West Virginia Holds on to Defeat James Madison in Season Opener
| <p>Matchup</p> | <p><img class="imageLoaded" src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/256.png&h=100&w=100"></p> | <p><img class="imageLoaded" src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/277.png&h=100&w=100"></p> |
|---|---|---|
1st Downs | 18 | 13 |
3rd down efficiency | 5-14 | 6-18 |
4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 1-1 |
Total Yards | 328 | 294 |
Passing | 156 | 260 |
Comp-Att | 13-20 | 27-42 |
Yards per pass | 7.8 | 6.2 |
Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
Rushing | 172 | 34 |
Rushing Attempts | 48 | 24 |
Yards per rush | 3.6 | 1.4 |
Penalties | 2-20 | 6-35 |
Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
Fumbles lost | 2 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
Possession | 30:50 | 29:10 |
Morgantown, WV - The West Virginia Mountaineers found themselves down 7-0 towards the end of the first quarter and went into halftime trailing 7-3 before putting a scoring drive on the first drive of the second half to take their first lead of the game. The WVU defense buckled down in the second and held JMU to just two field goals as the Mountaineers begin the season with a seven-point victory over the FCS No. 2 James Madison Dukes.
The West Virginia defense got the crowd in the game early holding James Madison to a three and out. The Dukes returned the favor after the Mountaineers took over at their own 30. However, D'Angelo Amos muffed the punt and WVU took over at the JMU 36.
West Virginia couldn’t capitalize on the good field position and the drive stalled early on a false start pushed the offense back to a third and seven. Then, Evan Staley went wide left from 49 yards out.
The Dukes were marching down the field and got into Mountaineer territory before Kwantel Raines punched the ball and Dylan Tonkery recovered the fumble.
The Mountaineers crossed midfield but on third and seven, Rashad Robinson blitzed from the left side forcing an errant throw.
James Madison took the following drive 80 yards to get on the board first. They began the drive with four straight runs tallying 29 yards, then quarterback Ben DiNucci hit Penn State transfer Brandon Polk for back-to-back 21-yard passes before Solomon Vanhorse scored from nine yards out as JMU took the early 7-0 lead.
West Virginia answered with an 11 play 53-yard drive to put their first points on the board. WVU quarterback connected on three straight passes for 28 yards before throwing back-to-back incompletions that setup Evan Staley for a 38-yard field goal as the Mountaineers cut into the Dukes lead 7-3.
The Mountaineer offense came out of the half seemingly more confident as QB Austin Kendall led his offense down the field, working through his progressions, going 4-6 for 86 yards and capping it off with a 28-yard touchdown pass down the sideline to give WVU their first lead of the game 10-7.
The Dukes responded on the following drive gashing the Mountaineer defense for 46 yards on the ground but a sack by Michigan transfer Rueben Jones stopped the drive. Nonetheless, JMU tied the game up with a 29-yard field goal from Ethan Ratke.
A sack from Darius Stills setup a JMU punt that gave the Mountaineers the ball at midfield. West Virginia pushed the ball 29 yards up the field; however, the drive stalled at the Duke 26 and Staley banged it in from 43 yards out to give WVU a 13-10 lead 10:26 to play in the game.
On the next possession, WVU corner Keith Washing picked off Dinucci at the JMU 37 and returned to the 26. Three plays later, Austin Kendall found Tevin Bush Wide open in the endzone from 22 yards out as the Mountaineers held a 10-point lead. 20-10.
James Madison responded to get the game back within a possession when Dinucci hit Brandon Pold and Kyndel Dean for a combined 35 yards to set up Ratke from 31 yards out.
West Virginia was unable to keep the ball away from the Dukes as had two chances inside of four minutes to tie the game. Nonetheless, the Mountaineer defense held strong as WVU wins its season opener 20-13.
