#11 Villanova Edges #3 JMU, 28-27

Saturday, October 9

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

4-1 , 2-1

Villanova

4-1 , 2-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Villanova

James Madison

10/9/2021 7:03:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – #11 Villanova overcame an 11-point halftime deficit, holding #3 James Madison without a point in the second half, to rally for a 28-27 Colonial Athletic Association football win on Saturday afternoon in front of 25,035 fans at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Wildcats improved to 4-1 on the year and 2-0 in CAA play, while the Dukes fell to 4-1 and 2-1.

The win for Villanova snapped JMU's 15-game win streak against conference opponents and 14-game CAA win streak. It was also the first setback for the Dukes at home in 20 games and ended a 20-game regular-season win streak.

JMU held a 27-16 halftime lead, but a pair of Cole Bunce field goals and a 57-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Smith to Rayjoun Pringle late in the third quarter put Villanova ahead by one. The Dukes had a pair of scoring chances in the fourth but missed on two field-goal opportunities, and Villanova secured the win by converting on a fourth-and-one from its own 29.

Playing in his first home game this season, Percy Agyei-Obese rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns. He moved into JMU's career top five with 31 rushing touchdowns, which is tied with Rodney Landers for fourth all-time.

Cole Johnson was 24-of-40 for 174 yards while rushing for 25 yards and a touchdown. Kris Thornton turned in another solid performance, making eight receptions for 61 yards, with 53 yards after the catch. Antwane Wells Jr. become the latest JMU player to reach 1,000 career receiving yards in just his 13th game, as he stands at 1,000 after making four catches for 47 yards.

Defensively, Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey turned in a career-high 10 tackles, and Mike Greene was one shy of his career best with eight stops with a half tackle for loss. Isaac Ukwu had a strip sack in the first half for his second forced fumble of the season, and Abi Nwabuoku-Okonji fell on the loose ball for his second fumble recovery of 2021.

Villanova was led by Smith, who threw for 258 yards and a touchdown, as Pringle had a game-high eight catches for 132 yards and his score. Justin Covington ran for a game-high 86 yards, which including a 56-yard touchdown and a 2-yard rush to seal the win.

VU's defense was paced by Forrest Rhyne, who made 20 tackles, and Mike Ruane and Qwahsin Townsel had 11 stops apiece.

Villanova produced more than 200 yards in the first quarter alone, taking an early 13-7 lead, but finished the first half with just 194 after JMU held the visitors to -11 total yards in the second quarter. Trailing 16-10, the Dukes scored 17 in a row over the last 8:30 of the second to grab a 27-16 lead at the break.

The Wildcats, known for their solid second-half offense, recaptured the lead with three consecutive scoring drives in the third. After Bunce's field goals, Smith's long touchdown toss to Pringle put VU up 28-27 heading into the fourth.

JMU drove deep into enemy territory midway through the fourth quarter, but Ethan Ratke's 27-yard field goal missed right, keeping VU ahead by one. After a JMU stop, the Dukes had another chance to take the lead but Ratke's 36-yarder missed off the left goal post and Villanova converted a first down on the ensuing drive to run out the clock.

GAME NOTES

Villanova had big offensive bursts in the first and third quarters to out-gain JMU by a 388-339 margin. That ended JMU's 21-game streak of winning the total-offense battle.
The Wildcats had a 258-174 advantage through the air, while JMU held a slim 165-130 lead on the ground.
The Dukes were 9-of-20 on third down while holding VU to a 2-of-9 mark. JMU was also 4-of-4 on fourth down. JMU has now held opponents under 50% on third down in 13 straight games
It was the first time since the 2014 FCS First Round against Liberty that JMU did not score a point in the second half.
Ethan Ratke converted two field goals to extend his FCS record to 81 for his career, as he's now made a kick in 26 straight games. His first in the fourth snapped a streak of 24 straight makes, dating back to the 2019 season.

UP NEXT
JMU hits the road next Saturday, Oct. 16 to take on Richmond in a 2 p.m. kickoff at Robins Stadium. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Washington and streamed on FloFootball.