James Madison Runs past Marshall and Stays Unbeaten at 5-0
James Madison trailed 14-10 early in the second quarter. By halftime it led 38-14. That 28-point run is the whole story of the Dukes' 45-17 win over Marshall, and it came in about 14 minutes.
Marshall got the first punch, a 3-yard touchdown pass from Carlos Del Rio-Wilson to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw, and JMU answered 55 seconds later when Camden Coleman hit Corey Scott for 53 yards. Morgan Suarez kicked a 22-yard field goal for 10-7, and TJ Lester's 1-yard run put the Thundering Herd back up 14-10 at 14:26 of the second. Then the floodgates. Scott caught a 12-yard touchdown at 11:52, George Pettaway ran 73 yards at 9:46, Pettaway ran 33 more at 2:45, and Coleman found Noah Grevious from 20 yards with 26 seconds left. Four touchdowns, 28 points, 14-38.
Marshall managed a 27-yard Jorge Diaz Nicolas field goal in the third quarter and nothing else. Nick Herman's 3-yard run with 50 seconds left finished it at 45-17.
The ground game made the difference: 310 rushing yards for JMU on 35 carries, 573 total, and no interceptions, against Marshall's two. Marshall threw for 309 yards and still scored 17 points, which is how you learn that yards are not points. Pettaway alone carried 14 times for 206 yards (14.7 a carry, if you are keeping score) and two touchdowns.
James Madison is 5-0. Marshall slips to 3-2. For fantasy, Coleman's three touchdown passes and Pettaway's two scores split the day, and Scott's two touchdowns on five catches made him an easy third.