HARRISONBURG — Senior running back Khalid Abdullah set a career-best mark for rushing Saturday with 194 yards and three touchdowns in James Madison’s 31-24 win over in-state rival William & Mary.
Abdullah has now eclipsed 100 rushing yards in five straight games.
His 74-yard touchdown on a speed option gave JMU a two-touchdown edge with 55 seconds left in the game.
“I got the ball and was running outside,” Abdullah said. “I saw the cornerback and I knew he’d go at my legs just because he’s a smaller guy, so I faked him toward the outside and he fell.
“Then I kept running and I saw [junior wide receiver] Terrence Alls. He had an amazing block. It allowed me to crease down the sideline.”
The Newport News native now sits in the top 10 nationally in all four major rushing categories.
Abdullah is second in the FCS for rushing yards (797) and touchdowns (11). He also is fifth in yards per game (132) and sixth in yards per carry (7.74).
“He’s a special player,” JMU coach Mike Houston said.
Last week, Abdullah was named to the STATS FCS Player of the Year Award Watch List.
His performance Saturday also pushed him up to sixth in school history for career rushing yards and third for career rushing touchdowns.
Punting Good, Kicking Inconsistent
He isn’t needed often because of James Madison’s potent offense, but when he’s called upon, senior punter Gunnar Kane is ready.
With JMU clinging to a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter, Kane helped JMU win the field-position battle after the offense went three-and-out. His 66-yard punt forced William & Mary to start its drive at its own nine.
“That was a big play that flipped the field, which gave them a long field to drive,” Houston said. “It gives your team an opportunity to not necessarily have to get a stop in four downs.”
On the William & Mary drive following the punt, quarterback Steve Cluley was intercepted by JMU cornerback Taylor Reynolds in the end zone, which sealed the game for the Dukes.
Kane has punted 17 times for 708 yards this season. He has landed 10 of his 17 punts inside the opponents 20-yardline and has four punts of 50 or more yards.
While Kane has proven to be an asset, place kicker Tyler Gray has been up and down.
The sophomore missed a 21-yarder, but made a 33-yarder on Saturday. Gray is now 4-of-7 on field-goal tries this fall.
Loss A Building Block For W&M
Entering Saturday’s game in Harrisonburg, William & Mary had come off of a home loss to Elon and road setback at New Hampshire.
Despite coming up short against JMU, William & Mary veteran coach Jimmye Laycock said he viewed his team’s effort positively.
“To come in with the situation that we were in physically and to play like we did to give ourselves a chance to win, I give our players a lot of credit,” Laycock said. “They rose to the occasion, didn’t get down and played hard.
“I told our players we have to build on this one and not be satisfied with it because there are areas we need to improve at, but it was much better overall for us.”
