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YSU, James Madison meet for FCS title today
FRISCO, Texas
This is the game the Youngstown State Penguins have been talking about since spring ball — the national championship.
The two teams left standing in FCS, James Madison and YSU, are set to determine who holds the trophy and it’s a game likely to be decided on the ground.
It’s Jody Webb against Khalid Abdullah and whomever has the better day will likely be victorious.
Abdullah has been the main weapon for the Dukes, He’s rushed for 1,708 yards this year and has scored 20 touchowns. Abdullah averages 6.3 yards per carry, but will go up against a YSU defense that’s giving up just 128 yards per game on the ground.
Webb has been outstanding of late, averaging 158.5 yards in the playoffs stepping into the role Martin Ruiz had most of the season.
Webb has also been a threat in the passing game, too. Against Eastern Washington in the FCS semifinals he caught two passes that tallied 50 yards.
JMU’s run defense has been nearly as good as YSU’s against the run this year, giving up just 137.8 rushing yards per game. But expect to see both teams continue to test each other’s defenses throughout the game.
But this is also not the one-dimensional team YSU played in the semifinals. While Eastern Washington was pretty much a pass-only offense, the Dukes can run and throw the ball. JMU quarterback Bryan Schor has thrown for 2,890 yards this season and 27 touchdowns with just six interceptions.
On the other side, much like Webb, quarterback Hunter Wells doesn’t have the season stats his counterpart has, but lately he has also been a bear to stop.
In Wells’ eight games this year, he is averaging 180 passing yards per game, completing 63 percent of his passes and has nine touchdowns opposed to four interceptions.
If the game comes down to special teams, that could favor the purple and gold of James Madison. While YSU punter Mark Schuler has been dominant this year, averaging 42.4 yards per kick and booting 14 punts over 50 yards. JMU’s main punt returner has been even better.
Rashard Davis is averaging 29.9 yards per punt return and has taken four for touchdowns this year. If John Miller is returning he’s nearly as efficient. Miller is averaging 22.3 yards per punt return and has taken two all the way for six.
YSU has been outstanding in not allowing punt returns this year. The Penguins are allowing just 4.9 yards per return, but field position could very much be determined based on YSU’s punt team.
Most betting sites only give JMU about a 2.5-3 point edge, so fourth-quarter play is likely to be critical and both YSU and JMU have been successful during the final 15 minutes of play.
YSU is outscoring opponents 147-76 in the final quarter, while JMU is nearly identical, outscoring their opponents 148-87. The Penguins beat EWU in the fourth quarter of the semifinals by outscoring them 20-7 to steal the FCS final bid right from EWU’s hands in the final moments.