Oof.

JMU football (5-2, 1-2 SBC) suffered its second loss of the season Saturday, falling to Georgia Southern (5-2, 3-0 SBC) by a final score of 28-14. The Dukes trailed 21-0 at halftime and never cut the second-half deficit to single digits.

It was a bad showing in a huge game. JMU laid an egg with the Sun Belt East on the line. Here are three observations/questions/takeaways from the performance.

Where’s the edge on offense?

The Dukes looked like they were going through the motions offensively. From bad snaps to fumbled snaps to false starts to illegal formations, JMU couldn’t even handle some of the most basic aspects of offensive football. It’s one thing to lose because a defense dominates your players, it’s another to lose because your offense can’t get out of its own way. Saturday, there was a little bit of both.

JMU’s offense kept shooting itself in the foot, but offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy and the Dukes also didn’t have an answer for defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey’s pressures. Bailey brought blitz after blitz and JMU never adjusted, taking six sacks and completing barely over 50% of its passes.

Alonza Barnett completed just 22 of his 41 throws for 186 yards and one touchdown. He averaged an ugly 4.5 yards per pass attempt. It was one of his worst showings of the season.

Barnett struggled, and the Dukes still seem to lack a go-to offensive threat. When things aren’t going well, who can the Dukes lean on? In 2023, it was often wide receiver Elijah Sarratt. He’s now at Indiana with over 500 receiving yards in seven games — a likely All-Big Ten player. Only Maryland’s Tai Felton has more receiving yards among Big Ten players than Sarratt. His transfer departure was significant.

Elijah Sarratt was playing at FCS St. Francis two years ago and now he’s going this in the B1G. #iufb pic.twitter.com/La3TBZDoVM

— jamie jordan (@JordanJamie) September 29, 2024

Still, Omarion Dollison, Cam Ross, Yamir Knight, and Taylor Thompson gave Barnett plenty of capable weapons Saturday, but for whatever reason, the Dukes didn’t consistently connect. Is it an offensive scheme problem? Are the receivers not creating enough separation? Is Barnett missing throws? It seems like a little bit of everything, leading to a woeful on-field product.

JMU needs to figure out its true offensive identity in the coming weeks if it wants to finish the season strong. Because when the Dukes don’t generate explosive pass plays, they look completely lost offensively.

It’s surprising to see an offense with so many veteran players making simple mistakes over and over again, but that keeps happening for the Dukes in road games. They need to clean it up.

Defense does enough

JMU defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill won’t be thrilled about allowing 405 total yards and nearly 200 rushing yards, but the Dukes were on the field defensively for 34 minutes. They did what they could, given the offense’s play. And they did enough to win.

Hemphill’s unit forced four turnovers and scored yet another defensive TD. Giving up 28 to Georgia Southern’s explosive offense is hardly the end of the world — the Eagles are averaging 30 points per game this season and dropped 45 on Boise State to open the season. It was the offense that let JMU down Saturday.

The secondary should be pleased with its showing, intercepting JC French three times. DJ Barksdale returned an interception for a touchdown, and Jacob Thomas grabbed a fourth-quarter interception that gave the offense one final chance to make a push. Even Immanuel Bush got in on the fun, the fourth INT for a JMU defensive lineman this fall.

PICK. SIX.

DJ jumps the route, and we're back in it! JMU now with FOUR pick-sixes this season.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/KmYU3uaAn2

— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) October 19, 2024

JMU’s forced fumble was a fantastic play by Terrence Spence, who broke free of what looked like offensive holding to knock the ball loose. Jacob Dobbs pounced on it for the recovery. Dobbs was fantastic this weekend, recovering the fumble and finishing the game with a season-best 17 tackles. He was all over the field, playing through pain and leading a defense that kept JMU in the game.

When a team wins the turnover battle 4-0, it should win the game. Losing by 14 points when winning the turnover battle 4-0 and scoring a defensive TD is astounding. JMU’s defense did its part, and the Dukes wasted a stellar performance from the unit.

What’s with the inconsistency?

This is maybe the story of the game (and season) for the Dukes. JMU lacks game-to-game consistency.

It was fair to think coming into the season that JMU wouldn’t be ready to contend for the Sun Belt East or College Football Playoff in Year 1 under Bob Chesney. They turned over so many players and coaches. That’s tough!

But it’s absurd to say JMU shouldn’t be a Sun Belt East or CFP contender after watching the team’s first four games. JMU beat Charlotte on the road by 23 despite not clicking totally offensively. They demolished UNC, scoring 70. Then they beat down Ball State by 56 points.

Mixed in between losses to ULM and Georgia Southern was a 32-point thrashing of Coastal Carolina. JMU’s “good” performances make the Dukes one of the best teams in the Group of Five. It’s hard to properly state just how good JMU has looked in some of its wins. 

The bad games, however, are jarring. They didn’t score in the first half against Gardner-Webb or Georgia Southern. They gave up a defensive TD to ULM that flipped the entire trajectory of the game. They only scored seven offensive points against Georgia Southern.

JMU’s talent level is really high. Guys like DE Eric O’Neill, CB Chauncey Logan, S Jacob Thomas, LB Trent Hendrick, WR Yamir Knight and RB George Pettaway are among the Dukes who would likely receive Power Four attention if they entered the portal. The Dukes don’t lack top-end players.

Still, for whatever reason, the Dukes don’t show up consistently week to week, especially offensively. What’s the disconnect? Head coach Bob Chesney said he thought it was a great week of practice, but JMU trailed 21-0 at halftime despite forcing multiple turnovers.

How can JMU go from smoking UNC, Ball State, and Coastal Carolina to looking completely lost against a Georgia Southern defense that allowed 23 points to Marshall and 21 to Georgia State? JMU only put up 14, with seven coming from a defensive TD. Georgia Southern’s defense isn’t bad, but it’s also not intimidating. 

Chesney and company will have to answer tough questions this week because this team had the talent to be a G5 playoff contender going into November and they squandered that opportunity. It’s not a lost season by any means — games against ODU, App State, and Marshall carry significant meaning annually, regardless of record — but the Dukes had a roster capable of going undefeated against this schedule, especially after starting 4-0. To have a pair of losses against ULM and Georgia Southern is a tough pill to swallow.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications