HARRISONBURG — With an 84-7 win over Rhode Island on Saturday, James Madison guaranteed itself the right to control its own destiny toward a Colonial Athletic Association title.
JMU’s win put the team in sole possession of first place in the CAA.
The Dukes entered Saturday tied atop the league standings with Stony Brook, but the Seawolves fell at New Hampshire, creating a five-way tie for second place.
Madison is the only team without a conference loss in the league.
Among the five teams bunched up with one loss are Richmond and Villanova. In the next two weeks, the Dukes play back-to-back road games at Richmond and at Villanova.
“I know we’ve had certain games circled on our schedule for a while,” JMU junior quarterback Bryan Schor said following the team’s record-setting performance. “Having a good game this week really will help us for the next weeks.”
A win over Richmond would give JMU a two-game lead on the Spiders with two games to play. Richmond was the preseason favorite to win the CAA.
JMU Defense Rattles URI Freshman QB
During the week leading up to James Madison’s victory Saturday, members of the team’s coaching staff and defense said the goal was to force Rhode Island freshman quarterback Jordan Vazzano into mistakes.
In the second quarter, JMU defensive coordinator Bob Trott called for a corner blitz by bringing Curtis Oliver from the secondary at Vazzano. The freshman made the first of many mistakes, rushing a throw.
JMU senior safety Raven Greene intercepted the pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to give Madison a 42-7 lead.
Greene would record another interception off a tipped pass later in the game.
“Coach Trott really made sure to emphasize that we run to the ball,” Greene said. “As you saw a lot of the interceptions we had were off tipped passes. We made sure we didn’t stop running and we capitalized on it.”
Vazzano would throw five interceptions in total, including one more returned for a touchdown by junior safety Marcell Johnson. Vazzano finished just 4-of-25 for 12 yards.
Mitch Out With Non-Football Injury
With the outcome well decided in the second half, JMU coach Mike Houston turned to many of his second- and third-string players to see action throughout the final 30 minutes.
One backup noticeably absent was junior quarterback Connor Mitch. The South Carolina transfer was not dressed for the game.
“Connor has an injury. It was an off-field injury during the bye week,” Houston said. “We do expect him to return at some point this year, but we’ll see when that is.”
Until then, James Madison will have redshirt sophomore Hunter Etheridge serve as the backup to Schor.
In his career, Etheridge has completed 4-of-6 throws for 23 yards.
