#2 JMU Heads to Williamsburg for In-State Battle with William & Mary

Saturday, October 19

Williamsburg, Va.

3:30 p.m.

James Madison University

William & Mary

#2 JMU Heads to Williamsburg for In-State Battle with William & Mary

10/15/2019 1:00:00 PM | Football

Press Luncheon Game Notes

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-ranked James Madison is back on the road this week for its shortest trek of the regular season, as it travels to Williamsburg to battle William & Mary on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Zable Stadium and will be televised on Cox Yurview (local markets only) and streamed on FloFootball (subscribe here). The game can also be heard on the JMU Sprint Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m.

The 2019 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES
JMU and William & Mary meet for the 42nd time since the first matchup back in 1978. The Dukes have not faced a team more than the Tribe, as the two have faced off in all but one season over the past 41 years. The Dukes lead the series 24-17, which includes an active three-game win streak since 2016.

Last season's matchup was JMU's largest margin of victory in the series and the first time it shut out W&M in a 51-0 win. Since joining the league in 1993 for football, JMU has gone 19-8 in the series, including 12-3 since the Dukes' 48-34 win at W&M in the 2004 I-AA national semifinals. Though leading the series, JMU is two games under .500 at Zable Stadium, going 10-12.

THE LAST TIME JMU AND W&M MET
JMU shut out William & Mary for the first time in the long series with a 51-0 victory at Bridgeforth Stadium back on Sept. 22, 2018. It was tied for JMU's second-best shutout in history, falling just shy of its 56-0 win over Hofstra in 2008.

The Dukes forced four turnovers, with pick-sixes by Jimmy Moreland and Bryce Maginley. They also held W&M to just 1-of-15 on first downs. JMU out-gained the visitors 444-132, including 247-55 in the run game. Riley Stapleton and Dylan Stapleton became the first JMU siblings to score in the same game, with each catching a touchdown pass.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE DUKES
JMU forced four turnovers and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to rally past fifth ranked Villanova, 38-24.

Trailing 24-17 entering the fourth, John Daka forced a turnover on the first play of the quarter, setting up a Brandon Polk touchdown catch. MJ Hampton recorded an 83-yard pick-six with 10:48 to play to give the Dukes the lead, and after a missed VU field goal, Latrele Palmer busted off a 69-yard rush for a touchdown to cap JMU's dominant final 15 minutes.

Palmer rushed for a career-high 103 yards and a score on just eight carries - all in the fourth quarter. Ben DiNucci threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Riley Stapleton.

Daka led the defense with nine tackles, 5.0 for loss and a pair of sacks - all career high - to go with a forced fumble. Adam Smith had nine stops and a fourth-quarter interception, and Hampton added six tackles, an interception and breakup.

DAKA REELS IN NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior defensive end John Daka put together a career outing in JMU's win over Villanova, resulting in him being awarded CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week and STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.

Daka contributed career highs of nine tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. He also forced a fumble that set up a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter. His 5.0 tackles for loss are the most by a CAA player this season and the second-most by any player in FCS.

It's the first national and conference weekly honor for Daka. He joins Solomon Vanhorse, who is a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week. He also became JMU's first national player of the week since Oct. 15, 2018 when D'Angelo Amos was named STATS FCS Special Teams Player of the Week after last season's Villanova game.

DUKES STAY PUT AT #2 FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT WEEK
JMU is #2 for the eighth straight week in both the STATS FCS Top 25 and AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll. The Dukes garnered two first-place votes from the media, trailing just defending champion, North Dakota State, which took home 155 first-place votes.

South Dakota State and Weber State remained at third and fourth, while Montana rounded out the top five. Five CAA teams are ranked this week, as following JMU were #7 Villanova, #18 Towson, #22 New Hampshire and #24 Delaware.

JMU has been nationally ranked every week since Nov. 10, 2014 and inside the top 15 every week since the start of the 2015 season. It's also been top 10 every week since Sept. 26, 2016.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe enters Saturday's matchup with a 2-4 record and 0-2 mark in CAA play after being off last week. Last time out, W&M fell 35-28 to Villanova on Oct. 5. William & Mary averages 25.2 points per game while conceding 28.7 to its foes.

W&M ranks last in the CAA in passing offense (178.2) and 10th in total offense (339.8). Kilton Anderson has thrown for 666 yards and four touchdowns with two picks, which included him throwing for 245 yards and three TDs last time out. Kane Everson leads the team with 27 catches for 350 yards and three TDs, and Zach Burdick has 20 grabs for a team-high 365 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Tribe is ninth in both scoring defense and total defense (414.5). Corey Parker has a team-high 43 tackles and both Carl Fowler and Bill Murray have 2.5 sacks. Isaiah Laster leads W&M with five pass breakups.

Mike London is in his first season leading the Tribe, but no stranger to the CAA, having spent two seasons at the helm in Richmond, where he led the Spiders to the 2008 national title. He also had head-coaching stops at Virginia where he was 2011 ACC Coach of the Year and Howard.

ACTIVE STREAKS ENTERING THE WEEK

Six-game win streak
Six-straight wins vs. CAA teams (playoffs included)
Out-rushed opponent in 11 straight games
Scored a rushing TD in 12 straight games
Eight straight FCS regular-season games with 35+ pts
Eight straight wins vs. teams from the Commonwealth

WIN-STREAK TRENDS
During JMU's six-game win streak, JMU has outscored its opponents by a combined 272 to 105, averaging wins by 45.3 to 17.5 The Dukes have gained over 1,150 yards more than their six foes, with a 3,014 to 1,851 advantage.

JMU has also out-rushed teams by over 1,100 yards, leading 1,595 to 437 during the stretch. The Dukes have scored 35 touchdowns, allowing the six opponents to score 13. Third down also favors JMU, as it converts 60% (50/84) and holds teams to 27% (22/81).

JMU ON COX YURVIEW AND FLOFOOTBALL THIS WEEK
The Dukes can be seen Cox Yurview for Cox Cable customers in Hampton Roads (11), Fairfax (74), Fredericksburg (77) and Roanoke (9). All other fans can watch the game online via FloFootball and digitally through the FloSports app.

Monthly and annual subscriptions are available and fans can subscribe here. Once subscribed, fans can watch all CAA games, as well as all other FloSports content on the portal. Digital options include Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Jay Colley will be on the call for play-by-play and will be joined by Mike Leach on color commentary.

JMU SPRINT BROADCAST NETWORK
All 12 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. Online listening options include MadiZONE free audio and the TuneIn app.

Dave Thomas is in his fifth season as the play-by-play man for the Dukes and is joined by Clint Estes on color commentary. The pregame show begins this Saturday at 2:30 p.m., ahead of the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Hear interviews with Head Coach Curt Cignetti, coordinators Shane Montgomery and Corey Hetherman and players plus much more.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home on Saturday, Oct. 26 when they host #18 Towson for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on both MASN and SNY while being streamed through MadiZONE.