April 22 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital	Time
NCAA FCS playoffs first round
VMI at James Madison	James Madison leads 10-3	ESPN3	2 p.m.

Notes
• Southern Conference champion VMI makes its first-ever FCS playoffs appearance when it visits top-ranked and No. 3 seed James Madison on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.

• The SoCon has gone 109-77 (.586) all-time in the FCS playoffs, winning eight national titles.

• The Keydets earned their postseason spot by winning the SoCon title for the first time since 1977. VMI went 6-1 in league play this season, earning its first-ever FCS national ranking. They Keydets, currently ranked No. 11 by both the AFCA and Stats Perform, entered the national rankings March 15 and have been ranked for the last six weeks.

• VMI is led by Scott Wachenheim, who was named the NFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year on Wednesday before earning SoCon Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season Thursday. He is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.

• The Keydets boast three other finalists for national awards in wide receiver Jakob Herres (Walter Payton Award), linebacker Stone Snyder (Buck Buchanan Award) and quarterback Seth Morgan (Jerry Rice Award), all three of whom were honored with SoCon individual awards when the all-conference teams were released Thursday.

• Herres is third in the FCS in receiving yards per game (115.3) and second in receptions per game (9.6). His 807 total yards and seven touchdown receptions both rank fourth.

• Snyder earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors from both the league’s coaches and media, making him the first Keydet to earn the honor in league history from either group.

• After preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Reece Udinski suffered a season-ending injury on March 20, Morgan started three straight under center, throwing for 1,018 yards and seven touchdowns and running for 147 yards and two scores. He completes 76 percent of his passes, which leads the FCS.

• VMI, which will finish the season with a winning record for the first time since 1981, started the 2020-21 campaign 5-0, its best start since 1960.

• VMI’s opponent Saturday has been ranked No. 1 in the nation since March 1. The Dukes won FCS titles in 2004 and 2016 and have played in three of the last four title games.

• James Madison ranks second in the FCS in scoring defense, allowing just 9.8 points per game. The Keydets rank 20th nationally scoring 30.0 points per game.

• JMU boasts the top total defense in the FCS, as it allows just 175.6 yards per game. VMI averages 431.1 yards per game of total offense to rank 16th nationally.

Recent news
All-SoCon coaches football teams announced (4/22)
All-SoCon media football teams announced (4/22)
VMI's Wachenheim named AFCA Region 2 COTY (4/21)
VMI's Morgan named National Freshman of the Week (4/20)
Eight among FCS legacy award finalists (4/19)
SoCon names football players of the week (4/19)
VMI to face James Madison in FCS playoffs (4/18)
VMI clinches SoCon football title (4/17)