Dukes Travel to Statesboro to Face Off with Georgia Southern Saturday – James Madison University Athletics

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison football hits the road for the fourth time this season, as it travels to Statesboro, Ga., for a key Sun Belt Conference East division matchup at Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 19.
 

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Allen E. Paulson Stadium, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Pregame radio coverage on the Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network begins at 2 p.m.
 
The 2024 JMU football season is presented by CarMax.

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES

• This will be the 11th meeting all-time between the teams, with Southern leading JMU, 8-2.
• JMU won the inaugural meeting back in 1985 and the most recent meeting last season, while the Eagles reeled off eight straight between 1986 and 2022.
• The series began with matchups in eight straight seasons when both teams were Division I-AA programs.
• They wouldn’t meet for another 30 years when JMU became a Sun Belt Conference member.
• Georgia Southern has never lost a home game in the series, holding a 5-0 mark at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.
• JMU meanwhile is 2-3 in home games, which included a 41-13 victory on Oct. 14, 2023, which was the largest margin of victory by either team in the series.
• Last time in Statesboro, GS rallied from down 17-0 to beat JMU 45-38 on Oct. 15, 2022, for JMU’s first defeat as a member of the Sun Belt.
• In games played at Paulson, the Eagles have won by an average of 34.2 to 22.0.

THURSDAY NIGHT DOMINANCE

• JMU is fresh off arguably its most complete win of the season, as the Dukes rolled to a 39-7 victory against Coastal Carolina last Thursday (Oct. 10) at Bridgeforth Stadium.
• The Dukes used a 22-point second quarter and reeled off the final 32 points of the game in front of a sold-out crowd of 25,622 – the ninth-largest attendance in school history.
• Alonza Barnett III accounted for four total scores in the win, going 16-of-28 for 199 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 13 yards and another touchdown on the ground. It was his third game with at least four scores.
• JMU rushed for 222 yards as a team, led by George Pettaway’s career-high 89 yards. Wayne Knight also contributed 43 yards on six touches. Nine Dukes caught at least one pass, with Yamir Knight leading the way with five grabs, matching his career high.
• The Dukes produced points on both sides of the ball, as Lloyd Summerall III returned his first career interception 35 yards for a touchdown, opening up a 22-7 lead on the Chants.
• After scoring on its second drive, Coastal Carolina, which was limited to just eight first downs and a season-low 181 yards, would only gain 101 yards on its final 12 possessions, including 28 yards in the second half

 
JMU’S BOUNCE BACK FROM LOSS

• Since 2000, JMU has been historically solid in winning after its first defeat in the regular season.
• The Dukes improved to 20-3 in weeks after their first setback of the season.
• Two of the three times JMU has failed to win after its first loss was due in large to its starting quarterback being injured.
• Of the 20 wins coming back from a loss, JMU has won 14 of those games by double digits, which includes Coastal Carolina in each of the past two years. In addition to the 39-7 win on Oct. 10, JMU ended the 2023 regular season with a resounding 56-14 victory in Conway to win the Sun Belt East.
• JMU went unbeaten in the 2017 and 2020 regular seasons with its only losses occurring in the FCS playoffs.

 
HANSON HONORED ON RAY’S 8

• JMU punter Ryan Hanson was honored amongst the nation’s best punters during week seven of the college football season, as he was selected to the Ray’s 8 by the Ray Guy Award.
• In JMU’s victory against Coastal Carolina, Hanson averaged 48.8 yards per punt on his five attempts with a pair of kicks over 50 yards.
• He produced a season-long, 63-yard punt and pinned CCU inside the 20 four times.
• Hanson aided in Coastal’s average starting field position of its own 21, including the 18 in the first half alone.
• This is Hanson’s first career weekly honor, as he’s a five-time Ray Guy Award Watch List honoree.

 
ROAD WARRIORS

• Despite a loss in its last road game at ULM, JMU has a strong track record in true road games, with an 11-3 mark since move up to the FBS.
• Prior to the Oct. 5 setback, JMU had won nine consecutive true road games, which included a 6-0 mark in the 2023 season.
• JMU is 2-1 on the road this season, opening the year with a 30-7 win at Charlotte, followed by a 70-50 triumph at ACC foe North Carolina.
• The latter was JMU’s most points it has scored against an FBS foe and also the highest combined scoring game in program history.
• During the nine-game win streak, JMU had won the previous win by double digits and last four by at least 20 points.
• While the road has treated JMU well in general, one of the three defeats came at Georgia Southern’s Paulson Stadium, a place JMU hopes to win for the first time on Saturday. 

 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Online: ESPN+ (subscription required)

Listen: Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network

Broadcast Talent

• ESPN+: Danny Waugh (pxp), Jayson Foster (analyst), Whitney Haworth (sideline)
• Radio: Dave Riggert (pxp)