#2 JMU Treks to Rhode Island for Regular-Season Finale

Saturday, November 23

Kingston, R.I.

Noon

James Madison University

Rhode Island

11/19/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football

Press Luncheon Game Notes

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Second-ranked James Madison caps off the regular season this Saturday, Nov. 23 when it travels to Kingston, R.I. to face Rhode Island.

Kickoff is set for noon at Meade Stadium and will be streamed live on FloFootball ($). The game can also be heard on the JMU Sprint Broadcast Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 11 a.m.

The 2019 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

FAN & PRESS LUNCHEON

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES
JMU and Rhode Island meet for the 15th time this weekend and the Dukes are currently riding a nine-game win streak in the series, dating back to 2002.

JMU has won each of the past six meetings by at least 17 points, which included a 48-31 win last season in Harrisonburg. The Dukes also turned in their biggest win in school history against URI on Oct. 29, 2016 with an 84-7 win. JMU is 4-2 all-time at Meade Stadium, with the last meeting being a 38-3 win during the 2017 season. This marks just the fourth trip for the Dukes to Rhode Island since 2007.

THE LAST TIME JMU AND RHODE ISLAND MET
Back on Nov. 10, 2018, Ben DiNucci produced five touchdowns to lead JMU past Rhode Island, 48-31. DiNucci threw for a career-high four interceptions and ran for another.

Kyndel Dean had 86 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Riley Stapleton caught two touchdown passes. JMU trailed 7-0 before scoring 27 of the next 34 to grab a 27-14 halftime lead. Teams traded scores, as JMU never led by less than 10 the rest of the way.

DUKES CLAIM OUTRIGHT TITLE FOR THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS
JMU put an exclamation point on the 2019 CAA football championship, claiming its third outright title in four years with Saturday's 48-6 win over Richmond. It's also the fourth title in five years, as it shared the 2015 championship with Richmond and William & Mary.

Since joining the CAA in 1993 for football, JMU has won seven conference titles, which is tied with rival Richmond. JMU has eight total in program history, adding in the 1975 VCAA championship as a Division III program. The Dukes have won the conference outright on four occasions, which is more than any other CAA squad. New Hampshire and Maine have two outright crowns during the time span and seven others have one.

JMU BLOWS PAST RICHMOND, HOLLOWAY HONORED
JMU won the outright CAA championship with a 48-6 thumping against Richmond on Senior Day. Five different players scored touchdowns, and the Dukes forced four turnovers, to go with a blocked kick. It was JMU's 10th straight win this year and the fourth in a row against the Spiders, dating back to 2016.

Ben DiNucci was 11-of-13 for 179 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another in three quarters. Jawon Hamilton led JMU's rushing attack with 80 yards, and Percy Agyei-Obese had 55 and a score. Brandon Polk turned in his third straight 100-yard receiving game with 104 yards and a touchdown. Riley Stapleton also had 72 yards and two scores. Dimitri Holloway recorded a season-high 15 tackles and JMU's defense limited Richmond to 265 yards.

Dimitri Holloway was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week after a solid performance in JMU's win over Richmond. In addition to his 15 tackles, he also recorded a tackle for loss, a half-sack and a fumble recovery.

It was the fourth double-digit tackle effort of the year for Holloway and his league-leading third fumble recovery. He helped spearhead a JMU defense that held UR to 265 total yards and a season-low six points while forcing four turnovers that led to 17 points.

Holloway has now won two career weekly awards, as he also won the honor back on Oct. 29, 2018. The Dukes have now won CAA Defensive Player of the Week three times over the last six weeks.

2019 SENIORS THE WINNINGEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
JMU's 2019 seniors have won more games than any class that has come before them in Harrisonburg. With JMU's win over Richmond, the senior class has compiled a 47-7 overall record and a 29-2 CAA ledger. This group surpassed the 2017 and 2018 seniors, who both had a 46-9 record. The Dukes won outright conference titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and also captured the 2016 national title. They were part of JMU's program-record, 26-game win streak between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
The Rams enter Saturday's regular-season finale with a 2-9 record and 0-7 mark in CAA play after falling 34-30 at Maine last week. URI was outscored 21-3 over the final 8:24 in the loss. Rhode Island averages 26.1 points per game while conceding 34.6 to its foes.

Offensively, Rhody ranks sixth in the CAA in scoring. It is fifth in total offense (402.5), ranking second in passing (302.8) and last in rushing (99.7). Vito Priore leads the league with 3,044 passing yards but has also thrown nine interceptions.

Aaron Parker leads the CAA with 6.9 catches per games and over 105 receiving yards per game, and Isaiah Coulter is third with 5.9 catches and fourth with 88.5 yards per outing. Both have eight receiving TDs. Defensively, URI is last in scoring defense, as well as total defense (445.6) and rushing defense (230.5).

Momodou Mbye is tied for second in the CAA with five interceptions and Bran Javier-Castillo is second with 9.3 tackles per game. Jim Fleming is 15-52 in his six seasons at the helm, though he led the Rams to their first winning season in 17 years in 2018, guiding them to a 6-5 record.

ACTIVE STREAKS ENTERING THE WEEK

10-game win streak - second longest active in FCS
10 straight wins vs. CAA teams (playoffs included)
23 straight games with foes under 50% on third down
Held opponents to under 100 rush yards in five straight
Out-rushed opponent in 15 straight games
Scored a rushing TD in 16 straight games

HISTORICAL REFERENCE TO START
JMU's extended its win streak to 10 with its win over Richmond, marking a couple historical achievements. JMU has started a season with at least 10 wins in its first 11 four times, including three times since 2016. JMU also began 10-1 in 2008 and 2016 and was 11-0 to cap off a perfect 2017 regular season.

JMU is also 7-0 for the fourth time in school history, as it has gone 8-0 in the three previous seasons, which are also 2008, 2016 and 2017. JMU reached at least the FCS semifinals in the previous three instances, making the semifinals in 2008, winning the national title in 2016 and finishing national runner-up in 2017.

JMU ON FLOFOOTBALL THIS WEEK
The Dukes can be seen live online through 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. Stone Freeman will be on the call for play-by-play and will be joined by Kyle Rowley on color commentary.

JMU SPRINT BROADCAST NETWORK
Saturday's game 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 11 a.m., ahead of the noon kickoff. Hear interviews with Head Coach Curt Cignetti, coordinators Shane Montgomery and Corey Hetherman and players plus much more.

WHAT'S ON DECK
Less than 24 hours after JMU takes on Rhode Island, the Dukes will learn their postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show. It will be nationally televised at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

The FCS Selection Committee will unveil the 24-team bracket, which includes first-round byes for the top-8 seeds. JMU will be making its program-record sixth consecutive playoff appearance this year.