HARRISONBURG — Kyle Lauletta said he is preparing himself, and his offense, for more of the same.
When his Spiders met rival James Madison last fall, the two teams combined for 108 points and 1,305 yards of total offense. Lauletta, Richmond’s quarterback, threw for a career-best 415 yards against the Dukes that day.
Both squads, featuring many of same offensive players who had a role in the memorable showcase of offensive firepower a year ago, are only better now.
JMU heads to Richmond on Saturday for the anticipated Top 10 matchup.
“You have to be prepared for a shootout, and our coaches have said that a few times,” Lauletta said. “You can’t rely on the defense to always shut the other team out or hold them to just a score.”
The No. 7-ranked Dukes enter the contest with the second-best scoring offense nationally and top scoring unit in the Colonial Athletic Association, averaging more than 49 points per game. The offense is coming off its best game of the year after dominating Rhode Island 84-7.
JMU boasts the fourth-best rushing offense nationally, which is also No. 1 in the CAA. Passing offense is the lone statistical category JMU doesn’t lead the league in. That honor goes to No. 6 Richmond.
Lauletta and his top target, wide receiver Brian Brown, as well as JMU junior quarterback Bryan Schor and senior running back Khalid Abdullah all are CAA Offensive Player of the Year candidates.
“Schor is a great quarterback and Abdullah is a great player,” Lauletta said. “We know they’re going to score points, so if it becomes a game like it was last year, we’ll be prepared for it.”
JMU coach Mike Houston said Schor’s path to success reminds him of how Lauletta got to where he is now. Lauletta was the CAA’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
“You look at a year and a half ago, going into last year and Lauletta was actually a little bit of a question mark,” Houston said. “It’s actually similar to what Bryan Schor was coming into this year for a lot of people around here.
“Lauletta proved himself last year to have the ability to throw the ball accurately and to extend plays and make plays with his feet, which is very similar to the way Bryan has this year. I equate him to be very much like Bryan.”
Only looking at this season, and each player of the year candidate has played eight games, this is how they compare:
Khalid Abdullah, JMU, RB
Abdullah had a stretch of five consecutive games in which he ran for at least 100 yards this season — Sept. 10 against Central Connecticut State through JMU’s Oct. 8 win over William & Mary.
In the win over the Tribe, Abdullah put together his best game of the season, rushing 25 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
The Newport News native not only tops the CAA in most major rushing statistics, but also sits in the Top 10 nationally for total rushing yards, yards per carry, yards per game, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and scoring.
Brian Brown, UR, WR
When Houston first addressed the Richmond game on Monday during the CAA coaches teleconference, he didn’t hesitate to praise Lauletta’s most reliable target — Brown.
“He’s one of the top, if not the top, receiver in the league,” Houston said.
Brown leads the CAA in receiving yards with 835, and touchdowns with seven.
He also averages over 15 yards per catch.
JMU senior cornerback Taylor Reynolds said the Dukes secondary has to recognize where Brown is at all times.
Kyle Lauletta, UR, QB
Richmond leans on Lauletta to make plays week after week.
The Exton, Pa., native is No. 1 in the CAA for passing completions, yards and touchdowns.
In Richmond’s season-opening, upset win over Virginia, Lauletta was 24-of-35 for 337 yards and two touchdowns.
Since the Virginia game, he has thrown eight interceptions, the only negative on his stat line.
Schor said Lauletta is a great quarterback to learn from.
“He does a lot well,” Schor said. “Just from seeing him the last two years, he’s definitely a quarterback I like to watch film of when we get a chance to. He throws a lot of completions and there aren’t a lot of incompletes. He’s very accurate with his throws too.”
Bryan Schor, JMU, QB
No one has made Houston look smarter in his first season at JMU than Schor.
Houston named Schor the starter over South Carolina transfer Connor Mitch before the season started and all Schor has done since is help JMU evolve.
Schor leads FCS in completion percentage (71 percent) and is responsible for 22 total touchdowns this season.
He was also tabbed CAA Offensive Player of the Week three different times in October — the first for his four-touchdown game against Delaware, and the latest after this past weekend’s five-score performance against Rhode Island.
“He’s got the ability to understand the offense, make good decisions, is big, physical and can run,” Richmond coach Danny Rocco said of Schor. “Then he has also shown real ability to put touch on his throws. He’s the right guy running that ship.”
