JMU football ran away from Old Dominion in Saturday’s second half, winning 63-27 after leading 28-27 at halftime.

This lucky guy spent Saturday in the Bridgeforth Stadium press box for the first time since 2017. Here’s my collection of notes and observations from the game.

Second-half monsters

The Dukes led ODU 28-27 at halftime. JMU was up 49-27 by the time the fourth quarter started. Matthew Sluka came in with about 11 minutes left, as the game went from a nail-biter to garbage time in about a quarter.

Bob Chesney’s halftime message?

“We are going to win this football game. Everybody relax. We are going to win this football game.”

Chesney said his message was that one of the two defenses would step up in the second half, deciding the game. ODU’s unit allowed 35 after halftime. JMU’s? None.

Message received.

On the season, JMU has outscored its G5 opponents 101-10 after halftime. The Dukes haven’t allowed a second-half point in October. They’ve pitched three consecutive second-half shutouts. It’s stunning what this team is doing in the final 30 minutes of games.

ABIII looks great

Alonza Barnett played by far his best game of 2025, finishing with 295 passing yards and 153 rushing yards. He found the end zone six times, including four times on the ground. He was spectacular.

Credit Dean Kennedy, too. JMU’s offensive coordinator told Barnett this week the plan for ODU would include passes outside the hashes and the QB run game. Barnett understood the assignment.

“It’s whatever it takes to get the job done for the team and to get a win,” Barnett said. “That’s what I was called to do this week.”

Barnett deflected praise in the postgame press conference, but his stardom was evident Saturday. He made no mistakes, playing perhaps the best game of his college career. It came two weeks after he threw for just 74 yards in a win over Georgia State. 

Given JMU’s defensive talent and running game, the Dukes become terrifying if Barnett plays at an All-Sun Belt level.

Nick DeGennaro waited for this

The Richmond transfer was a star in the FCS, and he was expected to be a huge part of JMU’s offense prior to the season. That wasn’t quite the reality through six weeks, with him only catching eight passes for 97 yards.

DeGennaro broke out Saturday.

He caught his first pass of the day on a slant and saw nobody in front of him.

“I caught the ball and I was basically like, ‘You’re a piece of garbage if you don’t get in this end zone,’” he said.

Nothing quite like positive self talk! DeGennaro scored, proving that he’s not trash. Put that in the newspaper.

He had three catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in what was his breakout performance of the season. For a guy with NFL aspirations, Saturday’s game was important. It was also important for JMU’s offense.

After Landon Ellis caught six passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 24-14 win over Louisiana, DeGennaro showed he can be a game-changer at the position this week. The variety of runners and receivers capable of having big games helps keep defenses off guard. DeGennaro becoming a reliable receiving option has the chance to unleash JMU’s offense.

“I just hope that he continues to trust me,” DeGennaro said of Barnett. “And hopefully I can continue to show that I’m trustworthy. He’s a great kid.”

Crowd delivers on homecoming

I grew up watching a lot of Big Ten football. My family used to have Michigan season tickets, and I’ve probably been to a dozen games at the Big House. Several family members attended Wisconsin, and I’ve experienced Jump Around at Camp Randall. And I used to cover Virginia for The Daily Progress, which meant I visited ACC destinations like Clemson.

Bridgeforth doesn’t hold nearly the same capacity as those venues, but JMU has created a special game-day atmosphere that’s up there in intensity with several Power Conference venues. The student section behind the end zone was rowdy Saturday.

JMU has one of the premier atmospheres in the Group of Five at kickoff. Saturday’s energy level matched the importance of the league game, especially in the first half. It’s a credit to the program the Dukes have built up over several decades.

Figuring out how to keep students in the stadium for 60 minutes is a challenge above my head. The atmosphere is different in the first 30 minutes of games compared to the final 30, but it wasn’t much of a drop off this weekend.

My one gripe is the middle section of the “tiny” stands behind the visitor bench. Over the offseason, JMU made it a priority seating area with seatback chairs. The result is a different collection of fans — it’s not a student section, so this makes sense — and a calmer vibe. I don’t love having that vibe in a section directly behind the visitor bench that used to be an engaged, hostile bunching of fans.

The switch makes sense from a revenue-generation standpoint, but it could use refining in future seasons.

Emptying the notebook

• Elijah Culp played a weird game Saturday, and it started on JMU’s first defensive series. Culp was arguably too amped for this one, as he wouldn’t stop celebrating toward the ODU bench after forcing a holding penalty. He jumped offsides on the next play, which prompted Chesney to pull him off the field for a play. Chesney and Hitscher talked to him on the sideline, urging him to calm down. Like the entire defense, Culp and company calmed down after halftime.
• JMU ran a Bob Chesney BitCoin video during the first quarter, poking fun at his X/Twitter account being hacked and posting Crypto tips. It got a good chuckle from those in the press box.
• ODU WR Tre Brown, who had four catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns, was fuming after ODU decided to run the ball on third-and-20 from its own 15 late in the second quarter with JMU leading 28-27. The Monarchs ran for three yards and punted to the Dukes, but JMU failed to score before halftime. Brown’s reaction summed up the first half well. Neither team felt the defense could stop them, even on third-and-20. JMU never really had an answer for Brown, who ran free a couple times in the second half but the Monarchs couldn’t connect on those deep ball chances.
• What was that start? JMU’s special teams unit opened the game with a brain fart, as both kickoff returners tried to catch the ball. It bounced on the turf in the end zone, and Braeden Wisloski picked it up. Instead of taking a knee, he raced out of the end zone, was drilled around the 5-yard line, fumbled, and ODU picked it up and returned it for a score. Yikes! Fortunately it didn’t matter, but that’ll be a funny way to start film study Sunday.
• Jacob Thomas really pops out when you watch the game from well above field level. He covers so much ground so fast from his safety spot. With the size, speed, and production, Thomas could become an NFL draft pick this coming spring. He finished Saturday’s game with seven tackles and a sack.
• I haven’t been in a JMU presser in a bit, but walking to the team room from the press box provided interesting insights. JMU had photos from last week’s win over Louisiana in the building, which was a nice touch, and the team room includes a wall with the words, “we are what we put on film.” JMU will like the second-half film this week. Again.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications