Dukes Fall to Air Force, 34-0

The Air Force may be known for attacks through the air- at least, when they’re not playing football- but the Falcons kept it on the ground with a diverse and varied ground attack today in Colorado Springs and sent Duquesne home scoreless.

The Dukes had trouble establishing much of anything offensively. According to the stat sheet, they averaged 2:07 in possession per drive and while it’s somewhat expected to have difficulty controlling the clock against a service academy, Duquesne was eventually outpossessed 19:10 to 40:50.

It’s hard to get a good read on the Duquesne offense, because we simply didn’t see much of them. Postgame, Coach Schmitt noted that plays they were able to make in camp just weren’t falling for them against Air Force today. The plan- to gain medium yardage on first and second down on the ground- never came to fruition. The Dukes tried to rely on Ness Davis, who led the stable of backs with 11 attempts on 32 yards. Shawn Solomon was only able to rush once for 3, which was about the expected outcome for the Dukes when they ran the ball, as Davis only averaged 2.9 on the ground.

Blake Fletcher for the Falcons was the star defensively, with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. “We couldn’t find him,” said Coach Schmitt after the game. “I told him he’s one of the best I’ve seen in awhile.”

In a game like this, it’s tempting to draw conclusions but ultimately there’s not a ton to take away from a challenge against a strong FBS team. The environment is obviously a good thing for the players to experience, and it gives you a taste of action without the weight of the conference race on your shoulders. When that conference race starts, the Dukes will need to make some of the plays they left on the table tonight.

There’s definitely potential here for that to develop, though. Ryan Petras and Zae-Mear Correll, both sophomores, combined for 8 targets today. They’ll need to develop quickly, but young talent spearheading a passing group that has historically been a strength for the Dukes puts Duquesne in a promising spot.

The plays that weren’t made today will have to be made against the CCSUs and LIUs of this league., but flush it and move on; Youngstown State is up next.