HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 12, 2007 – The James Madison football team completes its 2007 regular-season schedule Saturday (Nov. 17) and will honor the senior members of its team while meeting Colonial Athletic Association foe Towson.  Saturday's game renews one of the longest-contested series in JMU history, matching programs that first met in 1976.

JMU will take a 7-3 overall record and a 5-2 CAA mark into Saturday's game and is hoping to continue to build credentials that will impress the selection committee that determines the field for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision post-season tournament.  The Dukes are coming off a 55-34 CAA win at William & Mary last week.

Towson is 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the CAA after falling 14-12 at home last week in league play to Villanova.  The Tigers' conference win this season was over a Richmond team that enters the final week of the regular season with that loss as the only blemish on its 6-1 league record.

JMU Monday moved to 14th in the weekly Football Championship Subdivision poll conducted by The Sports Network.  The Dukes were 16th in the poll a week ago.

Eleven JMU seniors will be honored in pre-game ceremonies Saturday.  The seniors who have competed for the Dukes for four seasons have been a part of teams have had a combined 36-12 record and have set a team record for wins during a four-year period.

The Series

JMU began playing Towson earlier than any other team on its 2007 schedule, and the Dukes hold a 13-5-1 advantage in the series that began in 1976.

The teams first played before either moved to Division I and met every season from 1976-92 except for 1980.  They quit playing when JMU began competing in the then-Yankee Conference in 1993 and didn't meet again until Towson started playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2004.

JMU has won the last three meetings and has an 8-1 lead in games in Harrisonburg.  The Dukes won 38-3 last season at Towson and won 55-14 in 2005 in the last meeting at Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field.

JMU's 31-17 win at Towson in 2004 completed the Dukes' 9-2 regular season, gave them a share of the Atlantic 10 championship and was their final contest before sweeping four straight post-season games while winning the NCAA Division I-AA national title.

JMU has won the last five meetings in Harrisonburg with the Tigers' only win on the Dukes' field coming during a 3-8 JMU season in 1983.

The teams' 7-7 tie at Towson to close the 1986 season is among only three tied games in JMU's varsity football history.

Last Season's Meeting

JMU used a pair of first-half turnovers to set up touchdowns and beat Towson 38-3 in the final regular-season game for both teams.

JMU, which tied a team record with its ninth regular-season win, got a score during the opening minutes after a fumble recovery on a quarterback sack, and the Dukes scored during the initial half's final minute following a fumbled punt.

JMU got possession for the first time at the 13:25 mark of the opening quarter when Kevin Winston knocked the ball away from Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer on a pass attempt, and the Dukes scored four plays later on a 23-yard pass from Justin Rascati to L.C. Baker.  Justin Barnes returned the fumble 26 yards to the Towson 39 for the Dukes.

The teams traded field goals -- a 38-yarder by JMU's David Rabil with 1:35 left in the first half and a 33-yarder by Towson's Mark Bencivengo at 9:43 of the second period -- before the Dukes used another turnover to take a 17-3 halftime advantage.

Adam Ford covered ball with 2:36 left in the half at the Towson 36 after it touched a punt returner, and JMU scored in four plays.  Eugene Holloman, who had his sixth 100-yard game of 2006, started the drive with an 18-yard run and had a 12-yarder before scoring from the four with 0:50 left in the half.

JMU sealed the win with long scoring drives on each of its first three series of the final half to raise its lead 38-3 by the 13:42 mark of the fourth quarter.

Scouting Towson

The Tigers have lost four straight games since rallying for a 23-21 win over Richmond Oct. 6, Richmond's only CAA loss of the year.  They also had wins over Central Connecticut State (20-10) and Morgan State (28-21) during the first two weeks of the season.

Towson relies on the pass as its primary method of attack.  The Tigers average 224.1 yards per game through the air and 75.3 yards per game rushing and score an average of 15.8 points per game.  They have attempted an average of 36.7 passes per game and have run the ball an average of 29.3 times per game.

Towson's opponents average 21.9 points and 355.3 yards of total offense per game (159.6 rushing, 185.7 passing).

Junior quarterback Sean Schaefer has been a three-year standout for the Tigers, and he enters this week's play with 8,009 career passing yards and 50 career touchdown passes.  He is second on the team's all-time passing yards list.

Senior running back Nick Williams ran for 28 yards against Villanova to raise his career rushing yards total to 1,960.  he ranks fifth all-time among Towson players in rushing.

Tiger senior wide receiver Demetrius Harrison raised his career receptions total to 103 against Villanova, and senior Dayron Arnold has 97 career catches.

Senior linebacker Brian Bradford tied his career high of 19 tackles against Villanova and is Towson's No. 3 all-time tackler with 313 in his career.

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