#1 JMU Treks North for CAA Duel with Rhode Island

Saturday, November 4

Kingston, R.I.

Noon

James Madison University

Rhode Island

Buy Tickets

10/31/2017 2:30:00 PM | Football

@JMUFootball Game Notes

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Top-ranked James Madison flies north to Kingston, R.I. to face Rhode Island for a CAA battle.

Kickoff is set for noon at Meade Stadium and will streamed live on CBS College Sports Live for a nominal fee. It can also be heard on the JMU/Sprint Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage starting at 11 a.m.

The 2017 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 13th meeting between JMU and Rhode Island, with the Dukes holding a 9-3 advantage. JMU has won seven straight in the series, including an 84-7 win last season on Oct. 29, 2016.

WIN STREAK REACHES 20, DUKES MATCH CONFERENCE RECORD
JMU's 21-0 against then-No. 17 New Hampshire marked JMU's program-record 20th consecutive triumph, which extended the CAA record and longest mark in all of Division I. Miami out of the ACC is the only other DI team in double digits, having won 12 straight. No other FCS team has won more than eight (North Carolina A&T & North Dakota State). The Dukes have also claimed 15 straight league victories, which is currently tied for the all-time record for consecutive conference wins. UMass won 15 Yankee Conference games in a row from 1965-67.

The 20-game mark is tied for seventh all-time in FCS history, matching Dayton (1996-97) and Holy Cross (1990-92) and JMU is the first FCS team to win 20 consecutive since Harvard's 22 from 2013-15. The Dukes last saw defeat on Sept. 24, 2016 - a 56-28 setback at ACC-foe North Carolina. JMU has also won 21 straight games against FCS opponents, with the last loss coming on Dec. 5, 2015 versus Colgate in the second round of the playoffs.

OFF TO BEST START EVER
With last week's win in against New Hampshire, JMU improved to 8-0 this season, which marks the best start to a season in the 46-year history of the program. The Dukes began 2015 with a 7-0 record. Historically, JMU does have one unbeaten season, however, going 9-0-1 in 1975 prior to being a DI team. The Dukes opened that year with a tie before reeling off nine straight wins.

JMU outscores opponents by an average of 38.2 to 10.0, which ranks second in FCS in win margin (+28.2). That trails only North Dakota State which scores 42.4 points per game and has a 32.3 win margin. JMU's scoring defense leads the country, having not allowed any team to score more than 14 points.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
The Rams enter this weekend with a 2-6 overall record and 1-4 mark in CAA play following a 31-14 triumph last week at Albany. URI scored 23.6 points per game while conceding 28.4 per outing. The Rams are third in the CAA in passing offense (246.6) but rank 10th in rushing defense (158.5) and second to last in both scoring defense and passing defense (246.1).

Harold Cooper ranks sixth in the CAA in rushing yards (57.0), and Tyler Harris is sixth in passing average (193.4). Aaron Parker is Rhody's leading receiver, with 5.38 receptions per game and seven touchdowns. Jim Fleming is in his fourth season at URI, holding a 6-36 record. He has a career 27-37 record with a previous stint at Sacred Heart where he went 20-1.

TALE OF THE TAPE

JMU		URI
39.2	Scoring Offense	23.6
10.0	Scoring Defense	28.4
+28.2	Scoring Margin	-4.8
224.2	Passing Yards	246.6
229.6	Rushing Yards	116.1
453.9	Total Offense	362.8
44% (50/114)	3^rd Down Offense	36% (43/120)
32% (40/126)	3^rd Down Defense	40% (30/75)
57% (4/7)	4^th Down Offense	50% (2/4)
45% (5/11)	4^th Down Defense	67% (2/3)
86% (30/35)	Red Zone Scoring	72% (18/25)
29/17/7	Sacks/INT/Fumb. Rec.	24/6/10

ROBINSON TAKES HOME DEFENSIVE AWARD
Rashad Robinson was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 30, marking the third time this year a JMU player has won the league's top defensive award. In JMU's win over UNH, Robinson recorded his league-leading fifth interception 82 yards for a touchdown, which helped seal JMU's shutout victory. That return was the third-longest pick-six in school history.

SCHOR BREAKS PASSING TD RECORD
On Oct. 28, Bryan Schor threw two touchdowns in the New Hampshire win, and he set JMU's all-time passing touchdown record in the process. He entered the game tied with Vad Lee and Justin Rascati with 51 passing touchdowns. Early in the second quarter, Schor found Ishmael Hyman on a 13-yard pass for the record-setting 52nd touchdown pass. He also added a second TD to Clayton Cheatham, upping his record total to 53.

BLANKING UNH ON HOMECOMING
Bryan Schor threw two touchdown passes to set the all-time program record and JMU shut out No. 17 New Hampshire 21-0 on Homecoming. The win was JMU's nation-leading 20th in a row and it matched the conference win-streak record, at 15 games.

JMU limited UNH to only 193 yards, marking the fourth time this season the Dukes have allowed less than 200 yards. No FCS team has gained 300 during the 2017 season. Rashad Robinson picked off a pass and returned it 82 yards for the third-longest pick-six in school history. JMU has now won three straight versus New Hampshire, which is the longest win streak for the Dukes in the series.

ROAD WARRIORS HOLD RECORD
JMU rolled to a 32-point win at William & Mary on Oct. 21, marking not only the biggest win in its 40-game history of the series but also set the record for longest road win streak for the Dukes. JMU has won eight in a row in true road games, dating back to Sept. 24, 2016. That includes seven straight CAA road wins during the stretch.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Thank you to the 25,298 fans who joined us on a beautiful afternoon for Homecoming at Bridgeforth Stadium! pic.twitter.com/DHF0MELI9N
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) October 28, 2017

JMU SPRINT BROADCAST NETWORK
All 11 regular-season games, as well as any postseason matchups can be heard online on the JMU/Sprint Broadcast Network or on airwaves at WSVA 550AM and 92.1 FM. Dave Thomas is in his third season as the play-by-play man for the Dukes and is joined by Clint Estes on color commentary.

UP NEXT
JMU closes out the home slate on Nov. 11 when it hosts rival Richmond on Senior Day. Kickoff is set for a 3:30 p.m. start at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field. It will be the 35th meeting all-time, with UR leading the series 18-16.