The circumstances and challenges change each week, but they try not to let those alter their objective.

Not when the pressure mounts, and certainly not in a win-or-be-done scenario.

“It’s a great team environment,” James Madison senior wide receiver Brandon Polk said. “We know what we want to accomplish. We don’t have anyone in the locker room pulling in the opposite direction, because then you won’t be able to obtain the goals that you have. So we know what we want to do and basically we’re out here every day to make sure we do that.”

Of course, the pinnacle for JMU is hoisting the national championship trophy next month in Frisco, Texas, but a trip to the title bout is still two wins away.

The second-seeded Dukes (12-1) welcome Northern Iowa (10-4) to Harrisonburg for the FCS national quarterfinals on Friday at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to next week’s semifinals for the right to go to the championship game.

JMU captured the Colonial Athletic Association crown outright in the regular season while the Panthers were the runner-up to North Dakota State in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“It’d be a big accomplishment getting to the semifinals,” JMU junior defensive tackle Mike Greene said. “But we all have that end goal of trying to make it to Frisco, and we’ll fight every single week and make it important before that.”

Northern Iowa, having won seven of its last eight, brings the nation’s seventh-best scoring defense (17.7 points per game allowed) to Bridgeforth Stadium and is led by first-team All-MVC choices junior defensive end Elerson Smith and freshman defensive back Omar Brown. Smith has 14 sacks and Brown has six interceptions.

Between a first-round win over Pioneer League champion San Diego and a second-round victory over fellow MVC foe South Dakota State, the Panthers combined to allow just 13 points in their two playoff contests to set up a strength-on-strength matchup against the Dukes’ offense.

“When you look at them, this is a tremendous defense,” first-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “I don’t think there’s any question that this is the best defense we have played since the West Virginia game.”

Polk, who scored his eighth receiving touchdown in as many games last week and who is quarterback Ben DiNucci’s most targeted receiver, said Brown and the rest of Northern Iowa’s secondary have proven to defend opposing receivers well throughout the year.

“They’re very physical,” Polk said. “They’re going to try to get in your face and not give you a lot of access.”

JMU boasts the nation’s best scoring offense (44.1 points per game), has tallied at least 48 points in each of its last four games and put up program-playoff record for points last week to eliminate Big South winner Monmouth 66-21 in the second round.

Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley said JMU is one of the better all-around opponents his squad will have played all season.

The Dukes enter Friday with the third-best scoring defense (16.1 points per game allowed) to compliment their record-setting offense.

“I just believe they’re a very well coached football team,” Farley said. “They’re very athletic. You could see some of the players they’ve picked up over the years and how they’ve developed the players they have. I watch ‘em and I see consistency on all sides of the ball. And I always look for technique and fundamentals, and I see guys that are taught well. I can see coaching in how they play the game and that’s what I always look for, the teaching.”

But Northern Iowa, like JMU, has aspirations beyond a quarterfinal appearance. The Panthers haven’t reached the national semifinals since 2008.

“That’d be huge for us,” Northern Iowa senior running back Trevor Allen said. “We have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done here in a while. We’re going to come in, fight and do everything we can do to win.”

The Coaches: Two veterans of the industry, Farley and Cignetti have combined to win 68.5 percent of the games they’ve coached throughout their careers.

Farley has done all his head coaching in one spot, spending 19 seasons leading Northern Iowa. Cignetti’s previous head-coaching gigs came with Indiana (Pa.) and Elon before landing the JMU job last December.

Though the two staffs don’t have much familiarity with each other, Dukes offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery has coached against Northern Iowa in the past when he held the same job for eight seasons with MVC member Youngstown State.

“I think it helps,” Cignetti said. “Shane was in that conference for quite a while, so he’s got familiarity.”

The Quarterbacks: Both DiNucci and Northern Iowa quarterback Will McElvain are productive players for their respective offenses, but they differ in experience.

The Dukes senior signal-caller will start for the 34th time in his career on Friday. DiNucci, the CAA Offensive Player of the Year for 2019, leads the FCS with a 71.5 percent completion rate while throwing for 2,825 yards and 24 touchdowns.

McElvain, a redshirt freshman making his 15th career start, has completed 54 percent of his throws for 2,664 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Series History: JMU and Northern Iowa are two of the premier brands in FCS, but Friday is the first meeting between the schools.

“I think that’s as intriguing as anything,” Farley said. “These, to me, are two traditionally strong programs that have never played each other.”

The Dukes have 16 playoff appearances in their history and the Panthers have reached the postseason 21 times. The last time the Dukes or the Panthers didn’t make the playoffs was 2013.

“The coach has been there a while and they’re known as a tough, physical football team,” Cignetti said, “kind of like we want to be. They’ve had big wins. Beaten Iowa a couple of times, beaten North Dakota State, so obviously, they’re a top-notch team.”

Farley said: “JMU has probably known a little bit about us at least by name over the years and we’ve known a little bit about them over the years, but never experienced playing against each other, so it’s always been by media and what you see, what you read. And so it’ll be a nice to see the facilities and resources they have out there because they’re outstanding.”

JMU is 3-3 against teams from the MVC and UNI is 6-3 all-time against current CAA programs.

Protect The Ball: The forecast for Friday is why Cignetti has kept the team outside for practice all season.

Though JMU hasn’t played a game in rain yet this season, the Dukes have had enough practices in messy weather to be prepared for it.

“If it’s really coming down and it’s cold, you’ve got to protect the football,” Cignetti said. “That’s the bottom line. You can’t turn it over on offense. Your punter has to catch the ball. Your holder has to catch the ball. Your receivers have to catch the ball and hopefully your defensive backs, if they have a chance, have to catch the ball and punt returners too.”

Freezing rain and temperatures around 37 degrees are expected for kickoff.

“It won’t be a problem at all,” Allen said. “Farley has taken us outside a few times this year and it’s been way colder here than it’ll be there on Friday, so it won’t be any problems for us. We’ll be ready to play.”

A Couple Of Comparisons: With the two sides having never met before, the Dukes were drawing comparisons this week between Northern Iowa players and ones they’re more familiar with.

Cignetti said Smith, the 6-foot-7, 245-pound leader of UNI’s defensive front, reminds him of JMU senior defensive end John Daka.

“When you get that many sacks, it means you’re a quick-twitch guy,” Cignetti said. “He’s a little like John Daka in that regard. He’s a real, long guy and he’s got real good get off.”

Daka has 55 tackles to go along with 14.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss while Smith has 60 tackles and 21.5 tackles for loss to go along with his 14 sacks.

Greene said McElvain has the same playing characteristics of a former CAA quarterback.

“He reminds me more of [former New Hampshire quarterback] Trevor Knight from last year,” Greene said. “He can run, he can pass and so he reminds me a lot of Trevor Knight from last year.”

Don’t Be Surprised If: Greene can use the rare combination of athleticism and speed he has to generate pressure from the interior of the Dukes’ defensive line.

Greene’s numbers – 46 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries – are more reminiscent of the stats a defensive end would put together.

“They have a pretty big and pretty good offensive line,” Greene said. “We’ve got to lock in up front and suck up some double teams to be able to make some plays because they try to hold the ball for a pretty long time. They try to control the clock, but we’ve got to lock in, get off the field and get our offense on the field.”

Cignetti said: “He’s a real tough guy. That’s the thing about Mike Greene. Mike Greene is a tough guy.”

More Than Anything: JMU is looking to maintain its offensive production in spite of the opposing defense and tough conditions.

The Dukes want to follow up their nine touchdowns and 623 total yards of offense from last week.

“Guys are doing their job and executing,” Cignetti said. “We’re running the ball really well. We’re throwing it, too. We’re converting on third downs. And we’re making the critical plays when we need to make ‘em, but defense is getting takeaways and scoring some touchdowns, too, and we’re setting up points on [special] teams, so it’s a total team effort.”