Louisville Pulls Away in Second Half to Down JMU

Saturday, November 5

Louisville, Ky.

7:30 p.m.

James Madison University

5-3 , 3-2

Louisville

6-3 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

Louisville

11/6/2022 12:05:00 AM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville's offense came alive in the second half, as it scored 27-consecutive points to bridge the halves, downing James Madison 34-10 in front of 42,157 fans Saturday night at Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals won their fourth straight, improving to 6-3 on the year to become bowl eligible. JMU fell for the third straight game, dropping to 5-3. This is the first three-game skid for the Dukes since their final three games of the 2013 season.

JMU led 10-7 late in the first half, but the Cardinals tied the game on the final play of the second quarter, sparking its scoring run. Louisville built a lopsided total offense lead, outgaining the Dukes, 467-193, which included 302-49 in the second half.

Percy Agyei-Obese led the JMU offense with 24 carries for 102 rushing yards and a touchdown. That included 83 rushing yards and 5.2 per rush in the first half. It was the 12th career 100-yard game of his career, as he now has 3,253 career rushing yards.

After missing last week, Todd Centeio struggled to find a rhythm, finishing 4-of-15 for passing yards while adding 11 rushing yards.

JMU's defense was paced by career-high tackles from a pair of first-time starters in Francis Meehan and Trent Hendrick. Meehan had 10 tackles with eight solo in his first start at safety, while Hendrick made seven stops with a tackle for loss. James Carpenter and Isaac Ukwu were active up front, as Carpenter tallied seven tackles with a career-high 3.0 TFL, and Ukwu added seven stops with 2.5 TFL and a sack.

For Louisville, Malik Cunningham was 14-of-20 for 223 passing yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for zero yards, as JMU's defense had him net -18 on his final 14 attempts. He also tied Lamar Jackson's school record for touchdown responsibility with 119.

Tiyon Evans provided a boost in the run game, especially in the second half, as he finished with 142 yards with a 71-yard touchdown. Tyler Hudson had six catches for a game-high 142 yards and a score. The Cardinal defense was led by Momo Sanogo's 13 tackles and half TFL.

With the setback, JMU is now 2-10 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference foes.

HOW IT HAPPENED

JMU's opening drive lasted more than six minutes, going 58 yards with a strong rushing attack to lead to a 34-yard field goal by Camden Wise, his sixth make of the year.
Louisville answered six plays later with a one-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Isaac Martin to give the Cards a 7-3 lead with 5:49 to go in the first.
JMU stopped the Cardinals on a fourth-down try and a Mikail Kamara sack helped JMU to outgain LU 64-52 in the first quarter.
Kaelon Black set the tone with three consecutive big plays, resulting in 41 total yards to set up Agyei-Obese's fifth rushing touchdown on a nine-yard scamper. JMU led 10-7 with 1:43 to go before the half.
LU ended the half with a 27-yard field goal from James Turner to tie it at 10-10 after JMU halted the offense with three big stops to set up the kick.
The Cardinals recaptured the lead, at 13-10, on a 57-yard drive, resulting in a 35-yard Turner field goal with 8:59 left in the third. The LU drive was once again halted by a third-down sack by Isaac Ukwu to force the field goal.
After a stop, Evans burst through the line on the first play of the drive for a 71-yard touchdown run, giving the hosts a 20-10 lead with 6:04 left in the third. That was LU's longest offensive play of the year.
Early in the fourth, Louisville connected on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Cunningham to Bryan Hudson on third-and-long, making it 27-10 in favor of the hosts.
Louisville capped off the scoring midway through the fourth on an 11-yard pass to Ahmari Huggins Bruce.

GAME NOTES

Louisville was 6-of-13 on third down, while JMU was limited to 3-of-13.
JMU registered 10 tackles for loss while sacking Cunningham three times.
In the red zone, LU was 4-of-4, while JMU was 2-of-2.
Louisville's first-quarter touchdown was the first score JMU's defense had given up in a first quarter this season.
In the first half, JMU limited Cunningham to just five yards rushing and tallied 4.0 tackles and a sack, as Louisville combined for 46 total rushing and 2.7 per carry.
With his first-half touchdown, Agyei-Obese moved into sixth place all-time at JMU in career scoring with 216 points.
Long snapper Kyle Davis was active on punt team, recording a tackle and recovering a third-quarter fumble, the first of his career.

UP NEXT
JMU closes the road portion of its schedule, as it shifts back to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday Nov. 12 with a trip to Norfolk to face Old Dominion. Kickoff from S.B. Ballard Stadium is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+. This will also be part of the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge.