Dukes look to ram through Rhode Island

By Matthew McGovern, assistant sports editor
Posted on October 11, 2007

James Madison faces a well-rested conference foe for the second straight week Saturday in New England. This time it’s Rhode Island, which had a bye last week and is coming off its first win, a 49-42 double overtime win over Brown on Sept. 29.

Madison is ranked ninth for the third straight week in NCAA Football Championship Subdivision polls by The Sports Network and the division’s coaches. While the Dukes handled Northeastern 21-14 last week, Rhode Island (1-4 overall, 0-2 in the conference) took time to regroup and prepare for the Colonial Athletic Association’s South Division leader JMU (5-1 overall, 3-0 in the CAA).

“You get a chance to heal up your wounds a little bit,” URI coach Tim Stowers said. “On the flip side, you get out a little bit of a routine and lose your momentum. You can practice all you want, but there’s nothing like playing in a football game against competition.”

JMU focused on its ground attack against Northeastern, which has the first-ranked CAA pass defense. The Dukes will call more passing plays against URI; Rhode Island is 12th in CAA pass defense, giving up an average of 319 passing yards a game.

“Last week, we went out there and we had an idea that we wanted to do some things in the running game and some things presented themselves for us,” JMU quarterback Rodney Landers said. “We’re just going to need to open the playbook a little bit just to keep defenses honest.”

While Landers was efficient and completed 10 of 12 passing attempts, JMU had its lowest scoring total since putting up 14 points at North Carolina on Sept. 1, only compiling 52 passing yards. Madison’s leading receiver against Northeastern was sophomore fullback Charlie Newman, who caught two passes for 14 yards and a touchdown.

Two weeks ago, Madison played the 10th-ranked CAA pass defense in Villanova and Landers torched the Wildcats for 300 yards passing, completing 25 of 32 attempts. That performance earned Landers CAA football offensive player of the week honors. The Rams could be in for a long day if Landers similarly exploits the cellar-dwelling URI pass defense.

Stowers referred to URI’s pass defense as an “Achilles heel” but also said, “I think we’re an improving football team each and every week our defensive football team is better against the run than we have had in several years.”

Rhode Island has the sixth-ranked rushing defense in the CAA, giving up an average of 128.5 yards per game. URI also has the fifth-ranked rushing offense in the CAA, with an average of 178.5 yards per game. The Rams run a wishbone offense, which is primarily a running formation and is well-suited for quarterback option plays. JMU played against a similar offensive scheme Sept. 15 against VMI.

“The fact that we have some practice time against it I think helps,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews said. “But it’s a double-edged sword, because they’ve seen how we line up against it. That being said, I think anyone would rather have the practice [in] game time against it.”

Madison relied on its defense to clinch a victory last week at Northeastern, when senior strong safety Nick Adams caught his second interception of the season with 36 seconds left in the game to halt a Northeastern drive into Madison territory. NU’s gritty performance showed that being a top-10 team comes with more challenges than just the fundamentals of the game.

Last year, JMU defeated URI 35-23 at home by capitalizing on big plays. Madison senior tailback Eugene Holloman put the Dukes ahead for good by rushing 64 yards for a touchdown that gave JMU a 28-23 lead in the fourth quarter. With Holloman recovering from arthroscopic surgery, other players must step up.

“Teams really want to upset you every Saturday; you’re gonna get their best shot,” Matthews said. “We have to understand we’re gonna see that every Saturday.”

The Dukes can expect a raucous homecoming crowd at Rhode Island, but the 1 p.m. showdown is the last road game in October for JMU. The Dukes have a bye week Oct. 20, and return to Harrisonburg for their homecoming game against Richmond Oct. 27.