HARRISONBURG – Khalid Abdullah called it a “rookie move.”

The James Madison senior running back ran for a career-best 194 yards and three touchdowns to lift the No. 7 Dukes over Colonial Athletic Association rival William & Mary, 31-24 on Saturday at Bridgeforth Stadium.

He capped his day with an exclamation point too – a 73-yard touchdown run on a speed option pitch from quarterback Bryan Schor in the final minute.

“I got the ball and was running outside. I saw the cornerback and I knew he’d go at my legs just because he’s a smaller guy, so I faked him toward the outside and he fell,” Abdullah said. “Then I kept running and I saw [junior wide receiver] Terrence Alls. He had an amazing block.

“It allowed me to crease down the sideline, but really it was a rookie move by me. I should’ve got down and allowed time to come off the clock, but when you’re in that situation and the fans are going crazy, you usually don’t make the right decisions.”

The score put JMU ahead by 14 points with 55 seconds to go.

With the game sealed, William & Mary drove the field and got into the end zone with three seconds left to pull within seven.

Dukes coach Mike Houston said the speed option call – a play JMU doesn’t use often – helped his team win the game.

He also said he should’ve reminded Abdullah before the play that William & Mary was out of timeouts.

“We thought they’d come out in one of two defenses. That play was the check-off of it,” Houston said. “Obviously Bryan executed it very well and Khalid made the play.

“It was a deal right there which was exactly like Khalid talked about. If we get a first down right there, the game is over. They have no timeouts and we could kneel on it after that. It’s a gutsy call, but if you want to win the game, it’s what we had to do.”

The late touchdown by Abdullah came three plays after William & Mary quarterback Steve Cluley had thrown an interception, which was caught in the end zone by JMU senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds with 1:22 remaining in the contest.

Houston said Reynolds' interception was a “game-changer,” considering William & Mary had pulled within 24-17 earlier the fourth quarter when Cluley scored on a 32-yard run.

Reynold’s interception gave Schor and Abdullah the opportunity to ice the game.

“I wish I could explain how hard these CAA wins are to come by,” Abdullah said. “These teams are tough and we play in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Every time we come out there we have to be on our ‘A’ game.”

Cluley’s interception was William & Mary’s second red zone turnover of the day. Cluley and Tribe running back Kendell Anderson botched a handoff at the JMU 11-yardline in the third quarter.

“We wanted to stop them from scoring,” Reynolds said. “Anytime we get a turnover, it’s huge. You see what happened when Khalid took it [73] yards. Turnovers create big plays.”

William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock said it was the difference in the game.

“It costs us points,” Laycock said. “You get down there and you want to come away with points. You get blanked twice and that’s not good. And going against a team like JMU, you have to get every point you can get because they’re certainly going to put some on the board.”

JMU (5-1, 3-0) has now won six consecutive over the Tribe (2-4, 0-3) in Harrisonburg. The Dukes lead the all-time series 22-17.