JMU led Louisville 14-6 five minutes into the third quarter, but the ACC squad got three big plays – two long TDs and a fumble recovery in the end zone – to pull away for the 28-14 win on Friday night on ESPN2.
Credit to the Dukes (1-1) for hanging tough – the D limited Louisville (2-0), a 14.5-point favorite going in, to 264 total yards, and that included the 64-yard TD pass from Miller Moss to Chris Bell that tied the score in the third quarter, and the 78-yard TD run by Isaac Brown that put the game away in the fourth.
The issue for JMU seems to be, head coach Bob Chesney not being able to decide on who his QB1 should be.
Chesney recruited a guy who used to play for him at Holy Cross, Matt Sluka, who walked out on UNLV last year over money, when his starter in 2024, Alonza Barnett, went down to injury in the 2024 season finale.
Then Barnett showed up healthy for training camp, and Chesney decided that the way to go was, a two-QB system.
What should have been obvious before tonight: there’s a reason there’s an old saying about how if you have two QBs, you don’t really have one.
Shuttling the two back and forth, Barnett was 15-of-25 for 102 yards and a TD through the air, and the hired gun, Sluka, had 83 yards and a TD on the ground, but neither could get a rhythm with the way they were being used.
The Dukes finished the night with 263 yards and two turnovers, the backbreaker coming with the game knotted at 14-14 early in the fourth.
A penalty on JMU negated a third-down conversion, and on third-and-10 from the JMU 8, Barnett was sacked in the end zone, fumbled, and AJ Green recovered to put Louisville on top to stay.
Share
Chris Graham
