James Madison continued its outstanding season with a 20-7 win at Villanova to clinch an outright Colonial Athletic Association Championship and an automatic FCS Playoff berth.
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- Before Saturday, James Madison hadn’t produced less than 430 yards of total offense in a single game this year. The Dukes entered the contest at Villanova averaging more than 529 yards per game, but the Wildcats limited JMU to only 277 total yards.
- Part of the reason for JMU’s low offensive output was due to its starting quarterback Bryan Schor suffering an injury on the first play of the second quarter. Schor did not return and was seen with his left arm in a sling on the sideline. Dukes coach Mike Houston said Schor was being evaluated and would be looked at by doctors when the team returns to Harrisonburg before any status is made about Schor’s playing status.
- Schor joins a growing list of banged-up Dukes. Wide receiver John Miller didn't dress for the second-straight week and running back Cardon Johnson was dressed, but didn't play. Johnson hasn't practiced in a few weeks - he was spotted at practice with a boot on his foot.
- True freshman Cole Johnson replaced Schor. Johnson was supposed to redshirt this season, but since backup Connor Mitch suffered a non-football injury during the bye week, Houston decided to go to Johnson instead of Hunter Etheridge. Houston said once Mitch got hurt, the staff decided that if JMU was in a position where they needed to win a football game and Schor had gotten hurt, that the staff would turn to Johnson. Houston said Johnson has been excelling with the scout team and has gained good experience from so many live reps this year against JMU’s first-team defense at practice.
- Johnson finished 5-of-12 for 43 yards with two interceptions. Johnson said he always knows he has to be ready to play but admitted the game was really fast when he got onto the field.
- With a true freshman quarterback, JMU relied on its senior running back Khalid Abdullah to carry the offense. Abdullah carried 33 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Abdullah’s yards were hard-earned and he said Villanova’s defense was probably the most physical JMU has seen all season.
- Houston called the team’s win, “the best performance of the year.” He said JMU’s defense came up big time and time again on Saturday. The defense limited Villanova to only 7 points and 239 total yards – the second-fewest its allowed in a CAA game this year. The Dukes also recorded four interceptions in the contest.
- Safety Raven Greene said the unit has known all year what kind of defense it needed to be and added that “it all came together,” on Saturday. Greene said he was proud of the way the defense competed. Greene had an interception and three tackles.
- Linebacker Gage Steele said he credits the coaches for putting JMU into a good situation and a good chance to win the CAA title. Steele said the staff has done an excellent job of getting all the players to buy-in and believe how well JMU could play this season.
- Defensive tackle Martez Stone had the interception to seal the game in the fourth quarter. He said it was great to be able to make an impact in such a big game.