against its oldest opponent -- Saint Francis.

The Dukes (0-1) will play their first game as a member of the Northeast Conference when they play host to the Red Flash (0-2) at 7 p.m. today at renovated Rooney Field.

Duquesne has played more games against Saint Francis than any other school, winning the past nine to lead the series, 29-5. The most recent win for Saint Francis was 23-13 in 1992, which was Duquesne's final season in Division III before moving up to Division I-AA.

Duquesne, which won or shared 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships the past 14 seasons, is in its inaugural season in the NEC and is offering athletic scholarships for the first time.

The Dukes, idle last week, opened the season with a 48-42 loss at Bucknell in which quarterback Connor Dixon passed for 429 yards and set a school record with six touchdown passes in his debut at Duquesne. A former standout at South Park High School, Dixon transferred from Michigan State and has three years of eligibility remaining.

Dixon won the starting job at fall camp after a spirited competition with incumbent Kevin Rombach, who was selected as the top quarterback in the NEC in a preseason vote of the league coaches.

Dixon's favorite target against Bucknell was Alex Roberson, who had 11 catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.

• California (2-1) at Edinboro (3-0), 6 p.m. -- No. 14 California and No. 23 Edinboro feature high-powered passing attacks in this Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West showdown between nationally ranked Division II teams. California, which averages 38.3 points and is coming off a 54-0 victory against Lake Erie College, has a potent aerial game with transfers Kevin McCabe (Virginia) and Marcel Pestano (Pitt) leading the way.

McCabe has passed for 627 yards and five touchdowns and Pestano has 18 catches for 245 yards and four touchdowns. The passing game is complemented by running backs Daine Williams (217 yards rushing, 3 TDs) and Brandon Lombardy (214 yards, 3 TDs). Edinboro quarterback Trevor Harris, a junior who will hold all of the school's passing records by the end of this season if he stays healthy, has thrown for 810 yards and eight touchdowns. Edinboro has allowed just 28 points and freshman cornerback Branden Williams is PSAC West defensive player of the week. He set a school record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown , blocked a field goal and made four tackles in a 31-7 victory against C.W. Post.

• Robert Morris (1-1) at Dayton (2-0), 1 p.m. -- Dayton has won the past five meetings. Robert Morris, coming off a 17-14 loss to Bucknell, is led by quarterback Erik Cwalinski (490 yards passing, 2 touchdowns), wideout Sherrod Evers (17 catches, 277 yards, two touchdowns) and running back Russ Myles (225 yards rushing, 6.8 yards per carry average, one touchdown). Evers is the only player to have more than four catches. Dayton's offensive weapons are quarterback Rob Florian (373 yards passing, 3 TDs) and running back Ben Shappie (109 yards rushing, 1 touchdown).

• Seton Hill (3-0) at Glenville State (2-1), 1 p.m. -- Seton Hill's Antwarn Jones and Glenville State's Jerry Seymour are two of the premier runners in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Seymour, who is second nationally with 150.3 yards rushing per game (9.2 per carry average), is WVIAC offensive player of the week. He had 212 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-14 victory against then-No. 10 Shepherd. This is Seton Hill's League opener.

• Washington & Jefferson (2-0) at Thiel (0-2), 1:30 p.m. -- W&J, ranked 16th in the D3football.com poll, has won 21 consecutive regular-season games and 12 consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference games since a 38-35 overtime loss to Thiel The Presidents have scored 49 points in each of their first two games, led by quarterback Bobby Swallow (64.6 completion percentage, 742 yards, 5 TDs) and running back Curt Jones (211 yards rushing, 6 TDs). W&J's Mike Sirianni (52-8), in his sixth season, is tied with D.C. Morrow (52-20-5) for the second-most football coaching victories in school history. The leader is John Luckhardt (137-37-2) from 1982-98.

• Hobart (1-0) at Carnegie Mellon (1-1), 1 p.m. -- CMU has out-rushed its opponent in 23 consecutive regular-season games. The Tartans average 230 yards on the ground this season, led by Anthony Ruzga's 141 yards and two touchdowns. CMU is coming off a 19-10 loss to Grove City. Hobart defeated Dickinson, 28-21, behind Rich Doyle's 234 yards passing and two touchdowns.