Dukes Hold Off Troy in Slugfest, 16-14

Saturday, September 16

Troy, Ala.

7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

3-0 , 1-0

Troy

1-2 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

Troy

9/16/2023 11:20:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

TROY, Ala. – James Madison and defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy battled from start to finish with the Dukes claiming a big 16-14 win to open conference play on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

JMU remained unbeaten at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Sun Belt play. The Trojans fell to 1-2 and opened league play 0-1, snapping an eight-game winning streak against conference opponents.

The Dukes registered 10 tackles for loss, led by Mikail Kamara with a career-high three stops behind the line of scrimmage. Kamara also accounted for two of JMU's five sacks on the night, while Jamree Kromah and Jalen Green recorded 1.5 sacks. Additionally, James Carpenter tallied 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the win.

Jordan McCloud finished 17-of-25 for 187 passing yards and a touchdown. Elijah Sarratt led the passing attack with six catches for 62 yards, while Reggie Brown made four grabs for 57 yards and a score.

Kaelon Black produced both on the ground and through the air, as he tallied 78 rushing yards and 42 receiving yards. Ty Son Lawton also aided the Dukes with 55 rushing yards.

For Troy, Gunnar Watson was 25-of-46 for 333 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. With its five team sacks, JMU held Troy to -12 rushing yards as a team. Kimani Vidal paced the Trojans with 27 rushing yards. Devonte Ross and Jabre Barber each found the endzone and combined for 158 receiving yards.

Since the move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the Dukes have held 11 opponents to less than 100 yards rushing. Moreover, on six of those occasions, James Madison did not allow more than 50 yards on the ground.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Camden Wise put the Dukes up 3-0 after one, as he converted from 28 yards out with 90 seconds remaining. Early in the second after a shanked Troy punt, Wise doubled the lead to 6-0 with another field goal, this time from 36 yards away.
Troy got on the board on the ensuing drive, as it drove 75 yards and took a 7-6 lead on a 14-yard touchdown catch to Devonte Ross with 11:10 remaining in the half.
JMU took advantage of another short field, and after McCloud and Elijah Sarratt converted on a third-and-long, the duo connected again on a nine-yard touchdown pass with 2:24 left in the half, giving JMU a 13-7 lead at the break.
JMU used a strong rushing attack to move into Troy territory on the first drive of the second half but was held to a 32-yard Wise field goal, extending JMU's lead to 16-7 after three.
After a fourth-down conversion early in the fourth, Watson found Jabre Barber in the corner for a 24-yard touchdown, trimming JMU's lead to 16-14 with 13:49 to play.
Troy threatened once again midway through the fourth, however, a 49-yard field goal attempt went wide left, giving the Dukes possession with 5:35 remaining.
JMU managed to take some time off the clock before a Ryan Hanson punt pinned the Trojans at their 10-yard line with 3:03 to go.
With its back to the endzone, Troy converted on a huge fourth down to stay alive. The Trojans marched down the field, making it all the way to the Dukes' 33-yard line.
On third and five, facing heavy pressure, Watson through the ball away to stop the clock. However, the pass was ruled intentional grounding, resulting in a 10-yard loss and a loss of down. Watson threw a deep ball on fourth down, but it fell incomplete.
JMU took over at its own 43, kneeling down to escape with the 16-14 victory.

GAME NOTES

The Dukes were outgained 321-290 in the win.
JMU's defense limited Troy to -12 rushing yards and -0.6 per carry.
Both teams faced stingy defenses on third downs, with the Trojans finishing the game 3-for-15 (20.0%) and the Dukes 3-for-16 (18.8%).
Devyn Coles recorded his first interception of the year on the opening drive, which was the eighth of his career. Coles and Que Reid tallied a pair of pass breakups as well.
With tonight's win, JMU now leads the all-time series 2-1.

UP NEXT
JMU wraps up its three-game road trip on Saturday, Sept. 23 when it takes its longest trek of the year to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) and will be streamed on The Mountain West Network, free of charge.