Williamsburg - First and 10: Sixth-ranked William and Mary and eighth-ranked James Madison meet for the second time this season Friday night in the semifinals of the 2004 NCAA I-AA Football Championship. The game will be the first ever played at night within the confines of Zable Stadium. The Tribe won the previous meeting, 27-24, on Greg Kuehn's 46-yard field goal as time expired in Harrisonburg on Nov. 13. The College advanced to the semifinals with a 44-38 double-overtime victory over defending national champion Delaware on Saturday, while the Dukes defeated second-seeded Furman, 14-13, in Greenville, S.C. on Saturday. It's the first appearances in the national semifinals for both schools, and W&M and JMU are the first two Virginia schools to make the round of four.

Site
Cary Field at Zable Stadium (12,259, natural grass)

On The Air
TV - The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 to a national audience. Dave Pasch will be on play-by-play, while Trevor Matich and Rod Gilmore will provide color commentary. Heather Cox is the sideline reporter.

Radio - The Tribe Football Radio Network will broadcast today's game across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The veteran broadcast duo of Jay Colley (play-by-play) and Bob Sheeran (color) will call the action. Stretching over 150 miles across Virginia, the William and Mary radio network originates from its flagship station, WMBG 740 AM in Williamsburg, and can be heard on WSRV 92.3 FM in Williamsburg, WBRG 1050 AM in Lynchburg, WTOX 1480 AM in Richmond. The game can also be heard on TribeAthletics.com Listen Live!

Media Room
NCAA Division I-AA Championship Home page

W&M Notes (PDF)
JMU Notes (PDF)
A10 Weekly Update( PDF)
JMU on the web

Weather Forecast
Click Here for Saturday's weather forecast from Intellicast.

The Last Meeting
#10 William and Mary 27, #4 James Madison 24
HARRISONBURG, VA (11/13/04) - Junior all-conference kicker Greg Kuehn nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired to lead 10th-ranked William and Mary to a thrilling 27-24 victory over fourth-ranked James Madison in front of 13,904 fans at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The College gained possession at its 28-yard line with 38 seconds remaining, after JMU tied the game at 24-24 with 45 seconds left. With three timeouts in hand, senior All-American and Payton Award candidate, quarterback Lang Campbell calmly led the Tribe on a five play, 43-yard drive to set up Kuehn's game-winning kick that gave the Tribe its first win in Harrisonburg since 1998 and its second victory over a top-10 team on the road this season.

The kick was Kuehn's second game-winning score of the season, as he also drilled a 28-yard field goal in overtime to beat 16th-ranked Northeastern, 38-35, on Oct. 2.

Campbell was brilliant all day, as he methodically picked apart the Dukes' vaunted defense for 323 yards and two touchdowns on 26 of 33 passing. It was Campbell's fifth 300-yard passing game of the season, as he moved over the 5,000-yard barrier for his career (5,302), becoming just the sixth quarterback in W&M history to accomplish the feat.

Junior Chris Ndubueze led the Tribe with 12 total tackles and forced a critical JMU fumble late in the game, which was recovered by classmate Stephen Cason, who had 10 total stops in the game. All-conference candidate, junior Adam O'Connor registered nine total tackles, including a team-high 1.5 for loss.

W&M Last Week
#6 W&M 44, #10 Delaware 38 (2OT)
WILLIAMSBURG, VA (12/4/04) - Senior tailback Jon Smith scored from seven yards out in the second overtime and the Tribe defense held on a fourth-and-goal from the nine, as William and Mary knocked defending national champion Delaware out of the NCAA I-AA Championship with a 44-38 double-overtime victory in the quarterfinals Saturday at Zable Stadium.

The Tribe, which erased a 31-10 deficit heading into the fourth quarter, became the first team in school history to advance to the national semifinals and win 11 games in a season.

Payton Award Finalist Lang Campbell completed a career-high 30 passes on 53 attempts, also a career-best, for 342 yards and three touchdowns, including a 15-yard toss to redshirt freshman Joe Nicholas with 1:52 remaining to send the game into the extra session knotted at 31.

Junior cornerback Stephen Cason intercepted a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and returned it 62 yards to cut the deficit to 31-17, and Smith scored on a two-yard run to pull W&M within 31-24 with 9:56 left.

After yielding 406 total yards in the first half, the Tribe surrendered just 85 in the second half, including minus-6 rushing yards in the fourth quarter.

Nicholas set a freshman record with 11 receptions, which went for 94 yards and two TDs. Senior WR Dominique Thompson caught nine passes for 185 yards, his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season. He also established a new single-season record with 1,489 yards.

Campbell became just the fifth quarterback in school history to throw for 6,000 yards, while also establishing season records for yards (3,673) and TD passes (27).

JMU Last Week
JMU 14, Furman 13
GREENVILLE, S.C. (12/4/04) ? The James Madison University football team has reached a height never achieved in program history but will be performing in a week in a familiar setting.

The Dukes Saturday drove 74 yards during the game's final 5:11, scoring on junior tailback Raymond Hines' one-yard run with 28 seconds to play, to beat Furman 14-13 in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and earn a tournament semifinal bid against fellow Atlantic 10 member William & Mary.

JMU twice before had advanced in NCAA play, but the Dukes fell in the tournament's second round in both 1991 and 1994.

Saturday the Dukes got the ball for the final time at their 26 with 5:11 to play after junior defensive tackle Demetrius Shambley blocked a 43-yard Furman field goal attempt.

A holding penalty almost immediately set JMU back to its 16, but the Dukes then used 12 plays to drive for the winning score.? Sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati had consecutive completions of 16 and 11 yards to sophomore wide receiver D.D. Boxley to start the drive, and he late hit junior wide receiver Nic Tolley with a 26-yard completion, freshman wide receiver L.C. Baker with a 15-yarder and sophomore wide receiver Ardon Bransford with a 14-yard to the Furman eight.

Hines gained two yards to the Furman six, Rascati scrambled four yards to the two, and Hines carried to the one on third down before scoring off the right side on fourth down.

Saturday's win gave JMU a team record for season wins and raised its overall mark to 11-2.? Furman finished 10-3.

JMU scored first on a five-yard run by Hines with 11:09 left in the second quarter.? The Dukes got the ball at the Furman eight when sophomore safety Isaiah Dottin-Carter (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) blocked a Furman punt out of bounds.? Hines ran for three yards on first down and scored on the Dukes' next play.

Furman came right back to tie the score at 7-7 with a 14-play, 74-yard drive.? Freshman fullback Jerome Felton capped the series with a one-yard run after Furman got a first down at the JMU five when the Dukes were flagged on consecutive snaps for offsides as Furman set up for field goal tries of 32 and 27 yards.

The host Paladins went in front 13-7 with 12:55 left in the third quarter, three plays after a JMU turnover on the opening series of the final half.? Junior quarterback Ingle Martin connected with senior flankler Brian Bratton on a 12-yard shuffle pass for a touchdown on third down.? Furman got possession when junior linebacker Cedric Ritter hit Rascati as he set up to pass and senior linebacker Mike Killian covered Rascati's fumble at the JMU 17.

The Coaches
W&M: Jimmye Laycock (W&M, 1970)
Record at W&M: 170-112-2 (25th year)
Career Record: same
All-time vs. JMU: 12-12

JMU: Mickey Matthews (Southwest Texas State, 1976)
Record at JMU: 38-33 (Sixth year)
Career Record: same
All-time vs. W&M: 4-2

Coach Laycock
Silver Linings: Jimmye Laycock is in his 25th season as the Tribe's head coach. The school's all-time winningest coach, Laycock has compiled a 170-112-2 career record at W&M. He ranks fourth on the A-10 career victories lists (65). W&M is making its ninth postseason appearance under Laycock, and the Tribe has now posted winning ledgers in 18 of the past 22 seasons.

Good Company: Tribe head coach Jimmye Laycock, in his 25th season on the W&M sidelines, ranks third among all current Division I-A and Division I-AA head coaches in terms of most years at their current school. The two coaches ahead of Laycock are Penn State's Joe Paterno (37 years) and Florida State's Bobby Bowden (26 years).

Tribe Tidbits
W&M PLAYOFF HISTORY
Postseason History: Starting with a frenetic 42-35 win over 11th-ranked Hampton University in the first round, and most recently its heart-stopping 44-38 double-overtime victory over conference rival Delaware, the College has earned its first semifinal appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs.

By earning the Atlantic 10 Conference's automatic bid, and the NCAA's No. 3 seed, the 2004 season stands as the Tribe's seventh appearance in the NCAA I-AA Playoffs. The Tribe has now played 10 total games in its combined visits (all during head coach Jimmye Laycock's tenure), winning four.

The College, which has won its last four postseason home games (the other wins game in the first rounds of the 1990 and 1996 seasons), will host a semifinal playoff game for the first time in school history on Friday in what will be just the second home game held in December in school history (with the first coming this past weekend).

This will be the second-straight A10 opponent in the 2004 postseason for the College, and also the second team from the state of Virginia.

Prior to this season, the last time W&M hosted a home game in the playoffs was after the 1996 season, which also saw the College run off a 9-2 regular season record and capture the conference's automatic bid.

The Tribe is 4-1, all-time, in playoff contests at Zable. The following is a complete list the Tribe's home playoff contests.

1986 Delaware, L 51-17
1990 Massachusetts, W 38-0
1996 Jackson State, W 46-6
2004 Hampton, W 42-35
2004 Delaware, W 44-38 (2 OT)

The winner of the William and Mary-James Madison game will advance to next Friday's I-AA National Championship, held in Chattanooga, TN and play the winner of the Sam Houston State-Montana semifinal being played on Saturday afternoon.

Did You Know?: That match-up between the two state rivals marks the first appearance for either team in the national semis. In fact, no I-AA school in Virginia history has ever advanced to this round of the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs.

Did You Know?: That with a win Friday evening, the Tribe will have eclipsed its entire total of playoff wins in the school's history in a single year. The College came into the 2004 postseason with an all-time record of 2-6 in the NCAA Playoffs.

THE W&M-JMU SERIES
Pulling Rank: Saturday's semifinal match up with James Madison will be just the second time in history that the two programs have hooked up as top 10 teams in 27 meetings, with the first time coming earlier this season. At least one team has carried a national ranking nine times in the team's last 13 meetings (since 1993, when both joined the same conference). They have met a total of five times when both teams have held top 25 national rankings.

When at least one team has been ranked, the higher ranked team has won six of the eight games, with W&M recording one of the upsets earlier this season (as it defeated a fourth-ranked JMU team as the nation's 10th-ranked squad).

Close as it Gets: The last four games in the series have been decided by seven points or less. In fact, in the 12 previous games the two have played as conference opponents, only one has been decided by more than 14 points (a 33-7 JMU win in 1994).

Less is More?: The team with fewer total yards total yards has won the last three games in the series. Earlier this season, James Madison out gained the Tribe, 425 total yards to 378. This marked the only time in the history of the series the Tribe was able to prevail with less total yards, while James Madison has managed to manufacture wins despite producing less total yards a total of three times.

Did You Know?: James Madison is the last team to defeat the College in Zable, as the Dukes came into Williamsburg and pounded out a 24-17 win last season. Since that game, the Tribe has reeled off nine-straight home wins.

All-time, in 12 years as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Tribe's home field advantage has been as strong as any in the league, as the College owns a 38-13 edge in games played against league opponents in Zable (including playoffs). But, of those 13 losses, three have come at the hands of the Dukes, the most of any conference opponent (tied with Massachusetts).

In Case You Wondering: One has to go all the way back to the 1917 season to find the last time W&M has defeated the same team twice in one year. That season, Randolph-Macon College (currently a Divison III school) accounted for two of the Tribe's three wins, as it fell by scores of 13-0 and 21-6.

Look it Up: The William and Mary-James Madison semifinal pairing is only the second time two A10 teams have faced off in the playoffs since 1978. The only other meeting between to league schools came in the last round, when the Tribe bounced Delaware from the bracket.


With a Win over James Madison the College will:
• Advance to the finals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the school's history.
• Become the first I-AA program in Virginia history to win 12 games in a season
• Have won its eighth home game on the season, and ninth overall (dating back to last season). Currently, its seven-straight home wins tie it with the 1990 squad for the school's single-season record for victories in Williamsburg.
• Have defeated its seventh ranked team the on the season and mark the program's fifth win over a school selected to the NCAA Championship field (New Hampshire, Delaware and Hampton being the others).
• Become the first A10 team to ever beat a conference team twice in the same season.
• Give head coach Jimmye Laycock his 171th career win in his 25th season at the helm of the program.
• Become the third A10 Conference school in the last seven years to make the finals.
• Won its 15th game in its last 16 vs. I-AA opponents (dating back to last season).
• Have beaten James Madison in Zable Stadium for the first time since the 2001 campaign.