Plenty On The Line For Dukes At Elon

HARRISONBURG — What a difference a year can make.

Last season, with starting quarterback Bryan Schor injured and sidelined, James Madison used a combination of backup Cole Johnson and running back Taylor Woods, as a wildcat quarterback, to crush Elon 63-14.

For the Dukes, the win secured an unbeaten mark through Colonial Athletic Association play en route to a national championship. For the Phoenix, the loss concluded a lackluster 2-9 season.

Today, top-ranked JMU (10-0, 7-0 CAA) and No. 11 Elon (8-2, 6-1) meet again, but this time the circumstances have drastically changed.

A conference title is on the line for both squads when they kickoff at noon inside Rhodes Stadium in Elon, N.C.

“They’re a very impressive football team,” second-year JMU coach Mike Houston said. “It’s hard to imagine this is the same team that we played at the end of the year last year.”

A victory for JMU would give the program its second straight outright CAA title and would push the team’s Division I-best active winning streak to 23 straight wins while also likely locking up the No. 1 overall seed for FCS playoffs, which begin next week.

An Elon win would give the Phoenix a share of the CAA title with JMU and Stony Brook if the Seawolves beat Maine.

“This team has obviously accomplished a great deal and there’s a lot of meaning in this game in terms of conference implications,” first-year Elon coach Curt Cignetti said. “We’re in a position that no one thought we’d be in at the beginning of the year and we’re going to be excited to play.”

Schor said JMU does not need to manufacture any motivation for this contest. The Dukes know what is at stake.

The senior signal-caller and his offense will face a familiar test as Elon has adapted the 3-3-5 stack defense under Cignetti and first-year defensive coordinator Tony Trisciani, who joined the Phoenix’s staff after spending the previous five seasons at Villanova.

JMU beat Villanova and its patented stack defense 30-8 last month when the Wildcats came to Harrisonburg.

“It helps. You’ve seen it before, so you know your running lanes, angles and blocking schemes,” said JMU junior running back Trai Sharp, who scored the game-winning touchdown on a 7-yard run last week to help the Dukes beat rival Richmond in the final minute.

Sharp said the entire 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive has given JMU’s offense some added confidence heading into the final Saturday of the regular season.

“It gives us a ton of momentum because that’s who we are. We know what we’re capable of,” Sharp said. “That’s the offense we want to be, so it definitely gives us a big boost going against a team we can’t underestimate at all.”

When Elon is on offense, it will lean on a strong rushing attack that supports steady freshman quarterback Davis Cheek.

Sophomore running back De’Sean McNair has rushed for 509 yards and three touchdowns after stepping in for junior Malcolm Summers, who tore his hamstring after carrying 134 times for 755 yards in the team’s first six games.

Cheek has thrown 14 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions.

“Some guys are just wired and just sort of got it. He’s wired to play quarterback,” Cignetti said. “He sees the field and he processes information quickly. He’s got great poise and competitiveness. He’s a very accurate passer and a tough guy, too. He can take a shot, and when the game is on the line, he plays his best.”

The Dukes have been a nightmare for first-year quarterbacks throughout the season, though.

Norfolk State, Maine, Villanova, William & Mary and Rhode Island all played a rookie quarterback against JMU. Across those games, JMU combined for 25 sacks and 11 interceptions.

“[Elon is] a lot better. They’re a way better team,” JMU junior cornerback Curtis Oliver said. “Their schemes are better and their record says a lot, too.

“So we’re treating it like the next game, and we’re definitely not sleeping on them at all.”

Overall, JMU is No. 1 nationally for scoring defense (9.6 points per game), total defense (128.8 yards per game), passing defense (147.7 yards per game) and interceptions (19).

“They got a lot of really, really good players and a dominant defense — the kind of defense anyone would love to have,” Cignetti said.