Dambrot gave the excuse that RMU had a transfer from Akron that he didn't want to go against. The transfer is now gone. I'll buy his excuse if they play this year. I think Capel knows he has a team with many new parts that need to be worked in. He knows he could be facing WVU, a Big 10 team (possibly Penn St., who should still be good this year), maybe a Dayton team that won't be quite what they were last year, but should still be good. If you add what looks to be a very solid Dukes team to that, you don't leave too many games where he can experiment with his rotations and such. Sure, the team could come through it successfully, hardened, and ready for the ACC. Then again, they could struggle, losing most of those games, and their confidence, setting themselves up for a tough season. So, I don't think it's a case of Capel being scared of Duquesne, just an acknowledgement that Duquesne has a pretty good squad this year, and that he feels there are enough teams like that already on the schedule, which he doesn't want to overload. Good teams from WVU, Duquesne, and Penn St. all on the schedule, and wanting to kill Pitt might be a bit too much at this point.
