HARRISONBURG — Out of the eight teams left in the FCS Playoffs, only fourth-seeded James Madison and fifth-seeded Sam Houston State went unbeaten throughout the year against FCS competition.
JMU won the Colonial Athletic Association outright and Sam Houston State captured the Southland Conference.
The Dukes and Bearkats meet Friday night in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Here are five critical match-ups that could impact the outcome:
SHSU QB Briscoe vs. JMU QB Schor
Sam Houston State and James Madison have two of the best signal-callers in all of FCS.
Bearkats quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe dominates through the air and Dukes quarterback Bryan Schor beats the opponent with his arm and his legs.
“Schor and Briscoe are the best two quarterbacks in the country probably,” Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler said.
Briscoe set the FCS record for passing touchdowns in a season during Sam Houston State’s second-round win over Chattanooga. He has 57 passing touchdowns and is only one shy of Colt Brennan’s Division I single-season record.
“He has a very quick release,” JMU coach Mike Houston said of Briscoe. “He’s got a very strong arm and the ball gets there in a hurry. You get a guy like that, who’s surrounded by the weapons they have, and that’s why they put up arcade-like numbers.”
Schor tops the country in completion percentage (74 percent) and has 23 passing touchdowns to go along with nine rushing scores.
“His accuracy is uncanny,” Keeler said of Schor.
JMU RT Chavious vs. SHSU DE Hall
In JMU’s second-round win over New Hampshire, senior right tackle Mitchell Kirsch tried unsuccessfully to play through a leg injury.
On the first drive, he gave up a sack. On the second drive, he failed to cut-block opposing defensive end Cam Shorey, which led to a tipped-pass interception.
“Mitch wanted to go and I probably felt like he shouldn’t have went, but he was determined,” JMU offensive coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick said. “He gave it all he had but didn’t have it and actually re-injured himself a little bit.”
Kirsch was replaced by redshirt freshman Tyree Chavious. Before Saturday, Chavious had appeared in six games, but had hardly been used for any meaningful snaps.
“I thought Tyree did great,” Kirkpatrick said. “He really did come in and act like he belonged there. As the game went on, I didn’t think much about it.”
Friday night, Chavious will fill the void left by Kirsch again, but the one-on-one pairing gets tougher.
Sam Houston State junior defensive end P.J. Hall racked up 21 tackles for loss and 11 sacks this season.
In pass-rush situations, Chavious is responsible for keeping the 6-foot-1, 280-pound edge rusher off of Schor.
Kirkpatrick said JMU would do everything it could to help Chavious.
“A defensive end with 11 sacks is going to worry you,” Kirkpatrick added. “You’re going to have to game plan for that and we have a few things to keep [Chavious] from being in a one-on-one situation.”
SHSU WR Louis vs. JMU CB Oliver
The most dangerous weapon for the nation’s No 2-ranked passing offense is the smallest guy on the field.
Five-foot-8, 180-pound slot receiver Yedidiah Louis said he models his game after NFL receivers Steve Smith and Tavon Austin.
Louis, a junior, leads Sam Houston State with 73 catches, 1,133 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. He’s in the top 10 nationally for receiving yards and touchdowns.
Briscoe looks for Louis to work underneath a defense, using his quickness to separate from defenders.
“There are bigger guys, but it’s a game of leverage,” Louis said. “You have to know angles and how aggressive the defender is by watching film and knowing their tendencies.”
From snap to snap, JMU sophomore cornerback Curtis Oliver will likely draw the assignment of shadowing Louis in single coverage most often.
Over the last month, Oliver has manned the slot corner position for the Dukes.
“Curtis has been a really good addition to what we’re doing,” JMU defensive coordinator Bob Trott said. “He’s been able to pressure from that position and cover from that position. That leaves Taylor [Reynolds] where he can play on the outside consistently.
“It gives us a fifth defensive back and it’s been huge.”
JMU FG Team vs. SHSU FG-Block Team
Madison dismantled New Hampshire not only on offense and defense, but on special teams as well.
JMU had a kickoff return for a touchdown, a 40-yard punt return, a fumble recovery on a punt New Hampshire muffed, and then executed a fake field goal.
Sam Houston State has blocked four kicks this season.
JMU’s field-goal unit and kicker Tyler Gray have struggled at times. Gray has made his last four kicks, but is only 12-of-18 for the year.
In a game where every point will matter, executing field goals will as well.
SHSU RG Tezeno vs. JMU DT Stone
Since earning a start at Villanova on Nov. 12, JMU senior defensive tackle Martez Stone has proven to be productive.
Stone had the interception that sealed JMU’s CAA championship-clinching win at Villanova. Last week, he had a sack against New Hampshire. In the last three games, he has 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, two pass breakups, a sack and an interception.
Stone, a transfer from West Virginia via Lackawanna College, will matchup with Sam Houston State’s West Virginia transfer Tyler Tezeno.
Tezeno, now a junior, committed to WVU out of high school and played two seasons in Morgantown before he transferred to Sam Houston State to be near home.
“I met [Stone],” Tezeno said. “He was there my freshman year when I was redshirting, so I knew him a bit.”
