James Madison Revisited: News and Notes
9/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
One of two Top 25 battles in the country came down to the final seconds, during which a 40-yard field goal by James Madison's Cameron Starke capped off a 27-24 victory for the Dukes over the Flames, Saturday evening, at Williams Stadium.
Included with today's news and notes is the Flames Sports Network's radio postgame interview with head football coach Danny Rocco, plus a radio recap and highlights.
Throughout the season, LibertyFlames.com will run a similar feature online each Sunday, spotlighting the notable accomplishments and numbers from the previous day's gridiron battle.
News and Notes from the James Madison game:
• The loss to James Madison ended Liberty's nine-game home winning streak, which was the fourth-longest active home FCS winning streak in the country coming into the game.
• The game was played in front of 18,878 fans, marking the second-largest crowd in Williams Stadium history.
• The loss marked Liberty's third-straight defeat to a Top 25 ranked program, with all three setbacks coming against James Madison in the last three seasons.
• With the loss to No. 13/14 James Madison, the Flames fall to 3-4 all-time under head coach Danny Rocco in match-ups against Top 25 ranked programs.
• The loss denied the Flames the football program's 200th victory, leveling Liberty's all-time record at 199-199-1 since the program's first game in 1972.
• Liberty did manage to score 24 points against No. 13/14 James Madison, which was a marked improvement after the Flames had combined for 33 points in five previous meetings against the Dukes (all five meetings coming since the series was restarted in 2000).
• The loss marked only the fifth home setback for the Flames during the six-year tenure of head coach Danny Rocco (Liberty is now 26-5 all-time in home games under Coach Rocco).
• Liberty was limited to 74 team rushing yards against James Madison, marking just the eighth time in 59 games under head coach Danny Rocco the Flames have failed to record at least 100 rushing yards in a game.
• The Flames missed having their seventh 300-passing yard performance under head coach Danny Rocco by two yards, with Liberty finishing the night with 298 team passing yards.
• For the 51st time in 59 games under head coach Danny Rocco, the Flames surpassed the 300 total offensive yard mark, as Liberty finished the James Madison match-up with 372 yards.
• James Madison and Liberty finished the game with exactly 17 first downs each.
• James Madison finished with 10 out of 17 first downs coming on rushing plays, while Liberty had 10 of its 17 first downs come via the passing game.
• James Madison became the 14th opposing team in 59 games under head coach Danny Rocco to score three or more rushing touchdowns in a game.
• The Flames made the most of their passing attack against James Madison, finishing the game 24-of-29 passing for 298 yards.
• Liberty averaged 10.3 yards per reception against James Madison.
• Liberty finished the game with two passing touchdowns, marking the 30th time under head coach Danny Rocco Liberty has passed for at least two touchdowns in a game.
• Liberty was flagged during the game for a season-high 11 penalties for 120 total penalty yards.
• The James Madison game marked the sixth time under head coach Danny Rocco the Flames have finished a game with 10 or more penalties (highest was 13 twice, games in 2007 and 2008).
• The James Madison game marked the fifth time under head coach Danny Rocco the Flames have finished a game with 100 or more total penalty yards (highest was 136 against North Greenville to open the season in 2008).
• Liberty was only forced to punt once against James Madison, a 59-yard punt by Mike Larsson that pinned the Dukes deep in their own territory.
• After committing seven turnovers during the season opener against N.C. State, Liberty finished its second game in a row with just a single turnover.
• The second-straight game, the Flames lost the time of possession battle, as James Madison finished the game with a 31:27 to 28:33 TOP edge.
• Liberty finished the game against James Madison 7-of-10 on third-down conversion, after coming into the game 12-of-27 during the first two games of the year.
• The Flames scored 14 of their 24 points against James Madison during the third quarter of the game.
• Liberty has now scored 39 points during the third quarter in games played in 2011, while scoring a combined 44 points in the other three remaining periods (1st – 14, 2nd – 10, 4th – 20).
Mike Brown (R-Sr., QB)
• Mike Brown finished his 14th-straight game with 200 or more total offensive yards, posting 333 total offensive yards against James Madison.
• For the second time this year and the 10th time in his career, Mike Brown finished a game with 300 or more total offensive yards.
• Mike Brown factored into all three of Liberty's touchdowns against James Madison, throwing for two and rushing for another.
• Mike Brown finished the James Madison game completing 24-of-29 passes for 298 yards, missing out on the fourth 300-yard passing game of his career by two yards.
• Mike Brown accounted for 89.5 percent of Liberty's total offensive yards against James Madison, finished with 333 of the team's 372 total offensive yards against the Dukes.
• On the season, Mike Brown has accounted for 83.1 percent of Liberty's total offensive yards through the first three games of the season (941-of-1,133 total offensive yards).
• Mike Brown currently ranks No. 7 nationally in total offense, averaging 313.67 total offensive yards per game.
• Mike Brown currently ranks No. 11 nationally in points responsible for, averaging 17.33 points per game.
• Mike Brown passed for 298 yards against James Madison, pushing him past the 4,000 career passing yard mark (4,194 yards).
B.J. Hayes (R-Sr., WR)
• After suffering a finger injury on a punt return against Robert Morris the previous week, B.J. Hayes had a career night against James Madison.
• B.J. Hayes finished the game against James Madison with nine receptions for 158 yards, marking his second career 100-yard receiving game.
• B.J. Hayes became the 29th player in program history to record multiple 100-yard receiving games.
• B.J. Hayes' previous single-game career highs were seven receptions for 110 yards against St. Francis, to open the 2010 season at Lynchburg's City Stadium.
• B.J. Hayes caught a five-yard touchdown pass during the middle of the third quarter, marking his second career touchdown reception.
• His first career touchdown reception came against St. Francis during the 2010 season opener.
• B.J. Hayes' nine-reception, 158-receiving yard game marked the 19th-best single game performance by a FCS wide receiver this year (based upon receptions in a game).
• B.J. Hayes' nine receptions against James Madison pushed him over the 100-career reception mark (103).
• B.J. Hayes' 158 receiving yards against James Madison marked the 20th best single-game receiving performance in program history.
Chris Summers (R-Sr., WR)
• Chris Summers finished the James Madison game with three receptions for 50 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown catch.
• The 43-yard touchdown reception was the 21st of his Liberty career, tying him for second place on Liberty's all-time career touchdown receptions list with Courtney Freeman (1994-97).
• Chris Summers needs just one more touchdown reception to tie the program record set by Liberty Athletics Hall of Famer Kelvin Edwards, who finished his career with 22 career touchdown receptions (1982-85).
• The 50 receiving yards that Chris Summers finished the James Madison game with helped him to move closer to Liberty's Top 5 all-time career receiving yards chart.
• Chris Summers finished the James Madison game with 1,891 career receiving yards and is just 32 yards behind No. 5 on the list, Wynton Jackson, who finished his career with 1,923 receiving yards.
Brandon Apon (R-So., WR)
• Brandon Apon finished the James Madison game with a two-yard reception, coming during the third quarter, giving the redshirt sophomore his first career reception.
Mike Larsson (Sr., P)
• Mike Larsson was only called upon to punt once against James Madison and connected on a 59-yard punt late in the fourth quarter.
• Mike Larsson has now had 12 career punts sail 50 or more yards.
• Mike Larsson has finished the last nine games (dating back to the 2010 season) with a punt of 50 or more yards.
• The 59-yard punt against James Madison was the third-longest punt of Mike Larsson's career.
Matt Bevins (Sr., K)
• Matt Bevins missed a pair of 43-yard field goal attempts against James Madison.
• The first 43-yard field goal attempt during the first quarter snapped a streak of 16-straight successful field goal attempts for Matt Bevins.
Alex Kacere (R-Fr., K)
• When Matt Bevins suffered an injury during his second unsuccessful 43-yard field attempt, Alex Kacere was called upon to finish out the game as Liberty's placekicker.
• Alex Kacere finished the evening perfect, knocking down three extra points and a 24-yard field goal.
• The three point-after attempts and the 24-yard field goal were the first of Alex Kacere's Liberty career.
Brandon Robinson (Sr., DB)
• Brandon Robinson led the Flames with a career-high 10 tackles (five solo, five assisted).
• Brandon Robinson's previous career high was six tackles (all solo) against West Virginia Wesleyan in 2009.
• Brandon Robinson's five solo tackles against James Madison marked the second-highest, single-game total of his career.
• Brandon Robinson's five assisted stops marked a new single-game career high (surpassing his four against N.C. Central in 2009).
• Brandon Robinson finished the game with Liberty's lone pass breakup, his first of the season and the 11th of his career.
Kevin Fogg (Jr., DB)
• Kevin Fogg set a new career high against James Madison, finishing the game with eight tackles (seven solo, one assisted).
• Kevin Fogg's previous single-game career high was seven stops against Savannah State in 2010.
• Kevin Fogg also set a new single-game career high with seven solo tackles, surpassing his mark of five solo stops against Savannah State in 2010.
• With seven solo tackles against James Madison, Kevin Fogg now leads Liberty this season with 14 total solo stops.
• For the second week in a row, Kevin Fogg finished a game with a tackle for a loss, giving him two TFLs on the year and six for his career.
Nick Sigmon (R-Fr., LB)
• Nick Sigmon finished the James Madison game with eight tackles, setting a new single-game career high.
• His previous single-game career high for tackles in a game was six against N.C. State earlier this season.
• Nick Sigmon finished the James Madison game with his first career tackle for a loss.
Mike Connolly (R-Sr., LB)
• Mike Connolly finished the James Madison game with a new single-game career high, posting seven tackles (five solo, two assisted).
• Mike Connolly's previous career high was five stops against N.C. Central in 2009 and Ball State in 2010.
• Mike Connolly also set a new single-game career high with five solo tackles, surpassing his previous career high of four solo stops against Charleston Southern in 2010.
Brent Vinson (Jr., DB)
• For the third week in a row, Brent Vinson finished a game with a tackle for a loss and now leads the team with 3.5 TFLs in 2011.
Greg Schuster (R-Jr., DL)
• Greg Schuster doubled his tackle total in 2011 against James Madison, as he finished the game with six stops.
• Greg Schuster had finished the N.C. State and Robert Morris games with three stops each.
• The six-tackle total marked a new single-game career high for Greg Schuster, surpassing his five-tackle effort against Gardner-Webb in 2010.
Francis Bah (R-So., DL)
• For the third week in a row, Francis Bah finished a game with a sack (loss of one yard), giving him three sacks for the year.
• Francis Bah currently ranks No. 16 in the country in sacks per game (1.0).
