Strong Second Half Lifts No. 12 Dukes over Albany, 42-28

Saturday, September 19

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

3-0 , 1-0

Albany

1-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Albany

James Madison

Strong Second Half Lifts No. 12 Dukes over Albany, 42-28

9/19/2015 7:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - No. 12 James Madison bounced back from a slow first half to roll to a 42-28 win over Albany in a Colonial Athletic Association football game on Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

The Dukes racked up 340 yards of total offense after the break to outscore Albany 28-14 in the second half and move to 3-0 (1-0 CAA) for the first time since the 2010 campaign. The Great Danes fell to 1-2 (1-1 CAA) with the loss.

Dominance on the ground was once again the story for JMU as the Dukes barreled to 350 yards rushing on the day. Junior running back Khalid Abdullah (143 yards, 28 carries) and redshirt sophomore running back Cardon Johnson (134 yards, 17 carries) did the lion's share of the work, with senior quarterback Vad Lee chipping in 72 yards on 15 attempts.

In the first half, Lee threw four interceptions and lost a fumble but came back after halftime to complete 11 of his 15 passes for 155 yards with three touchdowns to help JMU finish with 625 yards of total offense. After the teams went into halftime tied at 14-14, the JMU defense needed just four plays to force a punt on Albany's opening possession before the Dukes scored on four straight possessions to go up 42-28 and put the contest out of reach.

This marks the first time in program history that the Dukes have gone over the 600-yard mark in three consecutive contests, as JMU posted 713 yards against Morehead State and 618 over Lehigh. JMU also picked up 40 first downs on the afternoon, marking a new program record. The previous record was 38, set versus St. Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 1, 2012.

Quoting Coach Withers:
"I think it's good to be 3-0 after you don't play very well. Anytime you don't play very well and have 625 yards of total offense and 42 points, that's pretty good. I'm really proud of the way our guys battled today, though. We're still not a very good football team, so we'll go back to work and hopefully come back next week."

Breakthrough Performance:
Freshman cornerback Curtis Oliver tallied seven tackles on the afternoon, including five solo stops and a pair of crucial pass breakups, to help the Dukes hold Albany to just 167 yards through the air on Saturday afternoon. Oliver had just nine total tackles and no breakups entering the weekend.

Play of the Game

Senior quarterback Vad Lee and junior wide receiver Rashard Davis connected on a perfect corner route to cap the Dukes' first drive of the second half to put JMU up 21-14 from 13 yards out. The score put the finishing touches on the first of four consecutive touchdown drives for JMU as the Dukes seized the momentum out of halftime.

Pair of Career Rushing Days:
Both of JMU's running backs notched career-highs in yardage against the Albany defense, which entered the weekend yielding just 166 yards per game on the ground. Sophomore Cardon Johnson racked up 134 yards on 17 carries, while junior Khalid Abdullah carried the ball 28 times for 143 yards, the most of any JMU player in a single game this season.

Three Weeks of Offensive Fireworks:
After three weeks, the JMU offense is moving at a pace unmatched in program history. Through three games, the Dukes have gained 1,956 (652.0/game) yards of total offense, scored 153 (51.0/game) points and picked up 100 (33.3/game) first downs, all three-game program records.

Climbing the Record Book:
Senior quarterback Vad Lee continued his march up the JMU record books. After Saturday's performance, he ranks in the top seven in five career categories at JMU:
Passing Yards: 6th, 4,368 (5th: Matt LeZotte, 4,504)
Passing Attempts: 7th, 557 (6th: Tom Bowles, 584)
Passing Completions: 5th, 348 (4th: Matt LeZotte, 358)
Passing Touchdowns: 4th, 38 (3th: Eriq Williams, 40)
Total Offense: 5th, 5,421 (4th: Rodney Landers, 6,765)

Photo of the Game:
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The James Madison defensive line stands firm against the Albany offense on First Responders' Day at Bridgeforth Stadium.

CAA Status:
With the victory, the Dukes staked an early claim to first place in the CAA at 1-0. They are the only 3-0 team in the league.

Next Up:
The Dukes hit the road for the first time in 2015 next week as they head to Dallas, Texas, for a 7 p.m. (EST) matchup at SMU on Saturday, Sept. 26.