ATLANTA (JMU Athletics) – The James Madison defense posted a shutout over the final three quarters while the offense broke through with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second half for a 14-7 victory over Georgia State on Saturday afternoon at Center Parc Stadium.

The Dukes were held scoreless in the first half but responded in the second with 14 unanswered points, with Wayne Knight punching in the go-ahead touchdown with 9:50 remaining in the contest. After being out-gained 164-145 in the first two quarters, JMU flipped the script in the second half, holding a 140-85 yards advantage in the second half.

The JMU (4-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) defense was especially stingy in the final two quarters, holding the Panthers (1-4, 0-1 Sun Belt) to -1 yards on the ground and producing two sacks.

JMU improved to 5-0 in the all-time series versus GSU and has limited the Panthers to seven points in each of the last two meetings.

Jordan Fuller led the Dukes with 94 rushing yards on 18 carries, while Wayne Knight ran for 85 yards and a touchdown while returning four punts for 50 yards. Adding in 10 receiving yards on three catches, Knight finished the day with 145 all-purpose yards.

Alonza Barnett finished 11-of-22 for 74 passing yards while rushing for a score.

Lacota Dippre had a career day on offense, making a career-high three catches for 19 receiving yards while also rushing for 31 yards on a pair of fake punts, finishing with 50 total yards.

Gannon Weathersby made a career-high nine stops, while Trent Hendrick and Jordan Thomas each came away with eight tackles. Aiden Gobaira notched 1.5 tackles for loss, notching his third consecutive game with a TFL. Xavier Holmes recorded his first sack of the season, a 12-yard loss to push the Panthers back on their side of the 50.

For GSU, Finley connected on 19-of-28 passes and connected with Camden Overton-Howard for a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter for the Panthers’ only score of the game. Overton-Howard finished with a game-best seven catches for 65 yards, while Ted Hurst accrued 60 yards on three grabs.

Javon Robinson paced Georgia State’s defense with 11 tackles and a break-up. Jaylen Jones made nine stops, while Bishop Thomas recorded the Panthers’ lone sack of the afternoon.,

HOW IT HAPPENED
• GSU struck first, taking advantage of multiple down-field penalties to set up a 19-yard pass from Finley to Camden Overton-Howard for the game’s opening score with just over four minutes remaining in the first.
• GSU out-gained JMU 104-47 in the opening period.
• Lacota Dippre converted first downs for JMU off back-to-back fake punts, gaining eight and 23 yards, respectively, on his direct snaps. The Dukes drove into the red zone but were stopped on fourth down to keep the score 7-0 for GSU.
• JMU was shut out in the first half for the first time since the opening half at Georgia Southern on Oct. 19, 2024, as GSU took a 7-0 lead into the break.
• After a Xavier Holmes sack to open the second half, JMU quickly raced down the field, as Knight’s 22-yard run down to the one set up Barnett’s fifth rushing score of the year. That made it a 7-7 ballgame with 6:50 to play in the quarter, as the score would remain unchanged heading into the fourth.
• Following another sack and stop, JMU was driving to take the lead, but a third-down sack gave the ball back to GSU with 12:30 to play.
• GSU nearly had a long pass, but a drop forced another punt for the hosts, and Knight returned the ensuing punt 22 yards to the Panther 28, JMU’s best starting field position of the game.
• Fuller moved JMU inside the 10 and Knight finished off the four-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown, giving JMU its first lead of the day, at 14-7, with 9:50 to play. That was Knight’s fourth rushing score of the year.
• Trailing 14-7 with 3:59 remaining, Georgia State had an opportunity to respond as it started its final drive at the Panthers’ 19-yard line. After picking up a first down, GSU committed three false starts, ultimately resulting in a fourth-and-18 that it was unable to convert, giving the ball to the Dukes with 1:49 to go.
• JMU managed to get one final first down thanks to the Panthers jumping offsides on fourth down, allowing the Dukes to run the clock out for the win.

GAME NOTES
• JMU held a 285-249 advantage in total yards, including a lopsided 211-37 effort on the ground.
• The Dukes went 4-for-14 (.286) on third downs compared to GSU’s 7-for-15 (.467) mark.
• Alonza Barnett III moved into the JMU career top 10 for completions, as he now sits 10th with 285 completions. He passed both Jordan McCloud (2023) and Justin Thorpe (2008-12), who both tallied 281 while at JMU.
• With his third-quarter PAT, Morgan Suarez moved to 100/100 on career extra points.
• JMU moved to 5-0 all-time against Georgia State and 2-0 in Atlanta.

UP NEXT
JMU returns home to host Louisiana on Saturday, Oct. 11 in a noon kickoff

— JMU Athletics —