Duquesne's big-time football game against Boston College got even bigger after recent upset

It’s not like the Duquesne football team was oblivious to what they were getting in Boston College as a Week 2 opponent when the schedule was released.

An ACC school. On the road. Potential NFL players on the other sideline. Former Penn State head coach and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien is running the show now.

Then they watched BC’s opener on Monday night. The Eagles whitewashed the 10th-ranked Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee, 28-13.

Now the task looks even more daunting.

However, the Dukes’ mentality hasn’t changed.

“They are tough. They played a good game,” center Cam McLaurin said Tuesday. “They played four quarters of football, which is what we are instructed to do as well. They played well up front. They won the game in the trenches. You can tell that by the stats (39 minutes of possession, 269 yards rushing). We are excited to get out there and compete.”

Playing this kind of game is nothing new for the Dukes. Stepping up in class from the FCS level to visit a power conference FBS team has become routine for coach Jerry Schmitt’s team. In recent years, the Dukes have visited the likes of West Virginia, TCU and Florida State.

Not to mention other FBS opponents such as Hawaii, Coastal Carolina, Ohio and Toledo.

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The upside for the Dukes when playing these FBS schools is multifaceted. There is the exposure and excitement that goes along with playing a top-level opponent. The Dukes are using this excursion to Chestnut Hill as a large donor and alumni trip, as they have done with many of the other “schedule-up” road games that they’ve played in recent years.

Secondly, the players are sharpening their skills against top-grade competition before entering the NEC schedule.

Then there is the financial aspect. In 2022, athletic director Dave Harper told TribLive that the trips to Hawaii and Florida State that season could end up accounting for “roughly half” of the Dukes’ budget.

The downside for the FCS schools is often … well, the score.

While the Dukes stayed within 10 points of Hawaii that year and beat Ohio University on the road in 2021, the results can be rough playing against bigger schools with more full scholarship athletes and NIL advantages. The Dukes lost 49-10 in their opener to Toledo last week.

Injuries tend to be a problem too, when playing against many bigger, faster players. Duquesne has dealt with a number of significant injuries to key contributors during these contests in the past, including the loss of quarterback Joe Mischler at TCU in 2021.

Against the Rockets last week, starters Taj Boyd (RB), Tim Lowery (DB) and Ty Howard (LB) all suffered injuries that may keep them out of the BC game and beyond.

However, Schmitt dwells on the big-picture benefits to the program.

“Our guys are excited to go to Boston against such a historic program and challenge ourselves in a big stadium against a team that made its mark Monday night,” Schmitt said Thursday. “They are a team that is on the rise in FBS football, and we are excited to play them.”

That rise for the Eagles appears to be even more dramatic than even what optimists surrounding the program may have hoped prior to Monday night.

That means potentially an even greater task at hand for Schmitt’s team than when this game was scheduled.

But it’s one the players are embracing.

“We’ve been playing these big games every year,” defensive lineman AJ Ackerman said last week. “I like it a lot. It’s big-time football you get to play to start your season.”

How the Dukes carry this experience into their conference season may be the biggest payout of all.

LISTEN: Tim Benz interviews Jerry Schmitt about Duquesne’s trip to play Boston College.