HARRISONBURG, Va. – After wrapping up an unbeaten non-conference slate, James Madison turns its attention to Sun Belt Conference play this week, as it travels to Monroe, La., on Saturday, Oct. 5 to face ULM in the inaugural meeting for the teams.
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Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) at Malone Stadium, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Pregame radio coverage on the Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network begins at 5 p.m.
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The 2024 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.
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While Saturday marks the first meeting for the Dukes and Warhawks, it will be JMU's second trip to the state of Louisiana.
JMU is 1-0 in the Bayou State, earning a 24-10 win at McNeese State in Lake Charles on Sept. 14, 1996.
 JMU IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
Saturday will be the 32nd conference opener for the Dukes since they joined a league back in 1993.
JMU is 23-8 in conference openers, which includes winning its past nine between 2015 and 2023 across the Colonial Athletic Association and the Sun Belt Conference.
Saturday night also marks the fifth time over the past six seasons JMU has opened league play on the road.
Last season, JMU put on a defensive clinic and held off defending Sun Belt champion Troy, 16-14, on Sept. 16, 2023.
The year prior in JMU's first Sun Belt game, JMU rallied back from down 28-3 at App State, scoring 29 unanswered for a thrilling 32-28 win on Sept. 24, 2022 in Boone.
JMU conference openers by league: 2-0 in Sun Belt (2-0 road); 21-8 in CAA (11-3 home, 10-5 road)
 TWO-GAME SCORING RECORD FOR THE DUKES
JMU has lit up the scoreboard the past two weeks, scoring the most points in consecutive games against scholarship football programs, with 133.
JMU first beat ACC foe North Carolina, 70-50, on Sept. 21, and followed it up by cruising to a 63-7 victory against Ball State out of the MAC.
It ranks as #1 and #2 for most points JMU has scored against FBS opponents.
The game at UNC was also highest-scoring game in school history, passing the 108 points JMU and Richmond combined for in 2015.
The Dukes' all-time two-game scoring record against any team came in 2016 when they scored 136 points in the first two games, notching 80 against non-scholarship Morehead State and 56 versus Central Connecticut.
 63+ IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES, COMPARISON WITH 2019 LSU
They are the last two quarterbacks to lead their respective teams to consecutive games with at least 63 points.
While JMU scored 70 and 63 in its last two games, Joe Burrow guided the 2019 national champion LSU squad to 65 and 66 on Sept. 14 and Sept. 21.
While JMU accomplished the feat against FBS foes, LSU's first 63+ game occurred versus an FCS opponent.
 ALONZA REPEATS WEEKLY HONORS
JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett III was a repeat winner of Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week while earning a spot on the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 for week five.
In JMU's win over Ball State, he tallied 324 total yards and six total touchdowns for his best performance inside Bridgeforth Stadium.
He was 20-of-28 for 280 passing yards and five touchdowns while adding 44 on the ground and one more score.
It's the second straight season a JMU quarterback has been named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, as Jordan McCloud did so late in the season. He won three last season.
Adding in Todd Centeio's four in 2022, JMU quarterbacks have now combined for nine Offensive Player of the Week awards since joining the Sun Belt.
All three are also multi-time honorees on the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 as well.
 DUKES ROLL PAST BALL STATE
JMU dominated all three phases, not punting one time and holding Ball State to 250 yards en route to a 63-7 win on Family Weekend.
Aiding Alonza Barnett III's six-touchdown performance were his four receivers who combined for five touchdown catches.
Taylor Thompson caught a career-high five passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, while Yamir Knight made four grabs for 44 yards and his first two career touchdowns. Omarion Dollison and Cam Ross also combined for 94 yards and a score each.
JMU also rushed for 236 yards, averaging 6.9 per carry. Wayne Knight had a career day with 63 yards on just six rushes, while Jobi Malary had 50 yards and a touchdown on five touches. George Pettaway also added 35 yards and a TD.
The defense produced points for the second straight week, as Eric O'Neill returned an interception for a touchdown to open the second half. JMU, which leads the country in turnover margin (+10), had three interceptions, as Terrence Spence had his third in two weeks and DJ Barksdale snagged the other.
JMU averaged 8.3 per play, while Ball State was limited to 3.5 per snap.
The Dukes also finished 9-of-10 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down.
 DAY OF FIRSTS ON FAMILY WEEKEND
Multiple players experienced career firsts in Saturday's win over Ball State.
Eric O'Neill is known for sacks, which he had two, but his 27-yard pick-six was his first career touchdown.
Yamir Knight caught each of the first two touchdowns from Alonza Barnett III, which was the first two career scores for the sophomore.
DJ Barksdale had an excellent game at nickel, and his interception was the first of his career.
 ALONZA ROLLIN' ON ALL CYLINDERS
Alonza Barnett III has emerged as one of the nation's top signal callers due in large to his past two performances.
In JMU's two wins versus North Carolina and Ball State, the redshirt sophomore has combined for 13 total touchdowns and 811 total yards.
He's thrown for 668 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 143 yards and three scores.
 BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV:Â ESPNU
Online: Watch ESPN (cable subscription required)
Listen:Â Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network