Ellis Scores Three Times, Defense Posts Another Second-Half Shutout to Beat Cajuns

Saturday, October 11

Harrisonburg, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

5-1 , 3-0

Louisiana

2-4 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Louisiana

James Madison

Ellis Scores Three Times, Defense Posts Another Second-Half Shutout to Beat Cajuns

10/11/2025 4:35:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Landon Ellis scored a career-high three touchdowns, and James Madison used another second-half defensive shutout to down Louisiana, 24-14, on Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium.

Trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Dukes (5-1, 3-0 Sun Belt) scored 17 unanswered points, outgaining the Ragin' Cajuns (2-4, 1-1 Sun Belt) 227-59 over the final two quarters. Tied at 14 entering the fourth, JMU took advantage of a short field, needing just 25 yards to take its first lead, at 21-14, with 12:33 to play.

JMU's defense held Louisiana to eight three-and-outs, including three down the stretch, allowing the Dukes to extend the lead to 24-14 on a Morgan Suarez 24-yard field goal with three minutes to play. Louisiana nearly cut it back to a single score, but a Jacob Thomas toe-tapper interception on a tipped pass with 1:41 to play sealed the victory.

With the win, JMU becomes the first Sun Belt Conference team to start 5-1 in four consecutive seasons, and first in league history to hold teams to under 300 yards in six straight games.

Alonza Barnett III recorded season highs in passing yards (290) and touchdowns (3), going 26-for-40 through the air while adding 28 yards on the ground. Ellis' 120 yards on six catches were the most receiving yards by a Duke this season, while his three receiving scores were the most for a JMU player since the 2023 regular-season finale. Braeden Wisloski also had a career day, making seven catches for 69 receiving yards.

Wayne Knight surpassed the century mark for the second time this is season, rushing for 111 yards on 20 carries (5.6 avg). He also caught five passes or 23 yards and added 39 punt return yards to account for 173 all-purpose yards. JMU ran for 187 as a team, averaging 4.6 per rush, as Jordan Fuller added 50 yards on the ground.

Louisiana took a 14-7 lead due in large to 218 yards and a pair of long touchdown drives in the second quarter. After the break, JMU's defense shut down the Cajuns, allowing just 59 total yards with a clean sheet on the scoreboard, as the Dukes held Louisiana to just 288 yards of total offense.

Elijah Culp and Tyler Brown each led the JMU defense with career highs of eight tackles apiece, while Brown added a half tackle for loss, which aided in goal-line standing UL's offense at the end of the second quarter. Sahir West also had a career-best six tackles with 1.5 TFL and a sack, and both Jacob Thomas and Trent Hendrick added five stops, as Thomas' interception late was the fifth of his career.

For Louisiana, Lunch Winfield was 14-of-28 for 243 passing yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He also led the Cajuns with 23 rushing yards on 15 carries. Bill Davis had just 21 yards on the ground, as UL was held to 1.6 yards per rush and 45 total rushing yards. Robert Williams also made five grabs for a game-high 134 receiving yards.

Jaden Dugger led all players with 12 tackles and two breakups, while Tyree Skipper added nine tackles and a forced fumble.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams had a pair of possessions in the opening stanza with no points on the board despite a 133-11 yards advantage for JMU. UL went three-and-out twice, while JMU lost a fumble and had a turnover on downs in the red zone.
After being held to 19 yards and a trio of three-and-outs, Louisiana finally found a rhythm, using a deep pass and multiple penalties to find the end zone on a Winfield five-yard pass to Brock Chappell with 8:28 remaining in the half.
After a Justin Eaglin block on a field goal, Knight broke free for a 49-yard run, and Barnett found Landon Ellis on a four-yard strike to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:47 left in the second.
After not converting on its first four third-down tries, Louisiana broke through with a 69-yard touchdown pass by Winfield to Dale Martin to make it 14-7 for the Cajuns just over a minute later. It was UL's longest pass play of the year.
UL nearly doubled the lead on the final play of the half, but Tyler Brown and Mychal McMullin stuffed the rush, keeping it 14-7 heading into the locker room.
On the first play of the second half, Barnett connected with Ellis on a double-reverse pass for a 62-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 apiece.
After a shanked punt by Louisiana, JMU started on the plus-25 and took its first lead early in the fourth, at 21-14, six plays later, as Barnett connected on a four-yard strike in the back of the end zone to Ellis.
Suarez tacked on a 24-yard field goal with just over three minutes to go, before Thomas capped off the defense's second-half prowess with his second pick of the year on a tip in the end zone.

GAME NOTES

Saturday's matchup was the inaugural meeting between JMU and Louisiana, as the Dukes have now played all other 13 teams since joining the Sun Belt in 2022.
JMU's 62-yard touchdown pass to open the third was the longest pass play of the season for JMU and a career-long catch for Ellis.
The Dukes recorded their third blocked kick of the year, as Justin Eaglin got his hands on a first-half field goal.
With his 111 rushing yards, Wayne Knight eclipsed 1,000 career rushing yards (1,001).
Ellis became the eighth player in JMU history to record at least three receiving touchdowns in a game, as Dukes have combined for 12, dating back to 1981.
JMU held a sizable lead in total offense, out-gained UL by a 477-288 margin.
JMU was 8-of-17 on third down, while UL was just 3-of-14.
JMU was able to pull out the win despite turning the ball over three times, to UL's one. Louisiana scored zero points off those three takeaways.
JMU ran 24 more plays than Louisiana, holding an 81-57 plays advantage.
JMU has now recorded victories against six of the seven Sun Belt West Division teams, as ULM (2024) is the only team from the opposite division to beat JMU through the initial meetings since the 2022 season.

UP NEXT
JMU stays at home to host rival Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 18 for Homecoming. Kickoff at Bridgeforth Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.