HARRISONBURG — In its first-round playoff win over Lehigh, New Hampshire put together its best offensive performance of the season.

The Wildcats racked up 64 points, 637 total yards and 364 rushing yards en route to the 43-point blowout victory. The outcome was decided quickly — New Hampshire scored three times and less than five minutes into the second quarter held a 22-0 lead.

New Hampshire did this with its backup quarterback.

Senior Adam Riese filled in for starter Trevor Knight, who had injured his foot in the team’s regular-season finale against Maine. Riese threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.

“Five years in the system,” New Hampshire coach Sean McDonnell said of Riese. “He has a good understanding of what we want to do.

“The only thing that separated Trevor from Riese for the starting job was that Trevor could run extremely well. Trevor was able to take situations, escape or make big run plays. If it was the same in that mode, which is hard to say, Adam would have been playing from the beginning. Our kids have confidence in him, and that’s the most important thing.”

McDonnell and his offense, which set a program record for points in a postseason game, come to Harrisonburg on Saturday for a second-round showdown with fourth-seeded James Madison — a team that knows all about Riese’s capability and how quickly the Wildcats can strike.

Riese, a native of Hamilton, N.J., threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in relief of Knight during the fourth quarter of the regular-season meeting.

Riese helped pull New Hampshire within three points of JMU in the fourth after the Dukes led by as many as 30.

McDonnell hasn’t announced a starter for Saturday, but JMU coach Mike Houston said he has a feeling Riese will get the nod over Knight.

“I do think Riese is playing at a very high level and I think that’s who we’ll see,” Houston said. “Trevor won the job initially because of his mobility, but that’s also the reason he’s limited right now.”

JMU defensive coordinator Bob Trott, who spent the past six years at Richmond and has coached against New Hampshire numerous times throughout his tenure in the Colonial Athletic Association, said regardless of who plays quarterback for the Wildcats, that the offense won’t change much.

Knight has thrown for 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns while also rushing for 394 yards and four touchdowns this year.

“Their numbers are different and one is right-handed and other is left-handed,” Trott said. “When you look at a New Hampshire offense, they will run their New Hampshire offense. It doesn’t matter who’s back there, and over the years, that guy has always been able to run the offense. I know someone is going to be the quarterback and I’m not worried about it.”

As for JMU’s quarterback situation, junior Bryan Schor was back in full pads at practice this week, taking reps with the firstteam offense after missing JMU’s regular-season finale against Elon. Schor was hurt during the second quarter of the Dukes’ Nov. 12 win at Villanova.

JMU senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds said beyond the opposing quarterback, New Hampshire’s offense gives the defense plenty to think about.

The system, which features elements tied to Chip Kelly — before his time with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Oregon Ducks, Kelly was the offensive coordinator under McDonnell — features pre-snap motions and the same plays out of different formations to distract a defense.

“I think the formations, motions and muddle-huddles are all eye candy to try to confuse us as a defense,” Reynolds said. “They want us to check out of our calls. Going into this game, it’s been a big emphasis to be familiar with their muddle formations and things out of the ordinary.

“We’re just making sure we cover everything, to make sure we’re ready for everything they throw at us.”