No. 15 JMU Falls 26-21 To No. 20 Liberty in FCS Playoffs First Round

Saturday, November 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

9-3

Liberty

8-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Liberty

James Madison

No. 15 JMU Falls 26-21 To No. 20 Liberty in FCS Playoffs First Round

11/29/2014 8:11:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Virginia – Host No. 15 James Madison was unable to get the ball to find its rhythm in the second half and No. 20 Liberty came from behind for a 26-21 victory in the opening round of the 2014 NCAA FCS Playoffs, Nov. 29. The Dukes end the season at 9-4 while the Flames improved to 9-4 and moved on to play at No. 6-seed Villanova next Saturday.

Trailing 21-20 at the start of the fourth quarter, Liberty put together a 17-play, 85-yard drive over 11:01, with fullback Nick Fualaau scoring from 1-yard out. The two-point conversion was no good and LU had a 26-21 lead with 2:53 to play in the contest.

JMU was limited to just 16 yards and 17 plays in the second half prior to the final Madison drive moving from the JMU 25 to the Liberty 27 before the drive and the Dukes' season ended on a fourth-down incompletion. Liberty dominated the second half possession, running 36 plays for 155 yards and keeping the ball 21:04.

For the game, LU outgained JMU 397-336, including 244 yards passing to the Dukes' 139. Penalties were again an issue for Madison as they were flagged for seven penalties for 66 yards. The Flames also controlled the offense, keeping the ball for 39:01 of the 60-minute game.

Redshirt-senior Jauan Latney led the Dukes on the ground, posting his fourth career 100-yard game with 119 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Redshirt-junior quarterback Vad Lee was 18-for-35 for 139 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore receiver Brandon Ravenel led Madison with seven catches for 54 yards. Senior safety Dean Marlowe had 12 tackles, incuding 1.5 tackles for loss, and two interceptions in his final game for the Dukes.

Running back D.J. Abnar finished with 17 carries for 69 yards and two scores for the Flames, while quarterback Josh Woodrum was 18-for-27 for 244 yards and two interceptions. Wide receiver Gabe Henderson had seven catches for 92 yards. Kicker John Lunsford was good on his two field goals, including a 56-yarder, and two extra points. Defensive back Justin Guillory posted a game-high 13 tackles with 1.0 tackle for loss.

Liberty got on the board first on its second drive of the game, going 72 yards in seven plays before the drive stalled out at the JMU 9. Lunsford hit a 26-yard field goal and the visitors took the first lead of the game at 3-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter.

A 19-yd rush by Liberty's Abnar capped a five-play, 85 yard drive and pushed the Liberty lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter.

JMU had a quick response, as on the first offensive play of the drive Latney found a seam in the middle and rambled untouched 73 yards for the score to make it 10-7 LU. The Dukes then took the lead as Lee finished off a 10-play, 54-yard drive with a 9-yard run, putting the hosts up 14-10 with 8:47 to go in the second quarter.

Madison engineered another scoring drive on its ensuing possession, going 67 yards in 11 plays. Lee found DeAndre' Smith with a swing pass and Smith cut back, picked up three key blocks and went 16 yards into the end zone to give Madison a 21-10 lead. JMU forced a fourth LU turnover late in the first half but couldn't put any more points on the board and went into the halftime break with the 11-point advantage.

Liberty forced JMU three-and-out on first drive of second half and got the ball at JMU 45. The Flames converted on third-and-goal from the JMU 7 on a toss to Abnar, who bulled through two tackles for the touchdown to cut the margin down to four at 21-17 with 10:16 to go in the third quarter. Liberty then trimmed it down to one on Lunsford's 56-yard field goal to make it 21-20 with just under five minutes to play in the third.

This was JMU's 111th playoff appearance in school history, with the program now holding a 9-10 record in postseason action.