FCS Championship 2017: Score, Reaction for James Madison vs. Youngstown State

Tim DanielsJan 7, 2017

James Madison completed a memorable journey through the FCS playoffs with a 28-14 victory over Youngstown State to win the national championship Saturday afternoon at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

The Dukes, which ended North Dakota State's five-year reign atop the Football Championship Subdivision with an upset win in the semifinals, raced out to a 21-0 lead in the title game and never looked back.

Khalid Abdullah led the way with 101 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

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Youngstown State entered the playoffs as an unseeded team, which forced the Penguins to win an extra game to reach the final. The team's Cinderella run came up just short, however, as it accumulated too many self-inflicted wounds Saturday to keep pace with fourth-seeded James Madison.

Here's a look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring recap for the FCS title game:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Dukes	14	7	7	0	28
Penguins	0	7	0	7	14

WKBN passed along pregame comments from James Madison first-year head coach Mike Houston, who expected his team to have a greater portion of the crowd support, a prediction that came to fruition. He also wanted his players to take full advantage of it.

"I do think it will be a majority of JMU fans on Saturday," Houston said Friday. "I do think our players feed on that electricity."

The Dukes made their coach seem prophetic by seizing immediate control of the contest within the first three minutes. The first of several errors on special teams by Youngstown State played a bigger role than the crowd, though.

Justin Wellons blocked the Penguins' punt after the James Madison defense forced a quick three-and-out. It gave JMU the ball in the red zone, and two plays later, Bryan Schor found Jonathan Kloosterman for a 14-yard touchdown.

Brian McLaughlin of Hero Sports noted it continued a stretch of clutch play from the junior tight end:

Another quick stop by the Dukes and a punt by Mark Schuler that traveled just 20 yards allowed JMU to increase its lead to 14.

Abdullah had the key play of the second scoring drive, a 30-yard burst on the ground. Schor finished the drive again, this time hooking up with Rashard Davis from 18 yards out for the score.

FCS Football highlighted Davis' well-executed toe tap in the end zone:

After Abdullah made it a three-score game with a one-yard touchdown plunge, Youngstown State finally got on the scoreboard late in the first half.

Solomon Warfield provided the Penguins special teams with a rare bright spot with a partially blocked punt to give YSU the ball at the 29-yard line. It needed just three plays and just over a minute to score from there.

FCS Football spotlighted the touchdown strike from Hunter Wells to Shane Kuhn:

Youngstown State couldn't carry those positive vibes into the second half, though.

Curtis Oliver intercepted a deflected Wells pass to again set the Dukes up in prime scoring position. They capitalized with an efficient six-play scoring drive, which ended on another Abdullah touchdown run, to rebuild the lead to a more comfortable 21 points.

JMU Sports provided a look at the pinball interception that helped create the score:

Marty Hudtloff of WVIR noted Abdullah set a school record for touchdowns:

He previously set the new James Madison single-season rushing mark, per Craig Haley of Stats:

The Dukes were on cruise control from that point forward. Youngstown State, which entered the game with the 95th-ranked passing attack in the FCS, didn't feature enough downfield playmaking ability to pull off another playoff comeback.

ESPN Stats & Info provided further information about the win:

JMU Football celebrated the triumph:

The victory ensured James Madison's season will be remembered for more than ending North Dakota State's remarkable streak. Saturday's win gave the program its second national title. It also won the Division I-AA crown in 2004.

While Youngstown State came up short, the progress is still evident after two years under former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini. He's moved the Penguins back toward becoming perennial contenders like they were in the 1990s, when they won four titles.