HARRISONBURG — James Madison senior running back Khalid Abdullah said if JMU beats its rivals — Delaware, William & Mary and Richmond — the Dukes have a path toward a Colonial Athletic Association title.
A week ago, JMU handled its business against rival Delaware, beating the Blue Hens 43-20.
And today the No. 7-ranked Dukes host William & Mary at Bridgeforth Stadium in the 39th edition of the series.
“Absolutely,” Abdullah said. “Those are some of the tougher teams in the CAA. If we beat those teams, we know it’ll put us in good position to be where we want to be at the end of the year.”
JMU won’t meet Richmond until Nov. 5.
William & Mary, one of the CAA’s 2015 tri-champions along with JMU and Richmond, was upset by Elon in the first week of conference action before falling at New Hampshire last Saturday.
The Tribe (2-3, 0-2) likely has to win today to keep any hope of claiming at least a share of the league championship again. William & Mary beat JMU 44-41 last fall, but has dropped five straight contests between the two teams in Harrisonburg. JMU leads the all-time series, 21-17.
“I have no doubt that we’ll get their very best in a game pitted between two in-state rivals,” JMU coach Mike Houston said. “It will be a very hard-fought game. I expect to be challenged on both sides of the football and on special teams. We’ll need to play our best game of the year in order to get another win in the CAA.”
For JMU (4-1, 2-0), the formula for success has started with its running game led by Abdullah, who was named to the STATS FCS National Player of the Year Watch List earlier this week.
Abdullah has rushed for at least 100 yards in each of JMU’s last four contest. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound senior leads the country in rushing yards (603) and is second in rushing touchdowns (eight).
Co-starting junior Cardon Johnson is averaging 100 rushing yards per game and has scored five rushing touchdowns.
“We kind of anticipated [success] and that’s not to be cocky,” Abdullah said. “I think we just believed in our coaching staff and the personnel we were putting on the field. Our coaches scheme everything up and put us in a position to make plays. With all that said, when we came out here early on and they taught us the new system, they also married some things with the old system. They showed us was something we could buy into and believe in.”
William & Mary coach Jimmye Laycock, in his 37th year, said JMU’s offense poses problems beyond Abdullah and Johnson.
The Dukes have the nation’s second-best scoring offense.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Laycock said. “They have very good running backs. The quarterback is playing well. They have good skill outside and their offensive line is good. You put those things together and they know what they’re doing, so there are a lot of reasons why they’re successful.”
Laycock will lean on senior running back Kendell Anderson to help the Tribe control the clock and keep Abdullah, Johnson and JMU’s offense off the field.
Anderson, who was a first-team All-CAA choice last fall, ran for 168 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in William & Mary’s loss to New Hampshire.
“He certainly looked good up there,” Laycock said. “And he popped a long one for a touchdown.”
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
