Dukes Storm Past Texas State for First Home Conference Victory

Saturday, October 1

Harrisonburg, Va.

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

4-0 , 2-0

Texas State

2-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Texas St.

James Madison

Dukes Storm Past Texas State for First Home Conference Victory

10/1/2022 8:04:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison powered through wet conditions and used scoring in all three phases to run past Texas State, 40-13, for its first Sun Belt Conference home victory on Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Sun Belt play, while the Bobcats fell to 2-3 and 0-1.

JMU's defense was stifling, as it limited the Bobcats to just 246 yards while forcing four turnovers.

Jailin Walker, one week removed from a big interception in JMU's win at App State, collected a tipped pass and returned it 22 yards for a pick-six. Taurus Jones got in on a pair of turnovers, as he finished with a team-high seven tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble. Other Dukes with takeaways include Sam Kidd, who had both a forced fumble and a recovery, and Jarius Reimonenq, who recovered a fumble as well.

On the offensive side of the ball, Latrele Palmer turned in a solid outing on the ground, rushing for 106 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, all of which came in the second half. His 27 carries was a career-high and he registered his third career 100-yard game. He also added 24 receiving yards in the win.

Todd Centeio accumulated 309 total yards, as he was 15-of-25 for 257 passing yards while rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown. Kris Thornton made four catches for 97 receiving yards, as he moved into eighth place all-time at JMU with 1,868 career yards. Reggie Brown also had three grabs for 37 yards.

JMU scored the game's first 26 points, not allowing Texas State to find the endzone until midway through the third quarter.

Texas State was paced by Layne Hatcher, who was 13-of-27 for 140 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Lincoln Pare had a solid second half, finishing with 81 rushing yards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

JMU outgained Texas State 130-40 in the opening stanza, as Centeio threw for 113 yards and found the endzone on the ground on a 2-yard rush to give JMU a 7-0 lead after the first.
Starting at their own five, Centeio accounted for 65 total yards to set up Camden Wise's 27-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 with 5:27 to play in the first half.
On the ensuing drive, a high snap over the head of Texas State punter Seamus O'Kelly resulted in a safety to make it a 12-0 lead.
A week removed from intercepting his first career pass, Walker scored on a 22-yard pick-six to make it a 19-0 lead at the break.
JMU made quick work on its opening drive of the second half, as Palmer finished off a 75-yard drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown.
Texas State answered with a pair of chunk plays to set up a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hatcher to Charles Brown, as the visitors pulled within 26-7 midway through the third.
In the fourth, Palmer tacked on two more touchdowns from four yards and one yard out, respectively to increase the lead to 40-7.
The Bobcats scored on a five-yard run by Jahmyl Jeter as time expired for the final margin.

GAME NOTES

JMU outgained Texas State 460-246, which included a 203-106 advantage in the run game. The Dukes held the opposition to -1 rushing yard and 45 total yards in the first half alone.
The game had seven total turnovers, with JMU winning the turnover margin at +1 (4-3).
JMU committed zero penalties, marking the first time since Dec. 5, 2015, against Colgate that it achieved that feat.
JMU was just shy of 50% on third down, going 6-of-13 on the day, while Texas State was just 2-of-12. That is now 27 straight games that an opponent has failed to go 50% on third down against the Dukes.
JMU's defense held its opponent scoreless in the first half for the third straight home game.
JMU was 5-of-6 in the red zone, scoring four touchdowns, while Texas State was 2-of-2.
The Dukes have scored on a safety for the second time this season.
Texas State's first eight drives featured five punts, two interceptions a safety and four drives of three plays or less.
JMU has now won seven straight conference games dating back to the 2021 season and eight overall games in a row at home. Since 2016, JMU is 46-2 when playing at home.
The attendance of 25,188 was the 10th highest in Bridgeforth Stadium history and marked the first sellout of the 2022 season.

UP NEXT
JMU opens a two-game road trip on Saturday, Oct. 8 when it faces Arkansas State in Jonesboro. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) and will be televised nationally on NFL Network.