JMU football, behind four touchdown passes from Camden Coleman, ran by Old Dominion, 46-20 on Saturday. The win moves the Dukes to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Pass rush arrives

JMU football had four sacks through its first three games. The Dukes finished with nine in Saturday’s win. They now rank 12th nationally with 13 on the year.

It helped that ODU’s backup quarterback had minimal experience and held onto the ball too long in spots. But JMU dominated the Monarchs up front. ODU had no answer for the Dukes’ defensive line, regardless of who subbed into the game for JMU.

Six different Dukes were credited with at least one sack, including linebackers Nakian Jackson and JT Hooten. They’ve been fantastic in pass-rushing spots, often getting home on blitzes. Hooten leads the team with 2.5 sacks this season.

Because of the nine sacks, Old Dominion finished the game with negative 14 rushing yards.

If the Dukes create pressure anywhere close to the way they did Saturday, they’re going to be nearly impossible to beat in league play.

Running game is solid, but not dominant

JMU’s rushing attack was fine on Saturday, finishing with 162 yards on 37 attempts. That’s only a 4.4 yard per carry average, but George Pettaway was the primary running back and averaged 6.9 yards per attempt and eclipsed 100 yards. He was solid against a good defensive front and ripped off a pair of longer runs.

Still, this is a far different running attack from a season ago.

In 2025, JMU led the nation with 36 runs of 20 or more yards. That’s an average of nearly three per game. The Dukes ran for 241.5 yards per game. 

This season, JMU has seven rushes of 20 yards or more through four games. That’s not terrible, but many came against Wagner, and it’s still less than two per game. The Dukes are running for 199.2 yards per contest. Again, that’s not bad! But it’s also not elite.

JMU had 95 runs spanning 10 or more yards in 2025. That’s nearly seven per game and ranked sixth nationally. This fall, the Dukes have 18 (4.5 per game), which ranks 80th nationally.

Fans have been frustrated by the Dukes’ inability to completely crush teams once opening up an early lead (yes, JMU fans are spoiled). Well, blame the running game for the lack of 30-point blowouts. A season ago, when JMU had a lead, the Dukes leaned on the ground game to burn clock and add points. 

The Dukes haven’t had the same home-run hitting potential on the ground this season, and it’s easy to understand why. The nation’s current leader in runs of 20 yards or more? UCLA’s Wayne Knight with six. 

Injuries, rotations, and other notes

Let’s empty the notebook here.

– Quarterback JC Evans warmed up before the game but didn’t play. According to our sources, his initial prognosis post-injury was a likely return in six-ish weeks. He started recovery soon after the Liberty loss on Sept. 5. Six weeks from then would be a return against Georgia State on Oct. 17. Could he return earlier? It’s possible! But the Dukes don’t need to rush him back with Camden Coleman playing efficiently.

– Perhaps a hot take, but Evans will likely play when he returns. Yes, JMU is 3-0 with Coleman starting, and he’s played well. He has seven touchdown passes to one interception. It’s not an urgent need for Evans to be back on the field, but for a team lacking a finisher in the run game, it’ll be hard to keep Evans sidelined when he’s cleared. When JMU needed to ice a Week 1 win against Liberty, they leaned on Evans in the running game. It’s possible the Dukes’ punishing runner who can turn early leads into blowouts is actually Evans, not Pettaway, Herman or Cromwell.

– Center Zach Greenberg warmed up but missed the game and wasn’t wearing pads on the sideline during the contest. His health will be important in coming weeks, although Noel Portjagin has been a more than suitable replacement. Still, Greenberg’s ability to help the starting quarterback read a defense and shift protections is invaluable. Not having him at Georgia Southern in two weeks would hurt. JMU can probably afford to rest him against a mediocre Marshall defense.

– Gannon Weathersby essentially ran with the backups this week. The preseason All-Sun Belt linebacker is working his way back from a leg injury, and it seems that Jackson and Hooten have played so well that it’s hard to fully get Weathersby into the mix. He only played in nine garbage-time snaps this weekend. Will he earn a bigger role in future weeks? He’s too talented to completely bench, but his peers have been tremendous this fall. He’s in a weird position after major preseason hype.

– The Dukes are rotating in a bunch of cornerbacks, with LaRon Dues, Roddrey McWilliams and Jamal Olford all playing at least 10 snaps. Olford finished the game with an interception, and Dues led the group with 29 snaps. JMU seems adamant about working those guys into games, even if they make mistakes the starters wouldn’t. Ken Willis and DJ Kelly are the team’s top two cornerbacks, but JMU is working hard to build depth behind them. While reps for younger players could cost JMU a few style points, it’ll pay dividends down the road this season or in future years.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications