CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Players on James Madison’s offense knew they could score and rack up yards entering Saturday’s contest at FBS North Carolina.

Despite a 56-28 loss to UNC on Saturday, JMU quarterback Bryan Schor and the rest of the offense proved within 15 minutes of action at Kenan Memorial Stadium that its success in the first two weeks of the season wasn’t just due to a lack of competition.

JMU had the highest scoring offense in all of Division I football after outscoring Morehead State and Central Connecticut State 136-28.

JMU scored touchdowns on each of its first three series against the Tar Heels to hold a 21-14 advantage into the second quarter.

“I thought there were stretches when we showed what we could be,” Schor said. “That’s exciting for us.”

The Dukes put together three distinct scoring drives in the first quarter.

On the opening series, JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick didn’t stray from what worked in Week 1 and Week 2. Madison had a 79 percent to 21 percent run-to-pass ratio while rushing for more than 800 yards in its 2-0 start.

A mostly pre-scripted series, Kirkpatrick called for seven run plays compared to just two pass plays to open Saturday’s contest. Senior running back Khalid Abdullah and junior running back Cardon Johnson combined for 57 rushing yards during the nine-play drive. Abdullah capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone.

“I thought our offensive line came out and played tremendous,” JMU coach Mike Houston said. “They held their own and Khalid ran like he belonged in the ball game.”

After UNC knotted the game at 7, Schor showed he was capable of mixing in key passes to support the running game in order for JMU to move the chains.

Schor completed a 10-yard strike to senior wide receiver Domo Taylor to push Madison inside the Carolina 40-yard line. Three plays later, when JMU faced a third-and-five from the UNC 33, Schor found junior tight end Jonathan Kloosterman for a 15-yard gain to keep the drive alive.

Five plays later, Abdullah scored with another 1-yard run.

“I thought Bryan did a great job of running our offense,” Houston said. “I thought he stood in there against heavy pressure on critical downs and was able to convert.”

UNC needed only one play to even the score at 14 — a flea-flicker that resulted in quarterback Mitch Trubisky finding wide receiver Ryan Switzer for a 75-yard touchdown.

On the consequent series, JMU featured its own quick-attack capability.

Schor connected with Johnson on a swing pass. After catching the ball, Johnson sprinted 68 yards into the end zone to retake the lead.

From there UNC would score four straight touchdowns to take control of the game. JMU’s defense didn’t get a stop until midway through the fourth quarter and kicker Tyler Gray missed a field goal in the second quarter, which would’ve cut Carolina’s lead to 28-24.

During the second, third and fourth quarters, JMU’s offense drove the ball into UNC territory multiple times, but came away empty. Abdullah said after the first quarter UNC made adjustments to its defense.

“They weren’t really bringing a lot of pressure at first,” Abdullah said. “Then they started bringing pressure and doing some different things schematically with their defensive line with twisting in the second half just to make it hard for our offensive line and for our running backs to see the holes.”

JMU scored on its opening possession of the third quarter to keep the game within 14 points momentarily. But on the next UNC drive, the Tar Heels scored again to re-establish their 21-point edge.

All of JMU’s scoring drives were at least 75 yards in length. The Dukes scored as many touchdowns against the UNC defense as the Tar Heels first opponent, Georgia, and tallied one more score than Carolina’s second opponent, Illinois. Madison’s 495 total yards of offense was also more than the output from Georgia and Illinois against UNC.

“[James Madison] came in here and battled,” UNC coach Larry Fedora said. “We are fortunate and happy to get the win. It probably wasn’t the way we drew it up or wanted it, but winning is hard these days.”

Abdullah finished with 116 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 18 carries. Schor completed 14-of-22 passes for 218 yards and the touchdown throw to Johnson.

“We were pretty comfortable out there,” Schor said. “I think we executed our plays, but we didn’t finish some of the drive the way that we wanted to.”

JMU (2-1) now turns its attention to CAA play — the Dukes open their league schedule on Saturday at Maine. North Carolina (2-1) starts ACC play with a home game against Pittsburgh.