They’ve experienced the thrill before.

James Madison’s football upperclassmen have lived through at least one playoff run like the Dukes are on now — winning the FCS national championship as freshmen and reaching the title game again as sophomores.

A victory in Saturday’s semifinal over Weber State sends JMU to Frisco, Texas, for the third time in four seasons.

“It does feel like [2017],” senior defensive end Ron’Dell Carter said in the locker room after the Dukes topped Northern Iowa 17-0 in the quarterfinals this past Friday. “But hopefully we finish this time.”

And finishing only means hoisting the trophy in a sea of raining purple-and-gold confetti on the field at Toyota Stadium next month the same way former running back Khalid Abdullah got to as he shed tears of happiness while realizing the perfect finality to his college career.

These Dukes don’t want to miss the opportunity to play in that game or to walk off that field in Texas without celebration. More than anything fueling this month’s run is exactly what Carter alluded to.

The 17-13 loss to North Dakota State that ended JMU’s bid at an undefeated campaign in the championship bout two seasons ago stuck with him and his fellow seniors.

“Absolutely,” senior cornerback Rashad Robinson said. “That’s the number one thing on my mind, especially since I didn’t even get to play last year (Robinson missed all of last season with a foot injury). That’s the last thing I remembered going into this year, so that’s what I want to get back to.

“But we’re going to look forward to Saturday first and to take care of business.”

Robinson said the NDSU loss is a motivator stronger than last season’s second-round setback at Colgate and stunning early exit from the 2018 postseason.

“Even more of a chip on our shoulder, for sure,” Robinson said, “especially because of the team we had last year. We weren’t capable, but we know we’re capable this year and we’re only one game away, so what else do you need to motivate you?”

The senior cornerback, who will make his 33rd career start Saturday, said he sees so many comparable attributes between this year’s squad, the 2016 team that won it all and the 2017 team that won its first 14 before falling to the Bison.

“Just because of the brotherhood we have in this locker room,” Robinson said. “It’s similar to those years. We have a lot of older guys on defense and the leadership also is there with the brotherhood and the chemistry. The offense feeds off the defense and the defense feeds off the offense.”

Those two years, JMU was full of veterans like Abdullah, linebacker Gage Steele, quarterback Bryan Schor, offensive lineman Aaron Stinnie, defensive end Andrew Ankrah and safety Raven Greene, who all had experienced the pitfalls of never having won anything previously. Before former coach Mike Houston’s arrival, the Dukes hadn’t earned a postseason victory since 2011.

And like how Houston banded that bunch together to win a title, first-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti has tried to push this group of players from last season’s 9-4 finish to do the same.

“You get closer and closer, and it starts to get to crunch time,” senior defensive end John Daka said. “We weren’t in the semis last year, so it’s a great feeling to get this far and it’s starting to feel like 2016 and 2017, and [Northern Iowa] was a little like that Weber State [2017 quarterfinal] game a little bit. I got that kind of vibe, but we’ve got to keep it going one game at a time.”

And Cignetti said his older players have accomplished taking a week-by-week approach all season long while also keeping the end goal of a championship in the back of their minds.

This week’s test is Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. kickoff against Weber State, the same team the Dukes had to beat in the 2017 FCS quarterfinals when wide receiver Riley Stapleton compiled 189 receiving yards to go along with a touchdown and Ethan Ratke drilled a game-winning field goal as time expired.

“We have a number of seniors on the team and a lot of veteran guys that played significant football in big football games,” Cignetti said. “Here you play in a lot of big football games because you catch everybody’s best shot and I think the key to the drill here is you don’t make more of this game than what it really is.

“It’s just a game and the things you’ve got to do to be successful haven’t changed, so we want prepare our guys so they’re confident going in and we want to see ‘em fly around and have fun and do what they’re supposed to do.”

Daka said: “That experience in 2016 and 2017 is definitely going to help us. We’ve got guys from both of those teams still on this team and it’s helping me 100 percent. I know what to look for and I know what’s going to go on.”