— By David Walsh
All week, Marshall coach Tony Gibson said limiting big plays would be vital in Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference opener between the Thundering Herd and unbeaten James Madison.
Whatever the Herd employed, the Dukes solved the puzzle and the big plays came consistently, particularly in the first half.
A long touchdown pass in the first quarter followed by two long TD runs and a final long TD pass in the second period sparked the Dukes past Marshall, 45-17, in front of a sellout crowd of 25,034 at Bridgeforth Stadium.
“We got off to a good start, but couldn’t hold up,” Gibson said on postgame radio. “They pulled away a bit and it snowballed on us. We couldn’t recover. The defense has zero identity. We can’t tackle. It’s embarrassing. We’ve got major issues.”
James Madison, the defending SBC champion, improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. Marshall is 3-2 and 0-1 in the SBC.
All the first-half scoring by the Dukes came after Marshall marched 89 yards for a score on its opening possession. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson found Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw for a 3-yard TD to cap a 14-play drive.
Dukes’ quarterback Camden Coleman found Corey Scott for a 53-yard TD strike to even the score. Later in the first quarter, Morgan Suarez booted a 22-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Marshall came back to take a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by T.J. Lester. Del Rio-Wilson had a 21-yard pass to Adrian Norton to keep that drive going.
The Dukes would regain the lead at 17-14 on a 12-yard pass from Coleman to Scott. It was a free play as the Herd was called for offside.
After a Marshall punt, the big plays continued thanks to running back George Pettaway. On the second play of a JMU drive, Pettaway would break free and sprint 73 yards for a touchdown and his team’s biggest lead to that point at 24-14.
Marshall would follow with a quality drive, but Del Rio-Wilson had a pass picked off by D.J. Kelly in the end zone to end that threat.
The big plays continued to mount for the Dukes. Scott caught a 16-yard pass, Michael Scott had a 13-yard reception and then Pettaway finished things with a 33-yard TD dash for a 31-14 lead. Pettaway had 156 yards rushing at that point.
James Madison ended the 28-point onslaught in the second quarter when Coleman connected on a 20-yard TD pass with Noah Grevious just before halftime.
“Defensively we’ve got a lot to get fixed,” Gibson said. “We drove to the end zone, but get no points. Then it snowballs and we don’t recover.”
Gibson said the Herd incurred its usual bumps and bruises. Linebacker Chason Clark did leave on a stretcher in the third period. Gibson said Clark was fine, moving everything . “Pray for him,” Gibson said.
In the third, Herd linebacker Cannon Lewis recovered a fumble and returned it to the Dukes’ 12. On first down, Del Rio-Wilson had a 12-yard TD run negated by a holding call. There would be another hold later and Jorge Diaz Nicolas eventually came on to boot a 27-yard field goal.
In the fourth, Zion Turner replaced Del Rio-Wilson and had a pass picked off in the end zone.
On the Dukes’ final scoring drive, Clark ran for 48 yards on a keeper for a first down to the Herd 14. Nick Herman’s 3-yard TD run with 50 seconds left set the final score.
“We’ve got to be a lot better defensively,” Gibson said. “No doubt we have to move on quickly and get our kids playing with confidence. They have to help themselves with that.”
James Madison had 573 total yards (263 passing, 310 rushing).
Coleman completed 21-of-32 passes for 263 yards and three scores. Pettaway came back on the field late in a move to reach 200 yards and he finished with 206 on 14 carries. Scott had five catches for 104 yards and two scores.
Del Rio-Wilson finished 21-of-37 for 221 yards and a score and pick.
James Madison is now 27-7 in the Sun Belt since joining the league in 2022. The Dukes have won 10 straight at home. James Madison leads the SBC in wins since 2022 with 45.
Marshall returns to action next Saturday at home against Coastal Carolina. Start time at Joan C. Edwards Stadium is 7 p.m.
“We’re not going to let one game define us as a football team,” Gibson said. “We’ve got another good football team coming in next week. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I know I say that every week. We fix one thing and then something else breaks down. Guys have to make plays.”