Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Robert Morris University football team concluded its 2011 campaign Saturday afternoon with its sixth straight loss, a 45-10 setback at crosstown rival Duquesne.

The Colonials finish the year with an overall record of 2-9, including 2-6 in the Northeast Conference, while the Dukes claimed a share of the 2011 NEC regular-season championship with an overall record of 9-2, including 7-1 in the conference.

Duquesne shares the title with Albany, which earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs thanks to a 38-10 head-to-head victory over the Dukes.

Robert Morris scored the only points in the first 15 minutes of action, as sophomore quarterback Tyler Forbes (New Castle, Pa. / Laurel), RMU's third starting quarterback in as many weeks, connected with senior wide receiver Jamie Cobb (Casa Grande, Ariz. / Scottsdale Community College) for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

Duquesne rallied to tie the score, 7-7, when quarterback Sean Patterson hit Isaac Spragg with a five-yard touchdown pass. It was one of three touchdowns scored by the Dukes in the final 10:31 of the first half as Duquesne took a 21-7 lead into the break.

Brooks Roorback would score on a six-yard touchdown run that gave the Dukes a 14-7 lead, and Patterson hit wide receiver Connor Dixon with a 12-yard scoring strike with just 15 seconds left before intermission to give Duquesne a 14-point lead.

Patterson and Dixon hooked up for two more scores in the second half, one from 45 yards at the 2:16 mark of the second quarter and from 43 yards with 3:35 to play that settled the score at 45-10.

In addition to leading the Duquesne ground game with 123 yards rushing, Patterson completed 17 of his 27 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns. Dixon hauled in five passes for 117 yards and three scores, while Spragg finished with seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Forbes finished 10-for-27 passing for 143 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Robert Morris, with Cobb leading the receiving corps with three receptions for 70 yards and a score.

Freshman running back Grayling Sanders (Lake Lynn, Pa. / Albert Gallatin) compiled 92 yards rushing on 18 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per rush, while redshirt freshman Deontae Howard (Clairton, Pa. / Clairton) carried four times for 25 yards.

Senior defensive back Alex Tarr (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park) and sophomore defensive lineman Chris Thompkins (Webster, N.Y. / Webster) tied for game-high honors in tackles with nine.

Notes: Duquesne took a 7-6 edge in the all-time series thanks to the victory ... The 35-point victory for the Dukes is the largest margin of victory for either program in the all-time series ... Senior tight end Shadrae King (McKeesport, Pa. / McKeesport) finished with a pair of receptions for 15 yards, closing out his career with at least one reception in each of his final 30 games ... King finishes his career as RMU's all-time leader in receptions (145), tied with former wide receiver Tyjuan Massey (2002-05) for the career record in touchdown catches (21) and second all-time in receiving yards (1,698) ... Senior wide receiver Anthony Coleman (Cheltenham, Md. / St. John's College High School) posted 139 all-purpose yards against the Dukes to finish his career with 3,701, tied for fourth all-time at Robert Morris with inaugural running back Tim Hall (1994-95) ... Over RMU's last 33 games dating back to the beginning of the 2009 season, the Colonials own winning streaks of five (2009) and eight (2010) games and losing streaks of six (2009), five (2010 into 2011) and six (2011) contests ... Forbes and junior wide receiver Rickeem Jackson (Orlando, Fla. / College of Canyons) each received their first career starts against the Dukes, bringing the number of Colonials to be in the starting lineup for the first time in 2011 to 27 ... Both the Robert Morris offense and defense used nine different starting lineups in 11 games in 2011.