JMU football (6-2, 2-2 SBC) beat Southern Miss (1-7, 0-4) by a final of 32-15 on Saturday, but the win led to plenty of questions. What’s wrong with JMU’s passing game? Can the Dukes rely on defense and special teams to reach 10 wins?

The victory over Southern Miss was a 17-point win, but it was far from perfect. JMU only put up 357 yards of offense (5.3 per play), including just 158 passing yards. Let’s break down a few key observations from the win.

Passing game is off

Not exactly breaking any news here, but JMU’s passing game is in shambles. The Dukes have gained fewer than 200 passing yards in three consecutive games, and Alonza Barnett has only completed 51.8% of his passes over the Dukes’ four most recent games. He’s flashed at times this season, scoring 13 total touchdowns against UNC and Ball State, but the rhythm of the passing game has been weirdly off since those two games.

Barnett is not the only person to blame, though. The team’s pass blocking grade (per Pro Football Focus) the last four games has been 61.9, 83.9, 50.1, and 54.1. In the first four games, it was above 71.6 in every game, including an 81 grade against UNC. Some of those issues fall on the running backs, who have really struggled in pass protection in recent weeks. Other issues stem from the offensive line.

Wide receiver drops have also been an issue. JMU had three drops in Saturday’s win, and the Dukes have 19 on the season. Last fall, JMU dropped 16 passes across its entire 13-game season.

JMU’s inability to handle blitzes and pressure keeps coming up. The Dukes need to figure something out, whether it’s Barnett improving his accuracy and scrambling out of pressure more often, the wide receivers catching passes more consistently, or the pass protectors holding blocks longer. You can’t win games if you’re unable to adjust to a blitz.

Until JMU’s passing game regains a rhythm, the offense will falter.

Defensive line steps up

The big guys up front were on fire Saturday, as JMU’s team recorded 11 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Nine sacks! The Dukes are up to 23 on the season, and their average of 2.88 per game ranks 16th nationally.

Long Island transfer Eric O’Neill continues to be a revelation at defensive end, and he’ll likely be the hardest player to retain this offseason. O’Neill’s season-long PFF grade of 87.2 leads all JMU defenders and ranks fifth nationally among defensive ends. He’s been dominant along the edge.

Khairi Manns continues to be a beast at defensive end, too. He added a sack Saturday, and linebacker Jacob Dobbs added two. Getting Dobbs back and healthy — he left with a groin injury Saturday — will be important down the stretch.

Redshirt freshmen defensive tackles Mychal McMullin and Darold DeNgohe also played well Saturday, combining for three sacks. They’re going to be future stars, and they performed well with veteran tackles Immanuel Bush and Chris Fitzgerald dealing with injuries.

The team’s pass-rush grade of 75.3 was a season-best for JMU on PFF.

JMU lost an incredible amount of talent along the defensive line in the offseason, but the Dukes have done well to reload at the position. If they can retain players like O’Neill, Bush, McMullin and DeNgohe, the Dukes will enter 2025 with one of the most fearsome defensive fronts in the Group of Five.

Special teams won the game

JMU’s defense looked sharp for most of the afternoon, but the offense sputtered for much of the game. In the end, it was the special teams unit that proved to be the difference by complementing the defense and picking up the offense’s slack.

In JMU’s 17-point win, the Dukes returned a kickoff for a touchdown and blocked an extra point that they returned for two points. Elite special teams play gave JMU an edge Saturday, and the Dukes needed it with their offense struggling to pass the ball.

Cam Ross took the kickoff back for a score and his fellow UConn transfer Chris Shearin scooped the blocked kick and took it back. The two dynamic former Huskies were huge in Saturday’s win.

Bob Chesney calls special teams the “heartbeat” of JMU’s program, and the unit turned out to be a major difference in the Dukes’ sixth win of 2024. ESPN’s efficiency metrics have JMU as the sixth-most efficient special teams unit in the FBS. The Dukes are excelling on special teams, which has helped mask some of the offensive woes this season.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications