HARRISONBURG – There’s a level of familiarity James Madison has with East Carolina’s roster, more so than it would have with any other unfamiliar non-conference opponent.

The Dukes and Pirates have never met, but JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick, cornerbacks coach Tripp Weaver and director of football administration Dale Steele were all at ECU under ex-Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill.

“For somebody that you haven’t played, yes” JMU coach Mike Houston said. “Because the older players there all played when Dale, Donnie and Tripp were there.

“They know those guys and so they do give you some insight there, but those player are also two years older than they were when they were there. And you look at the development of [JMU senior quarterback] Bryan Schor two years ago versus where he is now, so you can put some weight into it, but then there’s some you just got to chalk up that maybe the player is a different player now than he was then.”

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- Houston said ECU’s receiving core is the strength of its offense, but he added JMU has “pretty good insight” into that group of players because Kirkpatrick recruited, signed and coached some of them.

- JMU holds the longest winning streak in all of Division I – FBS or FCS – at 12 games. Its last loss came at FBS North Carolina in the third week of the 2016 season. The Dukes led 21-14 after the first quarter of that contest, but eventually the Tar Heels’ depth won out in a 56-28 victory.

- Houston is well aware of the difference in depth that his team and East Carolina. He said overall ECU could have an additional layer on its depth chart that JMU couldn’t have because of the number of scholarship player each program has. FBS school get 85 scholarships and FCS schools get 63 scholarships. “You could see it become a factor in the second half,” Houston said. “We hope it’s not … We do have a lot of older guys back, so you hope it doesn’t end up being a factor.”

- Houston said JMU has more depth on defense than it did a year ago.

- The Dukes will have two first-time starters – right guard Gerren Butler and right tackle Jahee Jackson – play on the offensive line Saturday. Houston said Butler and Jackson have “grown up a lot since I met them.”

- Freshman offensive lineman Liam Fornadel will play too. “He’s been very impressive. He’s probably the best freshman offensive lineman I’ve ever had,” Houston said.

- Logistically, JMU’s game day coaching assignments will largely stay the same from last year with one exception. Houston said Bryan Stinespring would be on the field now that he’s coaching the offensive line.

- Senior offensive tackle Aaron Stinnie said he’s been impressed by how Butler and Jackson “have started to grow up.” He said throughout camp both offensive linemen realized it was important to take notice of the details that make a successful player at their respective positions.

- Stinnie said Fornadel is doing a lot that he hasn’t seen freshmen offensive linemen do during his JMU career.

- Stinnie added despite JMU being more experienced on the left side of the line with him and guard A.J. Bolden, he believes that right side is just as capable of doing everything necessary to hold their own.

- Junior running back Marcus Marshall said he’s excited for his first game as a Duke. He said he’s talked a lot with his dad, Warren, who played at JMU and is in the school’s Hall of Fame, and he said his dad is excited too.

- Marshall he’ll have a lot of family at the game since it’s in North Carolina. Marshall is from Raleigh.

- The Georgia Tech transfer said one of his closest friends is ECU cornerback Chris Love. Love is listed as the No. 1 boundary corner on the Pirates’ depth chart. Marshall said the two have been talking about the game since the summer.

- Senior safety Raven Greene said he’s just looking forward to playing against someone else. He said he’s tired of going against his teammates in practice.

- Greene said ECU is “pretty athletic” on offense. Greene said JMU would be tasked with slowing some of their wide receivers.

- East Carolina wide receiver Jimmy Williams said the No. 1 thing that stuck out to him about watching JMU on tape was how disciplined the Dukes were last year. He said people just don’t know how hard it is to make plays against a defense that is disciplined.

- Williams said he knows JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick really well. Williams said, “I respect Coach K to the utmost. He taught me a lot.”