Season openers are usually about first impressions, but this one feels more like a stress test. Duquesne begins at Air Force on Saturday with a young roster, only four starters back on defense and a schedule that quickly moves from one challenge to the next. The opener matters on its own, yet it also serves as the first clue about whether Duquesne can follow a 7-5 season with another serious run at the Northeast Conference title.
That is the bigger story here. Duquesne finished 2025 as the runner-up to Central Connecticut in the NEC, and the program is trying to prove that last season was not a one-year peak. Jerry Schmitt has been clear about the shape of this team, saying it is younger and newer than the program has had in a long time, but still operating like the successful Duquesne teams of the past. He also pointed to the loss of leadership, while adding that he expects the group to play hard, play fast and play smart.
There is a reason this is a useful opening challenge. Duquesne has already shown it can handle moments that look bigger than the label on the schedule. In 2024, it upset a ranked Youngstown State team 28-25, and last season it faced No. 10 Lehigh in a 35-21 loss. Those results do not mean this group is finished being tested, but they do show a program comfortable with difficult nonconference games before league play starts to define the season.
Why this opener matters
Air Force is not coming in as a perfect measuring stick, but it is still an FBS opponent, which gives Duquesne an early look at speed, physicality and depth. Air Force has struggled recently, going 5-7 in 2024 and 4-8 the following year, yet that does not erase the challenge for an FCS team with limited defensive continuity. For Duquesne, the point is less about chasing a headline and more about seeing how quickly a younger group can settle into a familiar standard.
The schedule only sharpens that logic. After Air Force, Duquesne faces Youngstown State, then Washington State, then Rio Grande in its first home game. On Oct. 10, it plays LIU on Homecoming weekend. That sequence leaves little room for a slow start, which is why the opener matters beyond the result itself. A team chasing the NEC again needs to learn quickly whether its identity survives outside the comfort of conference play.
There is also a tactical layer to this, even before the ball is kicked. With only four starters back on defense, Duquesne cannot rely on continuity to solve problems for it. The unit will have to grow up fast, and the offense will need to help manage games rather than simply react to them. That makes Schmitt’s emphasis on familiar standards more than a quote; it is the blueprint for how this team has to travel.
DJ Cerisier called games like this exciting and said they help get the team ready for conference play. Ryan Petras was more measured, calling it a great challenge and saying the main focus is to play the team’s game and not get distracted by what comes next. Together, those views capture the balance Duquesne needs. The opener can be a proving ground without becoming a referendum.
If Duquesne leaves Saturday with the right kind of performance, it will not settle anything about the season. But it could confirm that a younger roster still knows how to look like a contender. And for a program that just finished second in the NEC, that is the most useful starting point of all.
