HARRISONBURG — James Madison has spent the last two weeks of practice searching for more balance on offense.

The last time out, in a 20-10 win at Delaware on Sept. 30, JMU ran the ball 54 times and threw it on just 19 occasions.

Today, the No. 1 Dukes (5-0, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association) want to keep running the ball well, but feel like they must have the ability to mix the run and the pass effectively in order to beat No. 11 Villanova (4-2, 2-1 CAA).

Kickoff at Bridgeforth Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. after ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasts from the Quad starting at 9 a.m.

Villanova boasts the second-best rushing defense (50 yards per game) in all of FCS entering the contest. On the season, JMU has 103 more rushing attempts than passing attempts.

“To be able to run it, I think we’ll have to be able to throw it,” JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick said. “So our guys are going to have to play well outside and the quarterback will have to play well. We’ll have to protect. We’ll have to be balanced.

“We were able to get away up at Delaware with being maybe too one-dimensional, but we will not be able to survive doing that this week.”

JMU senior quarterback Bryan Schor said he’s studied Villanova’s 3-3-5 defense and that he would be heavily involved in helping the Dukes’ offensive line identify where blitzes are coming from while spotting key defenders from play to play.

Last year when the two CAA foes met in Philadelphia, Schor was injured in the first half of the Dukes’ 20-7 win over the Wildcats. JMU scored on its opening possession, but sputtered offensively without its steady signal-caller. Kirkpatrick said the team even had to even simplify its playbook that afternoon without Schor on the field.

JMU’s defense recorded four interceptions, setting up the offense with good field position late when it eventually broke through with graduated running back Khalid Abdullah finding the end zone.

“I think they’re doing a couple of things differently then they did last year,” Schor said of Villanova’s defense. “But I think one thing you see when you turn on the tape is just a really well-coached team. You don’t see defenders out of their gaps and you don’t see blown coverages.

“With the blitz, a lot of it comes down to the safeties, and you’ll hear ‘corners lie, but safeties tell the truth.’ A lot of times safeties will change their tendencies in terms of where they line up.”

A boost for Schor and the Dukes’ passing attack is the return of senior inside receiver John Miller, who missed the game at Delaware with an injury. Second-year coach Mike Houston said Miller will play today.

Miller has 10 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown this season.

“It’s huge,” Kirkpatrick said. “The thing about John is that John has always made a big play in a crucial situation in a big game, it seems like. So that’s why you really want him back.”

Both Villanova’s defense and JMU’s defense are two of the better units in the country.

Villanova ranks in the top 10 nationally for rushing defense and scoring defense (sixth), and has already recorded two shutouts. JMU is in the top 10 for scoring defense (third), total defense (third), passing defense (fourth), red-zone defense (fourth) and interceptions (fifth).

Villanova junior running back Aaron Forbes said just like JMU will be challenged to score, so will the Wildcats’ offense.

Forbes had to take on more responsibility, too, as Villanova will be without starting quarterback Zach Bednarczyk, who got hurt in the Wildcats’ win over Towson last month, for the second straight game. Freshman quarterback Jack Schetelich gets the nod in place of Bednarczyk today.

“We’re just staying together,” Forbes said. “We’re just backing each other up and staying together and focusing on our game plan and executing our stuff. When we do that, most of the time we click.

“But I think every year James Madison runs to the ball very well. They’re not lazy. They’re always hustling to the ball and around the field to make sure they get 11 hats to the ball. That’s impressive.”

Houston said he thinks the game will be much like the one the two sides played last season.

“It’ll be a challenge for us,” Houston said. “I think it’s one where we’ll have to play our best game of the year in order to have a chance to win.”

Should JMU win, it would extend the nation’s longest active winning streak in Division I to 18 straight victories, which would also set a CAA record for consecutive wins.