#25 JMU Outlasts ODU for 30-27 Homecoming Triumph

Saturday, October 28

Harrisonburg, Va.

8 p.m.

James Madison University

8-0 , 5-0

Old Dominion

4-4 , 3-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Old Dominion

James Madison

10/28/2023 11:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison built multiple two-score leads and held off a tough Old Dominion squad to remain unbeaten with a thrilling 30-27 victory on Saturday night at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Dukes moved to 8-0 on the year and 5-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, while the Monarchs fell to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt.

With the win, JMU evened the all-time series to 2-2, notching wins in consecutive seasons against the Monarchs. The game was also contested in front of a Bridgeforth Stadium-record 26,239 fans.

JMU led 30-17 late in the third, but the Monarchs scored with 2:01 to go in the quarter to make it 30-24 heading to the final 15. After a fourth-down stop early in the fourth, ODU drove downfield and threatened to take the lead, reaching the JMU four. On third-and-goal, a breakup in the endzone forced an ODU field goal, trimming the lead to 30-27.

Four drives later, a Jarius Reimonenq breakup with 1:39 to go gave JMU the ball back, but ODU forced a JMU punt after three run plays. With 15 seconds to play, a pre-snap penalty enacted a 10-second run-off, and the Dukes sealed the win with a Mikail Kamara strip sack and James Carpenter recovery as time expired.

The teams combined for 878 yards of total offense, with JMU holding a 463-415 lead.

The Dukes had a pair of receivers go over 100 yards just for the second time in the program's FBS history. Reggie Brown turned in a career-high nine catches for 142 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Elijah Sarratt registered career bests of eight grabs for 139 yards and a score.

Jordan McCloud was 27-of-40 for 340 passing yards and three touchdowns with a pair of interceptions. He also ran for 13 yards and a score in the win. The 340 passing yards were the second most for McCloud this season. Ty Son Lawton also led the ground attack with 67 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per rush.

Defensively, Aiden Fisher had a career-high 12 tackles with a half sack, while Jalen Green inched closer to the JMU single-seasons sacks record, as he had a career-high nine tackles, to go with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. James Carpenter also had a career-high nine stops with a half sack and fumble recovery. Jailin Walker made eight tackles, while D'Angelo Ponds, Taurus Jones and Mikail Kamara each had seven. It was a career-high for Ponds and Kamara, as the defensive end added the game-winning strip sack.

For ODU, Grant Wilson 26-of-36 for 277 yards and a pair of touchdowns. ODU became the first team to go over the century mark in rushing yards, led by Keshawn Wicks' 74 yards. Kadarius Calloway also had 65 yards and a score. Isiah Paige led the passing game with 10 catches for 71 yards. The NCAA leader in tackles, Jason Henderson, was held to just eight total tackles.

HOW IT HAPPENED

ODU struck first after an interception, hitting a 22-yard field goal off the leg of Ethan Sanchez with 11:31 to go in the first.
After a huge stop on fourth down, JMU needed just three plays to go 68 yards to end the quarter, as McCloud connected over the top on a 49-yard touchdown to Brown to put JMU up 7-3 after one.
The Dukes extended the lead to 14-3 midway through the second on a one-yard keeper by McCloud a play after a 31-yard pitch-and-catch to Sarratt on a flea flicker.
ODU answered with a big touchdown pass, as Wilson connected on a 58-yard strike to Dominic Dutton, making it a 14-10 game at the break.
JMU opened the second half with two points and a 16-10 lead, as a muffed kickoff and penalty gave way for a sack by Jamree Kromah and Fisher for a safety.
On the ensuing drive, JMU went 65 yards over 11 plays, and McCloud found Sarratt, who made an incredible catch in coverage for a three-yard touchdown. JMU led 23-10 with 10:06 left in the third.
The Monarchs came right back with a touchdown drive, as Wilson found Javon Harvey on a 10-yard pass in the corner of the endzone, trimming JMU's lead to 23-17 halfway through the quarter.
The marathon third quarter continued with another JMU score, as Brown caught a beautiful 21-yard pass from McCloud in the corner of the end zone to put the lead at 30-17. It was Brown's sixth receiving score of the year.
Less than two minutes later, ODU cut it back to six, at 30-24, on a 21-yard Calloway touchdown scamper with 2:01 left in the stanza.
After a fourth-down stop, the Monarchs drew within three, at 30-27, with 10:14 to go on a Sanchez 23-yard field goal.
Teams traded drives, but with seconds to play and ODU with the ball, Kamara got to the QB with his strip sack and Carpenter picked it up to ice the game.

GAME NOTES

The victory was the 11th straight for JMU, which is the fifth-longest active win streak in the FBS.
With Oklahoma's loss at Kansas, JMU is now just one of eight remaining unbeaten teams in the country.
With his 2.5 sacks tonight, Green now has 15.5 on the season, which is just one shy of John Daka's 2019 JMU single-season record (16.5).
ODU's first-quarter field goal marked the first time an opposing team scored first this season and just for the second time since JMU moved up to FBS.
JMU held a 340-277 lead in the pass game, but ODU managed a 138-123 advantage on the ground, which is the first time the opposition led in rushing since Louisville in 2022.
ODU was 9-of-18 on third down, while JMU was just 4-of-13. The teams combined for 1-of-5 on fourth down, with JMU going 1-of-3 and ODU 0-of-2.
JMU had five sacks, as opposed to ODU's one. The Dukes also held a 9-5 lead in TFL.
JMU's Ponds had two pass breakups in a game for the fifth time this season.
The win was JMU's first as a program while ranked in a major FBS poll.
The victory also extended JMU's lead over ODU to 4.5 to 1.5 in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge.

UP NEXT
JMU hits the road next week, flying to Atlanta for a matchup at Georgia State on Saturday, Nov. 4. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and the game will either be televised on ESPN2.