Dukes Dominate App State for Eighth Straight Victory

Saturday, November 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

3:30 p.m.

James Madison University

9-1 , 7-0

App State

4-6 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

App State

James Madison

11/15/2025 9:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Photo Gallery

JMU Wins Sun Belt East Division Championship

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison dominated in all three phases, as the Dukes set a season high in total offense while rushing for seven touchdowns to roll to a 58-10 victory against App State on Saturday evening at Bridgeforth Stadium.

The Dukes (9-1, 7-0 Sun Belt) ran their win streak to eight straight games, all against Group of Six opponents, after winning the total offense battle by an astounding 627-146 margin over App State (4-6, 1-5 Sun Belt). The win Saturday was also the largest margin of victory for JMU ever against both a Sun Belt Conference opponent and in the 20-game history of the App State series.

By virtue of their win and Georgia Southern's victory against Coastal Carolina, JMU won the Sun Belt Conference East Division title to punch their ticket to the Sun Belt title game in December.

JMU never trailed and scored on all nine red-zone trips, building a 55-point lead in the fourth quarter. With 4:45 remaining in the game, JMU held a 627-70 yards advantage after the visitors had -11 alone in the third quarter.

JMU rushed for 324 yards, marking the fourth time this season JMU has eclipsed 300 rushing and for the third time versus a conference foe. It was also a season-high allowed by App. Jobi Malary turned in his best performance since joining the JMU program, rushing for 105 yards on just eight carries (13.1 avg.) with three touchdowns. It was his fifth career 100-yard game.

Wayne Knight was active in both the run and pass game, as well as on special teams, accruing 197 all-purpose yards, two shy of his career high. He rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown while making a game-best six catches for 55 yards. He also averaged 9.6 per punt return on five tries.

Alonza Barnett turned in his third career 300-yard passing game, as he finished 22-of-35 for 303 yards while rushing for two touchdowns. Matthew Sluka added 70 rushing yards and a 35-yard score on the ground in the fourth quarter.

Eleven different Dukes caught a pass in the win, as Nick DeGennaro had three grabs for 31 yards while Jaylan Sanchez made two catches for a team-high 69 receiving yards.

Defensively, JMU dominated the trenches, conceding just one rushing yard on 15 carries (0.1). The secondary tallied 10 pass breakups and an interception, as the Mountaineers totaled 145 passing yards on a combined 14-of-37 passing. Trent Hendrick led a balanced defensive attack with six tackles. JMU had six tackles for loss, as Sahir West, Jayden Studio and Xavier Holmes each made 1.5 TFL. DJ Barksdale intercepted his second pass of the year, and Elijah Culp had a two pass breakups as well.

For App, AJ Swann was 8-of-28 for 64 yards and an interception, while J.J. Kohl was 6-of-8 for 81 yards and a touchdown down the stretch. Rashod Dubinion, the SBC's leading rusher, was held to 25 rushing yards on 10 attempts, as the Mountaineers gained just one on 15 total carries (0.1 avg.).

HOW IT HAPPENED

JMU took advantage of a short field after a Barksdale interception, with Knight punching it in from one yard out to open the scoring at the 6:54 mark of the first.
Suarez bookended the second quarter with makes from 45 and 38,while Malary and Barnett found paydirt to give the Dukes a 27-0 lead at the half.
The Mountaineers were forced to punt on six of their seven possessions in the first half, with the other drive ending in a pick.
A failed fake punt by App State deep in their own territory resulted in a JMU touchdown four plays later, capped off by Barnett's second and final rushing touchdown of the evening.
Suarez added to the Dukes' lead with a 26-yard field goal at the 4:06 mark of the third after a 14-play, 79-yard drive to give JMU a commanding 37-0 lead.
Malary found the endzone two more times in the fourth, while Sluka wrapped up JMU's scoring with a 35-yard scamper.
App State managed to get on the board with a 48-yard field goal early in the fourth, followed by a 19-yard connection from Dozier to Kohl for the 58-10 final.

GAME NOTES

JMU dominated time of possession by a 42:18 to 17:42 margin, as JMU ran 37 more plays than App State.
JMU out-gained App by an average of 7.0 to 2.8 yards per play.
The Dukes were 8-of-14 on third down while holding App to just 1-of-12. JMU also converted its lone fourth-down try, while App was 1-of-2.
Suarez tied his career high with three field goals on three makes.
JMU dominated the trenches in the third, holding App State to -11 yards on four attempts (-2.8), compared to 145 yards for the Dukes, including going 6.1 yards on the ground.
With his two rushing scores, Barnett now has 12 on the year, which is tied for seventh in JMU single-season history.
The seven rushing touchdowns were the most since JMU had seven against Norfolk Stateon Sept. 16, 2017.
The margin of victory (48) bested JMU's previous high versus a Sun Belt foe when it beat Coastal Carolina by 42 (56-14) in Conway on Nov. 25, 2023.

UP NEXT
JMU steps out of conference play to host Washington State on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Bridgeforth Stadium. Kickoff will either be at 1 or 2 p.m. on ESPN+.