That’s more like it.

JMU football (5-1, 1-1 SBC) bounced back from its loss to ULM with a 39-7 win over Coastal Carolina (4-2, 1-1 SBC) on Thursday night. It was a solid team performance for the Dukes, who quickly returned to the win column.

Here are a few observations and takeaways from the JMU win.

Back in the Sun Belt Race

A loss to Coastal Carolina would’ve been catastrophic to the Dukes’ dreams of winning the Sun Belt East for a third consecutive season. Fortunately for JMU, it demolished Coastal Carolina for a third consecutive season.

The loss to ULM last week removed most of JMU’s margin for error the rest of the season. If the Dukes want to win the Sun Belt East, they’ll need to be nearly perfect through the end of November. Well, they’re off to a good start.

Everything seemed to work for the Dukes on Thursday, as they put up over 400 yards of offense and held Coastal Carolina to below 200 yards. JMU won the turnover battle 2-1 and simply dominated a previously 4-1 opponent. The Dukes sent a message that the East still goes through Harrisonburg.

A win next week at Georgia Southern would put JMU in the driver’s seat to win the division.

This Might be the Most Talented JMU Team Ever

With all due respect to the 2023 team — which has numerous players thriving at Indiana this season and others competing professionally — this might be JMU’s most talented roster ever. I think it’s at least worth a conversation because the depth on the 2024 JMU team is astounding.

In Thursday’s win, seven Dukes ran for at least 10 yards and nine players caught passes. The Dukes put up 418 yards and possessed the ball for nearly 39 minutes of game time. They ran for over 200 yards, giving the ball to just about every RB on the roster. Defensively, Coastal Carolina scored 31 fewer points than its season average.

Jobi Malary, who has nine carries for 63 yards and a touchdown this fall, is essentially JMU’s RB5 behind injured Ayo Adeyi, George Pettaway, Tyler Purdy, and Wayne Knight. Malary was the second-highest graded running back in the FCS in 2023, per Pro Football Focus. And he’s RB5?!

JMU is running for 192.8 yards per game. Last year’s group managed just 134.2. George Pettaway is leading the charge with Adeyi injured, and the UNC transfer looks like one of the most dynamic offensive players in the Sun Belt. He’s averaging 30 yards per kickoff return, 11 yards per catch, and 6 yards per carry. He’s a star.

At tight end, Taylor Thompson has 19 catches for 290 yards and three touchdowns through just six games. JMU’s leading receiver at tight end in 2023, Zach Horton, only had 275 receiving yards all of last season. Thompson is the 10th-highest graded tight end in the FBS, per PFF. Horton, a highly productive player, ranked 82nd last year.

LET'S RECAP.

Taylor Thompson hurdles on one play. Catches a TD on the next. And then convert a 2-point pass to Phifer⁉️⁉️

Wild scene.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/8FCHiuWi0k

— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) October 11, 2024

Four JMU receivers have at least 250 receiving yards, including Omarion Dollison who leads the team with 334 yards. Yamir Knight is blossoming into a star at both receiver and punt returner, and Cam Ross and Taji Hudson are among the other options at WR. True freshman Dylan Williams also has a pair of TD catches, including one against Coastal Carolina. He has NFL potential, once he earns more playing time.

As for Alonza Barnett, JMU’s quarterback has 20 total touchdowns and just one interception this fall. He’s lost a couple fumbles, but overall he’s done well to take care of the football and is averaging just under 300 total yards per game. His 309 rushing yards through six games are more than Jordan McCloud ran for in 2023 (276 rushing yards).

The offensive line has been dominant for much of the season, ranking eighth nationally in run blocking grade, per PFF. The Dukes are 15th in pass blocking. It’s been a special season for the offensive line.

Defensively, JMU lost a bunch of stars from 2023. Jalen Green led the country in sacks with 15.5 in just nine games, and D’Angelo Ponds was one of the highest-graded corners in college football, per PFF. The transfer of linebackers Jailin Walker and Aiden Fisher hurt.

Still, JMU’s 2023 defense is allowing just 16.3 points per game (last year’s team allowed 19.4) and the group has forced an FBS-best 17 turnovers. The Dukes forced 21 turnovers all of last season. Terrence Spence has a team-high four interceptions, which would’ve led the team in 2023 — Francis Meehan posted a team-best three interceptions last year.

While defensive end Eric O’Neill doesn’t lead the country in sacks — he has three this fall — his PFF grade of 88.3 is better than any JMU defensive lineman graded in 2023. Jalen Green led JMU DL with an 84.7 grade. O’Neill is one of the most complete defensive ends in recent JMU history, as he’s a force against the run and pass and he rarely misses tackles. He also has an interception returned for a touchdown this season, like Green.

Between O’Neill, DT Chris Fitzgerland, DT Immanuel Bush, and DEs Lloyd Summerall and Khairi Manns, the Dukes’ starting defensive front hasn’t missed a beat from last season. Both O’Neill and Summerall have INTs returned for touchdowns — Fitzgerald also has an INT — and Fitzgerald ranks ninth in the FBS in tackling grade on PFF among defensive tackles. O’Neill’s overall PFF grade is the seventh-best in the FBS among defensive ends. He’s playing at an All-American type level, even if the stats aren’t as eye-popping as Jalen Green’s in 2023.

“They wrecked the game,” linebacker Jacob Dobbs said of the defensive line Thursday.

JMU has dozens of players who would play meaningful snaps on Power Four rosters.

Injury situation worth monitoring

Offensive lineman Tyshawn Wyatt, a Second Team All-Sun Belt player this preseason, has yet to play this fall or even be listed on the depth chart. Wyatt is coming off a major leg injury that happened last year, requiring surgery in November of 2023. It’s possible he’ll miss the entire season and apply for a medical redshirt.

Running back Ayo Adeyi, JMU’s starter at the position and a 1,00-yard rusher at North Texas last fall, hasn’t played since Week 2 with a leg injury. It’s unclear when, or if, Adeyi could return this season.

Starting kicker Noe Ruelas dressed Thursday, but he didn’t play. Ruelas has a powerful leg and is a weapon at the kicker spot, as he’s an NFL prospect. His status moving forward is unclear, but freshman Max Lipinski performed well in his absence (4-4 on PATs and 1-1 on FGs).

Along the offensive line, starting left guard Carter Sweazie missed Thursday’s game and was reportedly in a boot on the sideline. His status for the rest of the season is unclear. The redshirt sophomore is one of JMU’s most athletic guards, and his pass-blocking grade of 81.5 on PFF is the second-best among the offensive linemen this season.

Redshirt freshman guard Riley Robell, a revelation as a backup this season, replaced Sweazie. But he left Thursday’s game with an injury after just nine snaps, and he was shown limping and being helped to the locker room on the TV broadcast. Joseph Simmons, a rotational tackle, also left Thursday’s game with injury and only played eight snaps.

Josh Toner stepped up, playing 61 snaps and posting a pass-blocking grade of 80 on PFF. Toner played through clear fatigue late in the game. He’s likely starting at left guard next week if Sweazie and Robell can’t play.

“You could see he was wearing it,” head coach Bob Chesney said. “It was a hard day for him. He was beat up … I just thought he did a really good job. And then, a lot of the other guys that stepped up did a good job. We just got to figure out where these guys are at when we come out of this break here, but we didn’t come out of this unscathed by any means.”

If the Dukes are down multiple linemen, it’s also possible Campbell transfer Quincy Jenkins works himself into the rotation. He played his first 14 snaps of the season Thursday, but during his Campbell career he played over 1,800 snaps and he’s a strong pass blocker. Like Toner, he can play at guard or tackle.

The Dukes are starting to get banged up, losing some really talented players, especially along the offensive line. They’ll have an extra couple days of rest this week, and there’s a bye week on Nov. 2. Getting some (or any) of those players back for the closing stretch against ODU, App State, and Marshall could prove critical.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications