It’s time for the weekly JMU football report card, and the Dukes earned great grades this week. They smashed the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 39-7, JMU’s third win by 30+ points this season.

Sitting at 5-1 and 1-1 in the SBC entering a mini bye week, JMU is in a good spot to contend for the Sun Belt East. The Dukes will be faced with a major test weekend, however, when they visit Georgia Southern.

Before we get there, let’s get to the grades. Friendly reminder that we use Pro Football Focus to aid in our grading.

Offense

JMU’s offense scored 32 points — the defense accounted for a touchdown — in the 39-point showing. The group was solid, but not perfect.

JMU put up 421 yards, held the ball for nearly 39 minutes, and scored points in every quarter of the game. Still, there were missed opportunities. Alonza Barnett completed just 57.1% of his passes and a Barnett fumble on JMU’s first drive ended a promising opportunity. He rallied, throwing for 199 yards and running for another 13 to go with his four total touchdowns. He felt the Dukes could’ve scored more, though, and he’s right. There were sloppy penalties and missed opportunities, especially late in the game.

“I believe that we left a lot of points out there on the field, and I take sole responsibility for that,” Barnett said.

The redshirt sophomore is being a tad harsh on himself, though. JMU nearly eclipsed 40 points as a team, which should be enough to win 99% of conference games.

As Barnett eluded to, the Dukes didn’t look as crisp offensively as they did against UNC or Ball State. They did, however, execute better than they did against ULM. It wasn’t perfect, but it was plenty good enough.

George Pettaway continues to be a bright spot at running back. He ran the ball 13 times for a team-high 89 yards. He also caught one pass for 9 yards, which went for a touchdown. The UNC transfer is a matchup nightmare.

Taylor Thompson’s strong performances at tight end also continued Thursday, as he caught two passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Thompson has the 10th-best grade of any FBS tight end on PFF.

Grade: B-

PFF MVP (minimum 10 snaps): LT Luke Popma, 77.5

Defense

JMU scored a defensive touchdown and held Coastal Carolina’s offense to just seven points. JMU fans should count their blessings that defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill landed in Harrisonburg this offseason because the former ACC defensive coordinator is a star in the coaching ranks. He has this defense playing at an elite level.

Coastal Carolina quarterback Ethan Vasko had his worst game of the season, completing just 5-of-18 passes for 84 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Against UVA earlier this year, Vasko went 10-21 for 222 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Coastal Carolina mustered a season-low 181 yards, as the Dukes stifled the high-powered offense.

JMU’s defense plays like a Power Four unit.

Terrence Spence recorded his fourth interception of the season, and defensive end Lloyd Summerall had an interception returned for a touchdown. The Dukes’ defense is disruptive, and it was again Thursday.

Grade: A+

PFF MVP: DE Eric O’Neill, 79.9

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Special teams

Another great showing for the Dukes, who rank third nationally in special teams efficiency, per ESPN’s metrics. Yamir Knight returned four punts for 67 yards, and George Pettaway returned a kickoff for 40 yards. The Dukes’ freshman kicker Max Lipinski made the first field goal of his career.

The Dukes were extremely solid on special teams. If not for a heads-up play by Coastal Carolina’s punter, who juked Terrence Spence before then punting, the Holy Cross transfer likely would’ve blocked another punt.

Grade: A

Coaching

JMU beat a division rival by 32 points on a short week. What else is there to say? Bob Chesney and his staff had the Dukes ready to play again after the ULM loss. JMU looked like the best team in the Sun Belt after looking shaky five days prior. That’s a credit to the coaching staff and the players buying into the message.

Grade: A

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications