Florida State will open the 2022 season against Duquesne on Saturday at 5 p.m. (ACC Network). The game will also air on the Seminole Radio Network, with Jeff Culhane calling his first play-by-play as the voice of FSU football.

Head Coach: Jerry Schmitt

Record at Duquesne: 109-71 entering his 18th season

Overall Record as Head Coach: 137-71

Conference Affiliation: Northeast Conference (NEC)

2021 Record: 7-3 (5-2 in NEC, 2nd place)

2022: Picked to finish second in the NEC preseason Coach’s Poll

The Dukes are coached by Jerry Schmitt, who is the school’s all-time winningest coach. Schmitt led Duquesne to the FCS playoffs n 2015. Duquesne’s last appearance in the FCS playoffs was in 2018, when the Dukes made it to the second round before being eliminated.

Duquesne has a 1-4 record against FCS opponents. Last season the Dukes faced two FBS teams. They opened up the 2021 season at TCU, losng 45-3 to a Horned Frog team that would eventually finish 5-7. Duquesne beat Ohio 28-26 the next week to give the NEC its first win over an FBS program.

Offensively, the Dukes return quarterbacks Darrius Perrantes, a sophomore, and junior Joe Mischler. Perrantes took over as the starter last season after Mischler was lost for the year vs. TCU. The pair are listed as co-starters on the Duquesne depth chart.

Perrantes completed 59.7 percent of his passes a season ago while throwing for 1,620 yards and 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The offense also returns their leading rusher from last season, Billy Lucas, who totaled 699 yards on 137 carries en route to being named a second-team All-NEC selection. Duquesne did see the departures of its top-five pass catchers from last season in terms of receiving yardage. The offensive line does return three starters from 2021.

Last season the Dukes averaged 29.1 points per game. While Duquesne's spread offense is balanced, the Dukes ran the ball more than 57 percent of the time a season ago and averaged 346 yards of offense per game.

The Dukes run a base 3-4 defense but can also be multiple and give opponents even-front looks. All three starters from last year’s defensive line are back, including All-NEC nose tackle Maxi Hradecky. Linebacker Todd Hill, who was named second-team All-NEC, also returns. Hill finished fourth on the team in tackles (38) last year. He is the team’s leading returning tackler.

Last season the Dukes gave up 22.9 points per game and 331.3 yards of offense per game.

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