In advance of Saturday’s game between James Madison and Villanova, Dukes coach Mike Houston held his weekly press conference at O’Neill’s Grill in Harrisonburg. Players also spoke with members of the media following the team’s practice.
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- Houston called Saturday’s game at Villanova, “easily the biggest game of the year” for JMU. He said Villanova is as good or better than Richmond.
- Villanova’s lone loss in Colonial Athletic Association play was to Richmond. JMU won at Richmond over the weekend and Houston said Villanova might have had a better chance beating the Spiders had the Wildcats’ quarterback, Zach Bednarczyk not gotten hurt in the game. Bednarczyk has thrown for 1,418 yards and 11 touchdowns and also has rushed for 320 yards and a touchdown this season.
- The sophomore Bednarczyk compares to JMU quarterback Bryan Schor, according to Houston. Houston added Villanova would run read-option plays so JMU’s defense must account for Bednarczyk and running back Aaron Forbes in the run game. He said Bednarczyk would present JMU’s defense with plenty of challenges Saturday.
- Villanova boasts the nation’s third-best scoring defense and 11th-best rushing defense. Houston said Villanova has a very solid defensive front. Villanova uses an odd 3-3-5 stack defense, which is different from the even defenses JMU has matched up with the last few weeks.
- Houston said Villanova defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon is a future early-round NFL draft pick and currently the top defensive player in the CAA. Kpassagnon is tied for the conference lead with 7.5 sacks this season.
- Schor has now thrown for more than 260 yards in each of the past three games. He has 12 passing touchdowns in that time too. Houston said some of Schor’s success comes from the good chemistry he has developed with his receivers, which began back in spring practice.
- One of Schor’s targets, junior John Miller missed Saturday’s game with an injury. He was seen on the sideline with his foot in a walking boot at Richmond. Houston said Miller’s injury isn’t serious and the team expects Miller back quickly.
- JMU senior running back Khalid Abdullah said Villanova is “really good upfront.” Abdullah said the defense runs well laterally and also chases the ball until the end of the play.
- Despite Villanova’s solid rushing defense, Abdullah said JMU wouldn’t change its approach of wanting to run the ball well. Abdullah said before any offense does anything, it has to run the ball efficiently.
- If JMU wins Saturday, it’ll still control its own destiny in the CAA. Villanova is only one game behind the Dukes. Abdullah said the team has done a good job of focusing week to week, but that he’d be lying if he didn’t say winning the CAA title wasn’t important to him and the team. He said it’s what the team has worked hard for all year.
- Senior tackle Mitchell Kirsch echoed Abdullah’s thoughts about closing in on a CAA Title. Kirsch said his senior class has been through a lot in their time at JMU. Kirsch said that him and fellow senior fifth-year offensive linemen Matt Frank and Kyle Rigney had counted that the group of fifth-year seniors have had over 40 different coaches – including assistants and support staff – during their time in Harrisonburg.
- Kirsch will often match up against Kpassagnon in one-on-one pass rushing situations. Krisch said Kpassagnon is unique and tough to block because of his size. Kpassagnon stands at 6-foot-7, 290 pounds. Krisch added he can’t give Kpassagnon too much space to work with because if Kpassagnon gets his arms extended, he’s tough to slow down with all his pass rush moves.
- Kirsh is one of a few NFL prospects JMU has on its roster. He said even though he focuses on the team aspect first, in the back of his head he knows his performance against Kpassagnon will be evaluated by NFL scouts.
