The James Madison football team’s time in the Top 25 figures to be short-lived. On Saturday, the Dukes fell to 5-1, losing their first game of the season at Georgia Southern, 45-38.
The Dukes led 7-0 after the first quarter, held a three-point lead at the half, but they allowed 31 points in the second half as the Eagles soared to the victory to move to 4-3. JMU actually held a 14-0 lead in the game before quickly allowing two scores, the second being a blocked punt that was returned 13 yards with Joshua Thompson doing both the blocking and recovering.
JMU quarterback Todd Centeio, who had done a fantastic job of limiting turnovers, had himself a poor day in that department, tossing three interceptions. He did go 28-for-48 for 468 yards and two touchdowns, but the turnovers were costly as they had four overall.
The Dukes had nine penalties for 51 yards, and despite outgaining Georgia Southern 675-590, they couldn’t deliver when they needed to, going 1-for-3 on fourth down.
A Centeio touchdown throw with 2:28 to go saw the Dukes take a 38-37 lead on the point after, but the hosts drove down the field, going 75 yards on 10 plays. It took just 1:18, but they scored the winning touchdown.
Eagles quarterback Kyle Vantrease went 38-for-64 for 578 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Georgia Southern rushed for just 12 yards on the day. Vantrease hit Derwin Burgess for a 22-yard score with 1:10 to go to pull off the upset.
As for JMU, they’ll need to turn it around quickly with Marshall visiting Harrisonburg on Saturday.
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