No. 2 JMU Heads to the Capital City Saturday to Face Rival Richmond

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-ranked James Madison hits the road for the third time this season and first in conference play, as it travels to the capital of the Commonwealth to face Colonial Athletic Association rival Richmond.

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Robins Stadium and will be televised on NBC Sports Washington Plus, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, NBC Sports Chicago Plus and SportsNet New York. It's also the CAA Game of the Week on CBS Digital and College Sports Live. The game can be heard on the JMU Sprint Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 2 p.m.

The 2018 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 36th meeting all-time, with Richmond holding a slim 18-17 lead. The Dukes are 9-8 in true road games, having won each of the last two outings in Richmond.

JMU DOMINATES FOR BIGGEST WIN EVER AGAINST TRIBE
JMU turned in its second shutout in three weeks, limiting William & Mary to 132 yards in a 51-0 victory. It was the largest win ever against the Tribe and the first time the Dukes earned a shutout in the series. JMU's defense allowed W&M to cross the 50 one time and held the Tribe to a 1-for-15 ledger on third down.

Jimmy Moreland and Bryce Maginley each returned an interception for a touchdown and the Dukes forced four turnovers. D'Angelo Amos also recovered two fumbles in the win. The Stapleton brothers became the first siblings in school history to record a touchdown in the same game, as Dylan caught his first as a JMU tight end in the first quarter and Riley scored his third of the year in the second quarter. Ben DiNucci was 17-of-23 for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and both Marcus Marshall and Trai Sharp scored rushing touchdowns. Cardon Johnson also led the game with 83 rushing yards.

ACTIVE WIN STREAKS ENTERING WEEK FIVE
• FCS-best 19 straight wins at Bridgeforth Stadium
• CAA-record 19 straight conference wins
• 21 straight wins against CAA opponents (includes 2 playoff wins)
• Six consecutive wins against teams from Virginia
• 11 straight true road wins against FCS teams

SCOUTING RICHMOND
The Spiders enter with a 2-2 record and 0-1 mark in CAA play after falling 36-10 last week at Stony Brook. Richmond averages 27.5 points per game while allowing 28.0 to its foes. The Spiders pass for 269.0 yards per game, as Kevin Johnson has passed for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in his first year as starter.

Dejon Brissett has 16 catches for 299 yards and Cortelle Simpson has 12 grabs for 250 yards and a team-high three scores. Daniel Jones leads the defense with 30 tackles and three breakups, and Maurice Jackson has team highs of 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks.

Russ Huesman is in his second year at the helm, holding an 8-7 record. He was formerly coach at Chattanooga where he was three-time SoCon Coach of the Year (2014-16) and led the Mocs to the playoffs in each of those seasons.

THREE ASSISTANTS WITH SPIDER TIES
There are three JMU coaches with ties to the Richmond football program. Bob Trott was formerly the defensive coordinator at UR from 2010-15, guiding the defense to the league lead in interceptions nearly every season. Fontel Mines spent five seasons with the Spiders from 2012-16, where he served as the receivers and tight ends coach. He, along with Trott, helped UR reach the 2015 national semifinals. Jeff Hanson spent nearly three decades coaching at his alma mater (1971-79, 1989-06, 2008-09). Hanson was part of UR's 2008 national championship team.

HOMECOMING FOR THE 804 BOYS
Saturday will be a homecoming for 24 players on the 2018 JMU roster who call Richmond and surrounding communities home. The majority of Richmond-area Dukes hail from Mechanicsville and Hanover High School, as that includes Mac and Tabb Patrick and Clayton Cheatham. Also from Mechanicsville is Atlee's Ethan Ratke. Four Dukes are from Hermitage, including Rashad Robinson and Mateo Jackson. D'Angelo Amos played at Meadowbrook and Mike Greene was a state champion at Highland Springs. The Richmond-area Dukes are up three from last season's 21 and seven from the 17 in 2016.

DURDEN TO FACE OLD TEAM
Richmond offensive coordinator Jeff Durden is no stranger to JMU, as he spent nine seasons as offensive coordinator for the Dukes (2004-12). In his first season, he was part of JMU's 2004 national championship team under former head coach Mickey Matthews. The Dukes had a winning season in all nine seasons and made the playoffs five times. Durden led JMU to a top-20 ranking in the FCS in rushing yards in eight of the nine years.

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. The pregame show begins this week at 2 p.m., ahead of the 3 p.m. kickoff.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home next weekend to host Elon at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. The game will be televised on MASN and SNY and can also be seen on MadiZONE HD SportsNet.

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