Top-10 Showdown Looms as #2 JMU Hosts #10 Elon Saturday on Family Weekend

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-ranked James Madison returns home this weekend to host a big Colonial Athletic Association battle against 10th-ranked Elon.

Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field and will be televised on MASN and SNY. It will also be streamed on MadiZONE HD SportsNet and through Eleven Sports Next on Twitch. The game can be heard on the JMU Sprint Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m.

The 2018 JMU football season is presented by CarMax and Saturday's game is sponsored by Sentara.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the seventh meeting all-time, with the Dukes leading 6-0. This is the fifth meeting between the teams in Harrisonburg, as JMU is 4-0 in those games. Since joining the CAA for the 2014 season, JMU has outscored Elon on average by a margin of 51.0 to 11.0.

JMU BLASTS RICHMOND FOR LARGEST ROAD WIN EVER
JMU turned in its biggest road victory in school history last Saturday with a 63-10 victory at Richmond. It surpassed the 51-0 win that JMU registered at Elon in 2015.

JMU amassed 543 yards of offense and held UR to just 55 total yards in the second half while forcing five turnovers, resulting in 21 points off takeaways. Jimmy Moreland had a 100-yard pick-six and the Dukes scored twice in 11 seconds after scoring on offensive possessions coming from fumbles.

Ben DiNucci passed for a career-high 248 yards and three touchdowns and the running backs averaged 5.3 per carry en route to a collective 200-yard rushing day. Marcus Marshall had 10 carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way. Riley Stapleton made six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns and Kyndel Dean had five grabs for 82 yards and two scores. Jake Brown also had a 71-yard touchdown catch. John Daka led the defense with 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and forced fumble.

MORELAND SETS FOUR JMU RECORDS IN RICHMOND WIN
Jimmy Moreland has been a scoring machine, as he recorded his fourth straight game with an interception and third straight with a pick-six. Leading 14-3, Moreland intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-3 ballgame. On that play, Moreland set or tied four records.

It was Moreland's sixth career pick-six and defensive touchdown, becoming the first JMU defender to score six touchdowns. He now has 318 interception return yards, surpassing Raven Greene for the all-time record. Moreland's 100-yard return matched the longest touchdown in school history, as it was the school's second 100-yard pick-six. Moreland also holds the single-season record for pick-sixes, with three. He is currently one interception for a TD shy of tying the FCS single-season (4) and career record (7) for pick-sixes.

ACTIVE WIN STREAKS ENTERING WEEK SIX

FCS-best 19 straight wins at home
CAA-record 20 straight conference wins
22 straight wins against CAA opponents (includes 2 playoff wins)
Three straight games scoring over 50 points
Three straight games with a defensive touchdown
Seven consecutive wins against teams from Virginia
12 straight true road wins against FCS teams

SCOUTING ELON
The Phoenix brings a 3-1 record with a 1-0 mark in CAA to town this weekend after cruising past New Hampshire 30-9 at home. Elon, which is JMU's first FCS ranked opponent this season, averages 30 points per game while allowing 18 to its foes. The Phoenix rush for over 220 yards per game, led by Malcolm Summers, who gains 101.5 per outing. Davis Cheek has passed for 696 yards this season, an average of 174 per game.

Kortez Weeks is the top receiving threat, as he has 28 catches for 371 yards this year. Warren Messer is Elon's leading tackler, at 29 stops with 2.0 for a loss. Matt Baker has made 5.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 of which are sacks, and Greg Liggs Jr. has a team-best two interceptions.

Curt Cignetti is in his second season at the helm, holding an 11-5 record in Elon and a career 64-22 mark, having previously served as head coach at Indiana (Pa.). While at IUP, Cignetti led the team to three D-II playoff appearances. He also served under Nick Saban art Alabama, being a part of the 2009 national title.

NORTH CAROLINA TIES FOR JMU
JMU has numerous coaches and players with North Carolina ties, including Head Coach Mike Houston, who hails from Franklin, played at Mars Hill and coached at Lenoir-Rhyne. A total of 10 members of Houston's staff at JMU have ties to the state. Offensive Coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne and Appalachian State and coached at both App State and ECU. Defensive Coordinator Bob Trott played collegiately at North Carolina and had coaching stops at his alma mater, as well as Duke.

CAROLINIANS ON THE ROSTER
JMU has 16 student-athletes from North Carolina on the 2018 roster. Nine are returners while the Dukes have seven newcomers from the Tar Heel State. Of the group, three are seniors in Trai Sharp (Carrboro), Hunter Etheridge (Clayton) and Marcus Marshall (Raleigh).

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 fourth season as the play-by-play man for the Dukes and is joined by Clint Estes on color commentary. Nikki Newman will provide additional analysis from the sideline at every home game. The pregame show begins this week at 12:30 p.m., ahead of the 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

UP NEXT
The Dukes hit the road next week in the final game before the open week, as they travel to Villanova for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 13. The game will be televised on Fox College Sports through Dish and DirecTV providers and streamed on FOX Sports Go. For Comcast/Xfinity subscribers, you may stream it through CAA.TV for a nominal fee. It can also be heard on the Sprint Broadcast Network through MadiZONE free audio.

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