HARRISONBURG — Last fall, James Madison’s defense yielded more than 400 yards of total offense and over 28 points per game.

And it only got worse as the competition got better.

In their three losses — two to rivals Richmond and William & Mary, and against Colgate in the second-round of the FCS playoffs — the Dukes gave up an average of 49 points and more than 550 yards of total offense.

In an effort to shore up the Dukes defense, new James Madison coach Mike Houston and defensive coordinator Bob Trott have put an emphasis on creating turnovers to slow down potent offenses.

“We talk about things that cause you to win, and forcing turnovers cause you to win,” Trott said.

Each day at practice, JMU defenders are taught the fundamentals of creating turnovers by their position coaches. Linebackers work to strip the ball out of the running back’s arms and cornerbacks and safeties have to read their position coach — acting as a quarterback — find the ball once its thrown and grab interceptions. Defensive linemen repeat strip-sacking the quarterback during pass-rush drills.

“Coach Trott loves turnovers,” said JMU senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds. “It’s definitely a big emphasis.”

Trott held the coordinator role at Richmond the past six seasons, and in 2015 his Spiders led FCS with 22 interceptions. Houston’s squad at The Citadel was third nationally with 20 interceptions last year. Both The Citadel and Richmond also ranked within the top seven for total turnovers.

In each of JMU’s 2015 losses, the Dukes also lost the turnover battle — giving the ball away five times, while only recording two takeaways.

“We want to gain extra possessions for the offense,” Houston said. “If both teams are going to get 10 offensive possessions, but we can steal three of them, it means we give our offense 13 possessions and their offense only gets seven.

“I think the days of holding offenses under 200 yards are long gone in college football. It’s all about keeping the offense out of the end zone now, so if you can create a turnover, you can keep them out of the end zone.”

In passing situations, JMU plans to have Reynolds play nickel cornerback with quick linebackers such as junior Brandon Hereford and sophomore Dimitri Holloway in the game to cover inside receivers, tight ends and running backs, Trott said, in an effort to force more turnovers.

Hereford and Holloway have been challenged to cover slot receivers Rashard Davis and John Miller this preseason in one-on-one matchups and team periods.

“They are some of the most shifty guys that I’ve ever played with,” Hereford said. “I think they’re the best receivers in the CAA, so if we can guard them, we can guard anyone.”

Last fall, the Dukes ranked outside the top 25 nationally in total takeaways and outside the top 50 nationally in passes intercepted.

“Good teams don’t give the ball away, but they take it away,” Trott said. “You look over the stats and teams that are good in turnover margin ratio usually are the ones with a lot of wins.”