No. 4 Dukes Welcome In-State Rival No. 11 Richmond for Homecoming

HARRISONBURG, Va. - No. 4 James Madison is back home this Saturday as it hosts No. 11 Richmond for Homecoming at 3:30 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard on the JMU/nTelos Wireless Sports Network. The game is sponsored by the JMU Duke Club and the 2015 football season is presented by CarMax.

JMU and Richmond have been playing pretty consistently since 1981 and the Spiders hold a slim 17-15 advantage, including an 8-7 edge in games played in Harrisonburg. JMU, however, has won the last two meetings, including a dominant 55-20 triumph last season at Richmond (11/15/14).

In that contest, Taylor Reynolds returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Vad Lee threw for a JMU-record 433 passing yards and two touchdowns to lead JMU to a 55-20 road win at Robins Stadium. It was the most points ever for the Dukes in the rivalry. DeAndre' Smith made four catches for a career-high 128 yards due in large part to his program-record 93-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
James Madison improved to 7-0 for the first time ever following a 51-0 win at Elon last weekend. It was JMU's first shutout win since Oct. 4, 2008 against Hofstra (56-0) and was the largest margin of victory on the road in the team's 44-year history.

EVERETT WITHERS FAN AND PRESS LUNCHEON

WIN RECORDS CONTINUE TO RISE
JMU has won a school-record 14 consecutive regular-season games dating back to Oct. 4, 2014 and is one of two schools to hold an unbeaten record since the first weekend of October 2014. Harvard is 13-0 in that same time frame.

The Dukes also tied their consecutive CAA win streak, at 10, with Saturday's win over Elon. The last time they won 10 straight conference outings was during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, spanning Nov. 10, 2007 until Nov. 22, 2008.

AND THEY'RE COMIN'...TO OUR CITY
ESPN College GameDay announced on Sunday that their next destination would be Harrisonburg, Va., as they'll broadcast live from JMU's campus from 9 a.m. until noon on ESPN, ahead of JMU's meeting against Richmond. It is the sixth time ever a FCS school has hosted the iconic pregame show.

ESPN personalities typically on the show include host Rece Davis along with Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, David Pollack and Samantha Ponder. The show's producer, Lee Fitting, is a 1996 graduate of JMU.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

It's happening. College GameDay is headed to @JMUSports this week. https://t.co/aGGmXitvIv
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 19, 2015

JMU SHUTS OUT ELON FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT WIN
No. 5 JMU posted its largest road margin-of-victory in program history on Saturday in a 51-0 shutout of Colonial Athletic Association Football foe Elon at Rhodes Stadium.

The previous largest margin-of-victory on the road was a 42-3 win at Villanova on Nov. 13, 1993. This marks the first shutout for the Dukes since a 56-0 win over Hofstra on Oct. 4, 2008, and first road shutout since a 17-0 win at Villanova on Sept. 18, 2004. The Dukes' second consecutive 50-point performance on the road pushed them to their seventh straight win this season and they have now won a record 14 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season.

JMU eclipsed 600 yards of total offense for the fifth time this season with 604 total yards, including 406 yards rushing. The run game was led by redshirt sophomore running back Cardon Johnson, who rushed for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon. His longest run of the day was an 80-yard rush for a touchdown, also a career long.

SCOUTING RICHMOND
The 11th-ranked Spiders enter this weekend's CAA game with a 5-1 record and 3-0 mark in conference play following a 37-12 win at Rhode Island last weekend.

The offensive duo of Kyle Lauletta and Reggie Diggs each collected career-highs in passing yards (312) and receiving yards (142), respectively, while Omar Howard had a career day of his own on the defensive side of the ball, wrapping up 18 tackles to match his career-best. Jacobi Green was the top rusher for UR, picking up 49 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown. Seth Fisher added 21 yards and his fifth TD of the season.

Richmond averages 34.3 points per game while conceding 21.8 to its foes. The Spiders rank third nationally in red zone offense, scoring 95.8 percent of the time. They are also 16th in completion percentage (64.3%). Defensively UR is fourth in turnover margin (1.50) and sixth in interceptions gained (10). It averages 427.8 yards per game while allowing 350.0 to the opposition. Kyle Lauletta has passed for 1,510 yards with 10 touchdowns while Seth Fisher and Jacobi Green have combined for 720 rushing yards and 10 scores.

TALE OF THE TAPE

James Madison		Richmond
48.7	Scoring Offense	41.2
21.0	Scoring Defense	26.2
+27.7	Scoring Margin	+15.0
280.1	Passing Yards	307.0
332.9	Rushing Yards	206.4
613.0	Total Offense	513.4
55% (56/102)	3rd Down Offense	44% (31/71)
35% (39/112)	3rd Down Defense	44% (37/85)
57% (4/7)	4th Down Offense	100% (4/4)
44% (8/18)	4th Down Defense	43% (6/14)
89% (40/45)	Red Zone Scoring	96% (23/24)
22/7/7	Sacks/INTs/Fumble Recoveries	8/10/2

CAA STANDINGS

School	CAA	Overall
James Madison	4-0	7-0
Richmond	3-0	5-1
William & Mary	3-1	4-2
Villanova	2-1	3-3
Maine	2-1	2-4
New Hampshire	1-2	3-3
Towson	1-2	3-3
Delaware	1-2	2-4
Stony Brook	1-3	2-3
UAlbany	1-3	2-5
Elon	1-3	2-5
Rhode Island	1-3	1-6

DUKES ON THE BROADCAST
JMU will be making its fifth appearance on television of 2015 on Saturday, with Comcast SportsNet broadcasting the Dukes matchup with Richmond. This will mark the fifth of seven television appearances for JMU, with the Oct. 31 contest at William & Mary being televised nationally on NBC Sports.

JMU NTELOS WIRELESS SPORTS NETWORK
All 11 regular-season games, as well as any potential postseason matchups, can be heard online on the JMU nTelos Wireless Sports Network or on local airwaves at WSVA 550AM and 92.1 FM.

Dave Thomas is in his first season as the play-by-play man for the Dukes and calls alongside color commentator Clint Estes at home while Curt Dudley provides analysis on the road.

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