1941 Duquesne Dukes football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 8
Record8–0
Head coach
Home stadiumForbes Field
Seasons
← 1940
1942 →
1941 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Duquesne   –   8 – 0 – 0
Thiel   –   7 – 0 – 0
Saint Francis (PA)   –   6 – 0 – 1
No. 6 Fordham   –   8 – 1 – 0
No. 15 Penn   –   7 – 1 – 0
Rochester   –   6 – 1 – 0
Trinity (CT)   –   6 – 1 – 0
Wagner   –   5 – 1 – 0
Franklin & Marshall   –   5 – 1 – 1
Penn State   –   7 – 2 – 0
Temple   –   7 – 2 – 0
Coast Guard   –   6 – 2 – 0
Norwich   –   6 – 2 – 0
Hofstra   –   5 – 2 – 0
Harvard   –   5 – 2 – 1
Syracuse   –   5 – 2 – 1
Boston College   –   7 – 3 – 0
Bucknell   –   6 – 3 – 0
Drexel   –   4 – 2 – 1
Boston University   –   5 – 3 – 0
Cornell   –   5 – 3 – 0
La Salle   –   5 – 3 – 0
Tufts   –   5 – 3 – 0
Army   –   5 – 3 – 1
Brown   –   5 – 4 – 0
Dartmouth   –   5 – 4 – 0
CCNY   –   4 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   4 – 4 – 0
Manhattan   –   4 – 4 – 1
Holy Cross   –   4 – 4 – 2
Colgate   –   3 – 3 – 2
Providence   –   3 – 3 – 2
Buffalo   –   3 – 4 – 1
Massachusetts State   –   3 – 4 – 1
Columbia   –   3 – 5 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   3 – 6 – 0
Princeton   –   2 – 6 – 0
Vermont   –   2 – 6 – 0
NYU   –   2 – 7 – 0
Carnegie Tech   –   1 – 7 – 0
Yale   –   1 – 7 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1941 Duquesne Dukes football team was an American football team that represented Duquesne University as an independent during the 1941 college football season. Duquesne finished undefeated, with a record of 8–0, and was ranked eighth in the final AP Poll.[1][2] They secured their perfect season by beating previously-undefeated Mississippi State in a rematch of the 1937 Orange Bowl.[3]

Aldo Donelli was the head coach for the first two games but then resigned to become head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steve Sinko took over as Duquesne's acting head coach after Donelli's resignation.[4] National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Duquesne records credit the entire season to Donelli's head coaching record.[5][6]

Duquesne's John Rokisky was selected by the Associated Press a first-team end on the 1941 All-Eastern football team. Center Al DeMao was named to the second team.[7]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 20Waynesburg
W 14–2[8]
September 26Niagara
  • Forbes Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 33–011,000[9]
October 10at Manhattan
W 26–711,127[10]
October 17Saint Vincent
  • Forbes Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 7–010,000[11]
October 25at Marquette
W 31–14> 20,000[12]
November 1VillanovaNo. 16
  • Forbes Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 7–020,698[13]
November 9at Saint Mary'sNo. 12
W 9–025,000[14]
November 15No. 13 Mississippi StateNo. 10
  • Forbes Field
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 16–031,483[15]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ^ "1941 Final AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "1941 Duquesne Dukes Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "Duquesne Takes 8th Straight, 16-0". The New York Times. November 16, 1941.
  4. ^ Claire M. Burcky (September 27, 1941). "Donelli To Devote Full Time To Steelers". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Archived Team-By-Team Final Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  6. ^ "Duquesne Football Record Book" (PDF). Duquesne Athletics. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "MacKinney and Peabody on A.P. Eastern Eleven". The Boston Daily Globe. December 5, 1941. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Chester L. Smith (September 21, 1941). "Dukes Hard-Pressed To Beat Waynesburg, 14-2: Bernie Semes And Binotto Get Scores". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. III-9, III-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Dukes Win Final Under Donelli, 33 to 0". The Pittsburgh Press. September 27, 1941. pp. 12–13 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Jack Smith (October 11, 1941). "Duquesne Little Duke Belts Jaspers, 26-7". New York Daily News – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Duquesne Averts Disaster With Last-Period Touchdown". The Pittsburgh Press. October 18, 1941. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Early Drive by Duquesne Beats Hilltops, 31-14". Chicago Tribune. October 26, 1941. p. II-4.
  13. ^ Eddie Beachler (November 2, 1941). "Dukes Beat Villanova, 7 To 0: Ball Scores After March Of 80 Yards". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. III-9, III-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Alan Ward (November 10, 1941). "Duquesne Speed Defeats Gaels, 9 to 0: Strader Plans Unit System". Oakland Tribune. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Harry Keck (November 16, 1941). "Dukes Beat Mississippi State, 16-0: Bluff Eleven Closes First Undefeated, Untied Season". The Pittsburgh Press. p. III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
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