#2 JMU Back Home for Top-Five Clash Against #5 Villanova

Saturday, October 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

Villanova

#2 JMU Back Home for Top-Five Clash Against #5 Villanova

10/8/2019 1:00:00 PM | Football

Press Luncheon Game Notes

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-ranked James Madison returns home after a three-week road trip to host fifth-ranked Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 12 for Family Weekend.

Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field and will be televised on MASN2 (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 12:30 p.m.

Saturday's game is sponsored by Sentara, and the 2019 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

JMU AGAINST TOP-FIVE FOES
Saturday marks JMU's 40th game all-time against teams ranked inside the top five. The Dukes are 15-24 against top-five teams, including a 6-7 record against fifth-ranked squads. This is also the fifth time a Villanova team played JMU ranking in the top five, with VU leading those games 3-1. JMU's only win of the four came in 2004 - a 17-0 win at #5 Villanova. It was the first of JMU's nine ranked wins on its way to capturing the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA national title.

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES
JMU and Villanova meet for the 28th time since the Dukes joined the CAA back in 1993. The Dukes lead the series 16-11, which includes an active four-game win streak since 2015. The past three matchups have been double-digit wins for JMU, including a 37-0 win at 'Nova last time out back on Oct. 13, 2018.

JMU's wins in 2015 and 2016 were of great importance, as the 2015 home win helped JMU share the CAA championship and the 2016 road victory gave way for the Dukes claiming the outright conference title. JMU is 9-4 all-time vs. Villanova at Bridgeforth Stadium, having won the previous four in Harrisonburg. Villanova's last win at JMU came back on Oct. 17, 2009 - a 27-0 Wildcats win. That was also the last time an FCS team shut out JMU.

THE LAST TIME JMU AND VILLANOVA MET
D'Angelo Amos returned two punts for a touchdown in a span of 2:10 and JMU blanked Villanova 37-0 on the road back on Oct. 13, 2018. Amos tied JMU single-game records for punt-return touchdowns (2) and punt-return yards (183) while returning the longest punt for a score in school history, with an 89 yards. He tied JMU Hall of Famer Gary Clark in all three categories, in which he set in 1983 at Virginia. Jake Brown hauled in a career-high eight catches for 72 yards, as Ben DiNucci threw for 171 yards and scored once on the ground. Defensively, JMU registered 13.0 tackles for loss and six sacks, holding Villanova to 157 total yards.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE DUKES
Jawon Hamilton rushed for a career high 105 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime to lift #2 JMU to a 45-38 win at #24 Stony Brook. With the win, JMU snapped SBU's 12-game home win streak. Hamilton turned in his first career 100-yard game and first two-touchdown game on just 13 carries, averaging 8.1 per carry. Percy Agyei-Obese also ran for 96 yards and tied his career high with a pair of touchdowns.

Ben DiNucci accumulated 298 yards of offense, going 13-of-17 for 218 yards with a touchdown and interception through the air while adding 80 rushing yards and a score. Brandon Polk turned in his first career 100-yard receiving game, making four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, which included a career-long 54-yard catch.

JMU led 38-28 before the Seawolves scored 10 straight, including the game-tying field goal with five seconds left. In the extra period, Hamilton capped off the drive with a three-yard touchdown to put the Dukes ahead. On the ensuing drive, Stony Brook had a look at the end zone on fourth down, but the pass was dropped, preserving JMU's win.

HISTORY IN OVERTIME GAMES
Last Saturday marked JMU's first overtime game in more than five years. The last time JMU went beyond 60 minutes, Delaware upended the Dukes 30-23 on Sept. 27, 2014 at Bridgeforth Stadium. It also marked JMU's first overtime win since Oct. 13, 2012, when it downed William & Mary 27-26 in double OT at Bridgeforth Stadium. Since 1991, JMU has played in 14 overtime games, going 7-7. Saturday's triumph at Stony Brook was JMU's first road overtime win in 17 years when the Dukes won 24-21 at Hofstra on Sept. 21, 2002.

DUKES STAY PUT AT #2 FOR SEVENTH STRAIGHT WEEK
JMU is #2 for the seventh straight week in both the STATS FCS Top 25 and AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll. The Dukes garnered one first-place vote from the media, trailing just defending champion, North Dakota State, which took home 155 first-place votes. The top five remained unchanged, as #3 South Dakota State, #4 Weber State and #5 Villanova held strong.

The CAA once again boasts an FCS-leading six ranked teams this week, including three in the top 10. Following JMU and Villanova were #9 Towson, #15 Delaware, #18 Maine and #22 Stony Brook. 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 VILLANOVA
The Wildcats enter Saturday's matchup with a perfect 6-0 record and 3-0 mark in CAA play following a thrilling 35-28 win at William & Mary last week. Villanova scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:59 left on a DeeWil Barlee one-yard run that capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive over 7:57. VU averages 39.5 points per game while conceding 20.7 to its foes.

Villanova ranks second in the CAA in scoring offense and third-down conversions (52.3%) and third in total offense (442.8) and rushing offense (235.7). Justin Covington paces the CAA with 121.2 rushing yards per game but was limited last week due to injury. Campbell transfer Daniel Smith has thrown for 1,228 yards and 17 touchdowns with only three interceptions.

Defensively, the Wildcats are third in scoring defense and total defense (359.0). While it is second against the run (89.7), VU is last in the league in passing defense (269.3). It is also tied for the lead with 15 sacks. Malik Fisher leads the CAA in sacks (5.5), while Forrest Rhyne is ninth in tackles (49) and fifth in sacks (3.5).

Mark Ferrante is in his third season at the helm, holding a 16-12 record. The Wildcats finished 5-6 in both of his first two seasons. He was previously an assistant under Andy Talley for 30 seasons before taking over the program in 2017.

JMU'S RUSHING PROWESS
JMU has found its groove in the ground game, rushing for more than 300 yards in each of the past two games and over 250 in four of the past five games. The Dukes gained a season-high 336 yards on Sept. 28 at Elon and ran for 329 yards on Oct. 5 at Stony Brook, tallying a combined 11 rushing scores over the past two games.

This season, JMU averages 268.7 rushing yards and has scored 19 rushing touchdowns. JMU is sixth nationally in rushing offense. Four players have gained more than 275 yards already, led by Percy Agyei-Obese's 374. Both he and Solomon Vanhorse (335) have six and five rushing scores, respectively. JMU as a team averages 5.3 per rush.

WIN-STREAK TRENDS
During JMU's five-game win streak, JMU has outscored its opponents by a combined 234 to 81, averaging wins by 46.8 to 16.2. The Dukes have gained over 1,200 yards more than their five foes, with a 2,640 to 1,420 advantage. JMU has also out-rushed its opponents by over 1,000 yards, leading 1,437 to 393 during the win streak.

The Dukes have scored 30 touchdowns while allowing 10 trips to the end zone. Third down heavily favors JMU, converting 60% (41/68) of the time and holding teams to 24% (16/68). The Dukes dominate time of possession, averaging 33:12 in each of the wins with the offense on the field.

OTHER ACTIVE STREAKS ENTERING THE WEEK

Five-game win streak
Five-straight wins vs. CAA teams (playoffs included)
Out-rushed opponent in 10 straight games
Out-gained opponent in 11 straight games
At least 200 rushing yards in five straight games
Scored a rushing TD in 11 straight games

JMU ON MASN2 AND FLOFOOTBALL THIS WEEK
The Dukes can be seen regionally on MASN2 for patrons in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland, eastern and central North Carolina, West Virginia, south central Pennsylvania and Delaware. For out-of-market viewers, the game will be streamed through FloFootball and seen 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. Curt Dudley will be on the call for play-by-play and will be joined by former JMU offensive lineman Dorian Brooks 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 and JMU student Allie Barefoot down on the sideline. The pregame show begins this Saturday at 12:30 p.m., ahead of the 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

UP NEXT
The Dukes hit the road for the fifth time in 2019 on Saturday, Oct. 19 when they head down I-64 to Williamsburg to face William & Mary. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Zable Stadium.