14th-Ranked Dukes Travel North to Face Delaware this Saturday

Saturday, November 14

Newark, Del.

3:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Delaware

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14th-Ranked Dukes Travel North to Face Delaware this Saturday

11/10/2015 3:15:00 PM | Football

HARRISONBURG, Va. - No. 14 James Madison is fresh off its bye week and travels to Newark, Del., to take on Delaware this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet and can be heard on the JMU/nTelos Wireless Sports Network. The 2015 football season is presented by CarMax.

JMU and Delaware have met on the gridiron since 1983 and the Blue Hens hold a 14-8 advantage all-time. The Hens maintain an 8-3 lead in games played in Newark and have won seven of eight at home against Madison. UD has also won three straight overall with JMU, including a 30-23 overtime win last season on Sept. 27, 2014, in Harrisonburg.

Last time they met, JMU and Delaware combined to score 27 points in the final 8:09 of regulation, including a Vad Lee touchdown run with 20 seconds left, but the Blue Hens scored a touchdown in overtime and converted a goal-line stand on fourth down to clinch a 30-23 win at JMU. UD's Trent Hurley passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns while Wes Hills rushed for 136 in the win. Lee threw for 252 yards and two scores while rushing for 86 and scoring another on the ground.

DUKES FALL IN FINAL MINUTE AT WILLIAM & MARY
Kendell Anderson scored on a two-yard touchdown with 44 seconds left in an offensive shootout to lift No. 16 William & Mary to a 44-41 win over No. 9 James Madison in Colonial Athletic Association football action on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Zable Stadium.

The loss dropped the Dukes to 7-2 (4-2 CAA) on the season, while the Tribe improved to 6-2 (4-1 CAA) with the victory. JMU controlled the contest much of the way, with W&M taking its first lead of the game at 37-34 with 7:24 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Dukes responded immediately, however, going 75 yards over 10 plays that spanned just 2:12 before junior running back Khalid Abdullah plunged into the end zone from a yard out to put JMU back on top, 41-37. W&M got the ball back with 5:12 to go and picked up five first downs on an 84-yard drive, with Anderson taking a handoff off-tackle to put the Tribe on top for good.

EVERETT WITHERS FAN AND PRESS LUNCHEON

DOMINICK RICHARDS VOTED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM
Dominick Richards was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team last week and he moves to the national ballot for the Academic All-America program. The Dukes have had five AAAs in the history of the program and he could be the first since Mark Kiefer in 1989.

SCHOR STEPS INTO STARTING ROLE
Sophomore Bryan Schor made his first career start on Oct. 31 at William & Mary, and although the team came out on the losing end, Schor proved he can run the up-tempo offense just like teammate Vad Lee did.

Schor guided JMU to 41 points on the road after passing 17-for-27 for 227 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 64 yards and a score. Looking back at previous first starts for quarterbacks, Schor threw for more yards than the previous 10 quarterbacks did in their first starts at JMU, dating back to the 2001 season.

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 offense (47.9), total offense (592.9), first downs (272) and third-down conversions (57.7%) while ranking third in rushing offense (309.0) and fourth in red-zone scoring (91.1%) and completion percentage (68.2%).

Aside from Lee's strong numbers (read below), the running back duo of Khalid Abdullah and Cardon Johnson rank highly. Abdullah is fourth in rushing touchdowns (12) and 29th in rushing yards per game (89.3) while Johnson is sixth in yards per carry (6.9) and 23rd in both rushing yards per game (96.6) and scores (9). Defensively, Taylor Reynolds is fifth in passes defended (1.8) and Andrew Ankrah is fifth in both sacks (1.1) and forced fumbles (0.4).

SCOUTING DELAWARE
The Blue Hens enter this weekend with a 3-6 record and 2-4 mark in the CAA following a 17-6 setback at home against Albany. The Hens have lost two straight and been outscored 36-6 in the two defeats.

In last Saturday's loss, UD managed just 224 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times. Delaware led 6-3 in the third but a fumble recovery in the end zone gave the Great Danes a 10-6 lead. UA added a touchdown early in the fourth to provide insurance.

Delaware averages just 14.3 points per game while allowing foes to score 21.2 per outing. The Hens boast the CAA's second-best rushing offense, accruing 217.4 yards per game on the ground, but rank last in passing offense, tallying just 71.0 passing yards per game. The offense ranks second-to-last in passing yards and 118th out of 123 teams in completion percentage (45.8%). Defensively, UD is second in limiting third down conversions, as opponents convert just 33.6 percent of the time.

UD is led by Thomas Jefferson, who has rushed for 715 yards and six touchdowns, while Kareem Williams has run for 581 yards and a pair of scores. The duo ranks ninth and 10th, respectively, in the CAA in rush yards per game. Charles Bell is tied for the fifth in the conference with 8.8 tackles per game.

Dave Brock is in his third season as head coach at Delaware, where he has compiled a 16-17 record (10-12 CAA). Brock led the Hens to a 7-5 record in 2013 and an even 6-6 mark last season. This is Brock's first head coaching job as he put in 25 years of experience prior to his hire in Newark. Prior to UD, he was the offensive coordinator for a season at Rutgers and had a total of 11 years at the FBS level and 17 at the Division 1 level (FCS and FBS).

TALE OF THE TAPE

James Madison		Delaware
47.9	Scoring Offense	14.3
27.8	Scoring Defense	21.2
+20.1	Scoring Margin	-6.9
283.9	Passing Yards	71.0
309.0	Rushing Yards	217.4
592.9	Total Offense	288.4
58% (75/130)	3rd Down Offense	40% (54/136)
43% (61/143)	3rd Down Defense	34% (43/128)
67% (6/9)	4th Down Offense	31% (4/11)
44% (8/18)	4th Down Defense	76% (13/17)
91% (51/56)	Red Zone Scoring	75% (18/24)
23/8/7	Sacks/INTs/Fumble Recoveries	16/5/6

CAA STANDINGS

School	CAA	Overall
#9 Richmond	5-1	7-2
#7 William & Mary	5-1	7-2
#14 James Madison	4-2	7-2
Towson	4-2	6-3
Villanova	4-2	5-4
New Hampshire	3-3	5-4
Maine	3-3	3-6
Albany	2-4	3-6
Delaware	2-4	3-6
Elon	2-4	3-6
Stony Brook	1-5	3-5
Rhode Island	1-5	1-8

DUKES ON THE BROADCAST
JMU will be making its seventh and final appearance on television of 2015 on Saturday, with Comcast SportsNet broadcasting the game regionally. Click here for a full listing of TV clearances for JMU's game at Delaware.

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.