No. 9 Dukes Trek to Williamsburg to Tangle with No. 16 Tribe

Saturday, October 31

Williamsburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

William & Mary

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No. 9 Dukes Trek to Williamsburg to Tangle with No. 16 Tribe

10/27/2015 6:02:00 PM | Football

HARRISONBURG, Va. - No. 9 James Madison hits the road this week as it travels to Williamsburg, Va., to take on William & Mary this Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on the NBC Sports Network and can be heard on the JMU/nTelos Wireless Sports Network. The 2015 football season is presented by CarMax.

JMU and William & Mary have met on the gridiron since the 1978 season and the Dukes hold a 21-16 advantage all-time. The Tribe maintain an 11-9 record in games played in Williamsburg, though JMU has won five of the last seven at Zable Stadium.

Last time they met, JMU scored the final 18 points of the game in the fourth quarter to storm back for a 31-24 victory over W&M back on Nov. 1, 2014, in Harrisonburg. The comeback was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown pass from Vad Lee to DeAndre' Smith with only 47 seconds to play. The Dukes outgained the Tribe, 445-274, including a 324-172 advantage in the pass game.

DUKES DROP FIRST GAME OF 2015
JMU saw its 14-game, regular-season win streak end last Saturday with a 59-49 loss to Richmond in front of a record 26,069 fans at Bridgeforth Stadium. UR scored on all five drives in the second half and used a late fumble recovery to seal the win.

It was JMU's first loss at home since Sept. 27, 2014 - the last setback to a CAA school - before the Dukes reeled off 10 straight CAA victories, tying the program record for consecutive conference wins.

EVERETT WITHERS FAN AND PRESS LUNCHEON

VAD LEE WILL GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE GREATS IN JMU HISTORY
It was announced on Oct. 27 that Vad Lee underwent season-ending foot surgery but he will be remembered as one of the greats in JMU football history.

In just his 21st game last Saturday, Lee tied JMU's all-time passing touchdown record with 51 scores through the air. This season, he leads the nation in total offense per game (375.5) while also ranking second in point responsibility (174), third in passing yards (2,190), fourth in passing TDs (21) and rush yards per carry (7.5), fifth in completion percentage (68.3%) and eighth in rushing yards (814).

Lee finishes his career as one of the most illustrious players in JMU football history. In addition to being tied for the career passing touchdown mark, he ranks second with 7,292 yards of total offense, third with 5,652 passing yards and 446 completions and fourth with 705 pass attempts.

LEADING THE NATION IN A PLETHORA OF CATEGORIES
JMU leads FCS nationally in four categories this week: scoring (48.8), total offense (609.5), first downs (249) and third-down conversions (56.9%) while ranking fourth in rushing (318.5) and completion percentage (68.8).

Aside from Lee's strong numbers, the running back duo of Khalid Abdullah and Cardon Johnson rank highly. Abdullah is fifth in rushing touchdowns (10) and 20th in yards per game (94.3) while Johnson is eighth in scores (8), 11th in yards per carry (6.7) and 22nd in yards per game (91.9). Defensively, Taylor Reynolds is second in passes defended (1.9) and Andrew Ankrah is third in sacks (1.2) and fifth in forced fumbles (0.5). Gage Steele, who leads JMU with 77 tackles, ranks 30th in stops per game (9.6).

JMU DELIVERS AN EPIC COLLEGE GAMEDAY ON THE QUAD
More than 12,000 fans converged on the Quad Saturday morning for ESPN's iconic pregame show, College GameDay. ESPN also saw record crowds for the bus arrival on Thursday evening and ESPN's College Football Live Friday afternoon.

On Saturday, host Rece Davis told the crowd that JMU delivered the biggest GameDay they ever had after the show went off the air. Lee Corso dressed up as James Madison and delivered a powerful speech on the steps of Wilson Hall which ended with him putting Duke Dog's head on to close out the show.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Awesome @CollegeGameDay scene JMU. Salute pic.twitter.com/h61sHpxrcU
— Rece Davis (@ESPN_ReceDavis) October 24, 2015

NO. 4 DUKES FALL TO NO. 11 RICHMOND IN 59-49 SHOOTOUT
No. 11 Richmond tallied three consecutive touchdowns spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a two-score lead and withstood No. 4 James Madison's late push as the visitors claimed a 59-49 Colonial Athletic Association football shootout on Saturday evening at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

Richmond, now 6-1 (4-0 CAA) after the win, scored 31 points after halftime to pull ahead of the Dukes, who fell to 7-1 (4-1 CAA) with the loss. A Homecoming crowd of 26,069 fans established a new Bridgeforth Stadium record attendance.

It was the most points in the UR-JMU series and also a record for combined points (108), breaking the previous record of 101 set back in 1992 in a JMU at Youngstown State matchup (W, 52-49).

The two teams combined for 1,305 yards of total offense, including 782 yards through the air. After a wide-open first half that saw the teams go into the break tied at 28-28, Richmond scored on all five of its second-half drives to keep the potent JMU offense at bay.

Redshirt senior quarterback Vad Lee racked up 418 yards of total offense, passing for 294 yard and two scores and running for 124 yards and a career-high three rushing touchdowns, in another stellar performance before being forced out of the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Lee's second touchdown pass of the evening was the 51st of his career, tying him with Justin Rascati for the most in program history.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
The 16th-ranked Tribe enter this weekend with a 5-2 record and 3-1 mark in the CAA following a dominant 40-7 victory over Hampton on Oct. 24 in the non-conference finale. W&M built a 30-0 lead at halftime and finished the contest with nearly 400 more total yards of offense, 526-150. Additionally, the Tribe outgained HU on the ground, 282-27, and held the Pirates to just 2-of-12 on third down.

Junior running back Kendell Anderson equaled a career-high with 191 rushing yards – the ninth-best performance in school history – on 22 carries with a touchdown. It marked Anderson's fifth-consecutive 100-yard effort as well as the 12th straight game in which a Tribe running back has reached the century mark.

W&M averages 31.3 points per game while conceding 15.3 to its foes. The Tribe ranks second nationally by throwing just one interception this season. They also rank sixth in red zone defense (60%), seventh in scoring defense (15.3), 10th in passing yards allowed per game (160.1), 11th in total defense (290.1) and 15th in rushing offense (224.0).

Steve Cluley has passed for 1,504 yards with 10 touchdowns and only one interception this season. Kendell Anderson has rushed for 896 yards and eight touchdowns while Mikal Abdul-Saboor has added 433 yards and three scores. Anderson ranks fourth in FCS with 128.0 rushing yards per game and eighth with 6.89 yards per carry. ?

TALE OF THE TAPE

James Madison		William & Mary
48.8	Scoring Offense	31.3
25.8	Scoring Defense	15.3
+23.0	Scoring Margin	+16.0
291.0	Passing Yards	214.9
318.5	Rushing Yards	224.0
609.5	Total Offense	438.9
57% (66/116)	3rd Down Offense	45% (47/104)
39% (50/127)	3rd Down Defense	39% (38/98)
63% (5/8)	4th Down Offense	55% (6/11)
44% (8/18)	4th Down Defense	40% (4/10)
90% (46/51)	Red Zone Scoring	78% (21/27)
23/7/7	Sacks/INTs/Fumble Recoveries	15/11/10

CAA STANDINGS

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

DUKES ON THE BROADCAST
JMU will be making its sixth appearance on television of 2015 on Saturday, with NBC Sports Network broadcasting the Dukes matchup with W&M nationally. This will mark the sixth of seven television appearances for JMU, with the Nov. 14 game at Delaware being shown on Comcast SportsNet.

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.