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Duquesne ranks 24th, 25th in two I-AA polls

Tuesday, November 12, 2002

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Duquesne is ranked in the NCAA Division I-AA Top 25 football polls for the first time.

The Dukes (10-0) are 24th in the Sports Network poll voted on by the media and sports information directors and 25th in the USA Today/ESPN poll voted on by the coaches. Both polls include scholarship, partial scholarship and non-scholarship programs.

Duquesne, a non-scholarship program, has won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and is headed to the ECAC Classic, Nov. 23, at the home of the Northeast Conference champion, either Albany or Stony Brook.

Duquesne is eligible to receive an at-large bid to the Division I-AA playoffs, but a non-scholarship program never has been invited. Bids will be extended Nov. 24.

"If we're 12-0, should a team 7-4 be in ahead of us?" Duquesne Coach Greg Gattuso asked. "I think we can make a strong case to be included, but it's going to take courage with somebody on the selection committee to get us an invitation.

"I think we could compete against them. In a one-game deal under the right circumstances we have talent to give a scholarship team a run. We present an argument [to get a bid] that nobody else in Mid-Major has presented."

Duquesne is No. 1 for the sixth consecutive week in The Sports Network 1-AA Mid-Major poll.

The Dukes started to receive some votes in the national I-AA polls when they defeated Bucknell, 35-14, and Lafayette, 23-22, both from the Patriot League, whose champion earns an automatic bid to the I-AA playoffs.

"Those wins give you credibility," Gattuso said. "I just like that we're being discussed. People are talking about Duquesne who never talked about Duquesne football before."

The previous time a Mid-Major team cracked the Top 25 poll was Dayton, which climbed to No. 20 in the USA Today/ESPN poll in 1997 for the highest ranking by a non-scholarship program. Dayton was 23rd in the final 1997 Sports Network poll and 25th in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

Dayton was the only Mid-Major school in the national rankings until Duquesne's appearance.

The Dukes have climbed steadily in the USA Today/ESPN poll in recent weeks, from 45, to 38, 34, 30, 28, 26 and 25.

"We still have business to take care of," Gattuso said. "We still have a goal we want to reach."

Duquesne completes its regular season against Fairfield Saturday at Rooney Field.