1991 James Madison Dukes football team

The 1991 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as an independent during the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Rip Scherer, the Duke played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. James Madison finished the season with an overall record of 9–4. They qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, beating Delaware in the first round before falling to Samford in the quarterfinals.

1991 James Madison Dukes football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 21–24 vs. Samford
Conference	Independent
Record	9–4
Head coach	Rip Scherer (1st season)
Home stadium	Bridgeforth Stadium
Seasons ← 1990 1992 →

1991 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Samford ^			–					12	–	2	–	0
Hofstra			–					8	–	2	–	0
No. 16 James Madison ^			–					9	–	4	–	0
No. 13 Youngstown State ^			–					12	–	3	–	0
Georgia Southern			–					7	–	4	–	0
UCF			–					6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary			–					5	–	6	–	0
Liberty			–					4	–	7	–	0
Northeastern			–					4	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					3	–	8	–	0
Arkansas State			–					1	–	10	–	0
Towson			–					1	–	10	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	at Virginia Tech		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 12–41	41,623	[1]
September 7	UCF		Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 49–31	10,081
September 21	at No. 19 Appalachian State		Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	W 31–8	13,467	[2]
September 28	at William & Mary		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 29–28	15,371
October 5	UMass	No. 17	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 24–7
October 12	Towson State	No. T–11	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 55–31
October 19	at Georgia Southern	No. 10	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	L 21–24	12,119
October 26	Richmond	No. 17	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 47–42	13,369	[3]
November 2	at Liberty	No. 14	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 35–34		[4]
November 9	at Youngstown State	No. 12	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	L 21–28
November 23	at Northeastern	No. 17	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 24–16
November 30	at No. 6 Delaware	No. 16	Delaware Stadium Newark, Delaware (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 42–35 2OT
December 7	No. 10 Samford	No. 16	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 21–24	9,028	[5]
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^[6]

References

1. "Hokies clobber Dukes". The News and Advance. September 1, 1991. Retrieved February 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "JMU rocks Appy St". The Daily News Leader. September 22, 1991. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "JMU stops UR rally, wins 47–42". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 27, 1991. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "JMU survives Liberty, 35–34". The Daily News Leader. November 3, 1991. Retrieved April 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Late 'foot fault' dooms Dukes in loss to Samford". Richmond Times-Dispatch. December 8, 1991. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1991 Football Schedule". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2020.